Darien Blooms With Garden Elements & Antiques

Darien, Conn.

:The Annual Darien Historical Society Antiques & Garden Elements Fair set up June 8 at the lovely Tilley Pond in-town park, the first time at this location. In this, its 34th year, there were about 50 antiques dealers from all over the Northeast and beyond. Promoters Tom D'Arruda and Brian Ferguson planned for early buying at 9 am, which was indeed fortunate, considering the unexpected and record-breaking early June heatwave that could melt shoppers' enthusiasm.

The show was scheduled to run through 4 pm, but the threat of violent thunderstorms had dealers and shoppers leaving early. "We closed by about 3:20," said Judy Groppa, director of the Darien Historical Society, "and everyone was out of the park before the storms hit."

"Before that, however, we were extremely happy with the new location for the show," she said. "It is lovely and convenient, and the number of people shopping was very strong — until the very end of the day, that is!"

The early morning mist was rising from Tilley Pond, ducks and Canada geese, with young trailing behind, slowly circled as dealers set up and went investigating to see what everyone else was putting out. A huge fishing lure was causing quite a buzz. Janet Sherwood said, "Yes, we [Antiques at 30B] are the ones who bought that giant fishing lure. We didn't sell it yet, though it should go pretty quickly once we throw it out there. I'm sure somebody will bite." The Cambridge, N.Y., team was also showing its collection of early American garden antiques and smalls, such as figurative sprinklers, doorstops and architectural elements.

"We sold a very nice pair of antique iron garden benches very quickly. We also sold a pretty wonderful Nineteenth Century cast iron garden fence, a goodly amount of beautiful Eighteenth–Nineteenth botanical prints, other smalls, garden iron and so on," Sherwood said after the show. She also praised the people who came to show: "There was a knowledgeable buying crowd. I really have to give credit to those brave souls who came to shop the show."

The numerous trees in the park offered sanctuary for most of the dealers and shoppers. Biuk Fardin made her area even cooler by lining it with antique Oriental rugs that trapped the cool morning air inside as insulation from the heat. The Fairfield, Conn., dealer brought a lovely 1900 Persian Farahan rug and a rare Karabuch with birds set in an azure blue field, originally from Azerbaijan.

The emphasis of the show, however, was the garden and beyond. Pauline Schlatter and Kim Watkins of Rooster River Antiques, Fairfield, Conn., had a display of early picnic tins, colorful paint decorated tins ready to protect picnic foods from an ant onslaught; they were also showing a 1920s industrial-look Belgium hall/umbrella stand, with the original tin liner in excellent condition.

"As seen on the White House lawn" is how Pat Torraco of Selective Iron described a set of cast iron garden furniture with a table, bench and two chairs. "It's by Molla and is from the turn of the century," the Norwalk, Conn., dealer said. "You can see this pattern when you look at the gardens outside the White House." Buyers could put this set in their garden for around $5,900.

Continuing the great outdoors look, Jon and Jan Maggs from Conway, Mass., had a long, dovetailed church bench and an early six-board blanket box, on top of which were two Nineteenth Century, braided sweet grass bee skeps. One had a doweled wooden base and the other was taller (about 28 inches), both in excellent condition. Nestled on the bench was a collection of early crocks and jugs, most from New England or New York State.

Another interesting antique with Connecticut connections was an early Nineteenth Century wooden book press, manufactured in Hartford. Steve Balser, Old Horizon Antiques, had the press set up on a small, drop leaf table, circa 1850–70.

The Danbury, Conn., dealer was also showing a unique scale with a small (maybe 1½ inches in diameter) brass tray set on hair-thin chains attached to a slender ivory handle. "It's an opium scale," he said. "It didn't need to be big, since opium was sold in very small quantities."

China was the source of many items displayed by Surfside Beach, S.C., dealer Gail Ensinger, many from the areas that are being flooded by the Three Gorges Dam being built across the Yangtze River. She had a set of four Henredon armchairs in the chinoiserie style, with seats upholstered in Chinese silk, and a circa 1850 hardwood Chinese game table with four drawers. Also attracting attention was an antique Chinese small painted chest with two upper drawers over a two-door cupboard, circa 1880, in a usable size and with a price tag of $795. On top, a Thai temple carving of a horse, circa 1860, and an archaic oxcart wheel from Eighteenth Century Thailand rounded out her display.

For Americans, 200 years is considered old, and a blanket box, chest and iron shelf shown by Sheila and Edward Hylan, Southbury, Conn., qualified as "old," Sheila said, adding, "I buy and sell only what I love; that's what I've done for 32 years." They specialize in Pennsylvania Amish or Mennonite furniture, all beautifully polished and in excellent condition. Examples included an 1860 dovetailed, square nail, three-drawer chest and a smaller blanket chest, definitely Amish or Mennonite.

They also had a circa 1840–50 country cupboard from York County, Penn., that exhibited all the characteristics of its origin — hand planning, square nails and mortised.

From Englewood Cliffs, N.J., Gene Starr brought several water pitchers that were neither American nor early. While Starr is best known for his silver Native American jewelry and art work, he displayed a pair of water pitchers, both with animal handles, made by two artists/craftspeople from the same Mexican family, Los Carillos. Mexican hand-hammered silver pitchers, the daughter's had an alligator handle, the father's a parrot made from a muted greenish-blue stone, its long tail forming the handle.

A bird of a different color, a wooden barn owl, was perched on top of a fine spool cabinet at Appleton Manor Gallery. Nineteenth Century Mason ironstone in the Well and Tree pattern was on offer, and Bobbie Davis-Fionda from New Ipswich, N.H., also brought a Nineteenth Century weathervane in the form of a windmill, which was catching the breeze off the pond. A rare form wrought iron step plant stand with two chairs in similar, if not matching, pattern were set up on the grass.

Groppa confirmed that the historical society will conduct the show again next June at Tilley Pond. "We have purchased an 1827 barn that was originally part of the Bates-Scofield house, our headquarters. We moved the house in 1964, but not the barn. Now we've purchased the barn, which will be reassembled adjacent to the house, and the monies raised here will go a long way to getting that completed."

For more information, 401-273-5550 or http:// historical.darien.org .