Full Fields Greet Shoppers At Brimfield Antiques Market

Brimfield, Mass.

:Marking the 50th year since the Reid family founded the original outdoor antiques show, all of Brimfield was basking in a golden anniversary glow May 12–17. It was in September 1959 that Gordon Reid Sr and 67 prospecting dealers set up for business in a large field behind his home. Like many 50-year-olds, the thrice-annual market has seen both boom times and lean years, and despite all that has occurred in the US economy since the dealers struck their tents and tables last September, this spring's show featured consistently full fields, according to their respective managements, and the sight of US currency being unfurled to change hands was this trade's version of "green shoots."

Speaking of green, by about 8 am on Tuesday, Greg Hamilton in the so-called "Vermont tent" at Green Acres had already logged 85 sales ranging from a pair of marble benches to a pair of Hawkes decanters to ten boxes of silver plate. "It's remarkable," said the Vergennes, Vt., dealer. "People are here and they want to buy stuff." He and about a half dozen other Vermont dealers inside the tent had begun selling at 6 am. Also there were fellow Vermonters Michael and Lucinda Seward from Pittsford, who had already sold an early Nineteenth Century overmantel painting, a Seventeenth Century frame, Seventeenth Century armchair, art pottery and a grouping of floor clocks, among other items.

The Brimfield market takes place in May, July and September each year, but the spring event always seems to generate the most excitement among dealers and shoppers. The dealers, knowing that good stuff sells, will generally bring merchandise they have been collecting during the winter months. Shoppers, always keen on acquiring their heart's desire, find in a flea market setting that they are not shy about haggling for the best price.

As Tuesday dawned, many of them were already striding purposefully, unencumbered or with backpacks or wheeled carts, along the stretch of Route 20 leading from town. Among Brimfield's 20 or so different fields, the smaller "free" fields — those charging no admission to shoppers — are the first to open at daybreak, and activity was brisk stretching from Mahogany Ridge close to the village down to Green Acres.

A sampling: at Midway, Lutz's Antiques from Carlisle, Penn., was setting out a "band" of Mexican folk art musicians, colorfully crafted from 55-gallon drums by a family in Laredo; in the Meadows, Peter Sardelis, a first-time exhibitor from Birmingham, Ala., was displaying the lamps he creates from odds and ends of wrought iron and other materials; in Central Park, John Magoun of Paris, Maine, was setting out his trademark canoes, while inside his tent a folky 1920s whirligig and rustic table by Rev Ben Davis were on display; and at Quaker Acres, Mary Marconi of Arden, Del., was offering a trove of about 20,000 vintage postcards.

At 11 am, however, the focus abruptly swivels to Dealer's Choice on the south side of Route 20. A few minutes before the gates swung open, Lori Faxon, show manager, reported a full field of exhibitors lured by "reasonable prices" and the prospect of doing the one-day show and perhaps moving to another field for the rest of the week.

Dealer's Choice exhibitor Martell & Suffin Antiques brought a sampling of the Continental and Asian antiques offered in its Woodbury, Conn., shop, including a bronze Mercury sculpture from the early Nineteenth Century after Jean Baptiste Pigalle.

Kate Alex of Warner, N.H., had offloaded a massive American swan fountain from the Nineteenth Century, but a pair of terracotta finials from the early 1900s that she had acquired from a Palm Beach, Fla., estate were still inside her box truck.

Jewelry dealers were mostly to be found in the covered pavilion at the south end of the field, but Linda Miller, owner of Antiques of Woodstock, Woodstock, N.Y., and a 35-year show veteran, was on the field offering what she calls "catch of the day." In this case, the delicacy was a 14K white gold filigree bar pin, circa 1920. "White gold from that period is popular right now," said the dealer.

Across the street, Brimfield Acres North opened with an admission charge at 1 pm. Colleen James, a co-owner of the market, said she also had a full field — with a waiting list.

Deep River Antiques, Essex, Conn., was set up at the entrance to Brimfield Acres North, with some fresh finds "excavated" from a New York City warehouse, including a set of nine chairs from the 1930s designed with a musical motif, as well as four watercolor paintings of mushrooms signed Florence B. Hunt.

