The line to get into the Greater Boston Antiques Festival on a biting cold Saturday morning on January 17 wound around the building. Inside, buying was brisk and the numbers of visitors toting shopping bags was notable. Buying continued on Sunday, even though the gate was reduced somewhat by a crippling snow storm throughout the day.
Just inside the door, red sold tags were affixed to objects over much of the artfully arranged booth of York, Maine, dealers Mindy Schwarz and Scott Smith. A small flock of European cement doves was sold, as were four garden benches and some garden ornaments. A local dealer had her eye on a dainty French-style sofa that she later bought, along with other objects. Those exiting the show would find even slimmer pickings, as many of the other objects in the booth had sold. The dealers were snowed in at their home in Maine on Sunday and did not get to the show until just before it closed. Still, they sold nearly everything in the booth.
Country furniture drew buyers to the booth of Sherman Alden of Holyoke, Mass., where a selection of furniture featured nice painted surfaces. Several pine safes sold early, as did a nest of piggins. A blue pine safe below a cabinet retained a handsome blue color and was balanced at the other end of the booth by a similarly hued corner cupboard that was filled with stoneware.
An upside-down Frozen Charlotte doll piqued everyone’s curiosity. The doll was exceptionally large, and shoppers stared as Medfield, Mass., dealer Bert Rosengarten held it aloft upside down. He also sold a pair of Japanese Satsuma lamps from the 1920s, several other lamps and cut paper shades. Rosengarten had a choice array of paintings with great appeal to those who saw them.
Stylish furniture and decorations from the Nineteenth Century to the 1950s were mixed masterfully in the booth occupied by John Maciejowski of Melrose, Mass. He had already sold a 1950s French iron and gold leaf mirror and a John Widdicomb table, some Aubusson pillows, an Art Deco glass service in cobalt cut to clear and a lithograph of John Hancock’s house in Boston.
Ellsworth, Maine, dealer Pioneer Folk Art had made significant sales and ticked them off †a pewter cabinet, a table, Nineteenth Century windmill weights, paintings, two signs, a milliner’s bottle and a pair of wicker dress forms. There were also graphically appealing objects like the blue painted chicken feeder, more signs, a biker weathervane and metalware.
A pair of Roseville “moss” lamps and two similar champleve vases mounted as lamps were among the offerings from Webster Greene Antiques of Methuen, Mass.
One area couple was gleeful about the purchases they made on the first morning. The wife, a discerning collector, sported a stunning 7-carat Burma sapphire ring set in white gold and ablaze with diamonds that she bought from George Bernheimer of Moonstone Antiques of Mansfield, Mass. Her husband, a dealer and collector, was pleased as punch with the exceptional Eighteenth Century Armenian parcel gilt and silver crucifix that he purchased from Newport, R.I., dealer Michael B. Westman.
Formal furniture and accessories were displayed in a roomlike setting by Walden, N.Y., dealer Glenbrook Antiques, which showed a circa 1920 double pedestal dining table, a Hepplewhite-style sideboard from the same time, a set of eight Queen Anne-style dining chairs and a set of six Chippendale-style mahogany dining chairs.
Show promoter Marvin Getman, who operates New England Antiques Shows, sets up a highly attractive show. He promotes each event skillfully and dealers reap the rewards. Music is provided at Getman’s shows by Lou Yelle; at Wilmington, the Shriners are on hand to make sure things run smoothly and the popcorn vendor does a land office business. Gentle Giant Movers are available for shipping. Benches throughout the space allow visitors and exhibitors a respite from selling and shopping.
Despite some preshow anxieties on the part of exhibitors, Saturday’s gate was up over ten percent and people came prepared to buy. Even in Sunday’s blizzardlike conditions, people made their way to the exhibit space. A number of dealers reported a record weekend.
Country furniture from Bridport, Vt., gallery Brookside Antiques beckoned buyers. An 8-foot New England three-board dining table, circa 1830, was surrounded by a set of paint decorated chairs and set with redware ceramics. A Pennsylvania splay leg table had a nice breadboard top, and a Pennsylvania milk cupboard, circa 1840, retained nice old green paint.
