Story and Photos By Nancy Vozar
American Spirit Gallery, York, Penn.
PRINCETON, N.J.- En route to the , driving south down Nassau
Street past the hallowed halls of Princeton University, with its
Gothic arches and leaded glass windows, one eventually comes to a
fork in the road. Directly in front is a monumental relief of the
Revolutionary War's Battle of Princeton, honoring the fallen
soldiers. Turning left at the fork heading toward Lawrenceville,
there seems to be at least one Colonial home that could
legitimately boast, "George Washington slept here."
These reminders of the birth of our nation were relevant when one
viewed some of the historical items and antiques that flavored
the dealers' booths at the . Under the management of David and
Peter Mancuso, the show was held on February 15 and 16 at the
National Guard Armory in Lawrenceville, N.J. (Unfortunately, an
East Coast blizzard curtailed the scheduled Sunday, February 16
date.) Besides customers seeing antique treasures and meeting
articulate, knowledgeable dealers, they also knew the price of
admission helped to benefit Womanspace, an organization helping
women and children in crisis.
Commenting on the show's attendance, David Mancuso said, "We had
a good Saturday, with good attendance, and a little blizzard
thrown in to add to the weekend excitement. It was a good show
considering the circumstances." Show participant Roger D. Winter
echoed similar comments saying, "It's an extremely well attended,
busy show."
A French print by Lewis Rhead, Antique Prints & Paper,
Highland Park, N.J.
Perhaps one of the most memorable and dramatic items - a true
museum piece - pertaining to our own "War of Independence" was
found in the room setting of Day's Antiques, Brunswick, Maine. It
was the pre-Revolutionary War Vose desk. This two-part, slant
front country pine desk had open shelving and storage
compartments in the upper section and a lower slant front with
multi-drawer base supported on a single board with a boot jack
type base. And while this piece had the presence to add interest
to any interior, it was the provenance that added the punch. The
desk was obtained from the Daniel Vose family, Milton Lower
Mills, Mass. and the John Parker family. On September 9, 1774,
Daniel Vose's home in Milton was the site where the Suffolk
County delegates met and denounced the British closing of the
Port of Boston. Indeed, this delegation went a step further, by
boldly demanding an end to the British occupation. The Suffolk
Resolves, formulated during the meeting, were the most courageous
and most aggressive statements of the Colonial position prior to
the outbreak of the American Revolution. The Suffolk Resolves
were drafted on this desk!
While there may not have been a historic connection linked to
them, there were many other items in this booth that made the
journey from Maine to New Jersey. A pair of monumental Arts &
Crafts andirons (421/2 inches high by 35 inches deep) came from
Boothbay Harbor. Commenting on the size of the fireplace that
these andirons originally framed, David said, "It was so large,
you could have parked a car there." Other items included an
English oak cricket table with a red wash (circa 1920), an early
Nineteenth Century English tricycle, in working order, with its
original velvet seat, a Twentieth Century mannequin, a child's
Victorian push/pull sled with nice early paint (circa 1880), and
child's pull horse toy with its original hide cover. David was
enthusiastic in his support for the show. "It's one of the best
of the 24 shows we participate in each year, with a nice group of
dealers offering a diversified mix of quality items, and it's a
plus to help benefit Womanspace."
In the booth of Paul D. Phillips Antiques, Bryn Mawr, Penn., was
a pair of reverse paintings on glass of the victor of the Battle
of Princeton, George Washington, and his wife Martha. Attributed
to William Matthew Prior (1806-1873), the paintings of our
"first, First Family" still retained their original frames. A
Nineteenth Century full-body gold gilded American eagle copper
weathervane rested on top of a Queen Anne period Pennsylvania
two-drawer farm table made of walnut (circa 1760) with a wood peg
construction and pad feet
Phillips also exhibited a cavalcade of clocks. One of his most
desirable clocks was a highly sought after mid Nineteenth Century
shelf clock with a ripple front. The movement was stamped
"Forestville MFG Company Patent Applied For Sept. 4, 1848."
Another clock, made of papier-mache, is seldom seen in such good,
original condition because it is so fragile. About 1850, this
example had a light blue mother-of-pearl inlay. Two larger clocks
included a cherry tall case clock by Edward Spauling, Providence,
RI (circa 1770), and a circa 1825, French Provincial Morbier
wag-on-the-wall clock. It was noted by Phillips that, "This clock
would often hang on the homeowner's wall until he could afford to
have the wooden case made for it."
George III had written in his diary that, "Nothing of importance
happened today." The day was July 4, 1776! Perhaps, just perhaps,
the King wrote this on one of the desks found in the booth of
Roger D. Winter, Solebury, Penn. Among the items receiving
attention was a rare George III (England, 1790) kidney shaped
writing table in rosewood and mahogany with an inset tooled
leather top, and a pair of George III (England, 1790) card tables
with D-shaped tops in satinwood, outlined in rosewood
crossbanding, on tapered square legs, line inlaid with ebony.
