Number 49

witt llInnrknnb Qtnl1trtnrSeptember - October 1991

Another excellent conventionby ~in Applegate, President

Lake Tahoe is beautiful.

The e leventh an­nual convention ofThe Antique DoorknobCollectors of Amer­ica was held inSouth Lake Tahoe,August 11-13, 1991with Marge and JoeBornino hosting.

As usual, as wega t he r e d in the hos ­pit a l i ty r oom onSunday evening, webecame aware ofthose who would orwould not be attend­i ng . The hop to theWest coast me a nt aheavy representationby California.

Happi ly, theBrights and the Hol­lands, who hadmi ssed one or morerecent g a t herings ,ha d j ou r ne ye d toTa hoe with f ami l ymembe r s .

The wedding o f theye a r was und oubte d l yDe b b i e Fellenz andRi ck Kelly. We wishDebbie (ke e p i ng hermaiden name) andRick a long andhappy marriage.

Monday was theusual set-up, trad­ing, and buyingfrenzy. From thecontiguously chang­ing array of new (?)items each year,there is little rea­son to use the word

"usual." It was notlong into the firstday when the sched­ule became clear andthe scope of theplanning effort byMarge and Joe becameevident.

Bud Wolski gave atalk highlighted by

a slide presenta­tion. Through theyears, various"periods" have pre­sented opportunitiesto collect and/orspecialize.

Following the con­cept that what-is­See Convention, page 3

THE OPEN DOOR- -by ra nemec

find a nicer groupof people than theADCA members. Maybecollecting doorknobsmakes us somethingspecial .•

The theme for the 1992convention will be on,chicago Hardware Mfg.,Co. and united statessteel Lock Co.

Presidents past &presentlen Blumin - ~in Applegate

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FROM THE ARCHIVESWITH ARCHI VI STS

St eve/Ba r b Me nc hh o f e r

(Ihr DoorknoLJ CCollHtorPublished six times a year by AntiqueDoorknob Collectors of America, Inc.P.O. Box 126, Eola , IL 60519-0126.Raymond and Loretta Ne mec , Editors.

Phon~ 1-708-357-2381Printed by Sun Printing, Naperville, ILAnnual Membership in USA: $20.00.Foreign rates on request.

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Th e outdoor Bar- B-Qwas one of manyact i vi t i es a t t endedat t he 1991 ADCAconvent ion.

conventionfrom page 1old- was-once - new ,Bud, f ocu s e d on t heArt Dec o Pe r i od.Showing e xample srang ing f rom arc h i ­t ectur e - to- f u r ­n i s h i ngs -to-ha r d ­wa re . Bud , s ugg e s t e dthat the Art Dec oper iod coul d pr ov idef ert i l e opportuni­t i e s for tomorr ow' scollect ing.

Bud (#20) a nd hiswi f e Margaret we renot known to some o fus newer members andhis ta lk was a r e­minder o f the depth ,knowledge a nd t alentthat exists withinour club .

The display con­test r e f l e c t e d newpoints of v iew bythe Borninos. Thej udg i ng /awa r d s we r ecompleted pr i or tothe pUb l i c v i ewi ngon the last after­noon, the j udg ingwas done by an inde­pendent group, and

t he r e we re sevencategories.

Off to Harvey'scasino i n t heeven i ng for a buf­f e t. Prior to cut­ting loose with the"sl ots," we weret r e a t e d to a talk byJohn Holland.

I t was apropostha t John, ADCA ' Bf i r s t pre s i de ntspea k at t he t enthann i ve r s ary c onven­t ion. He chron i c ledthe growth of theclub and spoke o fmany o f t hose whohave guided i t tothe pres e nt . Hismessa ge wa s s t r ong :OUR PROGRESS CANCONTINUE IF WEEDUCATE, ENCOURAGE,AND INVOLVE OUR NEWMEMBERS.

Thank you John ,for your fine pre­sentation.

For those familiarwith the pUblica­tions from otherclubs, the ADCA

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newsle t t er i s obvi­ou s l y head-and­shou l de r s a bove theothers. I t i s a"class act " due tothe diligence andeffort that Lorettaand Ra y Nemec investas they e d i tournewsletter.

