Everything Old is Old Again

Few events draw as loyal an audience or are as eagerly anticipated as an antique trunk show, and certainly none more than the Pasadena Antique Show and Sale, which will return to the Pasadena Center March 7-9.

Presented by Bustamante Enterprises, the show at the Pasadena Center features hundreds of antique dealers from all across the country with every antique you can imagine, from fine art, furniture, heirloom jewelry vintage time pieces, porcelains, bronzes, silvers, art glass, folk art, you get the idea.

The show has been running in Pasadena since 1975, and generations of treasure fans have reveled in it each year.

We recently spoke with vendor Rick Kaplan of Kaplan Antiques, one of the show’s longtime participants, about what make the shows so special.

As he told Pasadena Now, “I have a large quality inventory, and about three or four days before the show begins to set up, I’ll go around the store looking for fresh and new pieces. There will be some Tiffany items as well as French Cameo Glass. There will also be some Russian items, as well as a nice selection of good-looking Royal paintings. I always bring a selection of paintings.

A number of people might remember that Kaplan had a role in the reality show, Treasure Detectives, which has unfortunately run its course. Said Kaplan, “I did Treasure Detectives and I also did another one there that was short-lived,” but he may be far more busy these days, anyway, with his national trunk shows, than on the tube.

“It’s quite entertaining,” he said of the shows, adding, “The one thing I learned about doing these TV shows is that the people that put them on don’t really care about reality, they’re doing the TV show, so things are bent out of place a little bit.”

The Antique Show, however, is true reality. Exhibitors must abide by an established code of ethics, one of the highest in the industry, ensuring a rewarding experience for both customer and merchant.

Whether browsing or digging for treasure, the Pasadena Antique Show and Sale makes everything old, old again. That’s a good thing.

The Pasadena Antique Show and Sale will be at the Pasadena Center, 300 East Green Street, Pasadena, CA. March 7-9, 2014. Show info: (209) 358-3134. www.bustamanteshows.com