Vermont Antiques Dealers' Association Antiques Show

MANCHESTER CENTER, VT.

:"From where I sit, furniture seems to be selling quite well this year; lots of it is going out the front door," Marie Miller said from her vantage point near the entrance to the VADA Show. Howard Graff, who manages the show, agreed with this, saying, "Edmund and Marilyn Bierylo of Falcon's Roost sold three major pieces of furniture, Michael and Lucinda Seward had a buyer for their step back painted cupboard and Joe Martin sold a continuous-arm Windsor chair and a New Hampshire tall chest, to name a few."

Howard also mentioned that "there were ups and downs, as in any show, and not everyone did well. However, we had a gate close to last year and the people who came seemed interested in buying, not many 'just lookers.'" About 150 people were in line when the show opened and a steady flow of visitors continued throughout the day. "Sunday was a bit light this year, but we did have a good many come back for a second look," Howard said.

Immediately at the foot of the steps leading to the show was the booth of David Weiss of Sheffield, Mass. "I like this show and having this great location is the best reason to keep coming back year after year," David said. At the back of his booth he was offering a Federal sideboard from the Hartford area, circa 1815-30; a pair of fancy Sheraton side chairs in paint, rush seats; and over the sideboard hung an oil on canvas by George Riecke, 27 by 36 inches, a peaceful pasture scene of three contented cows.

Jane Workman, New Boston, N.H., offered a six-board blanket chest in sage green, bracket base and good molding, along with a one-drawer blanket chest, three fake drawers, large wooden pulls, grain painted and of Vermont origin. An interesting piece of folk art was a half-hull mounted on a painted board and enclosed in a tramp artlike frame with chip-carved hearts in each corner.

Mary Carden Quinn of Floral Park, N.Y., had a vibrant triple layer penny rug with diamond design, 28 by 36 inches, in black, green, brown, orange and red, hanging on the back wall. An oil on canvas by A.E. Kinney of a house, said to be the Colonel Elder King House in Windham, Conn., shared the wall with a colorful hooked rug, and a green-painted rocking chair with black and yellow striping, Lancaster County, Penn., was on a painted plinth. "We have done alright," Neil Quinn said, listing several rugs, a number of smalls and an early wrought iron double candlestand among the sales.

New England Home Antiques, Wethersfield, Conn., had little room left on the side wall once a large Eighteenth Century pewter rack was installed. This rack, with scalloped sides, four grooved shelves, molded plate guards tacked on with hand forged nails, retained an old surface, as did a small size hutch table of New England origin, circa 1800, in pine with shoe feet. A Queen Anne armchair with rush seat, mid to late Eighteenth Century, was from the Connecticut shoreline area.

Treen collectors had to be happy with the display of John H. Rogers, Elkins, N.H., who showed butter stamps, paddles, scoops, trenchers and bowls, cookie boards and a pair of ladles that was the work of a Sioux Indian. A six graduated chest of drawers in maple, pine secondary wood, was grain painted and dated from the late Eighteenth or early Nineteenth Century.

Carrie's Egg Farm offered farm fresh eggs at 12 cents per dozen from a sign hanging in the booth of Jane Wargo of Wallingford, Conn. She also showed a complete early ring toss game and at the back of the booth was a large two-handled basket housing a large stuffed toy elephant, early Twentieth Century, cotton stuffed, with a number of sewn-on repairs.

"It has been a nice show for us, we have done quite well," Stephen Corrigan of Stephen-Douglas, Rockingham, Vt., said on Sunday. Listed among the things sold were a colorful Parcheesi board, a carved wood head, a canary luster mug, several redware banks in the form of apples, a hatbox with wallpaper covering, a quail sheet metal weathervane, carved and polychromed wooden eagle and a fan light. Still in the booth and hanging right in the middle so both sides were visible was an early trade sign for the Hodges Inn, 1808, of Clarendon, Vt., with a large anchor painted in the center panel. Furniture included a two-drawer grained blanket chest, an 11-drawer apothecary, a country sofa and a fanback Windsor rocker in the original finish.

