Postcards, small cars, coins… The 20th edition of the collections fair was held this weekend in Borgo

The collectors’ fair was organized this Saturday May 4 and Sunday May 5 in Borgo. A twentieth edition, for a meeting of enthusiasts which attracts up to 5,000 visitors each year, and where exchange and sharing take precedence over sales objectives.

Coffee grinders, comics, coins, children’s toys, or even military equipment… With a keen eye and a determined air, Arthur reviews the stands one by one in search of the rare pearl. On vacation with friends in Corsica, this fifty-year-old doesn’t “couldn’t“missing the opportunity to indulge in one of his favorite pastimes: antiquing.

While observing in the aisles of the Borgo collectors’ fair, this Sunday, May 5, he is now watching for what will be his future find, the one that he will be able to take home like a trophy.

Although he doesn’t have a specific piece in mind, Arthur has some predilections: “I really like everything that is old, which no longer necessarily has any value in use today, but which remains no less beautiful. Candlestick telephones, for example. No one has used them for 100 years. But I have a magnificent, very elaborate one, from the beginning of the 20th century, which I display as one would any work of art in my living room, and it gives a real character.“

From the old, the newest, the small, the large, the practical and the decorative, the collectors’ fair, which is celebrating its 20th edition this year at the Borgo multipurpose room, has something for – almost – all tastes.

At the head of her organization, Valérie Cavalli, who fell into the pot of second-hand dealers at a very young age, and is now a professional antiques dealer in Aléria for 30 years. According to the latter, the event brings together around 5,000 people each year over two days. “It’s huge for Corsica, she smiles, we are really delighted with it. The attendance increases over the years, with people of all ages, and when we look at what we offer, we have 200 linear meters of goods, there is really everything.”

And success, she assures, is there: “Just look at the people leaving. They all take at least a little something with them, whether it’s a comic book, an object that reminds them of their childhood, or something else..”

The second-hand dealers at the different stands are a little more measured: “Sales are a little complicated at the moment with the current economic situation, slips Ghislaine, who sells, among other things, statues and small elephants. People have a smaller budget, which means they skip pleasure purchases and only take what is strictly necessary, food, clothes, etc..”

A little further on, Jean-Louis Caldes, postcard collector, confirms: “This year, we see fewer people and we have fewer sales“A phenomenon that he explains in particular by a decline in enthusiasm, among younger people, for the collection. “They don’t feel that attraction. And the older ones, who liked it, have partly disappeared since then…“

It offers on its stand an impressive array of 120,000 postcards, from all decades and all designs. A figure to make your head spin, but which is nothing compared to all those that he also has in stock, well arranged and laminated, at home: “Around 2 million, from France, other countries, and around 130,000 dedicated to Corsica“.

Jean-Louis Caldes has been collecting postcards since 1986.”My father had just died, and I didn’t know how to change my mother’s mind, he says. And then one day, I came across a postcard show, and I said to myself why not? I brought some back, he liked it, and me too. And then we kept looking for news, and here I am today.”

With his collection, Jean-Louis Caldes has the feeling of safeguarding, in his own way, a part of history and a certain heritage.

“The difference between the postcard and stamps or coins, for example, is that it is not listed. Some have tried, but it’s complicated, knowing that there are so many. Every time I buy a set of postcards, even with all the ones I already have, I always discover a new one that I’ve never seen before. So I make my own repertoire on certain types of cards.“

And if sales are more timid this year, that’s not a problem for this enthusiast: “What I do, I don’t do it in a commercial way, he assures. Of course, it helps me a little, because when you spend to expand the collection, it’s also good to bring in funds. But these shows are above all privileged moments to share and discuss between second-hand dealers, and with people who are interested. That’s what I like the most.”

Claude Hannebicque shares the same opinion. “What matters most is contact and discussion between enthusiasts! We are friends, we enjoy. And if there are sales, that’s good, but sometimes I’m even happier if I’m offered exchanges of parts with others that I don’t have for example !”

He offers on his stand a wide range of small cars, arranged and maintained with the greatest care. “In total, I have 700 at home”, he says, revealing the binder he has, where all of his small cars are carefully listed, including make, model and year. “There are some that are fire engines, others from the police, the gendarmerie, the post office, the oldest and the most recent..”

He smiles : “I would like to release my collection to more, but my wife tells me to stop, because it takes up too much space.” Claude Hannebicque has been adding to his collection since 2009. A way for him to accumulate cars without taking up too much space, while still finding his childhood toys.

Here, he believes, “it’s not the same as at flea markets. The audience is not the same. We talk and exchange a lot more. People know why they come there, and we always have a good time.“

For Valérie Cavalli, the organizer, this is what sums up the Borgo collectors’ fair: “It’s a friendship fair! I want it to be a cocooning atmosphere, for people to be happy, for it to be family-friendly. Between each edition, we have exhibitors who are loyal, pillars of the show and who return every year, and others who join us over the years. But the main thing is that everything is done in a good mood.“

The antique dealer is already planning a new edition next year.