20-plus photos of the Elkhorn Antique Flea Market
If you haven't been to the Elkhorn Antique Flea Market yet, you are missing out. Here are 20-plus photos and videos from the flea market on June 26. Tast two show dates of the 2022 season are Sundays Aug. 14 and Sept. 25 from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. both days.
Attendees browsing at the Elkhorn Antique Flea Market
Shoppers browse at the June 26 Elkhorn Antique Flea Market at the Walworth County Fairgrounds, 411 E. Court St. in Elkhorn. To read more about the flea market, read “Shooting the (lake) breeze” on pages B2-B3.
Amy Nottestad - Co-owner Elkhorn Antique Flea Market
Victrola playing at Elkhorn Antique Flea Market
Sunoco and Coca-Cola signs at the Elkhorn Antique Flea Market
Porcelain enameled steel signage were among the many items available for sale at the Elkhorn Antique Flea Market on June 26 at the Walworth County Fairgrounds, including these two signs advertising Sunoco Mercury Made Motor Oil and Atlanta-based soft drink Coco-Cola. In the late 1930s and early 1940s, Philadelphia-based Sun Oil Co. partnered with famed American animator, film producer and entrepreneur Walt Disney for the use of his popular cartoon characters, including Mickey and Minney Mouse, Donald Duck and Pluto, to promote its Sunoco branded petroleum products, including gasoline and oils.
Glass jars and bottles on display at the Elkhorn Antique Flea Market
Antique glass canning jars and cream bottles displayed for sale June 26 at the Elkhorn Antique Flea Market at the Walworth County Fairgrounds.
Patriotic World War II-era cream bottles on display at the Elkhorn Antique Flea Market
Patriotic World War II-era cream bottles advertising War Bonds on display June 26 at the Elkhorn Antique Flea Market at the Walworth County Fairgrounds.
Vintage metal lunch boxes on display
Metal school lunch boxes, which made their debut in 1935, have become a hot retro pop culture collectible in recent years with Baby Boomers and Gen X'ers. More than 120 million metal lunch boxes in 450-plus designs, many featuring popular TV shows, movies and bands, were sold between 1950 and 1970 alone. The last metal lunch box was produced in 1985, as production pivoted to plastic and vinyl boxes. Today's metal lunch box collectors pay many times the original price of a box for a nostalgic blast from the past. The circa-1954 Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Double R Bar Ranch lunch box at foreground right carried a $35 price tag.
Vintage neon signat Elkhorn Antique Flea Market
With Milwaukee and Wisconsin long serving as the center of the nation's brewing industry, a wide variety of breweriana from Badger State brewers was displayed for sale at the Elkhorn Antique Flea Market on June 26 at the Walworth County Fair, including this colorful early 1980s vintage neon sign advertising the flagship brand of Milwaukee-based Pabst Brewing Co.
Vintage toys, signage and petroliana on display at Elkhorn Antique Flea Market
A small section of a single table at one vendor showcases the wide variety of retro vintage items offered for sale at the June 26 Elkhorn Antique Flea Market, including signage, metal Tonka and Structo toy trucks, and petroliana items, including the round Texaco star logo sign.
Signs displayed for sale at the Elkhorn Antique Flea Market
A wide variety of vintage signs awaited treasure-hunters June 26 at the Elkhorn Antique Flea Market at the Walworth County Fairground, including this colorful display of street signs and retro commercial signage.
Vintage advertising thermometers
Advertising signage comes in many forms, including these 1950s-era metal advertising thermometers for Golden Acres Hybrid Seeds and "Best By Taste Test" Royal Crown Cola (RC Cola). Still marketed today, RC was founded in 1905 by grocer Claude Hatcher in Columbus, Georgia.
Elkhorn Antique Flea Market scene
A crowd estimated at 10,500-plus bargain hunters browsed more than 550 vendors exhibiting at the June 26 Elkhorn Antique Flea Market show at the Walworth County Fairgrounds. Closing out the 2022 season, two additional one-day Elkhorn Antique Flea Market shows are slated for Sundays Aug. 15 and Sept. 25 from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the fairgrounds in Elkhorn.
Architectural salvage on display at the Elkhorn Antique Flea Market
Among the hot new retro chic decorating trends in recent years has been the presevation-mined inclusion of architectural salvage including decorative windows and building exterior terra cotta facade pieces, as seen here on display at the June 26 Elkhorn Antique Flea Market.
Architectural salvage displayed for sale at the June 26 Elkhorn Antique Flea Market
Among the hot new retro chic decorating trends in recent years has been the presevation-mined inclusion of architectural salvage including decorative building exterior terra cotta facade pieces as seen here on display at the June 26 Elkhorn Antique Flea Market.
