Vermont Antiques Dealers’ Association Presents Annual Show

Manchester Center, Vt.

:"We are pleased with the date change and look at it as a chance for the show to grow every year," Jim Dunn, manager of the 34th annual Antiques Show sponsored by the Vermont Antiques Dealers' Association, said. He said that "there is no indication that the move from fall to August 23–24 hurt the show; in fact, the gate increased slightly with close to 1,000 people attending, including the 60 people who returned on Sunday at no charge." And, for the first time, VADA offered free admission to all comers who were under 25 years of age. "We had 27 people take advantage of this offer and we hope that each one will become a collector," Jim said.

Each day of the show a $300 raffle ticket is drawn, good to spend at any booth in the show. On Saturday Jim Dunn asked a 10-year-old boy to draw a ticket from the box, and the lad drew his own ticket. "His face lit up and he knew exactly what he wanted and he was off and running," Susan Hart, who witnessed the drawing, said. "I lost track of him at first, but saw him later and he proudly unwrapped his prize and showed me a 'Boot Gun' that he had purchased from Partridge Hollow Antiques of Milton, Vt.," Susan said. She added, "It was great to see a young boy make his first antique purchase, and from the look on his face he will be back for years to come." The lad came to the show with his grandparents, who came across with the extra bucks needed for his purchase. The next day a lady from Londonderry, N.H., won the drawing.

The Norwoods' Spirit of America, Timonium, Md., offered a hooked rug in vibrant colors which elements included a yellow basket overflowing with red roses, a crescent moon and a cardinal perched on a birdhouse. Hanging nearby was a double tombstone painted and carved pipe box.

"There is no question about it, we do have a different look," John H. Rogers of Elkins, N.H., said of his booth filled with Oriental furniture, screens and accessories. A pair of horseshoe armchairs, Shanxi Province, in elm dated circa 1850, and a tall cabinet, also in elm, had the same provenance and date. A sign from the Dao Quang Emperor, circa 1840, a presentation piece for a lady's 70th birthday, read, "Spring gives nice protection for this room/house."

A jelly cupboard in maple and hard pine, circa 1840–1860, refinished and measuring 46 inches high, 41 inches wide and 18 inches deep, stood in the booth of Grafton Gathering Place Antiques, Grafton, Vt. Five Queen Anne chairs with rush seats, maple, 1740–1760, were also shown.

The Red Horse of Bridgewater, Vt., showed objects from many countries, including a child's cradle with carved decoration from Sweden. It had ball and port ends at each corner and dated circa 1860. From France, a walnut table, about 7 feet long, had one drawer and three-board top with breadboard ends. It dated circa 1840. A small plate rack with two drawers, oak, was circa 1850.

"We love our spot at this show, on a corner with a good breeze from the open doors, and the selling is very good," Cheryl Scott of Hillsborough, N.H., said. Paul Scott noted, "There was a good crowd here the middle of the afternoon on Sunday, and we made our last sale at 4 pm as the show was closing." Among the items sold were a Hepplewhite tea table, pieces of Canton and Rose Medallion, a curly maple mirror, a horse weathervane, several doorstops, some glass and an Eighteenth Century Italian sconce. An interesting piece was a large wooden and painted Atlantic salmon that was the prize catch in Canada on April 30, 1941. The plaque indicated that the fish was 40 inches long, weighed 22 pounds, and Jock McKay was the local guide.

A Sheraton server in cherrywood of New England origin, curled backsplash, circa 1820, was shown by Marie Miller of Dorset, Vt., along with a cherrywood and tiger maple Sheraton bonnet chest, New York State, circa 1820. A small double-masted ship weathervane with good surface dated circa 1900, and, as usual, Marie offered a great number of colorful quilts, some displayed on racks and others folded in piles.

"I have had that pedestal for about 14 years and just brought it out of my collection," Joe Martin of Brownington, Vt., said of a pedestal with carved and painted shield on the sides, finial drops at each of the column-dressed corners. A metal advertising sign was for National Fire of Hartford insurance company, with a lady holding an American flag shield with eagle, and deer.

