Not Just 'Brown Furniture' Anymore: The 32nd Connecticut Spring Antiques Show

HARTFORD, CONN.

:While the Connecticut Spring Antiques Show is, as one buyer so aptly put it, "not the show that it once was," this 32nd running of the Hartford show was proof once again that it continues to be one of "America's premier" shows of "period American furniture and appropriate accessories."

Hartford has certainly felt its aches and pains over the past few years, and happily, we can honestly report that the show has weathered to storm and is healthy. The show can no longer be considered just a "brown furniture" show, a longstanding and once popular rap.

That is not to say that there is no longer a wide variety of period "brown furniture" on the floor, as there certainly is, or that there is no longer an interest for that type of material, as there certainly is. It is just to say that there has been an infusion of color into Hartford that has created a welcome and vibrant Americana atmosphere. Paint decorated furniture and accessories are as prevalent as original finish highboys and slant fronts. And often times they are displayed side-by-side.

The Hartford show, which took place on March 12 and 13, has grown over the past decade under the management of Linda Turner. It has matured and stayed as hip as possible, all the while remaining true to its roots. It has adapted to the different trends and styles of the business and is still widely regarded as a perennial favorite among old-time Americana collectors and a host of new shoppers.

There was a time in years past when participating dealers kept a tally of the available types of merchandise that were prevalent on the floor of the show. Old-time Hartford dealers such as Arthur and the late Nathan Liverant, Harold Cole and Peter Eaton could tell you right off the bat that there were x-number of slant front desks on the floor, x-number of highboys, x-number of chest-on-chests, and x-number of four-drawer chests. They could also recite, when called upon, how many Chippendale versus Queen Anne examples there were, how many of the highboys were shell carved, had flat-tops or bonnet-tops, and how many of the chests had Boston, New York or Connecticut pedigree. While these numbers are still tabulated, they are not as critical as they once were.

Painted furniture, snappy accessories, stylish displays and, naturally, a good selection of great period furniture, complete the recipe that is keeping Hartford alive and well.

There was an excitement on the floor that had been felt during setup with many of the dealers commenting that preshow business had been good. "I hope it is a sign of things to come," said one dealer, who further commented that preshow sales had been so good, that anything else that happened with the public would just be "icing on the cake."

Several items on the floor were a hot topics, including a step back cupboard that had come out of the recent Kennedy auctions at Sotheby's and bounced from Hollis Broderick's booth to Sam Herrup's booth and was quickly sold again. A sailor's valentine was discovered by Charley Adams on its way into the show. Mr Adams, who termed it "one of the best," quickly snapped it up and had barely made his way back to his booth before it sold again. While being hung in the booth of the next owner, it was quickly sold again.

While the crowd awaiting the opening of the show on Saturday morning was less than stellar in size, it can easily be blamed on the weather. Snow hampered drivers throughout Friday afternoon and heavier than predicted snowfall overnight and into Saturday morning kept all but the diehards off of the roads. Forecasters promised clear skies by noon on opening day, and, for once, they were true to their word. As the skies cleared, so to did the roads, and it was not long before the extra-wide aisles and spacious booths were filled with shoppers.

Management was satisfied with attendance stating that the gate was up from last year. "People are realizing that we are an Americana show and not as eclectic as a lot of the other shows. They are realizing that Hartford is the source now."

The majority of the dealers reported good to excellent sales overall. Some reported a poor showing on Saturday and a great day on Sunday, other voices echoed the opposite, and yet others commented that both days were good. Some, as is most always the case, were not so pleased with either day.

"Saturday was a bloody disaster," exclaimed Don Buckley, "and Sunday was a big success. Unfortunately the weather kept our Northern customers away from the show on Saturday."

The Salisbury, Conn., dealer commented that Sunday sales included, amongst other things, a "1720 Massachusetts gate leg table, a carved crested Connecticut banister back armchair, a Seventeenth Century pewter candlestick, and right now I've got a be-backer, what Harold Corbin used to call an 'afterburner,' a client who had looked at our ball-foot chest and had passed, now they're interested and they are coming back to probably buy it. So, all in all, it was a good show."

Colchester dealer Arthur Liverant commented, "The crowd didn't seem to be bothered all that much by the snow; by the afternoon on Saturday there was very good attendance and it was very steady all day Sunday.

"The Hartford show is up on the rise of the bell curve," stated the dealer. "A lot of really good dealers joined the show and rejoined the show which shows that there is an added dimension. People are starting to realize that the show, which might have had a small decline for a while, is back and in. People realize and appreciate that Hartford is a wonderful venue, that the dealers come prepared with good things. It is a really nice venue to look at stuff - nothing flashy, just solid material."

Mr Liverant was one of the dealers that posted an early sale from the determined crowd on Saturday morning selling a Queen Anne tilt-top tea table from his booth, probably Norwich, circa 1780. "It was completely original with a bold early surface and wonderful construction featuring a chip carved pedestal, ball and claw feet and a unusual sliding dovetailed cleat."

Sales for Peter Eaton also started right off the bat on Saturday and continued throughout the weekend. A formal Queen Anne dumbwaiter that was attributed to the Goddard/Ives family of Providence, circa 1770, was sporting a sold tag within moments of the show opening to the public. Other items that sold from the Newbury, Mass., dealer's booth included a Hepplewhite New Hampshire lolling chair frame, a pair of early chairs and an octagonal-top candlestand. Also sold was a Wethersfield Queen Anne highboy with a bold carved fan, circa 1780, in cherry with an old finish, that caught the fancy of a Wethersfield collector and stayed in the region.

