Photos: Supplied.
What is there about old bottles that is so fascinating? You can find out at the Antique Bottle and Collectables Association’s annual fair in September.
“For many collectors, it’s the history that they carry, particularly of a specific area,” says Yvonne Taylor, secretary of the association. “Our members have bottles that are up to three hundred years old – oil, pickles, alcohol, and medicine bottles. Some of the colours in the glass are incredible.
“Pottery bottles are most likely to be old ginger beer bottles – one of them sold recently for $36,000. They’re very sought after, especially if they have a good imprint on them – or a thumbprint that will identify them as convict-made.”
Yvonne, an ardent collector, has a collection of cemetery vases – floral-designed vases made to hold flowers on a grave. The floral decoration guaranteed that there would always be ‘flowers’ there, even when the real ones died.
In addition to the opportunity to buy and sell, the fair features an exhibition that’s a judged competition for entries in any of the 87 different categories. For those who have a treasure of unknown value, there will be a valuer at the fair, as well as experts in specific types to help with classifications.
The term ‘collectables’ encompasses a wide range of articles, varying in age and provenance, including everything from pie funnels to money boxes, Avon figurines, shaving and smoking accessories, early plastic items, postage stamps, pot lids, and railway memorabilia, as well as model and real items. ‘Garagenalia’ refers to collectables related to motoring; enamel signs, petrol pumps, oil bottles, advertising and promotional material, and ‘Kitchenalia’ embraces appliances that many of us remember from our grandmother’s kitchen.
“We have expanded our category list to include ‘retro’ because that’s a category on its own now,” says Yvonne. “There’s also a fantasy/sci-fi category – Star Wars is in! – and one for promotional toys and collectables.”
So if you still have that boxful of wind-up toys that came with the kiddies’ hamburgers, dig them out – you may have an unexpected nest egg!
The Antique Bottle & Collectables Fair will be held on Saturday, 27 September 2025, from 9:00am to 2:00pm at Cleveland State School, corner of Queen and Wynyard Streets, Cleveland. For more information, call 0411 124 722.