Joe Martin of Joe Martin Art & Antiques, Brownington, Vt., said, "It has been a very good show, with sales both days." One of his important sales, and one he was talking about long after the piece had left the Pavilion, was a New York State continuous-arm Windsor chair. "It was just wonderful, a work of art in great dry paint," he said. A New Hampshire tall chest, a pair of sconces and some redware were among other things sold. Still available at the end of the show was a nice trade sign for A. Bennet, blacksmith and wheelwright, with a large anvil in the center. It hung over a chrome yellow two-drawer blanket chest with cutout ends.

Offering a booth filled with more formal furniture was Judd Gregory from nearby Dorset, Vt. A striking blue fabric covered an English Chippendale wing chair in mahogany, circa 1780, and most of the back wall was taken by a wide breakfront/bookcase of English origin, mahogany and possibly from London. It dated circa 1820-1840 and had Gothic influenced glazed doors across the entire front. Among the American pieces was a Massachusetts bow front chest, circa 1800, with ball and claw feet.

"It has been a good and interesting show for us," Ed Holden of Naples, Fla., said, ticking off some of his sales that included a pair of New York State miniature portraits, five silhouettes, an ivory carved totem, some pieces of Indian jewelry, several pieces of glass, and a number of nautical related objects. Among the furniture in the large booth was a country harvest table, circa 1830, New York State of New England, five feet long and 44 inches wide with the leaves up. The top was birch and the base tiger maple. A Hepplewhite drop leaf table found in Turo, Mass., probably Southeastern New England, red surface over birch, dated from the Nineteenth Century and arranged on a mantel at the back of the booth was a graduated set of 12 chestnut bottles, 47/8 to 107/8 inches in height, New England and dating from the early Nineteenth Century. In mint condition, this is the third set the Holdens have put together and "it is the last one we are doing," Ed said. "It takes to long to pull them together and they are now much harder to find."

Howard Graff, staffing his Colt Barn Antiques booth as well as running the show, did well on both counts. He listed among his sales a bucket bench, many pieces of iron including paperweights and tools, and a Hayward Wakefield wicker teacart that is going to Texas. "A lady bought it in the morning," Howard said, "and she came back in the early afternoon and added three baskets to her purchase." Not sold was an interesting cast iron table base with book racks and labeled Holloway Reading Stand and Dictionary Holder, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. Other furniture included a nice size Pembroke table with good surface and a two-board, small size sawbuck table with green painted base.

John Gould of Yorktown heights, N.Y., had a large booth filled with furniture, paintings and part of his large collection of antique frames. A tiger maple and cherrywood server/dressing table dated circa 1830, and over it hung an oil on canvas, "Autumn Scene Near Lake Placid," signed H. Boyd, dating from the early Twentieth Century. It was noted that the mountain in the background was probably Mount Merrino. "It's been a good show for me," John said, with sales that included four paintings, some homespun, frames and a Nineteenth Century blanket chest.

Jan and Jon Maggs of Conway, Mass., were in their regular spot offering a selection of furniture that included a Chippendale slant front desk in cherrywood, Connecticut River Valley, circa 1790, that came from a Greenfield, Mass., estate, and a tapered-leg tap table in figured maple, one board pine top, American, circa 1780, that sold the first day. In addition to the table, sales included a painted stand, Queen Anne side chair, oil on canvas painting and a number of smalls. "This is an important show for us and it has been good," Jon said.

Local dealers Clark and Barbara Comollo showed a Nineteenth Century cobbler's bench in the original blue paint, 431/2 inches wide and 461/2 inches high, complete with some of tools, and in contrast, a classical pier table with gray marble top, 511/2 by 173/4 inches, circa 1825, original surface with Doric columnar supports.