One of the important paintings in the show was an English harbor scene in untouched condition, depicting about 20 sailing and row boats, dating from the early Nineteenth Century, in the booth of Judd and Peg Gregory of Dorset, Vt. A New York State Federal mirror, circa 1815, had an eagle mounted on the top, and a New England sewing table, circa 1820, was in tiger maple.

A New England 8-foot-long harvest table, circa 1830, with three-board top, rounded corners, turned legs and button feet, was across the front of the booth of Brookside Antiques, Bridport, Vt., and a small pine bench with high-cut back, New England, circa 1840, had a hinged seat over storage space.

A more formal look was presented by Drake Field Antiques, Longmeadow, Mass., including a two-drawer drop leaf worktable in mahogany with maple drawer fronts, American, circa 1820, and a New England dough box, all original, circa 1870. A Rose Medallion reticulated bowl dated 1840, and the booth sparkled with a collection of brass objects, including bells, candlesticks, andirons and fireplace tools.

Zyzaar Antiques of Dorset, Vt., offered a circa 1760 Queen Anne tea table with cabriole legs and an early Nineteenth Century wagon seat with the original splint seat that was also used as a piece of furniture in the home.

A library table by R.J. Horner & Co, late Nineteenth Century, in mahogany with two drawers, reeded legs ending in paw feet, was offered from the booth of Charles Breuel Antiques of Glenmont, N.Y. Horner was established in New York City, on West 23rd Street, in 1886. An interesting grouping of clocks included a tall case by "Mason (Henry) Bantry, Yorkshire, England," 1740–1760, with eight-day brass time and strike movement and calendar. The case measured 86 inches tall, with swan's neck arch and fluted columns.

A large corner booth was filled with all manner of things by Antiques At 30B, Cambridge, N.Y., ranging from a seven-piece Burma Shave sign to a large, early spinning wheel of unusual form. A painted staircase dated circa 1830, with decoration from circa 1860. For collectors of cast iron boot scrapers, a handsome dolphin-style example was in old green paint and mounted in a basin for collecting the dirt.

A large oil on canvas depicting the three-masted schooner The Western Belle, 1887, by Charles Sidney Raleigh, 24 by 36 inches, signed and dated lower left, hung in the booth of The Captain's Quarters, Amherst, Mass. Another oil on canvas, 24 by 42 inches, showed the frigate Essex leaving Salem Harbor, signed lower left by John P. Benson, 1927.

A polychromed carving of a black youth, late Nineteenth Century, from the estate of Alexander Calder, was shown by Hanes & Ruskin of Old Lyme, Conn. Also offered was a New Hampshire harvest table, with seating for eight, pine top and cherrywood base, dated circa 1830–1840, and measuring 68 by 44 inches with the leaves extended.

"We bought this painted flooring from Margaret Weld a few years after Paul had died," Stephen Corrigan of Stephen-Douglas, Rockingham, Vt., said, referring to the large section of early boards that extended well above the back of their booth. "Originally we were going to use them in our house, but they did not fit any of the rooms," he said. A portrait of a gentleman and two checkerboards were hung on the flooring, and across the top of a cabinet was a collection of 14 hog scraper candlesticks, all with the original chair hooks.

Some furniture left the show, a statistic helped along by Michael and Lucinda Seward of Pittsford, Vt. "We sold six pieces and it is only the first day of the show," Michael said on Saturday. Still in the booth was a 12-light corner cupboard in two pieces, Eighteenth Century, poplar, with two doors in the lower section. Three "Naughty Kittens" were the subject of an oil on academy board depicting them at play on a stack of books with a spilled inkwell.

A large Hudson River pilot eagle, approximately 4-foot wingspan, was against the back wall in the booth of Stone Block Antiques, Vergennes, Vt. A Pennsylvania armchair, wooden slats and cast iron arms, old green paint, would be a nice addition to any garden setting.

