Record Crowds Mob Antiques In A Church Yard

SOUTH SALEM, N.Y.

:Cord Shows had a record crowd for its 13th annual Antiques in a Church Yard on July 4, with more than 3,600 paid attendance for the 120 dealers. Show manager Vivian Cord said, "It was the best showing yet for a show which has been strong since the beginning and now the dealers know about it so we have had to stop with 120 for the field just isn't big enough for more." Last year Ms Cord had allowed about a dozen more dealers on the field but they were flowing into the public parking area so she had to cap the field at 120. This allowed very few openings for new dealers to the show as most will not give up on the once-a-year event.

Ed McClure, also part of the Cord Shows management team, said the show has been a fundraiser for the Stevens United Methodist Church of South Salem, which collects all the admission fees and raises additional money from the event with a pancake breakfast from 9 to 11 and lunch for all from 11 until closing. The church also has a large booth of its own with donations from church members, calling it Grandma's Attic. Even the show program is a fundraiser with ads from local businesses.

For an outdoor show weather is always a factor but the day could not have been better with clear skies and, for the time of year, comfortable temperatures. The day's first light broke over the church steeple about 5 with dealers already on the field organizing their collections for the later visitors. Many of the exhibitors had not yet arrived but at 6 the show staff began to let in those few remaining dealers to their spaces. With a custom of only one admission fee and timed to open at 9, there was a whirlwind of activity for those few early hours getting out the goods.

Dave Nelz came in from Dix Hills, N.J., with his collection of early American country furniture and accessories. Several pieces found new homes including a country worktable and desk from the Nineteenth Century. Albert Burrows, Highfields Antiques, brought a load of early furniture and accessories from his home in St Albans, Maine. Burrows has a penchant for collecting early oil on canvas paintings, finding interesting subjects from unknown artists that he can sell at reasonable prices.

American Spirit is the business of Kay and Bill Puchstein from El Jobean, Fla. For this show they were ready with a very large load of furniture, mostly American painted pieces. Their traveling inventory was especially large because they were going to the famous Brimfield markets the following day. Among their offerings were two large painted cupboards, one pale blue milk paint at $1,450, the other darker for $1,900.

Albert Joseph & Co., Woodbury, Conn., has a shop there and does some shows close to home. For this show he brought Victorian, Centennial Chippendale and some Edwardian pieces. Hand Picked is a partnership of Vermonters Annette Coletti and Richard Fuller. Included in their inventory was a pair of North Carolina chairs, sometimes referred to as Pisgah chairs as that is where they were made. The name is for the mountains in western North Carolina, an area known for its furniture. The chairs were simple but with distinctive spindle backs and handwoven splint seats.

Blue Shutter Antiques specializes in glazed metal kitchenware including granite ware. The dealer's tent was filled to overflowing with several varieties including the red check, granite, blue and white styles. The Reinharts from Rhode Island carry all kinds of early kitchen items and had sales for more than 100 items on the day.

June Ainsworth brought a set of crayons that she sold for $1,200; a heck of a price but then the four pieces were from 4 feet to 8 feet tall. She presumed they were store displays from about 1920, and she said they were found in Texas in the spring. Bob Johnson was offering a collection of eight thumb back Windsor kitchen chairs for $950, which had been refinished.

The show had something for just about everyone and a great deal of it was sold. There were dealers, several, who had more than 100 sales and Dave Nelz said, "At 3 o'clock there were more customers in the aisle than many shows have had at the opening, and I know they were customers since I sold right up to the end at 5!"

It will be a one-year wait for this show to repeat as it is only on the Fourth of July, but Cord Shows has many more shows throughout the year.

For information, www.cordshows.com or 914-273-4667.