Otto and Susan Hart from just down the road in Arlington, Vt., had a series of colorful signs, both lettered and illustrated, that must have come from a country stand offering Honey, Eggs, Cheese, Cider, Syrup and Milk, as well as a large sign lettered Strawberrys with a large red berry hanging from it. A tuxedo-clad gentleman in a framed signed advertised "Waiter Supplier," and as usual the Harts had a case filled with interesting things including cast iron banks and doorstops and polychromed birds and other animals.

"The show got off to a fine start for me, and then came to an abrupt stop," Ron Chambers of Higganum, Conn., said. Early sales of pewter included an American coffee pot from Maine, a small flagon and an English smooth rim charger measuring 161/2 inches in diameter. He also sold some butter prints, but furniture was not moving. Among the pieces in the booth were an oval top tap table with drawer in maple, circa 1780, New England; a circa 1760 two-drawer blanket chest from Middletown, Conn.; and a Connecticut tavern table with one drawer and stretcher base, circa 1760. A large burl bowl measured 17 inches in diameter.

Fitting right into the Vermont show was a large oil on canvas hanging in the booth of John Robinson of Williamstown, Mass. This 31-by-48-inch work showed Marble Valley, West and Center Rutland, circa 1854, by James Hope, Vermont's most noted Hudson River School artist. It was in a period frame and hung over a Hudson Valley mantel, circa 1825, on the back wall of the booth. Capable of seating eight people comfortably was a New England dining table with round "company ends," turned legs and scrubbed top. It was circa 1840.

Charles Breuel Antiques, Glenmont, N.Y., had an elaborate still life needlework floral composition, American, late Nineteenth Century, original frame, hanging over a mahogany card table from Salem, Mass., circa 1810-40. The piece had a shaped top with brass inlay, deeply carved twisted legs, ending on the original casters.

Shirley Chambers and Pat Stauble, Wiscasset, Maine, were holding down a corner booth that had little room for one more object. "We never know what the other one is bringing, and sometimes we end up with a great many things," Shirley said as she placed another doorstop on the shelf. Even the top of a five-foot-long, two-board top farm table was filled to capacity. As usual there was a nice selection of spongeware, including six large pitchers, and an interesting pair of black, red and white poles, original condition, once used by a doctor or surgeon who did blood-letting. "I first thought they were barber poles, but later learned they were used in the medical field," Pat said.

A nice Hepplewhite four-drawer chest in mahogany with the original brasses and inlay, circa 1840, New England origin, received attention in the booth of Cheryl and Paul Scott of Hillsborough, N.H., and sold opening day. "The show has been good," Cheryl said, saying they also sold a still life oil on canvas, a dog figure and an owl, both cast iron, a sponge pitcher and a number of other things. On the verge of being sold at one point on Sunday was a large and impressive pair of Arts and Crafts andirons, 36 inches tall, with logs stops. Furniture also included a New Hampshire tavern table, circa 1780, with painted and stenciled top.

Marie Miller from nearby Dorset did not have a large bed in the center of her booth this time, but had a selection of furniture the included a tiger maple chest of drawers, a tiger maple stand, a country bench and an apothecary, all of which were sold. She also offered her specialty, quilts, both stacked on the floor and hanging on a large rack. A Grenfell mat with four flying geese, circa 1930, measured 39 by 52 inches, and a Dutch cupboard in pine, circa 1820, was filled with several kinds of pottery

Jef Steingrebe, Springfield, N.H., said the show was going well for him as he had sold a large hitching port in cast iron with red surface, a pair of cast iron urns with figural handles, a barber pole and a pair of tin sconces with reflectors, among a number of other things.

Lucinda and Michael Seward of Pittsford, Vt., had a full booth, as usual, and offered a New England two-drawer blanket chest with bracket base, original blue surface; an Eighteenth Century tea table with one-board top, breadboard ends, button feet, and a large eagle weathervane with swept-back wings, cast head and fine surface. A trade sign for E.A. Arsenault, Blacksmith and Wheelwright, hung on the side wall. This two-sided sign dated from the mid Nineteenth Century and had the head of a horse painted in the center.

