By Betsy Finklea
“Junk that I like”—that’s how Todd Davis describes the interesting and unique collection of items that he has on display at his office, Benefit Designs.
Photo by Johnnie Daniels/The Dillon Herald
From bottles to signs to wind-up toys, lunch boxes, and more, Davis’ collection has something to appeal to almost everyone. “A lot of my collection is in my office for other people to enjoy when they come in,” said Davis. “It always bring a smile to their face or thoughts of days gone by.”
Davis’ interest began he believes because his uncle dabbled in antiques, and he became fascinated with them. He has fond memories of at the age of 8 or 9 going to Rabbit Mountain in McBee, seeing glass, and digging. He would get excited when he found an old cork bottle.
Photos by Johnnie Daniels/The Dillon Herald
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“I still have some of the bottles I found over 40 years ago,” said Davis. “They aren’t worth much of anything, but they are priceless to me.”
Davis quit collecting for a long time, but about three or four years ago, he started collecting again. He primarily collects old wind-up toys, signs (many are porcelain), coins, and anything that interests him.
“Most of my items have come from auctions, online, word of mouth, and just stopping at old places while traveling,” said Davis. He has also been to some estate auctions and a couple of swap meets.
“Lately people have been coming by and giving me things,” he said. “They see my collection and then the next week they will bring something by and tell me, ‘I want you to have it so others can see it.’ People like Howard Edwards, Jimmy Evans, William Lindsey, Terry Morris, Evans Hyatt and others have brought items to name a few.”
The internet has made a big impact over the last 15 years or so on what collectors can obtain. He said many things were considered very rare because one didn’t know what somebody had in another state or elsewhere. When the internet came in, people could find more things, and prices bottomed out. It has allowed collectors to obtain items they could not have gotten before.
Bottles began Davis collection, and he has a variety of bottles on display. “A lot of bottles tell a lot of history,” said Davis. Among the bottles in his collection are some Coca-Cola bottles from the Dillon plant, which have Dillon, S.C., stamped in the glass. He also has a Sealtest jar with writing as part of the glass. He said that when the writing is part of the glass that one knows that it is old. He also has a Pepsi can that looks similar to a brake fluid can. It was a “test” can that was never actually produced.
On a shelf nearby, Davis has an impressive collection of lunch boxes complete with the thermos. Among some of the featured shows/character on the lunch boxes are Gunsmoke, The Beverly Hillbillies, Evil Knievel, The Cabbage Patch Kids, Peanuts, the Mickey Mouse Club, Popeye, and Lassie.
Perhaps some of Davis’ favorite collectibles are his wind-up toys. Every toy he has works, and some of his toys are more than 80 years old.
He has a climbing fireman that actually climbs the ladder made by the Marx Toy Company. He has a tin man from the Wolverine Toy Company. He also has a carousel, roller coaster, a man on horseback with a working lasso, and a jalopy car among some of the toys in his collection.
Davis’ best toy is not on display at his office and is one of the two battery-powered toys in his collection. It is a Charley Weaver bartender toy from the Charley Weaver show. He shakes a martini and when he drinks it his face lights up and smoke comes out his ears.
The most noticeable part of Davis’ collection are the varied signs on his walls. Some are porcelain signs like those he has from Royal Triton and Wells Fargo. He said the signs are glass covered with enamel and are quite durable. He said the U.S. got these types of signs from Germany. During World War II, they melted these signs for the war.
Davis’ favorite piece in his collection is an embossed Merita Bread sign that he was “fortunate enough to find at an auction.” Davis said the piece is “extremely rare and hard to find.”
“In fact,” said Davis of the Merita sign, “I will google the item on eBay and rarely see one on sale and only then it’s beaten up so bad you cannot hardly make out what it is,” said Davis, who notes that “condition is everything.” Davis had his sign restored due to a spot on it.
Davis has many other interesting signs including a double-sided Wilson’s Ice Cream sign, which he believes is an ice cream company out of North Carolina; a Dr. Pepper sign; a Snap On sign; a Pinkerton’s Detective Agency sign; some Pepsi signs; a Donald Duck bread sign, which is paper; a Morton’s sign from the 50s or 60s; an Orange Crush sign, which he said that people love these types of signs; and several kinds of Coca-Cola signs
Davis also has a variety of odds and ends items, many brought to him by other people, including an old Ford cap, a CP&L insulator, a Mennen “Country Club Size” powder with the powder in it, an Anderson Brothers Bank bag, can’d ice, and much more. His most asked about collectible is a unique telephone.
Davis collection extends beyond his office with an equal number of collectibles at his home.
Davis says he is at the point where he has enough stuff, and he has become more selective in his additions to his collection. His collection brings joy to those who see it and will be something he and others can enjoy for years to come.
