The Millbrook Antiques Show

MILLBROOK, N.Y.

: Millbrook is a lovely town and has a reputation for being filled with beautiful homes, nice shops, tempting restaurants and well-heeled residents. It also hosts an antiques show twice a year, an event that moved two years ago to the Bontecou Gymnasium at the Dutchess Day School. It is there on May 22-23 that Oliver & Gannon staged the 14th annual spring show, a benefit for the Rotary Club.

"We posted signs for miles around, expanded our advertising budget, and the show committee even printed the catalog early and circulated it in town and other communities," Jerry Oliver said, "and yet the show did not draw the audience it deserved." His partner Michael Gannon said, "We added a few exhibitors to increase the variety of objects offered hoping that would create more interest, but the gate did not reflect our efforts." The preview party drew just under 200 people, while about 800 visitors came to the show during the following two days.

New to the show this year was a series of exhibitor presentations, starting at 10:45 am and running every 15 minutes. Twenty-four of the dealers took part in this program that ended at 4:45. The series ran both days of the show. As an example, Ham Meserve of Running Battle Antiques talked about "Nineteenth Century Maritime Paintings and The China Trade," Herb Meiselman of CIRCA addressed "Photo Frames from the Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries," Anita S. Taub spoke on "Selecting Jewelry for Pleasure and Profit," and Arnold Jaffe of Jaffe & Thurston considered "Nineteenth Century and Twentieth Century American Paintings."

In selecting the dealers for the show, Oliver & Gannon picked Akin Lighting Company with its collection of Nineteenth and Twentieth Century lighting, David Beauchamp offered a selection of Federal furniture and decorative accessories, sporting themed rare books and prints filled the booth of Leonard Brook Rare Books, English library furniture and miniature furniture was shown by The Country Squire, while Manchester Antiques, located right at the entrance to the show, displayed folk art, garden antiques and statuary, including a large cast stone eagle that was sold during the preview.

English furniture and accessories of the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century filled the large booth of Zane Moss, antiques in original finishes set the tone for Plenty and Grace, American posters were shuffled about in the booth of Poster Glory, Silver Plus displayed English sterling silver of the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century, and many pieces of English oak and country furniture, along with Chinese Export porcelain and marine paintings, filled the large booth of local dealer Running Battle Antiques.

Plans are already in the works for the fall edition of the Millbrook Show, October 15-17, with a preview on Friday evening. Close at hand is the next Oliver & Gannon event, Antiques for House and Garden, Hosting to Horticulture, on June 19-20 at the Vanderpoel House, Route 9, in the center of the Village of Kinderhook. Hours will be noon to 4 pm for early buying on Saturday, with a preview to follow from 5 to 7:30 pm. Sunday hours will be from 10 am to 4 pm.