: Beautiful weather and a perfect day to be out in the garden - in
fact, the first such day of the season on Long Island - coincided
with the opening day of the Huntington Antiques Show, April 24,
at Huntington High School. The two-day event suffered at the gate
for the promoter and dealers, who assumed the weather was too
nice for people to be inside. Fifty-one dealers in room settings
offered high quality antiques and vintage collectibles, with only
light Saturday response from the public.
On Sunday, the return of cool weather filled the aisles and
became somewhat more rewarding to the show's sponsor, The
Huntington Historical Society, and while dealers did not make up
for the light Saturday traffic, sales were much better.
The dealers for this show were predominately from Long Island,
and many do the two other historical society shows in the area -
Lloyd Harbor at Thanksgiving and Centerport in late March. These
shows have the appearance of being a set in that they are managed
by three friends - R.S. (Toby) Kissam at Huntington, Kissam and
Jim Campbell for Centerport and Bill Grotheer for Lloyd Harbor -
each working as volunteers. These men were exhibitors at this
show, and when there is space available, they set up at the
others as well.
Toby Kissam has been a collector and dealer of early maps and
furniture from the late Eighteenth Century. It is not that far
removed when told that one of the houses owned and maintained by
the sponsoring historical society is the Dr Daniel W. Kissam
House. Daniel Kissam was Toby Kissam's great (times three)
grandfather, living there about 1795. Campbell had furniture from
a slightly later period - roughly Sheraton through Regency,
dating from 1790 to about 1840, together with some fine art and
high quality prints.
Louise Mason's Blue Plate Special, Merrick, N.Y.
Country and rustic seemed to be the theme for Bill Grotheer,
along with a wide variety of small accessories.
Karin Podmore of Centerport does Stella's Triple Pier shows in
New York City with Art Deco and Art Nouveau style. Here, she
mixed it up with some early Nineteenth Century pieces, which sold
early in the show. Part-timer Mary Ross (during the school year,
she is a teacher) was present with a collection that could be
called "Laura Ashley of 1900," if there was such a thing,
featuring soft pastel colors on turn-of-the-century furniture.
June Ainsworth, a resident of East Hampton, N.Y., was new to the
show and, for that matter, this group. She does a lot of shows,
including Marburger Farm in Texas, with a large collection of
small antiques and a few pieces of furniture. Her collection has
no limits as to style or time period or function. She just has to
like it and be able to buy at a price lower than what she thinks
she can get reselling it. She offered a 48-star US flag, an
unusual birdhouse, lots of utilitarian wooden household objects
and many small painted accessories. And in spite of light visitor
traffic, she "had a good show."
Small antiques were the stock and trade of several exhibitors.
Phyllis Mack of PG Antiques, Merrick, N.Y., collects and sells
various forms of vintage and antique glass. Blue Plate Special
owner Louise Mason, also from Merrick, offered mostly Flow Blue
porcelain dishes. Coming from Brooklyn, Ramsey and Zulli had a
variety of early accessories, including porcelain, china and
early bronze castings. Sayville, N.Y., dealer Barbara Peter
offered her collection of Eighteenth Century kitchen and dining
tools and utensils, which she displayed with her early American
country furniture. Diana Higgins, Hampton, Conn., had an
extensive collection of clocks, mostly early and made in America.
Furniture from the Eighteenth and early Nineteenth Centuries was
available from various dealers at this exhibition. Philip Ludwig,
Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., had several pieces, along with
paintings and early prints. From in town, Jean Lauer brought an
early planters desk made of pine in original surface, circa
1800-1825.
Philip Ludwig, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.
Scarsdale, N.Y., dealer Marilyn Salland had several early
tables, including a mahogany Sheraton period drop leaf, another
Victorian drop leaf with rope turned legs and a small library
table, along with her usual assortment of art and porcelain. Pamela
Lerner of Brookhaven Hamlet, N.Y., seems to come into almost every
show with a different look to her collection. At this show, the
period was late Victorian to Edwardian of no particular style, but
as she organized it, it worked.
Soheil Oriental Rugs, New York City, is owned by a native Persian
who came to America more than 20 years ago. He is a true expert
in Persian rugs, having lived with them all his life, and now he
collects, restores and sells them. His rug exhibit was
museum-worthy.
John Schneider is another local fellow whose business name is
Empire Antiques. He had a large collection of early stoneware,
crocks, whisky jugs and more. He also offered several early black
powder hand guns. One such piece was a folding dirk percussion
double-barreled pistol, circa 1850, priced at $695. The dirk is a
small dagger or knife blade, which by pulling back slightly on
the trigger guard snaps into place as a small bayonet.
This year's event was only the second, and Toby Campbell said he
expects there will be more. "There may be a change in the date,
but that will depend on what facilities are available," he said.
For information, 631-427-7045.