While much of the action takes place out on the field, Brimfield Acres North is also noted for its Antiques in the Barn — dealers like Laura McCarthy, Bayberry Antiques of Rowland, Mass., with an Eighteenth Century oval top table with provenance from the Sproat Tavern in Middleborough, Mass. — and the Postcard & Ephemera Center, where Nellie Huttunen of Northport, N.Y., was showing a fragile copy of Holley's Railroad Magazine from March 1857, as well as a calendar from 1896.

Overall, sales seemed to be good on the Tuesday fields, and although the crowds were not there in record-breaking numbers, many parking lots were displaying "full" signs, and enthusiasm among the shoppers and dealers alike seemed high.

New England Motel

As the sun peeked into the sky early Wednesday morning, the overflow crowds traversing the Brimfield markets were already mobile. Parking lot attendants were busy squeezing the last few cars that could possibly fit into their lots and putting out the "Sorry, we're full" signs.

It was also the time that the lines began to swell outside of the New England Motel. And while a few shoppers were running back and forth from the line to the food concession area for a morning eye-opening shot of java, the hardcore buyers were saving their energy to run around in this market.

"What a huge crowd," said promoter Marie Doldoorian, in reference to the long line of patrons waiting along Route 20 at the numerous entrances for the field. Doldoorian was also pleased with the level of excitement exhibited by shoppers. "They are here to buy," she said, "which is good for everyone, especially the dealers."

The crowd raced in at 6 am and sold tickets began to pop up almost everywhere. This field holds more than 250 dealers set up outdoors and under tents; there are also three large pavilions erected in the middle of the field that house 24 dealers each — the spots where the better and breakable stuff is usually found.

Twentieth Century furnishings and accessories were seen at Wayne Davis Antiques, Ludlow, Mass., with a nice assortment of materials offered ranging from Heywood Wakefield "blonde" tables and chests to classic upholstered chairs and sofas. Numerous items in the booth sported red sold tags.

James Kent makes his way to Brimfield twice a year from Fort Worth, Texas, and the dealer offered a good selection of glassware, Roseville and a nice Pairpoint lamp with reverse painted shade.

Pat Farler, Merriam, Kan., was at the show with a wide variety of merchandise, but it was the selection of cast iron toys in the booth that attracted the most attention. The dealer displayed hundreds of cast iron still banks, each graded for both condition and rarity. "There are an awful lot of them here that are very hard to find, even some that we have only ever seen a couple examples of," said the dealer. Pointing to what he referred to as "the rarest of the rare," the dealer remarked that his Hubley Royal Circus giraffe cage, pulled by a team of horses, was in better condition than examples that had recently sold at auction, and this one was priced much more reasonably.

James Young, Waynesville, N.C., captured the patriotic theme with a huge pile of American flags and political banners that started out the day in neat order but were soon transformed into a jumbled heap of red, white and blue despite the dealer's best efforts.

Pittsburgh, Penn., dealer David Snuffer filled his display with Continental furniture, although in stark contrast was a set of early baseball catcher's equipment cleverly displayed on an outside wall of the stand.

ViMax Antiques offered a good lineup of American art pottery, highlighted by a selection of vellum glazed woodland scenic vases, and, just down the aisle, vintage fashions were capturing the attention of numerous buyers in the stand of Diane Widner.

Heart-O-The-Mart

Quite a few dealers had to be turned away, said promoter Pam Moriarty at Heart-O-The-Mart on Wednesday morning as an anxious crowd began to swell outside the gates. "This is very encouraging," she said, surveying the mass of shoppers gathered outside of the main entrance on Route 20. The market has four gates, two in the front and one on each side near the rear of the market, and the crowd rushed in at 9.

Now in its 20th year, the market hosted more than 500 dealers set up in a sprawling series of fields that border a small lake. Moriarty began with just six dealers and a small homemade sign that alerted passersby that another field was opening.

The mix of materials here is vast, with everything from serious paintings dealers to camp materials displayed lakeside.

The fields filled quickly with shoppers and everyone seemed to be in a buying mood. Dealers, naturally, were in a selling mood as well, and transactions seemed to be plentiful. A wide variety of merchandise was finding buyers, and for those that were not paying attention while perusing the aisles, porters were quick to alert those looking in the other direction that they were coming through — often with large items. It took three men to move a large cupboard in old red paint down the narrow aisle, perhaps two to steer and one to clear the crowd.

