That long-forgotten old beer cap, beer bottle, coaster, or bottle opener you have kicking around the house, may be just what a collector needs to add to or finish off his or her collection.
Members of Collectors of Canadian Brewery Advertising are passionate about adding to their collections, as was evident by the turnout at a convention held in North Bay over the weekend.
“We get together once a year as an organization, Collectors of Canadian Brewery Advertising, and here in North Bay it is one of the first times an individual has hosted as opposed to a club. There is no club in the area here, so that is why I decided to host my own,” explained convention coordinator Tony Matheson.
See: A Canadian beer bottle collection like no other
And: Beer Bottle collector hosting beer advertising convention in North Bay
The organization’s website outlines its purpose:
“To encourage the preservation and collecting of brewery artifacts including bottles and cans, advertising, and other memorabilia.
To educate the members and public with regards to Canada’s brewing heritage and to maintain and preserve that history.
And to promote fellowship among collectors.”
Participants who attended the North Bay convention travelled from across the country and beyond.
“We had 52 people come in from all across Ontario, from Regina, Calgary, and Winnipeg. A couple came from the United States and we even had an individual come in from Denmark,” Matheson proudly stated.
Saturday’s Buy, Trade, and Sell event was just a small part of the convention.
“They’ve been here since Wednesday, and we’ve been touring the city, the local breweries, and swapping stories in the evenings.”
Matheson has been a collector for nearly 50 years.
“I’ve been collecting since 1978.”
In 1986 Molson was celebrating its 200th anniversary with a celebration in Montreal which Matheson attended, adding to his enthusiasm for collecting.
“So, I ended up going to that Buy, Trade, and Sell which was the last day. That was the first time I met anyone else who collected beer,” explained Matheson who has one of the largest collections in the country on display in his home.
“I have Canada’s largest full beer bottle collection, a little over 52 hundred bottles. They’re not drained, they’re all full. That is the unique part of it and of course, the cap is on them. That completes the bottle. So, it is very unique in the sense that very few people, even in this club collect full bottles”
The public was invited to attend the Buy, Trade, and Sell portion of the North Bay convention.
“It is to show what we collect and trade. Of course, what they have here is just what they’re willing to part with. Their collections tend to be much bigger. There is some neat stuff out there you don’t get to see on a daily basis.”
Displays went beyond the beer cans and bottles one would expect, to include glassware, ashtrays, labels, coasters, signage, bottle openers and bottle caps or crowns as they’re also known, and so much more.
“Some of those crowns go for $30 or $40 a piece.”
Steen Borup-Nielsen who made the trip from Denmark, had his eye on coasters, a collection he started well over 25 years ago.
He expected to add another 300 or 400 from this convention.
“Not buying, rather trading or being given. People here, collectors, are extremely gracious to me. They know I am coming so, many come with a small bag full and say, ‘These are for you, nice to see you coming back,’” he grinned.
The hundreds he expects to collect while in North Bay are still a far cry from what he managed to take away from other meetings.
“I went to a meeting in Germany and came back with maybe five thousand, immense to me,” he laughed.
His favourite coaster is one dating back to 1889.
“It is from a festival in Bohemia which is now the Czech Republic. It was sent to an address in Vienna, and it has been stamped. So, I know exactly the date, and on the reverse, there is a stamp for the reception in Vienna one day later. It is amazing,” Borup-Nielsen proudly shared.
“People ask me how I display them because all collectors in this country have beautiful exhibitions in their basement rooms, but coasters can not be in the open. If you put them up on a wall, they get tarnished from the sun, and it destroys them. So, my collection of 180-thousand are in boxes but I can find any coaster that I want to see. Three or four rooms in my house are full.”
Some collectors say they have enough items that they could open up their own museum.
Cheers to them.