Vintage signs on display at the June 26 Elkhorn Antique Flea Market
Large or small, retro nostalgic vintage antique advertising signs grabbed the attention and interest of many of the 10,500-plus attendees at the June 26 Elkhorn Antique Flea Market at the Walworth County Fairgrounds. The last two shows of the season at the fairgrounds are set for Sundays Aug. 14 and Sept. 25 from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Exhibiting vendors, averaging 550 each of the four annual shows, are drawn from across Wisconsin, the Midwest and the nation to exhibit a wide variety of antiques and other vintage wares.
Vintage post-Prohibition Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company roadside sign on display at the Elkhorn Antique Flea Market
ABOVE: This post-Prohibition roadside sign advertising Milwaukee-based Joseph Schlitz Brewing Co., once the nation’s—and world’s—largest brewer, was among the many breweriana collectibles offered for sale June 26 at the Elkhorn Antique Flea Market. RIGHT: Lake Geneva residents Nick and Amy Nottestad are in their second year of ownership of the Elkhorn Antique Flea Market, now in its 41st season of operation at the Walworth County Fairgrounds. Founded in 1981, the Elkhorn Antique Flea Market is staged four times a year, drawing more than 10,500 attendees and 550-590 vendors each show. With two shows already staged on May 15 and June 26, the final two shows of the season will be held rain or shine on Sundays Aug. 14 and Sept. 25 from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Oil cans for sale at the June 26 Elkhorn Antique Flea Market
Petroliana items documenting the rich legacy of the nation's gas and oil industry are popular with many collectors. While some trade names like Gulf, DX, Texaco and Sinclair have long disappeared from Wisconsin, other brands like Mobil, Citgo, Pennzoil and Quaker State endure. The cans pictured here range in price from $18 to $65.
4-U Soap tin from Wink Soap Co., Racine
Eagle-eyed treasure-hunters can find some retro nostalgic local gems at the Elkhorn Antique Flea Market, including this glycerine hand and household soap tin from Wink Soap Co. of Racine, where Wink manufactured soap from 1938-1980.
Johnson's Paste Wax tin at Elkhorn Antique Flea Market
Eagle-eyed treasure-hunters can find some retro nostalgic local gems at the Elkhorn Antique Flea Market, including this colorful circa-1947 Johnson's Paste Wax tin from Racine-based, family-owned Johnson Wax, 1525 Howe St. Still headquartered in Racine, S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc. manufactures household products in four categories: home cleaning, air freshening, food storage and insect control. With global operations, the company's brands are sold worldwide.
Sheridan Springs Beverages sign at the Elkhorn Antique Flea Market
Eagle-eyed treasure hunters can find some interesting retro nostalgic gems, like this metal advertising sign for Lake Geneva soft drink manufacturer Sheridan Springs Bottling Works, founded in 1875 and named for the site's pure mineral water springs, which became central to its soft drink bottling operations. Renamed Sheridan Springs Coca-Cola Bottling Co. in 1931, local bottling operations ended in March 1978 when the company was sold to Mid American Beverage.
Racine Unified School District wood crate at the Elkhorn Antique Flea Market
Sharp-eyed treasure hunters at the Elkhorn Antique Flea Market can find local gems, including this vintage Wisconsin-made wire-sewed wooden folding box manufactured by the Hubbard Folding Box Co. of Menomonie for the Unified School District No. 1 of Racine. Now known as the Racine Unified School District, the public school district is the fifth-largest in Wisconsin, operating 35 public schools serving 18,110 students.
Scene at the June 26 Elkhorn Antique Flea Market
Shoppers browse one of the more than 550 vendors displaying at the June 26 Elkhorn Antique Flea Market at the Walworth County Fairgrounds, 411 E. Court St. in Elkhorn. One of four shows staged annually by NL Promotion, the final two shows of 2022 are set for Sundays Aug. 14 and Sept. 25 from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. both days. Established in 1981, the Elkhorn Antique Flea Market is in its 41st season.
Johnson Sea Horse outboard motor at the Elkhorn Antique Flea Market
Vintage antiques came in all shapes, sizes and genres at the June 26 Elkhorn Antique Flea Market at the Walworth County Fairgrounds, including this vintage Waukegan, Ill.-built Johnson Sea Horse outboard boat motor dating to the late 1940s/early 1950s. Johnson Outboards were manufactured from their revolutionary 1922 debut until the brand was retired by then-owner Bombardier Recreational Products in 2007.
Eric Johnson
Reporter
The Elkhorn Antique Flea Market, now in its 41st season, is a favorite with both buyers and sellers, earning the show a well-deserved state and national reputation.
On Saturday, March 25, nine members of the Walworth County community graduated from their citizenship preparatory program.
