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• Author: Cutler, Sarah
• Position: Digital

The aluminum Smith-Miller Blue Diamond Dump Truck with hydraulics for the bed--this is Dee Jackman's favorite item in his collection.

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"I was 10 years old when that came out, and I went into a display area and picked that up and it was like heaven," says Jackman, owner of Jitterbug Antiques, located at 243 E. Broadway. "I loved toys from the time I was little until now, but that thing is the absolute essence of what a toy should be. It's a marvelous piece."

Jitterbug is in its 29th year of business and one of the few antique stores in Utah that survived the great recession. According to Jackman, on 300 South from State Street to 500 East in Salt Lake City, 12 antique shops and other shops have closed in the last two years.

The people who shop at Jitterbug and the variety of collectibles in the shop are what Jackman credits for its survival. "I have people come in that fly in here from New York and Illinois and the West Coast ... and the first thing they do is come here, because they know that the things I have here are unique and very collectible," he says. "I have such a big variety of collectibles and things that people like and we've got a reputation now for being the toy people in the state."

All of the toys and antiques in Jitterbug pre-date the 1960s. The most popular item recently has been black-cased, portable typewriters. Jackman notes that cameras and license plates are always popular as well. The collectibles don't end there, though. Jackman has a collection of glass soda bottles that are sealed with the original liquid, black Americana memorabilia, Josef Originals, Occupied Japan pieces, Kewpie dolls, lunch boxes, perfume bottles, jewelry and, of course, toys. Lots of toys.

Jackman also has a plethora of information on all of the items in the shop. In regards to a vintage Sun Rubber Mickey's Tractor Toy, he says, "In the late '20s up into the '30s, they started making rubber toys. The ones with little white tires on them are before the war, made in the 1930s. Rubber ... is not black when it comes out of the tree--it's white...