There was an exhibition in the Urbana (IL) Free Library of antique
toys. As usual, Anchor stones figure prominently in such a display.
Another exhibition, of Anchor only, is planned.
A department store chain, the Kaufhaus des Westens (KaDeWe) in Berlin, Germany, used Anchor buildings to decorate store windows. Another wonderful opportunity to see Anchor at its best. The buildings in these windows were made by builders from the new Anchor factory and the CVA. The buildings, which are glued and will be available for future exhibitions, and can now be seen at the factory or Richter Villa in Rudolstadt, include famous Berlin structures, such as the Brandenburger Tor, Rotes Rathaus and Grunewaldturm.
In Welzheim, Germany, the History Club of the Welzheim Forest held an exhibition of all types of construction toys. Needless to say, Anchor was represented.
The last official CVA Anchor exhibition, in Traunstein, ended on Sunday, October 17, 1999. An exhibition, sponsored by the new Anchor factory, was held in the Schloß Park Museum of Bad Kreuznach, Germany, from December 3, 2000, until February 24, 2001. Unfortunately, I was not able to either build or visit at this exhibition.
I am still hoping to arrange a USA exhibition. For a variety of reasons, including the large number of Anchor stones and Anchor friends in the general area, I had hoped to find a museum in Washington, D.C. Sadly, I was unable to make arrangements with the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C.
The Ankersteinfest Rudolstadt was on Saturday, September 16, 2000, a great success. The entire October web page was devoted to pictures and information about the celebration. Once more, it was shown that Rudolstadt continues to hold a strong attraction for Anchor people.
The CVA is currently looking for sites for 2002 - 2005. The CVA is hoping that a site in the Netherlands, U.K. or the USA can be found. Any suggestions would be most welcome.
The CVA puts on exhibitions of Anchor products, including large Anchor block buildings. CVA members build the display models over the week preceding the opening. Earlier exhibitions were in the Heimatmuseen in Traunstein, Germany, May through October, 1999; the Flanders Toy Museum (Speelgoedmuseum van Vlaanderen) in Mechelen, Belgium, October, 1996, to April, 1997; in the Richter Villa in Rudolstadt in October, 1994, to February 1995; in Madurodam, Den Haag, Netherlands, earlier. There have been some exhibitions of Anchor done by individuals, including some here in the USA. Over the years, the CVA has held many Anchor exhibitions; all of them have been great successes, as judged by attendance.
The best permanent museum exhibition known to me is in the Toy Museum in Oosterhout (NB), Netherlands. The Canadian Centre for Architecture, Montreal, also has an excellent collection, though I do not know just how much is on exhibition at any given time. The Toy Museum in Salzburg has a nice Anchor display, using the Erwin Gebert collection. The Gebert collection was very extensive. I visited the Toy Museum a few years ago and saw the rest of the Gebert collection. Most impressive was the very large, special order chest from the factory. It held the equivalent of four # 34, Lyck, sets. The "Obermeister" (senior master) diploma he was awarded when still a teenager was also there, as was a picture of him and one of his original buildings. Only about half of the Gebert collection is on display, and of course of the documentation and catalogs are all in the archival storage area.
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