Cynthia Brooks and Mary Nyholm-Vidano were on hand from Boulder, Colo., with a nice assortment of materials that ranged from World War II patriotic picture frames to a nice set of snowshoe chairs and table. Jim Messineo, JMW, Boston, offered a good selection of Arts and Crafts furniture and accessories, including a Plail Bros slatted round-backed chair and an L&JG Stickley hall bench. Pottery offered by the dealer included a Maya Grotel bowl.

A pair of large cast iron Labrador retrievers greeted shoppers at the entrance to Kelly Kinzle's display. The New Oxford, Penn., dealer also featured a rare marble clock and several nice pieces of country furniture.

Across the aisle, a Pennsylvania dower chest was getting a quick look at the stand of Barry Meade, Lititz, Penn. Moments after the show opened, the chest had moved from the booth, leaving an opening into the otherwise crowded stand.

Bob Meltzer was on hand with a good selection of Grenfell rugs and wall hangings. The New York City collector/sometimes-dealer also displayed a grand selection of choice stoneware that included an extremely rare 1-gallon jug with a large cobalt decorated eagle.

Sag Harbor, N.Y., dealer David Darinsig offered a couple of unusual cupboards, one in a Dutch baroque style, the other with a camp appearance with applied antlers and carved stag heads.

Show promoter Frank Gaglio of Barn Star Productions, Rhinebeck, N.Y., was on hand and the dealer was reporting active selling. A couple of horse weathervanes were attracting interest in the booth, along with painted furniture and numerous folk carvings.

Darwin Bealey, Akron, Ohio, was prepared for the garden crowd with a selection of outdoor chairs, settees and a nice swinging bench. The dealer also offered a selection of lawn sprinklers in Space Age forms, so cool that the lawn would feel wet even when they were not working. The forms included a rocket, streamlined fan and a globe.

A good selection of garden fountains and statuary was displayed by R.T, Facts, Kent, Conn., along with outdoor lighting and patio stuff.

Hertan's

As the noon hour approached on Wednesday, the massive crowds shifted their attention easterly down Route 20 in the direction of Hertan's. Show promoter David Lamberto was poised and ready to ring the bell that marks the start of this market, a tradition started by Jean Hertan many years ago.

Things have relaxed a little on the field and the days of "nothing out of the vehicle prior to the bell ringing" have subsided. Dealers are now allowed to set up their tables, erect their canopies, or they can set up their entire booth; however, it must be inside of a canopy with secured side covers. Lamberto emphasized that the no selling prior to the bell is a rule that is strictly enforced.

Always looking to bend the rules, shoppers were seen peeling back the secured sides of several tented booths for a quick peek as the noon hour drew ever closer, others waited patiently in lines. As the bell clanged, side covers were stripped and vans were opened. It is not unusual for buyers to seek out their favorite dealers and wait amid a crowd for items to be pulled from vehicles. "How much?" is one question that attracts attention from the frantic crowd; however, "I'll take it" is a phrase dealers prefer to hear.

Lewis Scranton, Killingworth, Conn., was back on the field at Hertan's, having relocated from the rear row toward the front. A good selection of redware, slipware plates, stoneware and country smalls were among the items that the dealer reported selling. Lebanon, Penn., dealer David Horst offered a large table filled with mocha and other Pennsylvania goodies. Next door, Sam Herrup, Sheffield, Mass., displayed numerous pieces of burl, delft, Native American pottery and a large delft charger.

Kate Alex, Warner, N.H., had moved over from the previous day's selling at Dealer's Choice, and she offered a wide variety of garden and statuary items that ranged from finials to wire plant stands and chairs.

Randy Reynolds was holding court behind an item that probably resulted in many a person heading off to court. The Cazenovia, N.Y., dealer offered a bar and back bar from a speakeasy that had operated during Prohibition. "When the law showed up, you could dump everything right through here," stated Reynolds, pointing to an opening in the bar that would drain into a concealed container in the back bar.

John Provo, Crystal Brook, Minn., offered a good selection of Adirondack stick furniture, including a nice lunch set by Old Hickory with a table and chairs. A monumental pilothouse cast iron eagle was offered by Bob Smith, Monlose, Penn., and Clay and Mary Smith offered a huge selection of early toys, including a large lot of oversized tin trains.

