York County Classic Antiques Show

YORK, PENN.

: "If I am going to make the effort to come to York, then I am going to hit all of the shows," one lady said as she waited in line for Barry Cohen to open his York County Classic for early buying at 7 am on Friday, May 7. And she was not alone. A good number of people turned out for this early admission of $30 that was also good for The Early American Antiques Show, an event staged by Goodrich & Company. Both shows were in Memorial Hall, the former site of Jim Burk's Greater York Antiques Show.

For the most part, country antiques and painted furniture were offered by the dealers, but some Victorian and more formal pieces were also available. The early buyers seemed to concentrate mostly on small objects, such as signs, iron, lighting, countertop barber poles, paintings and fabrics.

A multidrawer cupboard of small size, 25 drawers with two doors, about 3 feet high, 18 inches wide, was shown in the booth of Scott & Beth Brasseur of Prospect, Penn. An ax, paint decorated for use in an Odd Fellows lodge, was on one wall, and a sign advertising an "Upholsterer and Decorator" hung on the back wall.

A New England sideboard in mahogany, circa 1800-1815, was shown by Drytown Antiques, Lemoyne, Penn., and a set of six plates, Adam and Rose pattern, was in a case. Blue Dog Antiques, Staffordshire Springs, Conn., showed a tiger maple rope bed from the Nutmeg state, circa 1790, along with a pine open cupboard, blue over original red, three shelves in the top section, circa 1800, of Maine origin.

Antiques at Hillwood Farms traveled from Pecatonic, Ill., to done the show, bringing a large pine hutch table in mustard paint, circa 1840, and a New Hampshire press bed, Nineteenth Century, with the original finish. Coming from Bethlehem, Penn., Dark Horse Antiques brought a pair of dated portraits, 1829, John and Sara Pearson, oil on canvas and of New England origin. Sara was pictured in her white bonnet, tied with a red ribbon. A mortician's pole, black and white with a gold finial on each end, circa 1880, was of New Jersey origin. This is one of only three shows Dark Horse does a year.

The booth of Campbell House Antiques, Baltimore, had a neat and crisp look to it, displaying a selection of mocha in the right corner, including pitchers, mugs and cup, and a grouping of carved figures to the left. Included was a ventriloquist's dummy, circa 1900, with the original clothes, a policeman whirligig, and a Nantucket sailor whirligig.

All the makings of a country pantry were in the booth of Pechmann Antiques, Mendham, Penn., including a bucket bench in the original gray paint that was stacked with round and oval lidded wooden boxes in a variety of colors including green, blue, red, white and mustard. Lidded firkins were also shown in different colors.

"I do both of Barry's shows in Pennsylvania, two in Vermont and one in New York State," said John Gallo of Otego, N.Y. He mentioned, concerning York, "This show has been great for me." By early Saturday morning he had sold a hanging wall cupboard, a mother/daughter watercolor portrait, and about 20 rabbits from his collection of more than a hundred Steiff bunnies.

Robert and Mary Schenck Antiques of Flemington, N.J., showed an open top hooded cupboard of small size, old blue surface, with one wide door in the lower section. The top shelf displayed a row of five Dutch onion bottles.

Lost and Found owner Julia Moed from Baltimore called special attention to the collection of sewing items she was offering. "We have found some fine things and have a grand selection at this time," she said. When asked how many ice cream and chocolate molds she had at on display this time, enough to fill a large section of shelving at the back of the booth, she thought "three to four hundred, something like that." Opposite her case of sewing items was a large collection of hollow cast lead figures, English, including hunting and garden related objects, circa 1931-1940. "We do not carry any military figures," she said. When asked the spelling of her name, she said, "My father, when making a dinner reservation, never spelled our name for them and sometimes they put down Moet, thinking we were the champagne people. Often that resulted in royal treatment at the restaurant."

Pikesville Jewelry of Pikesville, Md., took a double booth and the entire length was wall to wall boxed sets of flatware, enough to confuse any would-be bride. The front part of the booth was equally filled with silver pieces including candlesticks, bowls, pitchers and plates.

Stacked in the corner of the booth of Period Antiques, Scottsburg, Ind., were five oval fingered pantry boxes, graduated, dating circa 1846. Other early kitchen related things were a dozen wooden bowls, from good size to large, with yellow, green, blue, white and red surfaces. Other treen was displayed in a two-piece step back cupboard with two blind doors over two long drawers and two doors in the lower section. This piece, from either Pennsylvania or Ohio, was in putty paint over the original salmon.

