Rhinebeck's Summer Magic: An Elixir For New And Seasoned Antiques Collectors

Rhinebeck, N.Y.

:There are certain things you can count on every summer — corn shoots growing into cornfields, dripping ice cream cones and fireflies. You can also count on antiques dealers offering a wide range of antiques at Rhinebeck's Summer Magic Antiques Fair, which took place Saturday, July 25, at the Dutchess County Fairgrounds. Fortunately, there was no rain during setup on Friday. Show promoter Bruce Garrett's PA announcements reminded dealers that there was watermelon available at "Jimi's Diner" and the day was lovely, cool and breezy. Saturday was a rare day of sunshine. Even with the great weather, there was good attendance at the one-day show.

Summer Magic offered a strong core of early American antiques complemented with loads of smalls and lower priced items to appeal to summer tourists, weekenders and today's tighter wallets. There were great textiles, including samplers, quilts, coverlets and hooked rugs. Mostly Nineteenth Century American furniture and furnishings included traditional and quirky one-of-a-kind pieces. There were also fine artworks such as the Frederick Bridgman painting of a young girl (the artist's daughter) and a kitten offered by Post Road Gallery of Larchmont, N.Y. There was more than a smattering of Native American artifacts. In other words, Summer Magic was an elixir for both new and seasoned collectors.

Rhinebeck is the perfect antidote for having a house that looks like it was designed from a catalog or furnished from a chain store. One-of-a-kinds were everywhere, like the 5½ -foot-long fish sign from Mississippi at the booth of Francis Crespo Studio, Newark, N.J., that practically jumped off the wall with originality. The flamboyant fish sign in blues and greens was priced at $750. Crespo also offered a Deer Pond Lodge sign in the shape of an arrowhead, a sailor's woolly, a Japanese screen, an Ichiban basket and a customized World War II helmet painted with the soldier's buddies' names that happened to fit dealer Francis Crespo perfectly.

For those who want to add some polish to their home, Hotel Silver owned by Ginger Kilbane of Darien, Conn., offered hardy silver plate over nickel flatware and hollowware that would add luster to any kitchen, patio or dining room. All of Kilbane's hotel silver originated in Europe. "Formality is not for today," said Kilbane. "Hospitality is what it's about. Friends live in your kitchen. A few pieces of hotel service make a gathering a celebration." With constraints on everyone's time these days, it is nice to be able to throw your silver in the dishwasher. Another nice thing about hotel silver is its simple design. Collectors can mix and match vintage hotel silver to good effect. Kilbane sees another huge advantage to hotel silver — it is quite affordable.

Lynn Worden of Worden Select Objects, Burr Oak, Mich., was happy to see people in their 30s and 40s shopping at Rhinebeck. "It was a nice-sized crowd — I was very encouraged by that." Worden brought a set of six Twentieth Century chairs with black leather tombstone backs and sturdy wood legs and seats. Unusual things that look good together are her specialty. There were iron floats from the Wisconsin shore of Lake Michigan that were painted gray on one side and soft mustard, peach, blue and other hues on the other. There was a mirror framed with a collage of yardsticks that had logos and business names on them. A restaurant table and hanging iron pot rack got a lot of attention at her booth.

If the fair was an elixir for collectors, it was also a tonic for some of the show's 113 dealers. After the show, Justin Cobb of Captain's Quarters, Amherst, Mass., said, "I was pleased! I sold some scrimshaw, a kachina doll, an Indian drum and totems. All in all, a good day was had." Cobb displayed two exceptional scrimshawed walrus tusks, a 30-minute hour glass ship's watch timer, a 5 ½–6-foot-long half hull from the Great White Fleet era, an Indian burlwood canoe cup used for bailing out canoes, a China Trade painting of Captain James Fogg of California and a captivating folk art painting of a riverboat captain circa 1860–80 that spoke volumes about the man's character. The painting suggests that the riverboat captain was not a man with whom to play cards, or to cross.

Perkins & Menson of Ashby, Mass., had a charming hooked rug of a striped cat that would be a hit with any cat lover. It came out of central New York State and was in excellent condition. Karen Redinger of Litchfield, Conn., brought a grouping of eight feminine tole trays with flowers painted on ivory backgrounds, decoupage boxes, quilts and decorative floral paintings.

Post Road Gallery's booth was dominated by a large bronze fountain that could be placed indoors. It featured a child sculpted by Rudolf Henn and a base made by the Florentine Craftsmen shop of New York. Dealer David Bahssin said that the fountain came from the collection of Henn's daughter. Bahssin also had an austere pair of folk portraits of a man and woman from Connecticut by Ammi Phillips that were $15,000 for the pair. Daniel Olson of Newburgh, N.Y., brought a mid-Nineteenth Century old blue cupboard that he found in Vermont in the 1970s. Also in his booth was a handsome clerk's desk that had unusual dovetails and rosehead nails.