In r e cogn i t i on oftheir de d ica t i on andsuc c ess , Le n Bluminpres ented the Nemecswi t h a plaque. As wethank and recognizeLore t t a and Ray. weg ive them our f ondb l e s sings a nd hopet ha t the name o f theNeme c s remains s yn­onymous with thenews lette r f or manyye a rs to corne .

I n a dd i tion to thebus i ne s s meeting ,theofficers a nd t heBoard o f Di r ect or smet officia l l y ontwo other occasions.In later newslettersthere will be moreon next year's con­vention in Elgin,See page 12

DISPLAY CONTEST AWARDS

The display contest at the 1991 ADCA Convention was expanded toseven categories from the three held in recent years.

A contest has been held annually since 1984. The idea ofawarding displays was initiated by the late Vince Noe, after heattended the 1983 convention, to encourage members to develop andbring displays to the convention.

The j udq i.nq was done by an independent group this year. Inprevious years members voted for their favorite displays.

This year's winners were:

CATEGORY

Plastic/CompositionWoodGlassIron/SteelBrass/BronzeCeramic/PorcelainBest Overall Artistic

FIRST PLACE

John HollandLen BluminEmmet WiemerDean CampbellNancy SandwickArnie Fredrick

Display - Alex Kunkel

SECOND PLACE

Clifford stroingSteve MenchhoferDebbie FellenzLinda SmeltzerArnie FredrickFlorence Jarvis

John Holland

Clifford Stroing

Page 5, top row, Len Blumin, Barbara &Steve Menchhofer.second row, Emmet Weimer, Linda Smeltzer.botton row, Edith &Dean Campbell.

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Top row, Nancy SandwickSecond row, Arnie Fredrick, Florence JarvisBotton row, Alex Kunkel

Debbie Fellenz-KeLLy(sorry no pictureavailable of award)

Education at its best

Having collecteddoorknobs , most ly dou­bles, f or a ppr oxi ­mately 20 years, mywife Jan ice and I wen tto the Lake Tahoe con­vention - my f i r s t ­armed wit h three plas ­tic buckets conta iningmost of my collection ,not k nowi ng what t oe xpe c t . As the " newk id on t he b l ock " If ound t hat my wi f e andI fel t ver y welcomeand comfortable at theconve nt ion .

I lear ne d so muc h inthre e da ys a bout thedoor k nobs I have c he r ­ishe d over the ye a r s .I t ha nk you.

I was surroundedwi th members from allwalks of life who wereso knowledgeable invarious aspects of an­tique hardware that Iwas awed and humbledby listening andlearning from the oth­ers at the conventionfrom the time we ar­rived to the time weleft. It was a learn­ing experience that Iwill remember fondlyin the years ahead inmy chosen hobby ofdoorknob collectingand a member of THEANTIQUE DOORKNOB COL­LECTOR OF AMERICA.

The beauty of LakeTahoe was enhanced bythe host family, Marge& Joe Bornino, whomade the conventionplans which includedthe marvelous dinnerbuffet at Harvey's,

Lettersthe s upe r barbe c ue atThe Sand s Mot e l on thes e c ond d a y a nd thegr e a t I t a l ian f ood attheir horne on the l a s tda y o f the convention.Be i ng al l owe d to tourthe Bor n i no ' s home wasl ike winning a s upe r" Jackpot Bonus " . J a n ­ice and I were f lab­bergas t e d by al l thed i sp l ays and decoratori t ems a nd wil l alwaysremember the de c or andthe work t hat wentint o them. It trulymade t he i r homeunique. It is obviousthat t he y are de d i ­cated, valued a ndproud members o f THEANTIQUE DOORKNOB COL­LECTORS OF AMERICA .

,

Dan & Janice Sheehan

To all!

We would like to sayThank You for makingus feel welcome. Wemet so many nice peo­ple and saw some ex­traordinary doorknobs.Christopher had agreat time and he

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thanks everyone forg iving h i m d oorknobs .Al e x a nd I t ha nk e v­e r yone f or ma k i ngChristophe r f eel apart o f the conven­tion. We don't thinkenough can be s a i da bout the pe ople whoma ke up this club.The y are the mostwa r m- he a r t e d people weeve r met .