Vintage sporting goods were the draw in the booth occupied by Aged to Perfection in Harrison, Maine. They included a wire basket on folding legs, vintage canvas golf bags, oars, golf clubs, skis and snowshoes. A framed Cornell University pennant sold to an alum.
An eye-catching wooden biplane weathervane attracted much attention as it sailed above the booth of Alley Antiques of Pelham, N.Y.
Sherry Cohen of Up Your Attic in Framingham, Mass., had a good show. She had early sales of majolica, Staffordshire and paintings. She had some interesting chalkware animals, including a lamb with a bronze finish, and a buffalo foot warmer.
Steady sales persisted throughout the show for Tyngsborough, Mass., gallery Seasons at Calmore where English white ironstone housed in a corner cupboard was a draw along with woodware, a very large blanket chest and an ebony walking stick with a gold knob.
Sandwich, Mass., dealers Camille Buda and Matt King had a booth filled with Staffordshire, glass, small furniture, pewter and other metals. A Shaker bucket bench dating from about 1840 was also for sale. Matt King observed that they had gathered some good potential sales.
Art pottery for sale from Good Vintage Collectibles included Rookwood, Dorchester and Saturday Evening Girls examples. The Swampscott, Mass., dealers also offered a selection of rarely seen Plymouth Pottery from the 1930s, including a couple of examples signed by Katherine Alden, who founded and was the principal designer at the southeastern Massachusetts pottery.
Harry W. Hepburn III came from Harrison, Maine, with a Forestville, Conn., wall clock in papier mache with mother-of-pearl inlay, the original mainsprings and a hammer in the form of a brass axe. Hepburn also showed a Pennsylvania mahogany tall clock with a Reading dial, made around 1815.
When they learned that show promoter Marvin Getman had canceled the April Boston Antiques Weekend for this year, many dealers expressed disappointment. They are hopeful that he will produce the show next year. Last year’s event was very well received and although many were eager to do the show again, not enough committed. Getman himself expressed disappointment; this is his first cancellation in 30 years.
Bristol, R.I., dealers Robin Jenkins Antiques and Jeff Gladding, who operates Epilogues, shared a booth. Early on the first day, they had sold a pair of Italian mirrors, among other objects. They had a molded architectural silver leaf mirror, a pair of industrial side tables, sconces and a fern-form candelabra cheek by jowl with a “Rattler” sign. Also from Bristol was Center Chimney Antiques, which offered tasteful antiques in room settings.
Court Street Place Antiques came from Cranston, R.I., with paintings and prints and an especially eye-catching poster advertising Simmons and Morton Frankfourts. Another Rhode Island dealer, Summer Hill of Foster, showed a pair of 1930s or 1940s blackamoor figural lamps from an area house. The show was good and sales were healthy across the spectrum for the gallery.
The booth of Witt’s End Antiques of Wallkill, N.Y., was a hive of activity. A mirror and a table in the center of the booth were sold and were being packed up for the purchasers by Brookline, N.H., dealer Dave Beauchamp, who said he was just helping out. The Hudson Valley gallery had a dandy Hudson Valley blanket chest with a generous skirt, paintings, Windsor chairs and two chests, one with 40 small drawers and the other was larger and had 36 drawers.
An 1895 poster “The Sidewalks of New York” from Trowbridge Lithograph attracted buyers to the booth of MG Art and Antiques of Kingston, N.H., where the enticements included mocha ware, duck decoys, baskets and a tramp art birdcage eager for a new resident.
Tooled leather furniture was a standout in Robert Trites’s booth. The Columbia County, N.Y., dealer showed a tooled crocodile leather four-drawer chest with a lift top and a tooled crocodile or alligator stand on bamboo legs.
Harry Morgan of Quelle Surprise in Gloucester, Mass., was pleased with the attendance. “A fantastic crowd, the best I’ve seen in a while,” he said. He was ready with fine ceramics, including an English ironstone platter by G. Phillips in the Lobelia pattern, art glass and silver to please every taste.
For information, www.neantiqueshows.com or 781-862-4039.
