That's quite a claim, but even the ever-skeptical,
bottle-impaired glass-Poobah has to admit that they're on to something.
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The Baltimore Antique Bottle Club
touts itself as hosting "The largest one-day bottle show in the
world", a "Spectacular Show", quoting reviews from two bottle
magazines (see flyer at left).
That's quite a claim, but even the ever-skeptical,
bottle-impaired glass-Poobah has to admit that they're on to something.
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The Baltimore bottle show is the highlight of the collecting year. I start
avoiding crowds two weeks prior to the magical date in March in case I pick up a
virus. I agonize over weather maps that hint at the possibility of snow moving
in from the south. I start yearning for the next show approximately two minutes
after the last, the ache setting during the walk back to my car shortly after
3.00 pm on Show Sunday.
It wasn't always that way. I first discovered the Baltimore show the year after
moving to Philadelphia in 1993. Baltimore is a 90-min drive from Philly and even
though I arrived early on the day of the show, it was a major disappointment.
There were shots to be found, but they were few and far between and the prices
were absurd, even for pre-eBay days. The next year was the same, perhaps worse.
Few shots, high prices, a wasted journey.
Before getting into a consideration of what might have changed in the
intervening years, here's a synopsis of what you missed if you weren't at the
Physical Education Center of the Essex Campus of the Community College of
Baltimore County, 7201 Rossville Blvd., Baltimore Maryland on Sunday March 5,
2006.
The Community Center is conveniently located at the northern junction of the
Baltimore beltway and I95. For those of you located in more western states, I95
is the main North-East corridor that seems to act as a nexus for urban sprawl
along the Atlantic coast. It's invariable clogged with traffic and emergency
vehicles, except for Sunday morning at 7am when an early bird is rewarded with
the crisp clarity of early morning air and an uncluttered ride through the
tolls.
Until one arrives at the outer Baltimore suburbs, that is, where emergency
information placards announce that an accident has closed all lanes at Exit 77.
With little time spare before show opening, I exited right and managed to find a
side road around the congestion, then speeded through the multiple aggressive
speed bumps that dot the campus access roads and arrived just as the line of
patient bottle collectors began shuffling forward.
This year was unusual in that the line straggled counterclockwise from the
entrance and was huge.
| Typically it's only a few feet long and one can be out of the frosty morning chill in a minute or less. It took 10 minutes or more to gain entrance this year even though the gate staff were moving with clockwork precision, and the line extended about a hundred feet or more behind me as I walked through the door. I knew this was going to be a challenging day! |  |