We would l i ke t o e s ­pe c ial ly thank Maud ieEastwood for all heradvice, extraordinarygenerosity andfr iendship over theyears. We wou ld alsolike to t ha nk Le n a ndPatti Bl umi n for the i rhelp over the years,Steve and BarbaraMenchhofer for theirtrading generosity atthe convention andClaude and Pat Knoxfor the wonderfuldoorknob gift.

Alex did a lot oftrading and Christo­pher and I got a door­bell. But the high­light of the conven­tion for us was Alexgetting the PurpleRibbon.

We regret wecouldn't spend moretime with everyone andthat we had to leaveearly and didn't getto tell everyone good­bye. Everyone madethis convention somuch fun that Alex andI are already thinkingof ways to try to makethe next one. We had agreat time.

Lori Kunkel.

<!&rnamental beS'ign in antique ooorunousby Len Blumin

(The following regular feature is a supplement to Len's excellent book,VIcroRIAN DECORATIVE ART)

CONCENTRIC SYMMETRY

M-131M-132M-133M-134M-135M-136

Well made simple design.Small "crank" knob. Also contains fourfold symmetry.Has flower bud border, like M-127.Chicago/Niles. Also could be eightfold.Vernacular. Iron. Circa 1880. Also contains a swirl.Cast. Fourfold center. Made in iron and bronze.

M-131

M-132

M-133

M-134

M-135

M-136

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N-161N-162N-163N-164N-165N-166

OVAL KNOBSVernacular, circa 1880. Oval knobs rare in this period.Rococo motif was popular for oval knobs.Another rococo oval. "French" patterns were often oval.Acanthus combines with egg and dart border.Pretty little knob, with a french flair.Several variations made, including round ones.

N-161

N-162

N-163

N-164

N-165

N-166

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Meet Alex Kunkel

I f you want toknow how t he modernrancher herds cattlef rom his motorcycle,ADCA member AlexKunke l can give youfirst hand informa­tion. Tending tocattle on an I da horanch and collectingdoorknobs are impor­tant interests i nKunke l's life.

A member o f TheAntique DoorknobCol lec tor s of Amer­i c a s i nc e 198 3 ,Kunke l f i nds i t ar e a l c hal l e nge t oobt a i n k nobs inI da ho wher e 10,000acr e ranches andmoun tains d omi na t erat he r than the an-

t i que s hops and f l e amarkets o f the Eastcoast and mi dwe s t .

Trad i ng with ADCAmembers through themai l is one o f hismain sources in ob­taining new knobs.Partly because ofthe l a c k of localsources f or door­knobs , Alex spenttime i n putting to­gethe r the 1991 ADCAConvent ion BestOvera l l Artisticd i s p l a y .

Alex, his charmingwife, Lor i , andt heir you ng s on ,Chr i s t ophe r, alls hare i n e n j oyingthe hobby o f door ­knob colle c t i ng .•

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Bornino's Hideaway

®bituary

ADAIR STROING

Adai r stroing, thewife of l ong t i me ADCAmember Cliffords t r o i ng , died on J u ne18, 19 91, i n Chico,California, of cance r.She was 67.

Mrs. s t r o i ng wasborn on December 1 ,192 3, a t Redding Cal i ­f orn i a . She marr iedCl i f ford i n 194 3 .

In a dd i t ion t o herhu s ba nd , Mr s . str o ingwa s surv ived by herd a ugh t e r s , Sus a n andKath l e e n .

