Guilford Antiques Show Proves Staying Power In 37th Year

GUILFORD, CONN.

: Hyland House was once again the beneficiary of the Guilford Antiques Show & History Exposition for the 37th consecutive year. The show at Adams Middle School March 25-26 has been the principal fundraising activity for its sponsor, Dorothy Whitfield Historic Society, which uses the money to preserve and maintain its museum and exhibit at Hyland House.

The show has proven to have the staying power because of the support of the local residents and the society that have worked had over the years to keep it an important antiques event in their local area. Show manager Trish McElroy filled the show to capacity with 34 dealers - even with one calling in sick on the day before - and had a full house of excellent antiques.

Mad River Antiques, North Granby, Conn., was there with a collection of small antique accessories including a handmade appliqué quilt in excellent condition. Lorraine and Steve German had a five-tiered shelf filled with interesting small antiques that were picked by show visitors over the weekend. Nearby, a Westwood Mass., dealer was offering Japanese prints from the Nineteenth Century along with some accessories for the dining table.

Erik D. Wohl is a dealer from Pomfret Center, Conn., which is in, as the tourist council calls it, "The Quiet Corner." The area has been removed from most of the population centers in southern New England but it is also a good source for very early American antiques and Wohl gathers many in the area for his appearances at shows like this. On exhibition this weekend he had a very early fireplace surround and mantel, which was stripped of some late paint revealing early dark blue paint; early primitive iron implements were collected along with some primitive furniture and pewter plates.

At many of these small, upscale New England shows Jan and John Maggs of Conway, Mass. can be found exhibiting a collection of especially fine and very early antiques. Sometimes it is the furniture, other times its the accessories and furnishings that catch the eye. On this weekend among the items that caught someone's eye were two early boxes; one was a New England blanket box and the other a Jacobean miniature blanket box that John said may have started life a long time ago in a somewhat different form, perhaps a Bible box. He was pleased with their sales for the weekend for he said they also "sold a lot of smalls and we bought quite well. It is a show that like others has not been as strong as it once was but the selling was good for us."

McElroy runs the show but also trades under the name of New England Pickers, Portland, Maine. When she has enough help she likes to exhibit at her shows with whatever her collected inventory might be at that time. Here, she offered a collection of Nineteenth Century prints of English monarchs and noblemen, some early porcelain and other dining and household accessories.

Lewis Scranton now resides in Killingworth, Conn., but he was from Guilford and is a supporter of the Dorothy Whitfield Historic Society. Exhibiting at this show is convenient and usually successful so he brought his trademark Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century furniture, art and decorative accessories. Derik Pulito, also from the area, was featuring furniture from Colonial era. He had a set of eight Windsor chairs; six were bow back side chairs and two were sack back armchairs - all featured at the center of his booth. This Berlin, Conn., dealer also had a farm table, about 6 feet long, and a variety of early woodenware and blanket boxes.

Oriental rugs were covering the floors and halls of the main corridor of the school. Tom Landers, Palisades Trading Co., Windsor, Conn., has been dealing in them for many years finding them while making house calls to pick up rugs for cleaning or repair, as well as at the typical outlets - auctions, estate sales and from other dealers. His collection shows his partiality for Caucasian and tribal rugs with their bold colors and patterns and the more primitive weave.

Just a bit further afield were several dealers from Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Natalie Warner makes her exhibit from small and very interesting antiques. Her buying of inventory is driven by what appeals to her, and of course what she can acquire to resell at a profit. For this show she had a collection of early copper molds and utensils, some textiles including handmade chair pads and a few funky pieces from the early part of the Twentieth Century. Pearl Zabar knows her antiques but she offers "mostly smalls cause I have to carry them myself," she said. Her collection included some scrimshaw, small early kitchen tools, and a wide assortment of small textiles and dishes.

Falcon's Roost is the antiques business of Marilyn Bierylo from Grantham, N.H. A former resident of Old Lyme, Conn., she especially enjoys this show in the old neighborhood and of course she has many friends and past customers to visit during the show. They came to her part of this exhibition for the fine early furniture she is known for and some art. Her sales at the show included a Salem, Mass., game table, Hepplewhite style and period that was priced at $4,800, and a collection of four oil on canvas paintings for a similar price. While her Queen Anne Revival highboy did not sell, she felt it was good exposure and there are some prospects for it.

David Beauchamp, Brookline, N.H., offered a collection of early to mid-Nineteenth Century furniture with excellent finishes. Some of the pieces were in original finish and others he refinished as a part of building his inventory. Jaffe-Thurston are dealers of fine art; mostly oil on canvas paintings and its booth was very full. Much of the offerings were Nineteenth Century pastorals such as Hudson River School and some English pieces.

This event has for many years been the last of the winter antiques shows, the end of the cabin fever syndrome and so it will continue. McElroy said, "We have a small but enthusiastic crowd supporting the show."

She manages several other shows including Marion, Mass., in August and Newport, R.I., in September. Check with her at 603-778-8842 and look for this show again next March.