Vintage Matters of Mount Bethel, Penn., assembled some wonderful vintage wire hangers that each had unique curlicue lines. Maggie Milgrim and Vincent Verdi brought a Seventeenth Century Flemish oil on copper that showed a scene that was probably the head of John the Baptist being brought to Salome and her mother at Herod's command. It was only $2,750. There are definitely surprises at every turn at Rhinebeck.

Sanford Levy of Jenkinstown Antiques, New Paltz, N.Y., sold a blanket box and three pieces of artwork, including a Currier & Ives print of Washington Irvington's home "Sunnyside" on the Hudson River and a painting by a Provincetown artist. "I was busy. I bought very well," he said. "There were a lot of people that I knew and some new faces. I was very happy, considering the economy. It was a mixed show. There was a respectable crowd, although it did get quiet around 3–3:30," he added.

Levy featured antiques and art from the area, like the group of stoneware 3-gallon jugs from Roundout, Poughkeepsie, Ellenville and Brooklyn and N.Y. A colorful screen painted in a WPA style showed West Point. The painter D.F. Hasbrouck was featured front and center with a large landscape. Hasbrouck painted in the Rhinebeck and Stanfordville area.

Maile Allen, Colonia, N.J., offered fine limited edition maps, natural history, botanical and other prints. She displayed a first edition John J. Audubon elephant folio quadruped lithograph of "Four Striped Ground Squirrels" showing four inquisitive chipmunks. It was printed by J.T. Bowen in 1843. A magnificent fifth edition map of North and South America showing information on indigenous peoples was published by John Speed, an English cartographer, and depicted California as an island. A 1676 edition, "the map has beautiful color and deep engraving for the fifth state," said Allen. It was priced at $14,700. Allen, however, is an expert at creating new collectors. She had racks of Saturday Evening Post and other vintage magazine covers priced at $32 each. "I make a point of finding botanicals from the 1830s and 1820s that are cheaper now than they were ten years ago." Indeed, many were available for $60 or $70 or less.

Allen said, "It was a little lighter than normal, but I made some great sales to collectors. There were return customers and a couple new young collectors, too. Return customers frequent the show. It attracts locals in the area — farmers or people who live there full time or folks with weekend homes — from Milan in northern Dutchess, Columbia and across the river in Ulster and Greene Counties. Rhinebeck is more of a regional show in the summer with all of the weekenders."

Pages of Yesteryear, Newtown, Conn., displayed a George Elbert Burr engraving of Estes Park, Colo., a J.K Burleigh original illustration of an eagle from a Universal Weekly cover titled "Fighting America" and a wonderful original pencil illustration for children's literature of a mouse and a bird teaching a whole bunch of little birds that was signed but not identified. Shoppers had a big selection of lovely old French-language canisters at the booth of Blue Shutter Antiques, Montgomery, N.Y. Sport & Spool Antiques of Goldsboro, N.C., exuded a warm, masculine aura with trophies, flags and sporting equipment, including a great display of vintage leather footballs, basketballs and punching bags.

Swirl enamelware collectors could find plenty to satisfy at the booth of Don and Marta Orwig of Corunna, Ind. Bob and Ellie Vermillion of Poughkeepsie, N.Y., displayed 16 pairs of Victorian-era children's shoes as well as kitchen implements like piecrust crimpers, choppers and rolling pins (including two double-bar handled rolling pins). The Vermillions also brought a beautiful tramp art child's dresser in soft turquoise paint, circa 1900. It was found in Indiana and was priced at $995.

Mimi Gunn decided to go with a garden theme for Summer Magic. Featured in her booth were two benches with Arts and Craft proportions, urns, statuary and a few odd finds like the gigantic chocolate mold in dog form, the rustic sign that spelled out bacon with horseshoes and the acrylic on canvas by Robert Harvey of three girls out for a summer stroll on the beach boardwalk. Three large Pima Indian baskets drew lots of attention.

William Lohrman of New Paltz, N.Y., offered a brass overlay slag glass lamp, a huge custom-made wooden toolbox that was full of tools. "E.G. Vanostrand, Rosendale, N.Y." was carved on the inside of the lid. A metal carousel horse with a leather saddle had several layers of old and worn paint that revealed brown, gray, black, beige and touches of orange. It looked more interesting for the wear. Indian arrowheads were offered at $20 a point.

Bill and Elaine Koster of New York City featured a lovely one-of-a-kind valentine on paper with pin-prick designs and cutouts, watercolor birds, butterflies and hearts. It was in great condition and was priced at $1,575. A Quaker sampler dated 1840 came from Pennsylvania and a "postage stamp" quilt came from Ohio. The Kosters also brought a 79-by-90-inch coverlet from New York dated 1845 in navy and white. An iron pentagram with an anchor at center was painted blue and was most likely a trade or lodge sign.

