David Wheatcroft,
Westborough, Mass.
Story and photos by R. Scudder Smith
YORK, PENN. -- Shows come and go, but there is one constant in
the business -- . "We have been here at the York Fairgrounds for
33 years now, and we're still going strong both in the spring and
in the fall," Jim Burk, manager, said. At the same time he showed
some concern as plans unfolded for two additional shows on the
fairgrounds during his dates, October 31-November 1.
Jim is moving the Greater York Show out of Memorial Hall and into
the new building at the fairgrounds, the Expo Arena. Barry Cohen
will be moving his York Tailgate Show, now going on ten years
old, out of the Quality Inn and into Memorial Hall. Frank Gaglio,
Barn Star Productions, is starting a new show, The Pennsylvania
Antiques Show, also to be staged in the new Expo Arena.
"Three shows at the same place and at the same time, it might
work," Jim said, adding, "it is not going to make me do anything
different. We are still going to put on the show collectors and
dealers have come to expect these many years." Truly the Greater
York Show has become the destination of many major players in
antiques, and both private and museum collections have benefited
from the objects that have turned up there over the years.
"I was doing this show when it first started and there were no
walls, it was more table-top at that time," dealer Jim Glazer
said, "and the show has always been good to me and countless
other exhibitors." Jim Burk mentioned, "When we went to walls as
we know them today, we made them and still own them. Since we do
not have to rent walls, we can keep the cost of doing our shows
more in line." He is designing a new floor plan for the arena and
there is a good chance that a few more dealers will be added to
the list of exhibitors. At present, 123 are named in the program.
Pennsylvania furniture, redware, folk art and quilts arrive in
great quantity at York, and New England objects are right behind.
With all parts of the East Coast and beyond represented by the
dealers, variety is the spark that keeps people coming back.
"Some great things came into the show this time," Jim said. One
person who was outside the main entrance midmorning on Friday
said, "Just about everybody coming out of the show had a package
or a piece of furniture in tow."
Without question, there were many tempting objects. At the front
of the show the booth of James Kilvington, Dover, Del., offered a
large flower quilt with red and green design on white, scalloped
edges; a barber pole with the original red and white surface,
about six feet tall and eight inches in diameter; and two early
trade signs. One was painted metal, curved, with "warehouse"
spelled out in red and gold letters on a blue field. It was
signed by the artist, "Wright PTR." Another sign advertised the
trade of a Mr Burtt, watchmaker.
Furniture filled the booth of Joanne Boardman of DeKalb, Ill.,
who had just the ticket for anyone looking for a good hutch
table. In fact, she displayed two of them. The first dated from
the Eighteenth Century, shoe-foot, 43- by 45-inch top, and came
out of historic Greenston Hall, Va. The other, a New England
shoe-foot, pine with hardwood top, 42 by 47 inches with old
surface, dated circa 1780.
Raccoon Creek, Bridgeport, N.J.
If documentation and provenance are important to a buyer, then
interest should have been shown in a Vermont tall chest in the
booth of Don and Kay Buck, Chester, N.J. The tag read, "This case
of drawers was made for Chole (Dart) Robinson by her father,
Dart, in Wethersfield, Vt., in 1785 out of cherry wood boards
from trees on his farm. She was mother of Clarissa (Robinson)
Larmed and grandmother of George B. Larmed." The chest measured
51 inches high, 41 inches wide and 181/2 inches deep. Also shown
was a New England blanket chest, petite, with both the front and
the back with a yellow and brown painted surface. It was only 37
inches wide and dated circa 1840.
A portrait of a large rooster with red comb hung in the booth of
Rockingham, Vt., dealers Stephen/Douglas. A nice stand with
grain-painted drawer and spool-turned legs was shown, and a
pastel of a man seated in the red-painted thumb back Windsor side
chair was attributed to W.M.S. Doyle, Boston.
A well-carved pair of Susquehanna River geese decoys, circa 1950,
possibly by Madison Mitchell, was in the booth of Tom Brown,
McMurray, Penn. Among his furniture was a large two-part
Pennsylvania corner cupboard with curved and reeded waist and
columns, fitted with a center drawer, bracket feet and in walnut.
An Eighteenth Century one-board top stretcher base chair table in
old red was in the booth shared by two Portsmouth, N.H., dealers,
Sharon Platt and Hollis Broderick. The top of this piece measured
311/2 by 261/4 inches. Tim Hill of Hill Gallery, Birmingham,
Mich., showed a weathered whirligig of four horses in a riding
ring, Midwest origin, in the original paint. It was powered by
windmill blades. Also shown was a theorem picturing a bowl of
fruit with floral borders, circa 1835, 29 by 28 inches, from
Turnbridge, Vt.
A carved and painted fish trade sign, New England, dating from
the early Twentieth Century, 301/2 inches long, ex Bert Hemphill
collection, was shown by Russ and Karen Goldberger of Rye, N.H. A
Queen Anne tavern table with scrubber top, original red painted
base, circa 1750, was among the pieces of furniture in the booth.
Rich and Pat Garthoeffner of Lititz, Penn., offered a Fiske
weathervane, horse and sulky, circa 1890, with overall gilt
surface, and a pair of cast-iron candlestands, circa 1880-1924,
handwrought with spun brass. A nice portrait of a kitten, oil on
canvas, was signed by the artist, H. Haskell.
Ronald & Penny Dionne, Willington, Conn.
