 "Photo: Matt Binter")
Manhattan resident Blaine Thomas owns what some consider to be the most impressive antiques collection in the city. Thomas’ collection spans a warehouse-sized building divided into three rooms filled with almost any kind of machine you can imagine, all beautiful and in working condition.
Thomas’ collection contains everything from slot machines dating back to the turn of the century and hand-carved wooden canes to old gas pumps and Ronald McDonald and Big Boy statues. Many of his antiques are musical, playing off a book or a roll.
His collection includes two organs used in dance halls, numerous jukeboxes from every stage of their development and an organ played on the streets of the Netherlands, an antique so desirable that it has now become illegal to remove from the country.
Thomas’ son Bart and two other partners now run a local sign company started by Thomas after his return from service in World War II.
“He’s one of the old Manhattanites,” Bart said. “We’ve been here since 1943. [Blaine] painted signs down in downtown on the mirrored glass, all done by hand.”
After 64 years in the sign business, Thomas now spends most of his time on his treasures, both finding and fixing them. He began collecting antiques 40 years ago.
“Anything that works for a penny interests me,” he said. “And one day, pennies are going to be gone.”
Most of the antiques are from auctions. His collection contains pieces from all over the world, but many were found in Salina.
Thomas has arranged all the pieces within the building he built himself and has kept them in such good quality that others have said it could easily become a museum.
“I think those days are over — museums,” he said. “Young people aren’t interested in this stuff.”
Despite his reluctance to open a museum, Bart Thomas said he has taken some bus tours through in small groups.
“Older people like it, but young people don’t — they just don’t dig it at all,” he said. “Young people I know, all they’re interested in is video games, the Internet and that kind of stuff, but there’s a lot of history here.”
Jennifer Whalen, secretary for Thomas, said she has seen the antique collection.
“It’s a beautiful collection back there — I mean, you just don’t get to see stuff like that anymore,” she said. “As far as he goes, he’s just the greatest person you could ever, ever meet. He’s a lot of fun, too.”
In the future, Thomas said he plans to continue working with antiques, but thinks he might be ready for a change.
“Eventually, in a couple years it’ll all be auctioned off,” he said. “I’ve enjoyed it — let somebody else have that enjoyment.”
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