Record Numbers Shop Newark Antiques & Collectors Fair

Newark, England

:Newark International Antiques and Collectors Fair, April 3 and 4, had the biggest first-day audience on record for the show's producer, dmg. Alan Yourston, senior fairs manager for the company, was thrilled with "the best gate we know about," and added, "We were as full as April ever is — more than 4,000 stalls filled with antiques for the fair."

Known simply as the Newark Fair, the event has a 20-plus-year history, with dmg world media the owner for the past 14 years. Conducted on the first Thursday and Friday of each even numbered month, with some minor variation to the date, April is usually one of the biggest. That is because the date often coincides with other traditional European holidays or vacation periods. This year, that was true, and the weather also cooperated for the event, which is conducted partly indoors and partly outside in tents.

The show kicked off, as usual, at 9 am on Thursday for huge crowds. Shoppers who had been queued up in various lines entered at fast walks or, in many cases, on the run to their favorite exhibitors. Sales were brisk among the early arrivals, while many dealers were still unpacking their collections in the buildings.

A few areas were set up for business earlier that morning, including a section called The Shopping Arcade. As such, this area was quickly populated with potential buyers studying the credentials of Andrew and Stenia Taylor's tables. Their offerings included a matched pair of long harvest tables, approximately 8 feet long and 2½ feet wide. Refinished, they were ready for immediate use for $2,800.

Just down that same aisle a short distance was The Finishing Touch from Northumberland. The firm's inventory was furniture in oak and elm, much of it early Jacobean, but with other styles as late as the Victorian era. Sales were reported to be good on the first day, with several case pieces moving out in the first couple hours. Another dealer in the area was offering Nineteenth and early Twentieth Century travel bags, now used as decorative accessories in many homes.

The Cedric Ford Pavilion is a modest building with space for about 60 exhibitors. In the lobby, among the regular exhibitors, was Frank Wilson Antiques of Worthing. His display, as usual, featured an excellent assortment of Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century furniture. One small piece that Wilson described as a sofa table was made of Cuban mahogany veneer planking with solid mahogany for the carved parts; priced at $7,300, it sold.

On the opposite side of the show grounds, there is a building that was built in the last five years — the George Stevenson Building. Dealers exhibiting there have not had the long tradition some have in other areas of the showgrounds. The size is about the same as an American football field, allowing for several hundred stalls. With the love Britons have for collecting, this is a treasure trove for those wishing to shop for small antiques.

In addition, there is a good quantity of furniture in the back of the hall. Philip Dowding-Young, Lion House Antiques, Suffolk, at one time was selling furniture directly to the US market through an outlet in North Carolina. Now he sells about as much as before, but from the Stevenson Building and through his shop.

In the back of the showgrounds, the Crocker and Sheldon Buildings are older buildings typical of those seen at fairgrounds in the United States. These also house several hundred exhibitors, but most offer only small antiques. Peter Scott, Somerset, a good friend to many American dealers and who can be found at Mays Antique Market in Brimfield, Mass., three times each year, offered his collection of Staffordshire and transfer ware. There are several dealers with popular collections of miniature paintings and silhouettes. Helen Miles of Suffolk was selling well, especially to the American audience at the show.

In the rings, open areas used for livestock events, were the dealers who simply rent space with no facilities. The area is marked off in chalk and numbered, and dealers may erect a tent, if they wish. Some do not own one; others cannot spare the space in their vehicles to carry one to the show. In any case, they put out their collection in a manner that resembles the American markets of Brimfield and even Elephant's Trunk. This is the place to search out that forgotten or overlooked treasure, some very special piece for a collection or inventory. This April, with good weather, the area was full, and the shoppers were having a field day, picking over the box lots for special buys. An American dealer purchased several Staffordshire figurines and an early silhouette for resale in the states.

Newark is a very special happening, advertised as the biggest antiques fair in Europe, there is no argument. It is a place for great buys, and for the overseas buyers, there are special amenities, including onsite shippers and a special lounge with a computer and indoor wash rooms.

Dates for the next two shows are June 5-6 and August 7-8. Access to the fair is via train from London to the Newark station, with a free shuttle bus to the showgrounds. In a rental car, drive north on A-1 about 100 miles north of M-25, the circumferential highway for London.

For information, www.dmgantiquefairs.com or +44 1636 702326.