Chicago Sword Show April 28-30, 2017

[Jean]

Any picture by chance?

[Mark S.]

Excellent show as always!!!

 

Wonderful 'hands on' display of tsuba by NBTHK. I know pictures were taken, but I'm not sure if permission was granted to post them or if it was even in the plans. Hope it happens in some form, but I'll have to let others speak to that.

 

Also got to meet SwordGuyJoe and his daughter. She was an absolute angel and an extremely good sport about being dragged around the show!

 

My personal thanks to those who work so hard to make this show happen... from the people that organize it, to the vendors that come and spend money on tables, and then let people handle their items and answer questions or offer friendly banter, to the ladies up front that register us with smiles and a kind word... what a wonderful opportunity it is to have this show literally in my back yard. Without their dedication, shows like this would simply disappear...

 

Mark S.

[SwordGuyJoe]

It was an excellent show and even my daughter had fun!

[Mark]

i have some pictures, i will get them organized in a day or so when i get home. There were great things to see. Fred G and Chuck G put out a fantastic display of TOP end Goto fittings, i am thinking maybe all generations of main line masters , many with orgami that were issued hundreds of years ago. I am not a fittings collector but they were impressive. i heard some collectors comment that it was a rare opportunity to see such a display and even in Japan it would be hard to see anything like it on display. With permission the owners they even allowed a hands on examination. Thanks to the generous owners. Mr Nick N had a display of 4 VERY special tsuba, a Nobiye that is one of the top examples, a great kinko tsuba with provenance back Nobunaga if i remember correctly, also a very early Ko-Tosho. Again thanks to a generous owner to share such examples freely. The display/presentations very excellent this year. about 30-40 great tsuba, there was an informative lecture and then hands on examination was allowed. The other presentation about Owari swords had a visual presentation and lecture followed by a display of several great Owari blades, three of them Juyo examples of the school masters. Where can you spend an afternoon seeing and handling such an array or such treasures. Thanks to everyone who shared their knowledge and items with the show attendees.

 

On the sales end it seemed to me that there was a lot of action and things moving. One dealer told me he set up and just about was sold out in an hour., he is an older collector who is downsizing and was willing to put some great prices on items and it was clear he managed that as they were all snapped up. Another dealer was walking out with a couple of gun cases and i was going to say good bye but he said he was taking empties out to his car, he had sold quite bit so did not need the cases when he was going to pack up later. It seemed there were a lot of happy buyers at the end of the show having found some good deals.

 

Maybe some other attendees will comment and i will organize some pictures in a day or so

[Markus]

Great show! Thank you Mark for the perfect oranizartion!! Happy to see you guys again (in alphapetical order ): Alfred, Allan, Arnold, Bary, Bill, Bobby, Bob, the other Bob, the other other Bob, Brian T, Chris, Chuck, Cyrus, Daniel, Danny, Derek, Eric, Fred, Joe (hey, saw you and your cute daughter just twice briefly), Jim, John, Jurgis/George, Mike V, Mike Y, Moses (Moseis ), Nick, Pat, Paul, RKG, Rob, Robert, Ron, Taylor, Ted. If I forgot anyone, it is not because I'm rude but because I'm going to bed right now

[Markus]

Just wanna post one pic that Bob Elder from the Orlando Show took. Its my friend Bobby Block and me after our lecture and it just looks like as we were about to start a fight with the audience over there. Subtitle: "What, WTF you just said?"

 

[Vermithrax16]

Is there a write up or article about the show posted online anywhere? Maybe one of the people that were there could write one. 

[Derek]

Jeremiah, do you mean the whole show, or just the presentation by Bob and Markus?

[Vermithrax16]

Jeremiah, do you mean the whole show, or just the presentation by Bob and Markus?

I would be interested in any kind of recap. I am in Massachusetts so I imagine I would have to travel for one of these shows, want to know it would be worth it.

[Grey Doffin]

Stuart Broms' collection of tsuba was on display and it was a treat.  Business was brisk, I think; at least I was kept hopping.  This is a first class show and everyone should attend.

Grey

[Mark]

here are some general shots

[Derek]

I think Mark wrote a nice summary above.

If you haven't attended a show, you should make it a goal as soon as possible.  I learn more at one show than I do the rest of the year online or in books.

There is nothing like putting your hands on 100 nihonto in a day, and being able to pick the brains of some of the greatest English-speaking experts out there.  The lectures alone were worth the trip!

[Mark]

here is a picture of some of Grey and my tables before the show opened and then a picture of the last of our tables with Grey siting behind it

[Mark]

Sunday and still going strong

[Mark]

i will try a brief review. Bear in mind i am the promoter but i will do my best to be neutral, others can correct it or add to it.........