Joan Brownstein, who had recently married the dealer just across the aisle from her, Peter Eaton, commented that she also had a "great show. I sold paintings, miniatures and furniture. Things sold from every category that I deal in." The Newbury dealer was hush-mouthed about one sale, however, terming it "something major" that will be in the news soon as it went to a major institution.

Dan and Karen Olson have been knocking them dead in Hartford for the past couple years. The Newburgh, N.Y., dealers first began displaying there in 1984, took a few years off and returned to the floor of the show nine years ago. "We did good again," stated Dan Olson, who further commented that Hartford has "a lot of strength on the floor and strong buyers for good material. We sold seven pieces of furniture including a stretcher base tavern table, a Queen Anne drop leaf with tiger maple top, six plank-seat chairs in old green with paint decoration, a tall case clock and a paint decorated blanket chest."

The dealers also sold a Prior-type portrait of a young girl seated in a paint decorated chair and holding flowers, a large Hartford County map, redware, stoneware, baskets, Staffordshire and quite a few other early accessories.

Among the new dealers to the show this year was Jan Whitlock. The Chadds Ford, Penn., dealer offered a varied assortment of needlework pictures and textiles including an Eighteenth Century crewel Queen Anne coverlet and a large indigo resist panel coverlet that carried an impressive Cora Ginsburg provenance. The dealer also offered two needlework pictures including a family portrait and a picture titled "The Old Homestead" executed in silk and metallic thread.

Another item on the floor that had surfaced from the recent JFK auction at Sotheby's was a great pair of banister back side chairs in wonderful early paint. "They are virtually untouched," stated Woodbury dealer Don Heller.

Several dealers in the show offered fine art with Bradford Trust reporting a good show. Early sellers from its booth included a Martha Cahoon picture of a sailor and mermaid holding hands on a beach with a bay filled with sailing vessels in the background. Also sporting a sold sign was an unsigned folky portrait of a boy.

Harold Cole was one of the dealers that presented prime pieces of furniture in paint along with select examples of original finish "brown furniture." The Woodbury dealer offered a nice Mohawk Valley step back cupboard in a crusty old red paint that was shown alongside a stylish Queen Anne highboy in original finish. Mr Cole was up in the air as to origin of the highboy, stating that the fan carved lower drawer had characteristics associated with New London, while the legs resembled those made in Litchfield. A three-dimensional lobster weathervane in old red paint that the dealer had hidden under the cupboard was spotted by collectors. The piece, thought to have been from the 1920s or 1930s, was one of a couple vanes offered by the dealer.

A prime selection of pewter was presented by Bette and Melvyn Wolfe with a selection of Hartford-made measures made for the New York market and marked by Boardman and Hart. The dealers also offered a rare Eighteenth Century pewter sugar bowl with beaded decoration by Philadelphia maker Parks Boyd.

Another pewter dealer in the show, Ron Chambers, commented that one collector waltz into his booth and purchased four nice pieces of pewter - a Boardman covered sugar bowl along with a tea pot and waste bowl by the same maker, and also a classic coffee pot by Maine maker Allen Porter. The Higganum dealer also offered a nice banister back armchair with carved heart crest that had been purchased at the Lillian Cogan auction many years ago. The piece, along with an early blanket chest, had been long ago sold to a client, who sold them back to Chambers recently as he was moving to smaller quarters.

A wonderful assortment of redware and stoneware was presented by Ohio dealers Sam Forsythe and David Good including an Essex, Mass., jar in wonderful mottled green glaze. A green glazed pitcher was also available as was a great stoneware cooler with applied and incised cobalt filled decoration. One piece of redware that never made it to the show floor was a jar by Nathaniel Rochester with multicolor slip decoration splashed about the vessel. The dealers had advertised the piece in the special Hartford show section in Antiques and The Arts Weekly and sold it as soon as the paper hit on February 25.

Connecticut coin silver pieces from towns throughout the state, offered by North Hill Antiques, were well received by local collectors and historical associations. The Suffern, N.Y., dealers displayed a wide selection of Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century spoons, ladles, tongs and eyeglasses from the eastern village of New London to the western border town of Danbury.

Included in the selection was a large assortment of spoons, several of which had been made by John Avery of Preston. The rare pieces, late Eighteenth or early Nineteenth Century, were purchased by a direct descendant of the maker. A set of spoons by Gideon Botsford, Woodbury, circa 1820, were snapped up by a representative of the Glebe House, a historic home open to the public in Woodbury, according to dealer Burt Billings.

Bob and Claudia Haneberg reported a strong preshow and sales continued for the dealers throughout the weekend. A nice astral-end sewing table that had been positioned at the entrance to their booth along with a pair of Philadelphia shield back chairs were noticeably missing soon after the show opened. The dealers also brought along a prized Chapin-school four-drawer chest with blocked ends. The furniture of Eliphalet Chapin and his Connecticut River Valley contemporaries is currently on view at the Concord Museum.

Everyone was in attendance was complimentary regarding the Haddam Historical Society show committee and its revitalized efforts for this show. "They brought in a lot of local younger people and that is a very good thing for the show," stated one dealer.

Educational programs and booth chats were also new to the show this year and were a big hit with a lecture on Norwalk pottery being presented to a full house on Saturday, a talk on fine art conservation presented on Sunday, and well attended booth chats presented by Peter Eaton and Joan Brownstein on Sunday afternoon. The show is a benefit for the Haddam Historical Society.