Marburger Farm Antiques Weathers Storms, Draws Crowd

ROUND TOP, TEXAS

:"I am extremely grateful for this great show," said Marburger Farm Antique Show dealer Kitty Abels of Ripley, Tenn. "No other show in America could have produced these sale results, considering all the problems of this fall."

Problems? Try a hurricane, a war, Texas heat, another hurricane, a cold front and a Texas-Oklahoma football game that consumed the populations of two states.

"But Texas people just know how to ride the bull," said Abels, "They came and bought anyway." From October 4 to 8, Abels sold early southern painted furniture, folk art and African American quilts.

John Sauls, promoter of the twice-yearly central Texas megashow, put it this way: "My thanks go to all those true-blue, devoted Marburger Farm vendors who came in spite of the odds being stacked against them - and then did amazingly well in terms of sales. Their professionalism and resilience make me proud to own this show, now and for the future."

And they came, 350 vendors from 29 states and several countries. Martha-Anne James of Toronto, Ontario reported "incredibly exciting sales. With all that has happened, we did not know what to expect. But the spirit of the South is wonderful, the people are brave and they came through for us." James sold Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century sterling, majolica, miniature paintings and other decorative antiques, including a large French majolica centerpiece circa 1850 with wheat sheaves.

The shoppers came as well. "We came from Michigan to shop at Marburger Farm," emailed one customer. "The dealers were wonderful, the food was excellent and the show was fabulous. We can hardly wait for spring. Thank you."

Thank you and grateful were words that reverberated throughout the show. "Thank you, thank you, thank you," shouted a vendor selling out of one of the 12 historic buildings on the site (in addition to five tents as big as football fields as well as several smaller tents). "Thank you for what?" asked John Sauls. "Thank you for getting all these people here!" came the reply.

Quieter but heart-felt thanks came from the many Marburger vendors and shoppers whose lives were splayed by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Sara Rosenthal's store on Magazine Street in New Orleans survived, but, "When I left home, it was a triage city. I drove the truck alone to Round Top, not sure what to expect. People were so kind to me, the show was so beautiful, so many people from Louisiana reconnected with each other," she said.

"My shipper had called his clients in Texas to come shop my booth at Marburger Farm. Things like that happened all week. Please thank everyone for making it a wonderful show for me," she added.

Rosenthal sold high-end continental antiques, including an Eighteenth Century French commode and old master red chalk drawings. "I can't wait to come back," she said, "I think the spring show will be terrific."

Tom Bireley of Bireley's Antiques in Churubusco, Ind., also predicts that, "the spring Marburger Farm show will be incredible. Actually, I felt confident going into this show. I had just bought a great Indiana estate and brought the whole thing to Marburger Farm."

Bireley sold American oak, including an 1890s Robbins dining table for $1,900 with leaves stored inside the table and that opens to seat 12. He also reported selling a 20-inch platter and six plates of Doulton Flow Blue featuring longhorn steers, priced at $3,195.

"But the bottom line for me," he said, "was writing 35 tickets in the $200-$500 range. Realistic prices really moved. Marburger buyers are careful, selective and they know their stuff."

Urban Country of Santa Monica, Calif., reported a somewhat different experience. "We wrote fewer tickets this time, but ended up with fabulous final numbers, considering all that is going on in the world," said co-owner Steven Schwartz.

Urban Country sales ranged from "three amazing dance hall mirror balls from Upstate New York, ruins of the 1920s" all the way to a 5-foot-tall Nineteenth Century Fiske cast iron urn and a mid-century Ohio industrial iron shelf, 6 feet long, selling to a designer.

"This was our tenth Marburger Farm show," said Schwartz. "As hard as we try, we just can't find anything to complain about this show! That keeps us loyal and coming back. And we also buy well at Marburger Farm."

This time Urban Country's return load included early cast iron tractor wheel attachments, "very sculptural," and a 25-piece collection of matchstick prison art for one California collector.

"What makes Marburger Farm the top of the line?" mused Karen Austin of Apropos in Richmond, Va. "It's the enormous variety of merchandise - not just formal or just country, it's everything. And then it's customers who come out truly to buy, not just for a stroll in the country. It was better than incredible. I have never had a show like it."

Austin sold a painted Venetian hanging shelf, Rose Medallion, Blue Willow, an English pine apothecary chest, a pair of French Bergere chairs, French country painted mirrors, English pub signs, a gilded lion from the façade of an English bank and a mint-condition, large 1860s French needlepoint wall tapestry.

Selling from the original Marburger Farm home, vendors Kevin Stone and Mark Diamond also own a store on Magazine Street that survived the flooding. "When the hurricane hit," said Stone, "we had 20 people huddled in our house. When we lost power, we made our way to my mother's in Arkansas.

"A client from Arkansas loaned us his truck and through family, we got a pass to get into our store and pack up smalls. Fortunately, we also had two containers of furniture at our warehouse, ready to go. We waited 11/2 hours in line to get diesel, there was no electricity on I-10, and we didn't know if we would actually make it. We called customers from the road and 'all my girls' came through for us - any woman in Texas under 72 is a 'girl' - and God bless 'em." On opening day at Marburger Farm, Stone said, "We wrote over 100 tickets, and only two were from new customers. And they all bought wonderful, high-end pieces. I almost cried."

Stone's future is uncertain but he remains optimistic. "I don't know. The French Quarter and tourist areas survived, but for the residents of the city, there's nothing there. It looks like Bosnia. We may have to relocate, maybe even a shop in Dallas again. I just don't know."

Suppressing emotion, Stone adds, "Please thank Texas for coming through for us and tell the people to come back to New Orleans after the cleanup. New Orleans is a great city, but it needs your tourism dollars to recover."

As for is business, he says, "We will be OK and, somehow, we'll see you in the spring at Marburger Farm."

The spring Marburger Farm Antique Show will run April 4-8. For information, or call 800-947-5799.