Country furniture, mostly in as found and untouched condition, was offered by Susan Wirth of Upton, Mass. In the front of the booth was a circa 1740 Rhode Island tea table, two-board top, turned legs with button feet, bittersweet surface, flanked by a pair of ladder back side chairs with the original painted rope seats. A three-tier bucket bench in old paint displayed a small selection of treen.

We were among the many visitors who asked Marc Witus of Gladstone, N.J., what the long round pole on the back wall of his booth was for. He answered, "A drying rack for horse blankets and it swivels so that it can be stored against the wall when not in use." It measures ten feet long and is not signed, but thought to be by Fiske, New York City. In keeping with the rack, a green-painted horse hitching post stood nearby.

The Rathbun Gallery, Wakefield, R.I., offered a matched set of four Windsor side chairs in yellow paint, Maine origin, circa 1820-30, thumb backs with grape decoration on the back. A country Sheraton double drop leaf table was in birch, turned tapered legs, circa 1840-50, 42 inches long, with original red stain.

Mary Carden Quinn of Floral Park, N.Y., again had a booth that had everything in its place. "We plan how things are going to look, but generally things do not end up that way as various items are sold," Neil Quinn said. He added "the show has been very good" as he read from his sales book, mentioning lanterns, Hubley cat doorstop, 1851 Barton School sampler, painted dome-top document box, pine wall shelf, red decorated food chopper from Lancaster County, a one-drawer stand from New Hampshire, a hooked "Welcome" mat, a pair of Maine barber poles, a cast eagle and a Shaker quilt rack with green painted surface. And that was before noon on Saturday.

William H. Blakeman Antiques of Wilbraham, Mass., displayed a set of four banister back side chairs with rush seats, probably New York State, around a Connecticut River Valley table with a three-board top.

"I am having a great show," Skip Shepherd of Port Charlotte, Fla., said. Sales included a dry sink, plant stand, red apothecary, Luxury coffee box, rocking horse, two advertising cabinets, three signs and a bunch of smalls. Other interesting advertising that had not sold by midday on Saturday were a De Laval Cream separator framed tin sign and a Du Pont calendar, tin litho with a picture of President Thomas Jefferson and his friend and customers. A country store fixture was designed for hats and all 12 bins were filled.

Corinne Burke of Ridgefield, Conn., and Gene and Jo Sue Coppa of Farmington, Conn., shared a large end booth and offered a sign announcing Locust Grove cemetery, an Eighteenth Century tavern table with one board scrubbed top, breadboard ends, one drawer, stretcher base, and a selection of pitchers and mixing bowls in blue and white spongeware.

Charles and Judith Warren/Michael Tuccori, Mount Crawford, Va., displayed a paint-decorated one-drawer blanket chest with spotted design, Wythe County, Va.; a New Hampshire flattop highboy in cherry wood with cabriole legs, circa 1780, with fan carved lower center drawer; and a Pennsylvania paint decorated miniature blanket chest in pine, circa 1820, yellow sponge decoration and turned feet.

Indiana near the Ohio border was the origin for a circa 1860 pine jelly cupboard that had been scraped down to the original blue paint, one door, 64 inches high and 32 inches wide, shown in the booth of American in Paris, Paris, Va. A large yellow dry sink in yellow paint was of the same period.

Hart's Country Store Antiques of New Oxford, Penn., had a Nineteenth Century sawbuck table found in Townsend, Mass., with two-board top and in the original old red surface. A Nineteenth Century country store flag holder was a patriotic display, and two of the four wooden bowls shown were sold.

Pierre DeRagon of Out of Hand Antiques, Oley, Penn., had a "very good" show selling a number of things including a blanket chest, arbor, sawbuck table, two paint decorated doors and a number of smalls. Among the furniture left in the booth were an Empire painted chest, circa 1840-50, faux flame decoration, from Vermont; a tiger maple painted wardrobe from Lancaster County, circa 1820-30; and a set of six rush seat side chairs, Nineteenth Century, Connecticut origin, in the original paint.

Keeping in mind some of the changes that have already been announced for both the fall and the spring schedule of York shows at the fairgrounds, Barry Cohen has said, "My schedule will be announced after considering the entire picture." In any case, he intends to remain in Memorial Hall at the fairgrounds and will put "my best effort into what I finally do." If the past in any indication, he will again field a good looking show with some well-known and some lesser-known dealers, all intent upon presenting what the buying public likes and purchases. One never knows what might show up, which makes his early buying a popular event.