A number of hutch tables were at the show, one in the booth of Chesterfield Antiques, Chesterfield, Mass., with two-board top, 6 feet long, circa 1840. A large rooster weathervane with good green surface, 48 by 35 inches, perched on an arrow, dated circa 1900.

It is not unusual for Gloria Lonergan of Mendham, N.J., to have a settee in her booth and this time out she offered an arrow back Windsor example with bamboo turnings, overall red and black rosewood graining, New England origin, circa 1820, and measuring 79 inches long. A side or serving table of Pennsylvania origin, 60½ by 23 by 34 inches, was red painted, and a salt box in walnut with lift top and one drawer dated circa 1830.

A grained blanket chest with two small drawers across the lower section was shown by Mario Pollo of Bearsville, N.Y. Four colorful game boards, two checkers and two Parcheesi, decorated the end wall of the booth, and a sheet metal weathervane was in the form of an Indian on horseback.

A hired man's bed in old red, Vermont origin, was shown by Fraser's Antiques, Chester, Vt., along with a New Hampshire server in pine with one drawer, porcelain pulls, turned legs and scalloped backsplash. David M. Weiss of Sheffield, Mass., had a Nineteenth Century 12-tin pie safe, Pennsylvania or Ohio, painted yellow tins in green frame, and a fall landscape signed George W. Drew, an oil on canvas with lake, trees and sunset.

A pair of deer facing each other, against a blue ground, red, green and black border, was the design on a circa 1950 hooked rug hanging in the booth of Rathbun Gallery, Wakefield, R.I. A carved and painted ketch ship model, green and black hull, red deck, two masts, circa 1900, was shown, and against the front of the booth stood a Nineteenth Century interior door, old red and blue/green painted surface, with four inset panels.

A Corinth, Vt., sampler wrought by Levina Taplin, age 12, born April 3, 1795, 16 by 19 inches, attracted attention in the booth of Henry Callan of East Sandwich, Mass. "I advertised it in the show section [of Antiques and The Arts Weekly] and got three calls, but would only sell it at the show," Henry said. He told the first caller he would hold it for 20 minutes after the show opened, and then it was for sale to anyone. "The first person did not take it, but the second one did and the third one was out of luck," Henry said.

A selection of English furniture was shown by Jan and John Maggs, Conway, Mass., including an oak desk box with three interior drawers and foliated tracery on the lid, circa 1860, with a presentation date of 1727 also on the lid. A pair of cane back side chairs, late Seventeenth Century, had exceptional high carved crests.

A large Vermont blanket chest, circa 1850, original blue paint, was at the back of the booth of Clint and Pat Bigelow American Antiques, East Berlin, Conn. A Pennsylvania painted and decorated stand with turned legs had one drawer, circa 1846, and a dovetailed tool chest with interior drawers was of pine, butternut and mahogany.

A large pineapple was centered in a hooked rug, flanked by cornucopias, late Nineteenth Century, in the booth of Lana Smith, Louisville, Ky., and a whimsical birdcage, circa 1940, had a series of tin roofs and a glass dormer. Jeff and Holly Noordsy of Cornwall, Conn., offered a selection of early colorful glass, and a stoneware jug with incised and cobalt blue fish was by J. Fenton.

"We hand out a questionnaire at the end of the show to our 61 exhibitors and the majority indicated a good to great show," Jim Dunn said. He said there was also a percentage of fair to poor, "which is to be expected." Good folk art and smalls seemed to be the most popular, but a good number of pieces of furniture left the floor. "We will be having our postshow meeting soon and all things will be talked over. At this point the late August date will more than likely stay; however, we may shave an hour off the opening time on Sunday," Jim said.

And remember, while the VADA event is popular and loaded with good shopping, it is not the only game in the state. The popular series of Vermont antiques shows kicks off in Weston on Thursday evening, October 2, followed by a number of other shows all within about 30 miles of each other. Watch this paper for locations, dates and times.