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Welcome to the Grand Re-Opening of The Flying Tiger Antiques On-Line Store.

This new site has taken almost 3 years to go from conception to actuality.  Our original site has been up for 6 years now, and I thank all of you for your patience and support during that time. I know how aggravating it has been to keep clicking on the buttons of the old site only to end up with an "Under Construction" page at the end of the line! I hope this new site is much easier to navigate and much more rewarding at the end of your navigation!

Thank you for your patronage, 

                         Ron Burkey Jr.
                         Sales and Acquisitions

For over 20 years The Flying Tiger Antiques has been dealing in the highest quality Historical Antiques and Collectibles. We specialize in insignia, badges, and esoterica relating to Militaria, Police, Fire, Airline, Railroad, Ocean Liner, and Automobilia, and with a strong offering in Aviation insignia and Law Enforcement badges. We have a large stock of WW2 insignia, uniforms, and ephemera; and we also carry items from the Civil War to the Vietnam War, both US and foreign. Sometimes we even come across earlier items from the Mexican War, the War of 1812, and the American Revolution. Whatever you collect, we probably have access to it. Noted for offering the utmost in quality and authenticity, you can always buy with confidence from The Flying Tiger Antiques.

We believe that you should not have to be a Detective to be a Collector.

Beginnings:

I have always possessed a love of history. The stories of times before I was born had always fascinated me. Growing up with loving grandparents always nearby meant there were plenty of these stories. My Grandmother would relate tales of her immigrant parents and the shoe factory her father owned in Haverhill , MA before the Great Depression and his untimely death from pneumonia, and of growing up in the great melting pot that was America in the first half of the 20^th century. My Grandfather told me similar stories of growing up in the German section of New York City and hanging around his immigrant grandfather’s saloon at much too young an age. He would also relate to me his tales of being in the US Cavalry before WWII and then being a Captain in the US Army during WWII, island hopping in the Pacific Theater. My grandfather never told me stories of heroics or battles, just stories of people: men called far away from home doing their duty to protect Freedom. Some of the stories were funny, some were sad, and some kept me white-knuckled hanging on to my seat until the end.

I thought about those stories, especially my grandfather’s stories of WWII, the first time I set up at a flea market next to an old time Militaria collector named John Geoffrion. I was fresh out of college selling comic books and toys, my collecting interests at the time, and it was my first time set up at such a big event. But aside from my excitement at being at the “big show”, I was spellbound by the military artifacts on John’s table. Here were pins and medals, fighting knives, helmets, uniforms, and accoutrements. All the things that accompanied the men in my grandfather’s stories on their great adventures in World War II. And there were other pieces of history: a canteen from the Civil War, a doughboy helmet from WWI: I couldn’t believe what I was seeing! I never dreamed that these items were out there, never thought I would see them other than in fading photographs or old movies.

Well, that was the start. Soon after, I bought my first small lot of military items. It was a collection of 100 or so US military hat badges from the Civil War to WWI (wish I had that collection now!). John helped me display and price the items and from then on I was dealing in history. I started out going to local collector meetings in Massachusetts and eventually went on to real shows in New England and finally shows across the country. My own collecting interests evolved from a false start in Imperial German items (because of my genealogical background) to the areas of collecting that I am most known for now: Aviation insignia such as wings and squadron badges, and old Police badges. Along the way I have picked up knowledge in all sorts of other areas in history and one of the things that I love most about this profession is that I learn something new every day.

Today I do somewhere between 12 and 20 shows a year, regularly sell to a great group of collectors, and strive to always maintain a high caliber of authentic historical artifacts. I always look forward to the old and new friends that I see at the shows, and I also look forward to the new friends that I will meet through this (finally!) updated web site.

      Yours in collecting,
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Ron Burkey Jr.
                                                                            Sales and Acquisitions