August 27–September 3, 1998

cover story|flea for all

The Collector

Jack Prince scouts flea markets with a Hawaiian eye.

by Jennifer Darr

I've never been to the Court at King of Prussia," says Jack Prince, owner of Bob and Barbara's Lounge and avid junk collector. He's not bragging, nor is he whining. He's just creatively describing his tastes—the cookie-cutter consumerism found at malls is not his style.

Prince, 37, who lives in Philly and Brigantine, NJ, has been collecting for quite some time. He wakes up early every weekend morning, hops on one of his English racing bikes, and heads out to flea markets and yard sales in New Jersey.

Recently, he began eyeing all things Hawaiian.

"I used to go through bins [at flea markets and thrift stores] and see Hawaiian records. I'd stop and look and pass them up. They were so pretty I started buying a few.

"Next thing I knew I was buying them all over the place."

His Polynesian record collection has since grown to about 300. It includes dozens of Don Ho classics; the soundtrack to the TV show Hawaii Five-O; and Elvis' Live Via Satellite From Hawaii and Blue Hawaii, to name but a few.

He's also started amassing Hawaiian collectibles, such as his "Don Ho Live at the Polynesian Palace, Waikiki Beach" shot glass set, a ukulele, two velvet paintings depicting island scenes, and old magazines like Life featuring stories about the Hawaiian Islands.

The most he's ever paid for an item from the Aloha State was $10: a record by Haunani, a "top star" in Hawaii (though he's not sure if she's still alive); and a Harry Owens 78.

"Once you start collecting [the price] doesn't bother you," he says.

The least he's paid for an item was 10 cents.

"You might as well give the stuff away," he laughs.

"When old people die, their little curios end up at markets," he explains. "[These things] were cheap when they bought them and they are still cheap."

But according to the law of supply and demand, the less stuff there is, the more people want it. Even cheesy Hawaiian baubles are not exempt.

"You don't see as much Hawaiian stuff these days," Prince notes.

He likes Hawaiian items because they convey a mood—generally involving the words "Luau," "Hula" or "Paradise," and sporting vivid colors.

But, he admits, he's got more than he can display in the "Hawaiian room" in his house.

Since he started seriously collecting curios from the 50th state, he can't remember a single Hawaiian item he didn't buy, though he does remember the time he passed up a Pabst Blue Ribbon sign, another one of his obsessions. "I kicked myself in the ass."

In addition to Pabst, he collects the aforementioned English racing bikes (he has about 60), Archie comics, Fire King dishes (he has over 100 coffee mugs alone) and old suntan product advertisements.

Oh, and he's got burgeoning Engelbert Humperdinck and Jackie Gleason record collections.

"You have to admit, they are stylish," he says about the Gleason LPs. "They bring you to another time, a time when [men] wore tuxedoes and drank out of crystal cocktail glasses."

One of the joys of having a collection, says Prince, is that it helps you focus while you're out flea marketing and yard saleing.

"If something catches my eye, whether it's Hawaiian or not, I'll buy it. I'll find it a good home."