Maine was the origin of several pieces of furniture shown by Pam
and Martha Boynton, Groton, Mass., including a grain-painted
crib, red and black, turned corner posts with finials, and a
painted and decorated blanket box. Several painted clock faces
were also shown.
John Sideli of Hillsdale, N.Y., offered a marble clock face with
Roman numerals, circa 1910, E. Howard & Co., and a large shoe
trade sign in leather with brass eyelets for the laces. Another
trade sign came from a shop where "Expert Watch Repair" was once
done.
Attracting lots of interest in the booth of Raccoon Creek,
Bridgeport, N.J., was a rounded counter in the original paint and
well-worn top board that came from an old Bernville Hotel and
dated from the mid-Nineteenth Century. A large wooden eagle, with
a wingspan of close to three feet, original white painted
surface, Massachusetts origin, was perched on a large ball.
Marilyn Kowaleski of Warnersville, Penn., had several red sold
tags about her booth, one fixed to a rag rug runner and another
to a dome-top document box. A painted and decorated chest of
drawers on turned feet had half columns applied to the front.
Steven Smoot Antiques of Lancaster, Penn., offered a painted and
decorated set of six plank seat Windsor side chairs, circa 1840,
from Lancaster County, along with a tramp art mantel clock, circa
1880, 30-hour movement, from Ansonia, Conn. A pie safe with
screen, paint decorated, circa 1860-70, was from Delaware.
Another set of six Windsor side chairs was in the booth of Olde
Hope Antiques, New Hope, Penn. This set, with roll-top backs, was
painted white with red rose decoration, probably Philadelphia
origin. A swan decoy, attributed to John Vickers, Cambridge, Md.,
1935, measured 311/2 inches long and had inset glass eyes and
lead weight, and a hooked rug depicted a village scene, wool on
burlap, Pennsylvania origin, 38 by 75 inches. Little was missing
from this scene for it was complete with horse-drawn horses, a
train, church, homes, animals and people.
Newson and Berdan of Hallowell, Maine, offered a slant front desk
with a highly figured walnut interior, figured walnut case, circa
1799, from Eastern Pennsylvania, and a dome-top box, dating from
the Nineteenth Century, was painted black with fruit and flower
decoration. It was probably schoolgirl art.
Courcier and Wilkins of Austerlitz, N.Y., hung a Pennsylvania
needlework, portrait of a lion, executed in wool yarn, 521/2 by
33 inches, circa 1870, and a hooked rug dating from the late
Nineteenth Century depicting a large cat, flanked by two kittens,
within an oval. A hooked fish portrait from New England dated
circa 1900, 281/2 by 501/2 inches, and would have been a good
catch in anyone's book.
Furniture in the booth of Samuel Herrup, Sheffield, Mass.,
included a late Chippendale chest of drawers, mahogany and
mahogany veneer, circa 1780, with the original brasses. It was on
ogee feet and measured 34 inches high, 38 inches wide and 191/2
inches deep. A set of four thumb back Windsor side chairs,
1830-1840, was from New York State and signed "RIS...Y Savannah,"
probably the maker.
Brenda and Terry Daniel of Newville, Penn., displayed a variety
of early signs including those advertising Rooms, Information and
Horseshoeing. An interesting bag holder from a country store
carried an advertisement by Coke. A collection of 13 miniature
baskets was displayed on an old towel rack by Jeff and Cathy Amon
of Jamestown, Penn. A colorful "Bait" sign was offered, probably
from a shop that carried fishing lures and decoys similar to
those displayed in this booth.
From North Berwick, Maine, Marie Plummer and John Philbrick
showed "a rare survivor," a wood and tin chandelier dating from
the last quarter of the Nineteenth Century. A New England pine
corner cupboard with H hinges and shaped shelves, Massachusetts
or New Hampshire, circa 1770, had been scraped down to reveal the
old blue painted surface.
James and Nancy Glazer of Villanova, Penn., also had a set of six
chairs for sale, fancy decorated side chairs from New York State,
1810, red painted with gold leaf decoration, turned legs with
bold center stretcher. A Pennsylvania decorated blanket chest,
circa 1840, was in red paint with smoke decoration and yellow and
green strips running vertically at the ends.
Steven F. Still Antiques, Northfield, N.H.
A cast-iron, life-size, Labrador, circa 1880, stood guard at the
booth of Harry Hartman of Marietta, Penn., and two display
cabinets were filled with yellowware and other Pennsylvania
pottery. Among the hooked rugs in the booth was one showing a
pair of black roosters with red combs, and an interesting
carousel figure of a goat, original paint, was shown.
David Wheatcroft of Westboro, Mass., hung an oil on canvas of a
young girl in red dress, holding an "ABC" box, one of the Darling
sisters from West Auburn, Maine. This work was attributed to
Sturdevant Hamblin, circa 1840. On a stand nearby was a leaping
stag weathervane, of small size, copper with cast zinc head,
dating circa 1880.
Taking up lots of booth space at the entrance to the show was
Greg Kramer of Robesonia, Penn. Painted furniture, pottery, folk
sculpture and fabrics filled the area, and there was backup still
in the truck. On the floor was a paint decorated blanket chest
with recessed oval panels from Berks County, and one corner of
the booth was taken by an Empire-style cupboard in two parts, 12
glass door, sophisticated stipple decoration, from Bernville,
Berks County.
The Greater York Antiques Show will open again on Friday, October
31, and run through Saturday. "The fact that we are moving into
new quarters here on the fairgrounds will not change the show,"
Jim Burk said.
