Marburger Farm Antiques Show was again filled October 2‶ with more than 300 exhibiting dealers in the tents and buildings in this former farm site where several thousand visitors came to purchase antiques and home décor for their homes. Sales in furniture and accessories from long ago through the Twentieth Century were good at the nearly weeklong event.
Art, both fine art and American folk art, was also moving well. Inventory from Ford Art and Antiques, Sarasota, Fla., exemplified the variety offered by the exhibitors. The dealer’s collection included Biedermeier furniture from the 1840s through Midcentury Modern styles, masterworks in art from England and America and a wide variety of silver and other early valuable smalls from the last 250 years. There was even some early Twentieth Century garden furniture. With that diverse inventory, two salespeople and owner Andy Ford were kept busy writing sales tickets late in the first day.
Beverly Williams, owner of Beverly’s Antiques, Houston, Texas, exhibited in one of the 17 buildings on the site. Her collection, gathered while shopping in Europe and Latin America, included turn-of-the-century leather parlor chairs and ottomans, barometers, Nineteenth Century steamer trunks from France, a corner cupboard in pine, which her staff suggested was from Ireland, and an assortment of earthenware from England and France.
Textiles in the brightest colors were offered by Material Recovery of San Antonio, Texas. Owner Clare Watters shops in several venues for her merchandise, including Latin America for the brightest colors, all of which sold well to the Texas shoppers.
Sniktaw Antiques had an oversized space to display its collection. Owners Luan and Jerry Watkins, Gurnee, Ill., have been trading Nineteenth Century antiques and folk art at Marburger Farm for about a dozen years. This show yielded more good sales, according to Jerry, who said, “We sold a lot of shooting gallery targets, one of our most popular items, but there was a lot more. We had a lot of American Indian things, including a collection of souvenir pillows, which all went in one sale.” He added that a pie safe from Indiana in blue paint with white borders on the screen went out at $2,200.
Patina, Inc, Destin, Fla., sold several pieces of furniture in the first few hours of the show. Included in the early sales was a small three-drawer chest, regency style in walnut.
Ameritiques from Crystal Lake, Ill., deals in Georgian silver and Old Sheffield plate. According to Mitch Weisz, the firm’s sales were very good early into the show; in fact, he said, “We had a good show today!”
At the end of one of the very big tents was the lunch counter from a midcentury drug store, all of which was offered for sale by the dealer, Flashback Funtiques of Boerne, Texas. Owner Bill Howard finds these store fixtures, restores them when necessary and then makes them into inventory. The collection and sales also included restored Coke vending machines and other food service vending machines.
Offerings at Marburger Farm show diversity, style, color and form as primary components. Peggy Van Blaricom of Lil’ Bit of Country, Elgin, Texas, was offering an early farm table with iron picnic benches for seating in front of an early pine cupboard that may have begun its life in Pennsylvania. Georgia and Buddy Morel, New Roads, La,. sold lights that may have started life illuminating a factory work station but now have energy-efficient halogen bulbs in them. Termed “industrial,” such items are very popular.
Pijnapple, Casnovia, Mich., sold a set of large panels that were the original backdrop for a carnival ride. Christopher English, Lake Placid, N.Y., offered an early American split pediment top highboy and several early paintings. From New Hampshire, Dennis and Dad Antiques was selling early English earthenware, both dishes and decorative pieces, from their exhibit in one of the many air-conditioned buildings.
Don and Marta Orwig, Corunna, Ind., showcased their collection of antiques, art and folk art again, jokingly pointing out that many people did not recognize Don after his remarkable weight loss. Eclectic Architecturals, Longview, Texas, was selling early furniture and, as the firm’s name implies, architectural remnants now used for home décor.
At Marburger Farm, that diversity is what the customers come to see and buy. It has become the staple for this popular contemporary show to have antiques and décor that meet today’s customer demands.
Look for the show again in the spring, April 2‶, with another 300 or more exhibitors. For information, 800-947-5799 or www.roundtop-marburger.com