 

Friday morning-- dealer set up starts at 9am,  dealers arrive, some right at 9, some between 9 am noon.By noon most are set up but a few are still arriving as flights and travel delays some.  If you are a serious buyer you want to be in the room at 9am, as i mentioned in a previous post one dealer set up and was basic ally sold out in an hour so some of the early birds got some good worms. The show is active with buying/selling  during the afternoon. One thing to consider (sort of a negative) is a lot of the dealers are dealer/collectors and many old timers come to buy sell but also visit and enjoy going out  with friends so at dinner time maybe 6:30-8 a lot of tables are covered with people are out to dinner, that is not the best time to arrive or come if you are spending just a short time.

Saturday-- is display/exhibit day. It has the most attendees and highest public walk ins but at 10 am Grey gives his presentation, at 1 pm the NBTHK-AB does a display/presentation that usually lasts and hour or so, then at 3 pm Bobby and Markus did their presentation maybe an hour or so and at 5pm there was an Aikido demonstration. These are all great and educational but the sales room is a bit quieter during these as many people attend

Sunday-- starts a bit slow as many people were enjoying saturday evening, by 9:30-10 it gets going, i was surprised how active it was this year for a Sunday. It is a good bargain shopping day, the show closes at 3pm but some have flights and have to pack up a bit early, but even so a good deal can be found even up till the end

 

So if you attend--- if you are looking to find a deal Friday morning and sunday are good. If you want to see a lot and learn a lot Saturday is best. Sunday is a bit slower so you can spend time and ask questions of dealers. If you are  planning on only spending an hour or so at the show don't come 6-8pm friday or saturday.

 

The show has 90-100 tables all but one were sold this year but there were a couple of last minute family issues that caused cancellation. A couple of tables were used for a display (see  my post in this thread  http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/22436-midwest-token-kai-chicago-show-tsuba-display/)  a couple of dealers used an open table to spread out.  So if you attend there are a lot of tables that are full of swords for sale, some tables with tsuba for sale and other items. A few people put out a little display and some sales items. Some people from the public bring swords in for sale.

 

i think that is fair

[Wayben]

I think Mark wrote a nice summary above.

If you haven't attended a show, you should make it a goal as soon as possible.  I learn more at one show than I do the rest of the year online or in books.

There is nothing like putting your hands on 100 nihonto in a day, and being able to pick the brains of some of the greatest English-speaking experts out there.  The lectures alone were worth the trip!

 

 

Derek hit the nail on the head.  If you haven't been to a show you owe it to yourself to attend one.  Being able to view so many blades, attend the presentations, and talk to people is a learning experience you can't get anywhere else.

[seattle1]

Hello:

 After two days of driving home from Chicago I see that many helpful postings about Mark's show precede mine, so just a few words. All shows are worthwhile as without shows that provide the opportunity to learn, buy, sell and generally keep up with what is going on, no collecting field can prosper. Mark Jones' show is right at the top of popularity and for good reason as all table holders benefit from Mark's thoughtful and helpful attitude and management, and that is complemented by a welcome space for visitors and provision of useful and educational program additions. This year Stuart Broms, a tsuba collector of many years with a very good eye for quality, provided a stunning display of the result of decades of his quest. Bobby Block, Fred Geyer and the redoubtable translator and scholar Markus Sesko gave an extremely interesting talk on the emergence of the Owari smiths of the Shinto era from an early nudge of Oda Nobunaga in an area with few smiths during Koto times, along with excellent examples for in hand study. Fred also had a stunning display of top Goto fitting on display in the show room.

 I tried to optimize my time between chit chat with old friends and looking for something interesting to take home. In the latter department was a banner, about 40 x 28", with the mon of Kusunoki Masashige, the so called Kikusui mon associated with the Minatogawa Jinja near Kobe, the site of the Navy forge and counterpart of the Yasukuni Jinja in Tokyo. That mon is the one used on Markus Sesko's logo. While it has other uses than just the symbol of the Jinja the dealer had pretty convincing information tying it to the Shrine. I was happy to see it this year as it went home with the dealer last year at three times this year's final price. That phenomenon is a reflection of the lowering of the price plateau of most things seen at shows, but of course it is an extreme example and not representative. However prices were softer and dealers usually had to "deal" to move things along. It was also my impression that  the price differential between blades and tosogu has compressed year over year as more careful buying of the latter has had its market effects. I was also happy to bring home a neat little Gassan tanto. That group is easy to recognize if you avoid the Naminohira and Momogawa somewhat lookalikes trap, but its exact history is so fuzzy and thus an interesting area of research.

 Finally Bill Green the promotor of the Tampa show was there and mentioned a moved date for them into March in 2018. Bob Elder was in attendance with information about his Orlando show in mid-June. San Francisco is coming up soon.

 Arnold F.

 

 

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[Mark]

if anyone mislaid a small wood box and contents please let me know, an exhibitor found an extra item when he got home (left on his table), identify and it will be returned