: A long line began forming at the entrance to the Cape Cod
Antiques Dealers Association Show (CCADA) more than an hour prior
to the opening on Friday evening, August 6. By showtime, the line
extended out the front door of the school, down the stairs,
across the sidewalk and well out into the parking lot. The
anxious crowd was made up of a wide assortment of shoppers
ranging from the trade, to collectors, to local enthusiasts and,
naturally, the garden variety Cape Cod vacationer.
The show, a benefit for the Bob Burns Scholarship Fund, hosted 50
quality New England exhibitors, the majority of whom are from the
Cape. A few "foreigners" take part in the show with the one New
Yorker, one Vermonter, one Mainer, and one New Hampshirite
rounding out the dealer list.
Collectors traditionally congregate annually in this area of the
Cape during the first weekend of August as there is much to do
aside from go to the beach. Eldred's annual Americana auction is
always taking place, there are more shops than you can shake a
stick at, and, of course, the CCADA show.
The show opened promptly at 5 on Friday evening and as the doors
swung open the crowd was all business. Sales were quickly
recorded in many booths and dealers were kept busy answering
questions and quoting prices while writing up sales receipts
amidst their packed booths. Sales witnessed in the opening
moments included a pair of early mohair teddy bears in the booth
of Ester Gilbert, and a nice New England folky portrait of a
gentleman from the booth of Works of Art Antiques.
"Traditionally there are things to be found at this show,"
commented CCADA President Roy Mennell. Among the items "found"
this time around was a nice Nantucket basket that left the floor
at a very reasonable price.
Mennell, who operates Bradford Trust Fine Art and Antiques,
stated he was "very pleased with the results of the show. Each
year the show strengthens a little bit." Mennel, whose booth
consists of primarily paintings and artwork, was somewhat
perplexed by his sales. "We were selling furniture, he said,
"although basically we are fine art dealers." The dealer sold a
nice corner stand, a whale-end shelf and a Vermont chest at the
show.
Several paintings also found buyers including a C.D. Cahoon
picture of a lobster shack on the beach. "Cahoon always sells,"
stated the dealer, "the challenge is finding more of them."
Mennell stated that serious interest was also expressed in a C.D.
Cahoon marsh scene and a Robert Vickery scene of a girl in a
yellow dress.
Davidian Americana, Dennis, Mass.
Steve and Lorraine German of Mad River Antiques offered their
usual assortment of early American antiques with their usual
eclectic flair. The attractive booth featured an unusual wall shelf
with five apothecary-type drawers built in below and a tall
lattice-type back. Several decoys were offered including a
canvasback and an folky merganser.
Charles and Barbara Adams displayed an exceptional offering of
Bennington pottery, but also featured Capey items such as a
half-hull ship model that had been discovered in a local boat
shed on the Cape. Jackie Sideli wooed the crowd with a nicely
green and black grain painted wall mirror, a stylish wicker chair
in yellow and green, and an unusually large wooden train set.
"Uncommon antiques and decorative furnishings for the home and
garden," was how Edythe and Co, East Sandwich, Mass., described
the contents of their booth, while a selection of prints of all
sorts were offered by Christine Ehert Antiques, Barnstable, Mass.
The booth of Betsey Hewlett proved popular at the show with the
dealer offering an extensive assortment of pattern glass ranging
from glasses in a wide variety of patterns to rarities such as a
New England pineapple bar bottle and a Sandwich open loop
compote.
A nice tall stack of firkins in old paint was catching the eye of
buyers in the booth of Orleans dealers Bayberry Antiques.
Arts and Crafts furniture and American art pottery was seen in
the booth of Crones Collectibles. Dealers Meg Chalmers and Judy
Young offered a selection of Saturday Evening Girls, Rookwood,
Newcomb College and Schier pottery, along with furniture by
L&JG Stickley.
A stately sheet metal ship weathervane was featured in the booth
of Cummaquid Antiques, a large selection of Canton was offered
nearby in the booth of Henry Callan.
A handsome piece of stoneware took the forefront of William
Wibel's booth. The extremely rare Edmunds, Charlestown, churn was
decorated with an incised and cobalt filled yellowlegs shorebird
with an eel in its bill on the front, while the back was strongly
decorated with a spouting whale.
The Spyglass, Brewster, Mass.
The highlight of Davidian Americana's booth was a rare paint
decorated blanket chest by Alex Farham. The piece was on the market
for the first time in 30-plus years having come from a private
collection. The rare chest had come from an Elderd's auction
decades ago and was recently discovered to have been painted by
Farham, according to Peter Davidian. "We saw an article about
Farham and contacted his grandson," stated the dealer, "As soon as
he saw it he said, 'my grandfather painted that in 1937.'"
Farham was the father of Martha Cahoon, the wife of Ralph Cahoon.
Reportedly, Farham taught Martha his style of painting, she in
turn taught Ralph.
Another highlight in the booth were two pieces of Maine paint
decorated furniture that, although having been found many miles
apart, had been executed and painted by the same hand. The green
grained blanket chest with yellow banding had been in the
dealer's inventory, the blanket box with nearly identical paint
had been plucked from Eldred's Americana auction the day before
the show opened.
The show will return for 2005 with dates scheduled for the first
week of August.
The Cape Cod Antiques Dealers Association has also announced the
dates for its annual Fall Seminar, September 22 at the Daniel
Webster Inn in Sandwich. The event, open to the public, will
present three lectures by Lark Mason, Gloria Lieberman and
Kenneth Gloss. There is a $55 registration fee; reservations can
be made by contacting Shelia Mennell at 508-430-1482.
