During the latest installment of American Pickers on the History Channel, Frank and Mike went freestyling through Pennsylvania while Danielle tried to enjoy her long awaited trip to New York.
Before the guys got to their first stop along the back roads of central PA, Mike and Frank discussed whether the hotel they just stayed in was haunted. Frankie said he was convinced.
Why? Because his curtains were closed when he woke up and he was certain they were open when he went to sleep.
Mike let him ramble, then told him to get back to spotting likely spots for good picking.
The American Pickers stopped the van at an old barn. “This place looks promising,” Mike said. “A lot more promising than listening to Frank’s ghost stories.”
A little edgy Mike? Danielle would learn the hard way about her boss’ mood.
The Oldest Saab Dealer In The U.S
In a building that used to house the autos John, the grandson of the original franchisee took Mike and Frank through a building that was packed with the kind of pickings that make them salivate.
An old gas station light pole, auto parts in boxes left from years ago were found.
The big winners for Frank were four old Sinclair gas station signs with Dino the Dinosaur on them. The brontosaurus was the brand’s mascot and advertising symbol.
When the guys were allowed into a pad locked grist mill that hadn’t been opened in quite a while, it became their mission to find gold. It happened when Frank uncovered Coca Cola signs from 1952 that had been plastered on the side of the building back in the day.
The Studebaker Collector
Keeping close to the theme of automotive pickings, the next stop on the road was at a collector’s place of business. Max is a welder and restores autos. He had a few dealerships worth of Studebaker collectibles including autos.
His father had been a dealer and he boasted that if he didn’t have what a collector needed, he knew where to find it.
Many of the best pieces, including old Studebaker signs were off limits. Max was not selling much. Then Frankie decided to break the ice by buying an old wall thermometer he didn’t really want.
When that was purchased, Max opened up a bit, even underpricing a few things. To earn his trust Mike bid him up and the pickers were off to the races.
Danielle Visits New York City
Mike insisted that Danielle bring a piece from their shop that was created by an artist who while deceased, had a wife still living in the city. Seek her out to find a buyer they implored.
After some hemming and hawing, Danielle agreed but insisted that she get to concentrate on the vacation part of the trip. Little did she know what was ahead.
The follow up calls kept coming, looking for info on sales leads. It was her very first time in New York and she was getting a bit cranky. Nonetheless, Danielle came through.
She found and visited the widow at the N.Y. Historical Society. Her husband was José de Creeft who created the bronze sculpture of the Alice in Wonderland characters that sits in Central Park.
Danielle was in possession of a paper mache’ model of Alice’s cat Dinah.
She learned that it was one of a kind and the artist’s wife wanted it to be placed at the Historical Society near a plaster cast of the head of Alice that sits among other art objects.
“Mike always says part of what we do as pickers is find an object and put it where it belongs,” remarked Danielle.
The guys learned that their trusted operations manager agreed to put it on loan to join Jose’ de Creeft’s other work of art.
Instead of going crazy the guys loved the idea, mostly because it is getting exposure for a future sale. They are businessmen after all.