Winter also displayed a late Nineteenth Century yew wood Carlton
desk with rounded structure, the writing surface inset with
tooled leather and square tapering legs terminating in brass
castors. Chatting with Winter after the show, we learned that
this magnificent desk sold as he was packing up on Sunday.
Displayed on top of a fine low oak dresser, crossbanded in
mahogany with fluted and inlaid columns, was a Masons partial
dinner service (England, 1840).
Also shown in Winter's booth was a mahogany Chippendale corner
cupboard (England, circa 1765-1770). On one wall hung a rare pair
of Federal mirrors (circa 1800) in an unusual small size (29
inches high by 18 inches wide). The five inch central circular
mirror was surrounded by a wide concave round frame flanked by
applied floral swags and topped with winged eagles on a rocky
crag base mounted with scrolled leaf and shell design all in gilt
gessoed carved wood.
The symbol of our nation, chosen in 1782 during the Revolutionary
War, was majestically represented in a booth fittingly named
American Spirit Gallery, York, Penn. This copper eagle finial
with a hollow body construction and nice patina was from
Pennsylvania (circa 1880-1910). Displayed on one wall was a
Nineteenth Century New England real estate sign. Showing it to an
interested customer, dealer Roger Parsells pointed out a
construction tip that supported the sign's early age. Examining
the marks on the back of the sign, Parsells mentioned that it
showed the sign was made using an older straight saw, not a more
contemporary circular saw.
Other items in Parsells's booth included a mid Nineteenth Century
Pennsylvania punched tin pie safe, in unrestored condition, with
hex sign and sunburst design, an exceptionally large (21 inches
high by ten inches in circumference) early Nineteenth Century
hand-punched lantern, a chimney cupboard of an unusually small
size, and a Pennsylvania hand-forged iron, double construction,
quilting frame (circa 1800).
An interesting folk art item hung on the booth wall of SAJE
Americana, Short Hills, N.J. It was a 1924 firehouse gameboard
that started its life in Kansas City. Around the perimeters of
the board were advertising blocks from various local
establishments, such as DeVoe Paints, Hardware, and Plumbing,
Minrock Natural Spring Water, Cowan's Floral Shoppe, Argentine
Lumber & Fuel Co. and Scheerer's Shoe Shine. According to
dealer Steven Shapiro, "Apparently advertising on the game board
financially supported the upkeep of the firehouse."
SAJE Americana, Short Hills, N.J.
Skillfully arranged beneath the game board was a group of painted
boxes in various sizes. Also seen in the booth were several
Eighteenth Century Rhode Island tiger maple furniture items. One
piece was a chest on frame and the other was a Chippendale desk.
Also offered was a large wooden hatbox made by Hannah Davis from
New Hampshire in the first half of the Nineteenth Century. What
made this box rare was the wonderful cornucopia design centered
on the front. .
The visual centerpiece of Nancy and Alan Gilbert's booth,
Mountainville, NJ was an oil on canvas portrait of a New England
gentleman (attributed to S.J. Hamblin) from the mid 1800's, in a
bird's-eye maple frame. Other items furnishing their room setting
were a solid cherry drop-leaf table from the Pembrook Hepplewhite
period, a bird's-eye maple two drawer stand (circa 1830), a Louis
Vuitton suitcase on a custom-made stand, a chest of drawers with
a solid tiger maple front (circa 1830), a dovetailed copper apple
butter kettle (circa 1850), several sets of Victorian barbells,
trade signs of a wooden cleaver and scissors, and a grouping of
wooden folk art, drill team or WWI training rifles.
The Gilbert's neighbor was Jonas Ewing, Bethlehem, Penn., who had
a two-drawer blanket chest in old blue paint, three candlestands,
a mid Nineteenth Century pine country drop-leaf table with fine
tapered legs, and a Scandinavian decorated and dated 1800
treenware bowl. As Saturday was winding down, sales in Ewing's
booth included a Queen Anne style side chair, a Federal demi-lune
table, candlesticks, engravings and china.
The visual arts and ephemera were also represented by several
dealers. As a former photographer for the Philadelphia
Inquirer, we learned that Roger Tunis, Berwyn, PA went from a
career of taking pictures to collecting pictures, or perhaps we
should say landscapes, seascapes, and portraits of American and
European listed artists from the late Nineteenth Century and
early Twentieth Century. Our attention was drawn to a European,
Nineteenth Century unsigned oil on canvas landscape with cows and
sheep in the Realism style similar to Belgium painter Franz Van
Severdonck and British painter Thomas Sydney Cooper. Among the
wide assortment of maps in the booth of Heritage Antique Maps,
Doylestown, Penn., was one with strong topical interest. It was a
(circa 1865) Currier & Ives "View of New York." Across the
aisle was a booth any Mucha devotee would have gravitated toward.
Shown at Antique Prints & Paper, Highland Park, NJ was an
original cover from L'Estampe Moderne with Mucha's work in his
signature Art Nouveau style.
For information on upcoming Mancuso shows, 215-862-5828, or visit
www.quiltfest.com.