Hebron, Conn., dealer David Bland has been offering good period furniture from his roadside booth practically since the market began. Bland was seen there once again with a wide variety of chairs ranging from Windsors to ladder backs, a shaped top Queen Anne tip-top table, a nice highboy and a Chippendale slant front desk.

May's

A crowd of buyers, hundreds deep, fanned out from the gate at May's and into the road as the minutes slowly ticked by until the field's 9 am opening on Thursday. At the appointed time, dollar bills were feverishly thrust into the gate attendants' hands as single-minded shoppers pushed through in an orderly yet determined manner.

Dealers at M.A. Storck Company, Portland, Maine, had a stand a short distance up the main aisle from the gate and were one of the first booths hit hard. Several buyers crowded around the display cases as the dealers tried to arrange silver pieces in cases. Fine teapots, groupings of flatware and a repoussé charger were laid out as quickly as could be, with shoppers immediately seizing on desired items and querying the best price.

The dealers said they were mobbed at opening and the crowds stayed strong through Saturday, even on Friday, which they noted was usually quiet. "Selling was excellent" with sterling, jewelry, coins, paper money and postcards doing well.

M.A Storck's most noteworthy sale was a City of New York Police Deputy Chief Inspector Badge, 14K yellow gold with blue enameling on the front, that was presented in 1956 to a narcotics officer.

A standout at Charles Bojack, Cleveland, Ohio, was a cast aluminum playground snail's head on a pole. The whimsical creature, wearing a hat, came out of Cleveland, and Bojack said cast aluminum items are very desirable now.

The Estate Marketplace, Taunton, Mass., was showing a pair of signed 1960s Philip Laverne cigarette tables among a host of smalls, including clocks and decorative arts offerings.

Twin Tankard Antiques, Silver Spring, Md., carries a huge inventory of pewter and even runs a significant catalog business. The tables lining the dealer's booth were laden with all manner of pewter, but this was only the tip of the iceberg, the dealer said, noting the bulk of his pieces were back in Maryland with only a representative selection on view.

Highlights offered here were considerable, however, and included an early Nineteenth Century German repoussé decorated charger showing the judgment of Solomon, circa 1845, and an early Nineteenth Century English pewter basin from London's father-and-son makers, Thomas & Townsend Compton, circa 1810, 13 inches diameter.

Textiles are a staple at Brimfield, and May's was no exception. From an antique trunk spilling over with choice hankies and lacey fabrics at one dealer's booth to quilts folded up in neat piles on tables, buyers had lots from which to choose.

From textiles to the more unusual, May's offerings run the gamut. The most unusual things spotted being toted around the field included one man carrying a pair of wooden kayak oars (no boat in sight, however), and another buyer hefting around a carved and painted wooden whale.

With gas prices down significantly from the May 2008 show, it was not surprising to see dealers making cross-country treks to show at Brimfield. They do it anyway, but at least this time, their gas bill was not so steep. A quick peek at license plates for dealers' trucks across the field reveals a variety of colorful plates from such locales as Arizona, Missouri, Florida and Oklahoma.

Charles Gardiner, Ashburnham, Mass., did not have a long drive to get here. A standout in his booth was a fine piece of Cortland, N.Y., stoneware, probably 1850s–60s, that was decorated in a naïve fashion, which is what appealed to the dealer. Unlike the precisely applied double-tulip cobalt decorations Cortland pieces are known for, this has the charm of outsider art. "This is a painting as far as I am concerned. It's a painting in cobalt…," he said.

Advertising signs were everywhere and included such fine examples as a "Waitt & Bond's Blackstone [cigars]," "S&H Green Stamps, Save As You Spend" and a 6-foot-tall milk bottle-shaped sign for "Queen Dairy Milk, The Best."

Negotiating with dealers is all part of the game here and some interesting banter overheard on the field included such succinct quotes from dealers as, "Whatever I sell, I sell" and "Give you a good deal on this if you're interested" and the classic, "That's a fair offer."

Over at Toys, Clocks and Telephones, Wolcott, Conn., buyers were serious about shopping, and early on a group crowded around the booth, examining such offerings as a 1920s lighter in the form of a boy at a water fountain, a grouping of Ingersoll Clocks and Watches items and a Carl Bubb toy car, white with a painted red interior simulating leather.

