: Paul Davis Launches Rockport Show and Continues a 72-Year
Tradition in Bar Harbor
Who, what, when, where, why and how -- the big six of any news
story and the essentials in the opening, but simply putting it
out there can be boring to the reader so editors want a creative
punch to open the story.
And this story is about two events but the answers are similar in
both: Paul Davis/ Antique Shows/Summer/ Maine/for fun,
entertainment and the acquisition of especially fine antiques/and
drive up there. Quick answers, but there are more details.
Paul Davis, a Maine antiques show promoter best known for his
Maine Antiques Festival at Union for the last 20 years, has begun
a limited number of upscale indoor shows. The first of two was
the Rockport Maine Antiques and Art Show, July 12, with a preview
Friday evening, July 11. An assembly of 48 dealers gathered
together at the Midcoast Recreation Center's ice skating rink for
elegant room settings.
Antiques on Eleven, Verona, Va. Rockport.
It was a first time for the well-publicized event in Maine's
vacation area, easily accessible from the major East Coast cities.
Dealers came from Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York and New England
offering a wide variety of antiques, furnishings, accessories,
textiles and more.
Heller Washam, Portland, Maine, and Woodbury, Conn., seems to
usually have some of the best early furniture in any show.
Offered here was a New Hampshire highboy in tiger maple, which is
attributed to the famous Eighteenth Century maker Dunlap. Out of
Port Haywood, Va., Betsy Henderson had a complete sitting room
including early barrel chairs and a tea table all ready to be
moved into a home.
Thomas Cheap, trading as Period Antiques, and Rose Reynolds,
Hearts and Roses, together from Northport, Maine, could have
furnished a small New England home in their booth. There was
furniture, textiles (mainly quilts), game boards and more. Rose
has had an open shop in Northport called Hearts and Roses for a
few years but together with Tom she will now concentrate on shows
and sell her Route 1 store.
Thomas Moser, Lincolnville, Me. Bar Harbor.
New England Antiques, West Bath, Maine, offered American
hardwood furniture and early nautical paintings. Emily and Irma
Lambert, trading as Wenham Cross Antiques of Topsfield, Mass., were
doing double duty this weekend. Mother Irma was at Dorset, Vt.,
while daughter Emily held down the fort at Rockport. Together they
offer a wide variety of early household accessories including
English porcelain dishes and some very attractive quilts and
coverlets.
Bill Kelly is a young man from Limington, Maine, with a great eye
for identifying excellent examples of early American-made
furniture. At this show he had a charming Hepplewhite
candlestand, the legs of which were tapered squares with a slight
flair toward the bottom.
On the wall in Garland Antiques booth was an early hooked rug, a
scene of a cottage in multicolors. The Jefferson, Maine dealer
had it priced at $250.
An unusual half circle, multishelved stand made of maple was the
display for various early decoys offered by Miller-Robinson
Antiques of Amherst, Mass.
Camden, Maine, dealer Judy Godwin had a booth filled with
furnishings for garden and home of various periods. It appeared
that many of her antiques were European as well as American, with
several freshly reupholstered pieces.
Patricia Stauble and Shirley Chambers, both from Wiscasset,
shared a booth and the work. Their collections of early hardwood
and painted softwood furniture are very compatible.
Lynne and Tom Woods, Woolrich, Maine, offered a five-piece
sterling silver tea service for $7,750. Made in New York by
Mauser, it was from 1880. Richard Suydam, Lahaska, offered some
of his collection of early cast-iron still banks.
Ashley Dettor, Verona, Va., had a very unusual look to her booth
with several large plant stands in front of primitive early
American furniture. The plants seemed to welcome visitors.
Paul Davis will repeat this show next year on July 9-10 with most
of these same dealers. He felt this year's event "for a
first-time show went very well with a lot of potential for [the]
future." At 48 dealers this year, the show can only grow to about
52 to 54 so he will keep the high quality offered this year.
Less than four weeks later was Bar Harbor Antiques Show at Mt
Desert High School. Paul has been producing it since 1989 but the
show has been an annual affair since 1931 making it one of the
oldest in the country. This year it took place on Tuesday and
Wednesday, July 29-30. There were 42 dealers, many from the
Rockport show but some others as well.
John Gould from Yorktown Heights, N.Y., offers exceptional pieces
of early American-made furniture but he specializes in early
frames. Most are gold leaf or gilt and sizes vary. In fact, he
can cut frames to match a customer's needs.
Heller Washam, Portland, Me. Rockport.
The Reynolds offer a variety of accessories and lots of early
books. The Malchiones, Kennett's Square, Penn., consider this one
of their best shows each year, selling early fishing, hunting and
sporting gear.
Dynan Fine Art, Kennebunk, Maine, showed its Philadelphia roots
in an upscale booth filled with Asian, American and European
antiques. Wenham Cross, Topsfield, Mass., on the other hand was
all country and painted furniture.
Thomas Moser, like many New Englanders, finds wonderful early
pieces. From a private sale near his Lincolnville, Maine, home he
brought an early spider base candlestand in its original red milk
paint.
Jane and Ed Carr have been at the entry of this show for years
offering their mix of Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century styles.
The Gorham, Maine, couple had a room-size hooked rug as a
centerpiece in their booth.
In a post show interview Paul Davis said, "Traffic [for the show
was] up a third over last year in spite of the weather." Dealer
sales were generally typical for how the year has been, not the
best but adequate for survival.
Next year the date will be August 3-4, as always, Tuesday and
Wednesday. For more information on these shows contact Davis at
207-563-1013 or www.pauldavisshows.com.
