Bridgehampton Historical Society sponsored the June 23′4 antiques show on the grounds of its Corwith House on Montauk Highway for 75 dealers. A large audience of appreciative antiques lovers was buying well enough to keep the exhibiting dealers generally pleased with their efforts for the weekend. Morgan MacWhinnie and his wife, Gerri, have managed the show for all the years of its operation. Neither of them could remember exactly how long the show has been running, but Morgan said, “We have been having fun doing it, and most of the dealers are by now old friends.”
MacWhinnie is an antiques dealer in his own right, as well as keeping a shop in nearby North Sea, and he exhibited at the show. His sales included Midcentury Modern pieces, bamboo and a Sheraton stand from Massachusetts North Shore in cherry, which he found recently, among other items.
Susan Wechsler of South Road Antiques in Stanfordville, N.Y., was showing a collection of early art and folk art. Drawing particular interest was a collection of five primitive sheet iron shooting gallery decoys. Also of interest was an early Noah’s Ark.
Tressa Antiques and Art, Westhampton Beach, N.Y., displayed a collection of paintings and early furniture from its gallery. The owner, Richard Ferrante, was showing an early Long Island chest of drawers and a tilt top candlestand, but he did not want to sell his continuous arm Windsor chair as it was the only chair he brought to the show to sit upon.
Native New Yorker Paula Cohen had a good show from start to finish. Trading as Your Grandma Had It, Cohen’s collection includes ironstone, toleware, pottery and children’s marble games. Her Saturday morning began with sales of pottery and ironstone to both regular and new customers. She reported that sales were steady throughout the weekend. Late Sunday afternoon, a decorator came in and purchased eight of the games to accessorize a client’s child’s bedroom. That was a very good sale and a great way to end the show.
Bonkey’s Treasures came to the show with a collection of iron, copper and brass for the home. Jerry Bonk finds most of his inventory in Europe in not-ready-for-sale condition, ships it to his Hellertown, Penn., home where he cleans it up and in some cases modifies it to a modern purpose, and then brings it to the show. The big showstopper this weekend was a circular saw powered by a foot pedal, which had been converted into a tall cocktail table priced at $2,100.
Vintage Matters, Mount Bethel, Penn., finds all kinds of interesting small objects. At this show, owner Al Conti believed that one of his most interesting antiques was a circa 1890 foot massager †a series of wooden rollers upon which the user would place his or her feet, moving them up and down to provider a gentle massage.
Carole Ann Hart of Redding, Conn., shops in England as often as she can for her collection of tea caddies, silver, porcelain, crystal and dining accessories. New Yorker Marianne Stikas was offering Midcentury Modern, early garden furniture collections and some Art Deco accessories. Mark Morris, Wadsworth, Ohio, was selling from his collection of early to mid-Twentieth Century furniture and accessories. Lisa DeMuro, Woodbury, Conn., offered an early sea chest carved with the replica of the ship itself on the face of the chest.
Morgan MacWhinnie manages other shows in the Hamptons. His next affair will be at Mulford Farm, the property owned by the East Hampton Historic Society, about ten miles west of this show site on Saturday, August 6. For information, 631-283-3366 or 516-769-2939.
