At least four specialty advertising auctions were conducted in Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, and Virginia that day. Collectors might have found it to have been too much of a good thing. Despite the multiple choices, Chris Fricker drew a room full of willing buyers when he opened the doors at the Pnut Banquet Center in Bloomington, Illinois. Fricker has quickly become known for his semiannual advertising auctions that bring crowds looking for quality advertising at reasonable prices. The April 29th session of his two-day sale took a slightly different twist, since it also included a variety of collectible toys, yet the emphasis was clearly on the advertising, and strong prices were realized for the hottest categories of the day, especially tobacco, as well as items advertising local products.
Black motifs continue to drive advertising prices.
When it comes to advertising, outstanding graphics can be considered more important than the rarity of an item. A peanut butter pail with simple text might be one of only a few to exist, but most buyers would rather put their money into a more common example that displays well because of fanciful artwork. One piece combining rarity with good graphics was a store display for Cressler's Wild Rose tooth powder. The small wooden box had a colorful paper label showing a woman looking at herself in a hand mirror. All went to the same phone bidder.