Items Great and Small Could Be Found at the Wilton Holiday Antiques Show

WILTON, CONN.

: Review By Terri Garneau, photos R Scudder Smith and Terri Garneau

Scale made an appearance as items great and small could be found at the annual Wilton Holiday Antique Show on December 5. The show, organized by Marilyn Gould, contained a dizzying variety of objects, furniture, paintings, hooked rugs, samplers, quilts, china, stoneware, toys, copper, sculpture, jewelry and a plethora of Christmas items.

On a giant scale, an oversized "Mickey Mouse" was noted in the arms of Don Cohen who said he just could not resist buying it. Cohen purchased the wooden Mickey Mouse, circa 1950, from Michigan dealer Denny Tracey. Following the trend, Pam and Martha Boynton sold a rare and unusually large log caliper in vibrant yellow. The Groton, Mass., dealers also sold items on a smaller scale, such as unusual Eighteenth Century crimped tin sconces. And proprietor Michael Whitman sold to Bob Pfeiffer a large pair of tailor's shears, circa 1880. Thomas Brown, however, had the largest shears on display with a wall-sized scissors from a fabric shop in Youngstown, Ohio, circa 1930.

On a smaller scale, Koblenz and Company sold an exquisite faceted gold teardrop lavaliere necklace set with amethysts and seed pearls as well as an Edwardian necklace made of 14K gold and set with sapphires and seed pearls. Additionally, Anna Edmond sold an intricately designed pair of Victorian diamond insert earrings for $1,000 as well as numerous Victorian diamond rings. And Darwin Antiques sold a very detailed model whaling dory made of wood. "It even had miniature harpoons and buckets," stated Carolinn Pocher.

Pieces at scale also disappeared from the booths as was evidenced in the booth of George and Debbie Spiecker who could barely keep furniture in their stand.

"This is the best attended show all year," said George. "Things are going very well; I sold three tables today," exclaimed the dealer, while a young woman was examining his circa 1790, Connecticut cherry, Heppelwhite incised swing leg table. According to Spiecker the table was "all original, no restoration."

Further down the aisles, Thomas Longacre sold a New Hampshire dovetailed five-drawer chest with original paint and Bennington knobs and a 20-drawer apothecary chest. The New Hampshire dealer also offered a rare Hepplewhite table, circa 1820, with tapered legs and original paint and hardware. Just across the aisle, Gary and Martha Ludlow exhibited an exquisite Hepplewhite mahogany bowfront chest with graduated drawers, original brasses and ivory escutcheons, a scalloped skirt and tall French feet, probably circa 1800, Massachusetts.

Cherry Gallery sold numerous pieces of Adirondack furniture from its display including a twig wall frame, circa 1920, and a rustic lamp base with a Cherokee Indian pine needle shade. Also offered was a set of paddle-arm Old Hickory chairs with woven rattan cane seats and backs, circa 1945. On par with the rustic style, Clifford Wallach, a leading dealer of tramp art, also sold a variety of frames and small tabletop pieces.

Greg Kramer had an exceptional life-size French zinc garden statue of a partially clad Nubian slave that had recently been removed from a New Jersey home where "it had been since 1906," stated Kramer. A good assortment of select Pennsylvania accessories was also featured in the booth including painted tole along with stellar examples of early redware and stoneware.

Although offering a similar style of country accessories and furniture, Russ and Karen Goldberger catered to a different sort of connoisseur. The Rye, N.H., dealers offered a good assortment of New England painted furniture and smalls, along with a broad range of duck decoys, such as a swimming red-breasted Merganser hen from Cape Cod, circa 1900, that measured 17 inches in length.

Victor Weinblatt also sold a large quantity of decoys: five goose decoys, including several of Roy Mills' birds, a miniature eider whimsy decoy, as well as prints. "Five of the 'Citizen and Character' school posters went home with happy buyers. The posters were done in a wonderful Art Deco style that were a result of an annual competition by teachers. A publisher would pick the best teacher design and create a poster that instructed civic moral values," noted Weinblatt.

Besides prints, paintings could be found in many booths. Frederic I. Thaler had a stunning oil on canvas landscape, 15 by 22 inches, by Thomas Worthington Wittredge, as well as an Alexander Pope, titled "Flowers in Niche."