Jerry Frey, Lancaster, Penn., offered a Dietz No. 60 Beacon light, as well as a collection of vintage and antique fishing reels, while Jerry and Paulann Turner, Hot Springs, Ark., showed a variety of drugstore and advertising items, including a Diamond Dyes cabinet case and a Munyon's Homeopathic Remedies wooden box, a Ward's Orange Crush syrup dispenser and a Blackman's Medicated Salt Brick display complete with tins that were originally marketed to help ailing horses.

Sherman Alden Antiques, Holyoke, Mass., specializes in Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century rural New England wares, offered a circa 1820 country Sheraton farm table in original surface that was found in an Eighteenth Century farmhouse in Vermont last fall.

Other choice items seen for sale included a charming firkin in a gray Wedgwood blue paint with copper rivets, as well as a Staffordshire tea set, circa 1840–60, decorated with violet flower blooms set against green ferns. The dealer was asking $3,650.

J&J Promotions

At 50 years, J&J Promotions is still as strong as ever, still filling Auction Acres three times each summer. Judy Reid Mathieu and her sister, Jill Reid Lukash, were at the opening gate Thursday evening when their 500 dealers were rolling in to erect tents and set out their collections of early furniture, dishes, household iron objects, early firearms and lighting. You name it, it was probably there, even sports cards and sporting gear were found on the grounds.

Originally Gordon Reid's Famous Flea Market, it has been called Reid's, the Sisters, the Girls and now it is best known by an abbreviation of the correct name, J&J's. Gordon Reid, a country auctioneer, started it when he realized his customers were trading so well in the parking lot. He came up with the idea to have the sales simply by charging dealers to park and visitors admission to shop. Add some food concessions and you have a party!

In the early years, he ran the affair twice a year, May and September, eventually adding July for the customers that were looking for more trading time. Gordon and his wife, Madelyn, traveled throughout New England, inviting dealers to set up booths on the large field behind their home. His first show brought in 67 exhibitors. At the time of his death in 1974, the shows had grown to 600 exhibitors and thousands of visitors.

His daughters Judy and Jill began their shows on the west end of the trading area while their brother continued to run Reid's Famous Flea Market. Eventually, the sisters resumed management of the family property as J&J's Antiques Market, selling their west end shows to Faxon's (Dealer's Choice) and Hopfe-James (Brimfield Acres North).

The show is the last to open each week, on Friday, but with the biggest audience for its large collection of dealers. It had been opening at 6 am for many years, but this year that changed to 8 am for the first time, allowing customers a more rational time to begin shopping and the dealers a chance to take a deep breath in the morning. The show closed Saturday at 4 pm.

Jackie Robinson of Miller Robinson, Ashfield, Mass., said, "We did quite a bit better than we expected." She added that they sold their carnival horse, which "galloped off to Florida" after pricing it at $1,195, and also a blue milk painted settle bench at $995. With sports paraphernalia as their collection, Diane and Doug McElwain, Goldsboro, N.C., do well selling their unusual inventory. First-time dealers Adin Poole and his partner Tim Brigham of Iron Stone Antiques in Chester, Vt., were so busy selling their collection of small antiques, they had a production line for collecting and packing. Brigham added that they also sold furniture, including a corner cupboard and chest, which were shipped directly to California.

Higganum House Antiques is Pat and Neal Blodgett's selling venue for several thousand small antiques. They do not bring furniture to a show, unless it fits into a dollhouse, nothing big enough to be carried with two hands, but it is a remarkable collection. Cork screws, screw drivers; small lights and candle sticks; tools and tole ware trays; their exhibit is one of a kind, a treasure chest of interesting and unusual objects. And their sales at J&J are usually good enough to make them anxious for the next show.

Its premier position in the nation's antiques market is acknowledged by dealers, collectors, decorators and just regular folks looking for some great stuff; antiques for the home, for museums, for collections or for resale. And this, according to an Ohio buyer, was "the show of the week… not to be missed," an opinion echoed by many.

Judy Mathieu was thrilled with the visitor comments about sales and also the later opening on Friday morning. This time change seemed to attract more buyers. J&J Antiques & Collectibles Show repeats July 17–18 and September 11–12 this year. For information, 413-245-3436 or www.jandj-brimfield.com .

For general information on all the fields, www.brimfieldexchange.com .