: - The Rye Historical Society Spring Antiques Show took place
Friday, May 9, through Sunday, May 11, from 11 am till 6 pm, at
the Performing Arts Center, Purchase College. A preview opening
Thursday evening added to the upscale ambiance of the event. Show
manager Susie McMillan of Charity Antiques Shows produces
numerous antiques events throughout the Eastern United States as
fundraisers for sponsoring organizations.
The Rye show raised money for the historical society's museum and
its educational and outreach programs, and was a success through
what was brought to the public. More than 40 dealers from as far
away as Kansas and Missouri -- even England -- offered antiques
of many styles and purposes. While this was the first show for
this sponsor, the two trustees who acted as co-chairs said they
"planned and brought this event to fulfillment in full
expectation that it will be the first of many to come."
The facility was very well turned out, but improvements for 2004
might include better lighting, as most booths even with
dealer-supplied lighting were dark, and a change in layout, as
food service and restrooms required the customers to leave the
area of the antiques.
McMillan seems to have found dealers who can offer museum-grade
items at prices people should be able to afford. A Massachusetts
North Shore highboy, for example, circa 1760, was under $20,000
in very good original condition, and tall-case clocks from about
1800 were priced around $12,000.
Fiske and Freeman are residents of Belmont, Vt., but John Fiske
is an Englishman who still shops there. At this show he had a
late Seventeenth Century tap table and chip carved document box
and an Eighteenth Century inlaid chest of drawers. They also had
some early samplers that are pure art forms; now those are
expensive but great to see.
Ron Lotz, St. Louis, Mo.
Ron Lotz is a clock collector of the first order. He brought
from his St Louis, Mo., home a large collection of early clocks,
wall clocks, shelf clocks, table clocks and tall-case clocks. A
circa 1815, 7'6" tall clock featured outstanding case details,
inlays and double inlays. The case appeared to be in all original
condition. Ron said the works were also original, brass, with a
paint and gilt decorated iron face. He offered it for $11,900.
From his shop in Chapel Hill, N.C., David Lindquist brought a
house full of furniture, all in the Eighteenth and early
Nineteenth Century styles with either English provenance or
influence. His dining table was set for 12, complete with the
dishes, with a handsome four-drawer chest to the side.
Sara Breiel comes from Cincinnati, Ohio. For the show she offered
an overly full living room that appeared to be from Paris, circa
1840 or earlier, but with electric lights. Of particular note was
a slant front Louis XVI desk in various wood veneers.
There were two dealers from Nashua, N.H. with widely varied
offerings. James Butterworth Antiques had fine hardwood and
hardwood veneer furniture from Hepplewhite to Regency periods
(1770-1840), while Michael Donovan could furnish an entire house
in wicker furniture, including the early Twentieth Century wicker
lamps.
Virginia was represented by Robert Blair Antiques of Richmond and
James Wilhoit of Alexandria. Blair's associate Margie Couch said
this was their first venture this far north with their mostly
English Seventeenth through Nineteenth Century inventory.
Wilhoit, on the other hand, mixes late Eighteenth Century
furniture and furnishings from England, China and America.
Of those traveling the furthest, American Spirit Antiques of
Shawnee Mission, Kan., and David Weston, Kent, England, get the
prize. American Spirit had a great many outstanding pieces of
early American-made furniture, including the highboy mentioned
earlier in this report. They also had a Rhode Island upholstered
wing chair, circa 1780, original frame, newly covered. Its shape
was especially attractive with a flared top to the wings and back
not often seen. Weston brings mostly small antiques from his
native home. He comes to the United States for several shows each
year, usually bringing more merchandise each trip.
Another stuffed booth belonged to David Storrar Bethune of
Bridgeport, Conn. He was too busy selling to be interviewed but
his collection could have been a set for Henry Higgins' library
of My Fair Lady, minus the books. We especially liked his
booth rug, a Persian in blue and pale red that showed off his
early tilt-top table so well.
Fairfield, Conn.'s Patricia Barger was there but without her
unusual booth full of early clocks. She knew Ron Lotz was coming
so she brought a few clocks and a great collection of early
furniture and accessories. Her centerpiece was another early
highboy, a flat-top from New England.
Running Battle Antiques, Millbrook, N.Y.
It was not an all-Colonial/English show. Ko, who owns a New
York City residence and shop originally from China, brought a booth
filled with early furniture from South China. He had a wide variety
of pieces, all restored and priced reasonably and displayed under
his Koko Antiques banner, for he said his name is too short.
Shorr & Dubinsky, Reading, Penn., brought Art Deco and Art
Nouveau from early 1900s. A set of steel chairs, likely for a
Florida room or porch from the 20s, were $1,400.
Running Battle Antiques, Millbrook, N.Y., had an early coffer,
chip carved blanket chest. The term coffer (also spelled cofer)
comes from the Latin and Greek languages and refers to a solid,
strong box that would protect its contents, often money or
valuables. By the Seventeenth Century, a coffer was made of
single planks all around, in the manner of a six-board chest,
tight at all corners and featuring bottom seams with dove tail
joints or pegs. The carvings on this great piece were of a double
sunrise on the front arising from a crosshatched horizon.
Susie McMillan and The Rye Historical Society are planning to do
this again. Susie can be reached at PO Box 812057, Wellesley, MA
02482 or 508-655-4533. The society can be reached at
914-967-7588. It has a fully accredited museum as part of its
contribution to the public; call them for open hours.