Running Battle Antiques' Hamilton Meserve commented, "Paintings seem to be selling like crazy." He stated that he had sold a variety of small, but important watercolors. Jane McClafferty sold a pair of wedding portraits that were found in a New Hampshire home. According to New Canaan dealer, "They sold to a couple who had been looking for something just like them for a long time." The portraits, oil on canvas, were of Mary and J.N. MacOmber, dated May 1841. McClafferty also offered a beautiful pair of mirrors, specifically made to be a set due to the eglomise trees that curved toward each other. The mirrors were English and dated 1810.

Additionally, imagery of another sort, in the form of hooked rugs and samplers sold well. Roe House sold a lovely "Carolers" hooked rug. "The show was really good for us. We really enjoy doing Marilyn's shows," stated Dan and Kathy Roe.

On a more patriotic note, Joseph Martin sold a hooked rug bearing the following date, April 14, 1865, the infamous day that actor John Wilkes Booth entered the presidential box at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., and fatally shot President Abraham Lincoln. Along with the rug went an original tassel from Lincoln's box at the theater, according to Martin it was the "first time" the tassel had been displayed with the rug.

Charles Bruel displayed an early American alphabet sampler found in a trunk that had been executed by Margaret Collie of Mohawk, N.Y., circa 1791. Stephen Douglas Antiques also displayed a rare sampler by Miranda Frye, circa 1822. "What made the sampler unusual," according to Stephen Corrigan, "were the vibrant colors. It was as if Ms Frye had finished the sampler, rolled it up and stored it away, never to be viewed until today," he said.

"It was an excellent show. I sold across the board," stated a jubilant Barbara Adams. The South Yarmouth, Mass., dealer recorded sales by selling book flasks, pitchers, a drop leaf table and a candlestick as well as her signature Bennington pottery. "I sold six Bennington pieces to a lot of my regular customers, but I did make a new Bennington customer at this show."

Sales were also seen apart from the robust pottery wares to the more delicate examples offered by Wilton's Maria and Peter Warren. Among the stellar display was an exquisite blue drop leaf patterned Spode set, circa 1820, consisting of 27 pieces: soup plates, dinner plates, salad plates and various other pieces. Among the early items to move from the booth were Staffordshire, circa 1780, pierced edge fluted green enamel creamware with floral decoration consisting of two plates as well as a vibrant Staffordshire, circa 1800, canary yellow creamware with floral design plate.

Yet it was the festive holiday spirit that prevailed at the aptly named "Wilton Holiday Antiques Show," with sparkling vintage ornaments prevalent and Santa appearing in many guises. The most unusual Santa seen on the floor was a series of Santa heads that were actually molds for dolls, circa 1940-1950, offered by Village Braider.

Proprietor Bruce Edmond noted, "They had a lovely Roman sculptural quality to them since the copper of the mold exhibited verdigris."

Stephen Douglas displayed a rare whimsical tabletop Santa with light, circa 1880s; Frederic Thaler exhibited an early Twentieth Century hand carved Kris Kringle with original paint; and Missouri Plain Folk sold quite a few Santa light figures, circa 1950s.

Continuing the holiday spirit, decorations were displayed in many booths and "ornaments were going like crazy," according to Thomas Longacre. Bev Longacre could barely keep up with all the customers for her vintage hand painted, hand blown glass ornaments and tin ornaments. Charles and Barbara Adams had a wonderful selection of miniature Christmas trees that sold well, as well as an original Doris Stauble holiday stocking. And for giant decorating, Costa and Currier displayed large Christmas light bulb.

Margaret Ofslager appealed to the child at heart with her wide display of toys. John Friedler could not resist purchasing a turn-of-the-century whirligig paddle steamboat named New York. Ofslager also had some wonderful wooden, hand painted, toy soldiers, a Nineteenth Century "Penny" doll and a child's small yellow sled. It was MacLennan Antiques, however, that appealed to the inner child's larger dreams with his oak Ferris wheel chair taken from an amusement park in Salsbury Beach, N.H., for $2,400. Additionally, Old Line Rarities displayed an original 1933 children's book, Mickey Mouse in King Arthur's Court as well as a vintage tin Mickey Mouse Lionel Hand Car, 1933.