Among the furniture in the booth of Brookside Antiques, Orwell, Vt., was a round tilt-top table in pine, circa 1780, along with a Vermont farm table in pine, tapered legs, one drawer at an end and one long drawer on the side, cut nails and dating 1780-1810.

A set of five Windsor bow back side chairs, circa 1790, was at the front of the booth of Chesterfield Antiques, Chesterfield, Mass., and at the back was a tall desk on frame in the original finish, circa 1800, New Hampshire origin. "I bought this desk from Dick Withington and it once belonged to his mother," Jack Geishen said. He also offered a Shaker box in mint condition, original red surface, 13 inches wide, with three fingers.

Tom Longacre, Marlborough, N.H., said, "It has been a good show and I had to bring in some different things for Sunday." Among the objects sold, a 61/2-foot-long farm table, several hooked rugs, two game boards and a New Hampshire tavern table with large button feet, one board, breadboard ends. "I sold that table at the New Hampshire Dealers Show in 1998 and was able to buy it back here and sold it again," Tom said. He related how he received a phone call from a collector who had bought the table seven years ago and now wanted to sell it because of downsizing his home. "I did not remember the table exactly and as he was coming to this show, he said he would bring it along," Tom said. "When I saw the table there was no question and I bought it again."

Windle's Antiques of Wilmington, Del., had a nice Hudson River Valley one-door cupboard in the original blue surface, Nineteenth Century, a rare Meerschaum pipe with a man riding on a bicycle in the stem, complete in the original holder and dating from the Nineteenth Century, and an oil on canvas by Ruben Emil Stubner, "Jolly Good Times," depicting three gentlemen in an inn drinking and playing music.

James Mulder of Liberty Hill Antiques, Reading, Vt., showed up with his trademark, workbenches. This time out he had two, along with a collection of tools, and the one in the front of the booth, in maple and dating circa 1875, went to a couple from Indiana. "I could have sold it any number of times," Jim said, "and this particular one was listed in a 1906 catalog, selling for $12." The second one also sold and he noted, "I never bring one to a show that it does not sell."

East Dennis Antiques, East Dennis, Mass., filled a booth with objects that ran from a collection of five nautical pairs of bookends, to a large table for dining. A hanging cupboard, early Nineteenth Century, had one door over a smaller door, flanked by sets of two drawers with large wooden pulls. A selection of buttock baskets ranged in size from 4 to 9 inches wide.

An early wood and tin horse weathervane from the Batchdeler Store in Alstead, N.H., white painted, stood in the booth of John and Eileen Smart, Rutland, Vt. A large elephant doorstop in the original paint and a wood-carved eagle each sported a sold ticket.

Marc Witus, Gladstone, N.J., had a collection of four child's armchairs displayed on the wall of the booth, the oldest one from the Delaware Valley in old red surface with splint seat. A later one was from the same area, another was Southern New Jersey with rush seat, and the fourth a Pennsylvania black painted and stenciled arrow back Windsor.

A quilt in the Joseph's Coat pattern hung on the side wall in the booth of Robin Fernsell, Art and Antiques, Walpole, N.H., and a pair of wooden and paint decorated gates was displayed at the front of the booth. A Nineteenth Century wooden tray, green background with vibrant decoration in the center, was on the back wall, and a flat barber pole had the original red, white and blue surface.

One exhibitor mentioned that while the gate did seem to be down a bit, the interest and sincerity of those who came was excellent. "People were not just walking up and down the aisles, but going into the booths and showing interest. It is a nice change from what has happened in a couple of the last shows I did."

For those marking their calendars, the 2006 VADA Show will be September 23-24, same location and lots more good antiquing.