Festive was the best way to describe the booth of William and Teresa Kurau, Lampeter, Penn. They brought historical Staffordshire, Liverpool pitchers, spatterware, gaudy Dutch, as well as blue and white, red and white, brown and white and even purple and white transfer ware. Jill Wojtaszek of Port Jervis, N.Y., had the most gargantuan shelf mushroom that I have ever see. It was arranged like a billowing fan. Wojtaszek also displayed a ship model of the Alan A of South Manchester.

Vast steam-fitted copper mixing bowls that were used in factory production of candy or chocolate were displayed at Village Braider, Plymouth Mass. The dealer also had a gambling wheel crafted from a bicycle wheel and a carnival game-of-skill target with various faces that emoted worry, fear, surprise and so on. At the booth of Joseph Collins of Middletown, Conn., there was an attractive set of four yellow painted chairs with floral decorations, a beautiful corner cabinet with 12 lights and a nice grain painted blanket chest.

Don Zanone of New York City had a 1930s electric massager that had real personality, like a pet robot on a leash. A Humpty Dumpty teapot was made by Lingard Pottery in Britain in 1930. The same design was featured in Garth Clark's book, The Eccentric Teapot , 1989. This was Zanone's very first antiques show and he was delighted to be at Rhinebeck.

"It was a very good show for me. I was scared to do it because of the economy, but I ended up selling about 24 things. I couldn't be happier," he said. He brought a mix of quirky offbeat things like the telephone that was shaped like a woman's high heel, and traditional antiques such as the tall brass desk lamp from the 1830s that sold for $1,500 to a designer up in Hudson. "I brought a bunch of vintage of watches and sold a couple of those," he reported. "A dealer from New York bought five watches in one sale."

Zanone, who is also publisher of Glass Quarterly , said, "Bruce and Brett [Brandes, show manager] make the setup and the show a breeze for dealers because it is trouble-free and quite easy to set up. The staff was very helpful and gracious. They are a very nice group to work with. I would like to come back for the fall."

Marc Witus, Gladstone, N.J., had cases of smalls at the front of his booth filled with reasonably priced gold jewelry, wonderful sterling silver lighters, miniatures and more. In the back of his booth he had a five-slat ladder back armchair from South Jersey from the 1830s–1850s and conversation pieces like the metal rubber boot molds and two truncheons. Philip Liverant, Colchester, Conn., was selling an Indian quirt, old gut-strung snowshoes, antique lithographs, swords, a long rifle and canes.

Nutmeg Treasures, Glastonbury, Conn., featured a charming 1822 sampler sewn by Adeline Hoffman and a 1920 cast iron "Eagle" miniature stove from Lancaster County, Penn. Nutmeg also offered a nice selection of Rockingham pottery and tin cookie cutters. Things were light and airy at the booth of Joan Bogart of Rockville Centre, N.Y., who showed white wicker and four framed panels of wallpaper showing a child carrying a cascading floral arrangement.

Michael and Lucinda Seward, Pittsford, Vt., were selling five Eighteenth Century carved wood Chinese panels for just $375. A four-drawer Biedermeier chest from the 1840s was $695. A Nineteenth Century carved stand with elaborate mother-of-pearl inlay would make a great display for some objet d'art. Michael Seward was especially pleased to offer an orotone print of an Edward Curtis photo of Indians riding horseback on a rocky hillside in its original frame and with its original label. It was priced at $3,900.

Ackerson Homestead Antiques, Park Ridge, N.J., had early bowling pins in red paint, clear glass oil lamps and a child's high chair in red paint with a rush seat. A Nineteenth Century chestnut cabbage shredder came out of Pennsylvania. A very nice brass fireplace trivet with a walnut handle and well defined slipper feet, an ivory tipped small spinning wheel and a great old bean colander were also attractive buys.

Alan, June and Eli Goodrich of Langhorne, Penn., developed an airy natural history theme with botanical samples pressed and framed. A French door was used to "frame" pressed flowers in an innovative presentation. They also brought a smallish Amish quilt from the 1950s and an old "Kick Back" game manufactured by Joseph Sneider Inc, New York, that worked on the same principle as pinball.

There was more nature to be found at the booth of Seaver & McLellan Antiques of Jaffrey, N.H. They offered framed seashell displays and glass domes filled with softly colored birds' eggs, a six-drawer butterfly collection chest and a turtle shell. A large factory table on wheels was a contrast.

This year, Summer Magic was only down about 15 dealers from last year, according to Garrett. "We worked our butts off in the past two weeks," he said. That work paid off. The fall Rhinebeck Antiques Fair will take place on October 10 and 11. For information, www.rhinebeckantiquesfair.com or call 845-876-1989.