Linda Rogers, Canton, Conn.
Review and Photos by Tom O’Hara
MADISON, CONN. — The sun rose on the last Saturday of August, and here on the town green dozens of vans, pickups with trailers and wagons jockeyed into their places. The drivers and passengers quickly erected small tent shelters and then set out the tables and other props to build their one-day displays of antiques and vintage collectibles. Sponsored by and to benefit Madison’s Historical Society, this show presented more than 60 exhibitors, and the weather was perfect, warm and sunny, so all expected a great audience.
Ginny and Steve Balser, Norwalk, Conn.
Managed by the society’s director Jennifer Simpson and events coordinator Beth Wardwell, this 45th edition of the Madison Historical Society Antiques Fair offered a broad selection of the popular picks for today’s shoppers as well as early American antiques.
Glenn Allard from Art and Antiques in Roxbury, Conn., finds early American household objects that have been able to survive the past couple centuries with little damage. Here he offered Eighteenth Century small boxes and miniature objects, including a carved lion.
Folk art was another great selling commodity for the day. Lisa Titcomb was there with a modest load from her Woodbury, Conn., shop featuring a carved wooden eagle, which was not signed. It sold well for an asking price near $1,000 that morning. She also sold a valuable painted ship’s quarter board.
Oil lamps were a large portion of the collection, inventory and this day’s sales for Cynthia Ayers. The Southington, Conn., exhibitor said she was pleased with her efforts as her lamp collection heated up the day’s activity. She also sold Nineteenth Century washboards and several pieces of furniture.
Rae McCarthy, East Hampton, Mass.
Melissa and Greg Mitko reported that they were “pretty well pleased with how the day went.” As part-time dealers and full-time school teachers from Clinton, Conn., this is part of their summer fun and profit. In a double space, they sold an Eighteenth Century carved pine armoire found at Harmony Hall estate in Sloatsburg, N.Y., several paintings, a number of tables and an assortment of smalls.
Michael’s Antiques, Franklin, Conn., specializes in Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century iron used in the home. He was selling early andirons this day and also some kitchen and fireplace tools. He brought two scale model pond boats, which were also attracting attention, but did not sell.
Textiles, including several 100-year-old quilts, were the principal display for Linda Rogers of Canton, Conn. Garden items were among her sales, also the teapot in blue earthenware, a plaster mold used for furniture embellishments, picture frames and baskets.
Jamie Heuschkel, Hirsh Antiques of Pleasant Valley, Conn., displayed his collection of American country antiques, selling “smalls, some dishes and wooden bowls,” adding, “But what I really did well with was the buying later that day.” He found several fireplace bellows in great paint, a braided mat and a belouch rug to add to his own collection.
Sue Ryan, Harwinton, Conn., sold several strawberry emeries (a form of pin cushion) with sterling leaves early in the show. Her display included Meissen kitchen utensils, Nineteenth Century toleware and stoneware.
The Madison Historical Society, as sponsor of this show, also has a booth filled with donations from the area. These donations are antiques and early collectibles, and they were selling very well. This included a large braided rug, approximately 7 by 9 feet in pale reds and lavender, another smaller braided rug in blues and whites, several quilts, a spinning wheel and an assortment of small antiques.
This antiques show is the single biggest fundraising event for the society. For its 45th year, it was a big success, according to Simpson. For information, www.madisoncthistorical.org.
