Historic East Berlin Antiques Show

EAST BERLIN, PENN.

:"As chairman of the show, I am very pleased with the way it went this year," Beverly Jadus said following the close on May 7 of the 8th annual Historic East Berlin Antiques Show. The gate was off by only 30 people and while a few of the 25 exhibitors did not do well, the majority was satisfied and a few reported excellent shows. "We are a very small town, about 1,800 residents, and it seems to take about half the population to put on this show that is run to support the buildings of the East Berlin Historical Preservation Society," Beverly said.

The show is staged in the East Berlin Area Community Center and every part of the building is used. Two galleries are set up in classrooms, the multipurpose room has most of the booths, and four dealers take up the space on the stage.

Among the local dealers in the show was Patricia Clegg Antiques offering a number of decoys including a mallard hen from the Mason Factory, Detroit, circa 1910, ex Clark Garrett Collection, and a pintail hen by the Ward Bros, Crisfield, Md., circa 1948, ex collection of Dr Morton Kramer and bearing his stamp. A split bamboo fly rod was in the original wooden case, and a Seven Seas pond boat retained its original sails.

Ester Caswell of North Canton, Ohio, brought along some pieces from her region such as a small kitchen drop leaf table with tapering legs, blue-green painted surface, and an 1840 hanging cupboard with three shelves, one door, in the original gray paint.

A large two-drawer farm table in old red, turned legs, was at the front of the booth of Peter Diehl House Antiques, New Oxford, Penn., and a step back cupboard in softwood was filled with small baskets, tole pieces, stoneware and a tin candle mold. Of Pennsylvania origin was a grain painted six-board chest on turned legs with paneled side and front.

Hollis Brodrick and Sharon Platt, both of Portsmouth, N.H., shared a booth and filled it with many interesting things including an Eighteenth Century man's wallet, an early Nineteenth Century six-board blanket chest in dry green surface over old red, with the original strap hinges, and a Nineteenth Century free-form hooked rug with braided border on burlap that was found in Maine and had been professionally mounted for display. Wooden scoops, green and yellow painted wooden bowls, and an early firkin in old red were among the objects displayed on an early milk bench. "After doing this show I will be returning to Pennsylvania to do Jim Burk's Greater York Antiques Show on the fairgrounds on May 27-28," Hollis said.

Bob Lutz and Ellen Katona of Greenwich, N.J., showed a nice early and large rooster weathervane with good surface, a rope bed in old red, and a collection of doorstops in original paint that included a dog, cat, rabbit with top hat, sheep, elephant and large covered wagon.

A New England child's chair in bittersweet paint, circa 1800, was displayed in the booth of Carol Schulman of Chester Township, Ohio, along with a stack of pantry boxes in many different sizes and colors. An interesting collection of Victorian make-dos included a nice pincushion in the form of a large strawberry.

Another local dealer, Andrea Hollenbaugh, displayed a collection of cookie cutters in the form of animals, fish and a man with top hat, and a selection of treen ladles including one in very nice tiger maple. A large Sunflower Sue doorstop retained all of its original paint.

In addition to managing the show, Beverly Jadus also had a booth and showed a hanging cupboard with raised panel door, green painted, circa 1850, from a Cleveland estate, and a large trade sign for C.H. Vanness, Law Office, with gold lettering on black ground. A French clock jack with wrought latch and tiny pintle hinges, late Eighteenth Century, had an alarm that sounded when it was time to rewind the piece. A three-drawer cupboard top with raised panel back behind two shelves, grain painted over the original green, came from the home of General Jacob Bayley of Oxbow Road, Newbury, Vt. From New England was a circa 1820-30 hutch table with three-board top, rounded corners, scrubbed top and large overhang, with red painted base.

An acorn topped tall post bed with grained surface was covered with coverlets in the booth of Lion & The Lamb, one of the local dealers supporting the show. A dry sink in old red with two doors on the bottom was shown with a square-top candlestand with delicate snake feet, New England, circa 1790, in old red.

Another bed, this one a single with turned posts and mushroom caps, old red, was displayed by Courtland Antiques of Dover, Penn. A collection of hooked rugs was offered, as was a nice selection of wrought iron implements such as forks, ladles, dough scrapers and strainers.

About the only large space in the community center not used for the show is the large kitchen that is in full swing during the show turning out all kinds of tasty pies and rich, thick chowders. For where else can one purchase a large bowl of corn chowder, a pork barbecue sandwich, three homemade cookies (either peanut butter or Toll House), and a can of soda, iced tea or coffee, for $5?