Antique fairs (all sorts)

The swapmeet is often the most fruitful source of treasures. Most of these are organised by societies and that means you'll have to be a member to find out about these meetings. But that's the best bit, the fellowship you get from being part of the crowd.

GREAT BRITAIN

Radio/TV swapmeets are organised several times a year by the British Vintage Wireless Society (members only) and The Radiophile; telephone swapmeets are held by the Telecomms Heritage Group (see Clubs and Societies chapter for addresses). Best of all, for all of our interests, is the NATIONAL VINTAGE COMMUNICATIONS FAIR, held at the Warwickshire Exhibition Centre, The Fosse, Fosse Way, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, CV31 1XN, every spring. Now run by the BVWS, further details are to be found at www.nvcf.org.uk.  

For classic hi-fi and some vintage wireless, the best source is the AUDIOJUMBLE, Victoria Hall, London Road, Southborough, Kent. Quality vintage hi-fi. For dates contact John Howes, 11 Crendon Park, Southborough, Tunbridge Wells, Kent (01892-540022 evenings) or see advertisements in Hi-Fi World magazine.

Details of all other BVWS events can be found HERE.

Also worth considering are:

• ANTIQUE SCIENTIFIC & MEDICAL INSTRUMENT FAIR, organsied by Peter Delahar and held twice yearly in April and October at the Radisson Portman Hotel, London W1.
• ASHTEAD AUDIOJUMBLE, Peace Memorial Hall, Woodfield lane, Ashtead, Surrey, KT21 2BE; held every spring.
• BAKELITE FAIR, organised by the Bakelite Museum Society. Held in May at the De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill, Sussex.
• MEMORABILIA ROADSHOW AND FAIRS, Birmingham (NEC), Glasgow (City Halls), Manchester (at Bowler's, Trafford Park). Organised by Made in Heaven, 216 Kristiansand Way, Letchworth, SG6 1TU.
• NORTHERN SOUND & VISION FAIR 2004, the first Sound & Vision Fair promises to be the biggest event of its kind ever staged in the North of England. The two day event, which takes place at the Platinum Suite at St. James's Park, Newcastle-upon-Tyne on Saturday 5th & Sunday 6th June, 2004, will feature a positive galaxy of celebrity guests from the worlds of film, TV and music. Doors open 10.30am, admission £4. Sunday family ticket £5. Sound & Vision, PO Box 1NW, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE99 1NW.
  
• THE GRAND M25 JUMBLE, takes place every November at Therfield School, Dilston Rd, Leatherhead, Surrey, (M25 Junction 9).

FRANCE: Paris.

The magnet here is the famous Vernaison flea market, close to the Porte de Clignancourt station on the Paris Metro. The market is lively on Saturdays and Sundays, pretty dead on other days; it is also the only flea market in Paris worth trawling for our kind of merchandise (radio/TV/telephones). You will also find old electrical goods there and books but not much hi-fi. Expect to pay quite high prices; there are few bargains here. Many of the stalls are in the older allées with their quaint wooden shanty-town huts, whilst opposite in a modern concrete hall is a collection of dealers with equally fine old radios and telephones for sale.

On Saturday and Sunday mornings (the guide books say all day but the stallholders haven't read them) you will find another, more down-to-earth market in the streets avenue Georges Lafenestre and avenue Marc-Sangnier (nearest Metro station Porte de Vanves). This is a people's market and prices are substantially lower, but with equally tasty merchandise. Telephones, televisions, radios and cine films and projectors can all be found here. There is also plenty of paperwork to be had, including old catalogues and illustrated magazines, but you must be prepared to search. The French are keen collectors of ephemera, so old leaflets and directories are quite widely sold and easy to find.

Brocante fairs (glorified junk markets) in the street or in halls are another rich source to tap. See the inexpensive Pariscope events magazine (at all news kiosks) to find out where these are being held.

GERMANY.The vintage radio hobby is well organised in Germany, so if you are visiting the country it might be worth seeing if any of these swapmeets coincide with your trip.

• Altenau (Harz). Swapmeet and radio market. Information from C . Timmermann.
• Altensteig. Collectors meeting. Information from U. Lambertz.
• Bad Laasphe. Radio market. Information from H. Necker.
• Bielefeld/Altenhausen. Swapmeet and radio market. Information from K.H. Lange.
• Datteln. Historic radio and TV market.
• Ellerau. North German swapmeet.
• Erfurt. Thüringer radio fleamarket, September, in the ElektroMuseum. Information from Stephan Hloucal, Hohe Str. 24, D-99094 Erfurt-Möbisburg.
• Eschborn. Radio swapmeet. Information from Dr R. Walz.
• Friedrichshafen. Ham radio show plus flea market. Huge annual event in July; the flea market is recommended for all kinds of old things. Information from R. Suter.
• Fürth. Radio flea market in September at the radio museum, Schlosshof 23. Information from G. Walther.
• Gronau/Leine. Swapmeet. Information from L.-D. Schmidt.
• Inning/Ammersee. South German swapmeet and radio market. Information from M. Roggisch.
• Lamstedt. Swapmeet. Information from S. Grüttner or W. Tenschert.
• Nürnberg, flotronica computer and radio flea market. Information H. Kammler.
• Ulm. GFGF meeting and radio market. Information from G. Bogner or W. Hauf..

NETHERLANDS. An international 'market for old technology' is held at regular intervals at Nijkerk. Information from M.P. Ritmeester.

RUSSIA: Moscow. The largest market is held on Sunday mornings at Ismailova Park. There is a Metro station nearby and the market stretches from there along a broad pathway for about a mile to a stadium and then around the corner some! All kinds of good are sold there, and on my visit in 1992 old telephones were quite plentiful (even an pre-1914 set), although I saw no radio or TV items. There is also a daily market in the forecourt of the Shabolovskaya Metro station where you can find radio valves, integrated circuits and so on. Of course, this may have changed. The Izmailovski Park hotel complex nearby offers a reasonably-priced (for Moscow) place to stay - you can book through Intourist.

SWITZERLAND.The national vintage radio and sound society, CRGS, holds an international flea market in May at Egerkingen. Information from A.F. Egli, Kreuzbuchstr. 97, CH-6006 Luzern. Retro-Technika is an annual swapmeet/market for all technical hobbies (including radio/TV, telephones and hi-fi) held in September at the Wankdorf exhibition centre in Bern. Details from RTB, Postfach, CH-2537 Vuaffelin, Switzerland.

USA.Regional swapmeets for old radios, TVs and telephones are plentiful and are listed in the relevant magazines: Old Timer's Bulletin (published by the AWA) and Antique Radio Classified for radio and TV, and the ATCA and TCI society newsletters for telephones (address details in the chapters on Clubs and Societies and Buyer's Guide). The really big show is the Rochester event held every September by the AWA; this has a huge flea market (quite apart from all the other displays, visits and presentations). Also worth a visit is the Dayton Hamvention, another national event held early May in Dayton, Ohio. This is predominantly an amateur radio show but there is a ten-acre open-air flea market as well, which always has some vintage radio gear.

OTHER COUNTRIES. The best suggestion is to get in touch with the relevant national society, if there is one. See the chapter on Clubs and Societies.If anyone would like to offer some other suggestions, I'll be pleased to use them! Please e-mail me, Steve Ostler, at steve@radiocraft.co.uk.

Garage sales, charity shops, thrift stores