ROSTER UPDATE No. 3

The following are ad­ditions to the 1991ADCA roster which wasenclosed with the May­June 1991 issue ofThe Doorknobcollector:

The following areaddress changes:

#87Bradley Widseth2410 Fillmore st. N.E.Minneapolis, MN 55418

1992 CONVENTION ATELGIN, ILLINOISAUGUST 1 - 4 1992

#208CDR Frederic smithCommanding OfficerEOD Mobile unit 4Key west, FL33040-5000

#159 John F. Komar5240 Delorst. Louis, MO 63109

#262 Bill GardnerR. R. #2 Box 696Sutton Bay, MI 49682

#263Bill & Mary Fellenz439 N. Euclidst. Loui s , MO 63108

#264 Michael L. Jones104 Pierce streetSan Francisco, CA94117

#265 Marilyn Hunt7115 creightonAustin, TX 78723

ANNUAL ELECTION HELD

The annual election for members to the ADCABoard of Directors was held at theorganization's annual meeting on Wednesday,August 14, 1991. Returning to the board areWin Applegate, Len Blumin, Dean Campbell,Arnie Fredrick and Maudie Eastwood.

The newly elected were Loretta Nemec,Carlos Ruiz and Dale Sponaugle. They succeedBill Byington, Mark Davidovich and Ray Nemec.

The following officers were elected by theboard:President Win ApplegateVice President Dale SponaugleSecretary/Treasurer Loretta Nemec

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The doorknob exchange

FOR BALE. Approximate1,000 doorknobs, plusrelated hardware.Florence Chelin (#33),Route 5 - 2026 S. MainPrinceton, IL 61356.PH: 815-87 5-1896.

WANTED . I nt e r e s t ed inbuying figura l a nd em­b lematic knobs . Pleasedescribe and quoteprice. Maurice Onraet,(#132) , P.O. Box 605 ,Newtown, PA 18940.

Convention continuedfrom page 3

Illinois and suchtopics as a travel­ing display for mu­seums and libr aries .

While more d e t a i l son the e l e c t i on ofofficer s wi l l a l sofo llow , the f a c t i sthat Le n Bl umi nst a k i ng that one s tepback after twos t i nts as pre sident.Arnie Fredrick pre­s ente d Le n and Pat­tie wi t h a clock, afine example ofArnie's carving, asa token o f thec l ub's apprec iation.

Th e visit to theBor n i nos? Marge' sd oor k nob collec t ion?Mor e a ppropriate tospeak of Mar ge ' s"collections ". Aneye for the c o l ­lectible and a t a l­ent for creativedisplaying added theicing to the conven­tion cake and a mag­nificent Italianluncheon with finefellowship that con­cluded the eleventhannual ADCA conven­tion in South LakeTahoe. Congratula­tions Borninos for ajob very well done .•

IF YOUR passing thruSan Diego, make sureto stop at Liz's An­tique Hardware, 3821Park Blvd, San Diego,CA 92103. An extensiveinventory of over300,000 pieces ofdoor, furniture, win­dow and lighting hard­ware dating from 1950on back .•

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that I have in my col­lection are available.All in perfect condi­tion. Please specifyby number and initial.Immediate answer andprice quote will bemake. Fred L. Magnus(#10), 5910 Lucinact., Shell Point vil­lage, Ft. Myers, FL33931­PH:813-454-5231.

WANTED. Up to 12 pairof s ol i d bronze Mal ­l or y Wheeler knobs androse s (or plate s ) a spict ur ed, f or our v i c ­tor i a n home .Cal l /wr i t e , K. M. King ,(#24 7 ) 14 1 Pi ne s t . ,Dover, MA 02030.

Members are remindedthat your dues entitleyou to advertise itemsfor sale, trade orwanted at no charge.

FOR SALE. Will make awalking stick fromyour doorknob, as pic­tures. $40 includesinsurance and UPS.I've made hundreds.Hardwood sticks,turned and po£ished.Note lengths over 35inches. Harold Luvisch(#102), 838 MarbleWay, Boca Raton, FL33432.PH:4 07-338-5723.

FOR SALE. Be nevo l e ntPr otect or Order ofEl k s , Boston Ma ss . ,knob, excellent qual­ity and condition,solid cast, elk headin center. $38 in­cludes shippingcharges. Order fromLiz's (#111) AntiqueHardware, 3821 ParkBlvQ . San Diego, CA92103.PH: 619-284-1075.

FOR BALE. Many door­knobs listed in LenBlumin's VictorianDecorative Art book

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