Saturday, September 25, was a beautiful fall day in New Hampshire, just the right kind of weather for an outdoor antiques show. And as luck would have it, there was a show at the Canterbury Shaker Village, sponsored by the New Hampshire Antiques Dealers Association. However, Saturday was set-up day in T-shirts and shorts, while Sunday was the show, a day with overcast skies and much cooler temperatures. In fact, “a brisk day turned to cold about 2 in the afternoon,” Nan Gurley, manager of the show, said.
Fortunately, the weather never really seems to get in the way of a true collector who is always on the hunt for another treasure. By 10 that morning, a good crowd had gathered at the admissions gate and soon visitors were searching through the four large tents housing 60 exhibitors, all members of the association. “We try to keep costs down for the dealers,” Nan said, “and it is really a large flea market-type show under tents in case of rain.” Each dealer had two or more tables, but no walls or lights.
If a person went to the show for brown furniture, then the search was just about limited to the booth of Ed Weissman of Portsmouth, N.H., who showed a desk and a four-drawer chest. By and large, country was the theme, with lots of treen, stoneware and redware pottery, hooked rugs, painted boxes, early trade signs, Windsor and ladder back chairs, iron, etc. And with the Shaker Village right next door to the exhibition field, there was a sprinkling of Shaker objects from dealers John Keith Russell, Sandy Jacobs and others.
Stephen Corrigan of Stephen-Douglas Antiques said, “We did very well and sold across the board, which is what seemed to be the case with many of the other exhibitors.” He added that it was a pleasant show to do, no pressure, and it drew a nice crowd. “We even had a group come through who were from Washington State; they were here last year and they always buy,” Stephen said.
Nan Gurley noted that the show will be held again next year during the same time period, but, “We have to work around the NASCAR dates, as there is a racetrack three miles away.” She said that “working with the Shaker Village is fine and, as a special bonus, admission to the antiques show also allows visitors to tour the village.”
