Tony Mullins, Cicero, N.Y. —Cider House Antiques Show
Review and Photos By Tom O’Hara
BOUCKVILLE, N.Y. – Madison Bouckville’s week of antiques markets officially began August 13; there were, however, some fields doing business as early as August 11, with antiques, vintage home furnishings and collectibles and hundreds of shoppers poring over the earliest selections. Located along US Route 20, south of Utica and Syracuse and just north of Hamilton N.Y., in an area of farm country and small villages that do not see much activity, this is the biggest event in the area each summer.
Cider House
Cider House Antiques Show takes place in the large field behind the antiques shop with the same name. Dealers move in early Monday to an open-sided pavilion and several long tents, filling their spaces with Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century Americana and some Twentieth Century décor and collectibles. Owner and manager Jim Dutcher bought this property some years ago and has expanded it into one of the largest markets of the week. His innovations and incentives include free admission and free parking and also a large area for recreational vehicles to park and hook up.
Hosting more than 200 dealers, the show opens officially on Tuesday, but there are no restrictions against shopping during the setup day, so the hectic pace began as the exhibitors moved onto the field.
Near the front, Doreen Clochessy was busy from the first minutes selling furniture and small accessories. This local dealer from Weedsport, N.Y,. sold a set of eight Pennsylvania painted chairs in a contested event with several interested customers early in the week.
Manchester, N.H., dealer Mario Gauthier, who carries silver and fine china, was too busy writing sales tickets and wrapping merchandise to visit with friends while they were shopping his exhibit area. His sales included several late Nineteenth Century silver overlay perfume bottles, charming collectible salt and pepper sets and, of course, china.
Mario Gauthier, Manchester, N.H. —Cider House Antiques Show
Tony’s Treasures was selling from his collection of Nineteenth Century American-made furniture. Most of his collection was New York made and found near his New Hartford, N.Y., home.
Depression glass comes in several colors but the blue is hard to find, according to Marge and Bob Rolls, West Seneca, N.Y. They had, however, a large exhibit of this available for the week’s sale.
The Lonely Tree, Sciota, Penn., was selling Nineteenth Century household accessories and kitchenalia along with painted furniture from the same time period. Kimberly Towne, the proprietor, said she was pleased to show all the little devices, such as white porcelain pitchers, pots and pans still in good serviceable condition.
Cider House did have some problems late Tuesday and early Wednesday with an extremely heavy summer rain storm, but Dutcher, his crew and the dealers all worked together with a positive attitude, and by the middle of the day Wednesday, it was just something to talk about. More information about his show is available at 315-825-8477 or www.ciderhouseantiques.com.
The Street
The other markets on the Street early that week were also buzzing with excited shoppers, with the emphasis being other dealers buying for their own inventories.
East Expo featured a great many exhibitors of American country style. Michael Gallant, Hometown Antiques, Glenburn, Maine, was busy with sales of little things found in northern New England, useful around the home and farm in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries. He also is well known for his collection of marbles.
Stephanie Chiappa, Sandbrook, N.J. —East Expo
Paul Ponzi, Trumansville, N.Y., brought a collection of Federal period furniture and sold well. His centerpiece was a bench for two in tiger maple, circa 1820.
Out Front Field, also one of the early in the week openings, had more variety in its offerings. There was Peter Vogelaar, South Avenue Treasures, Rochester, N.Y., offering a collection of Danish modern. Ken Cosselman, Syracuse, N.Y., with a collection of Oriental rugs was selling well, he said.
A new exhibitor at the show was ABU African Art with imports from Africa, which the dealer said were a mix of older pieces and contemporary art. He was selling well, as several of his biggest pieces were seen in cars driving away by the weekend, including a large crocodile frieze.
The Big Field
The Big Field is what started Madison Bouckville almost 50 years ago under Jock Hengst. Hengst retired, sold the property and the show changed. It is now owned by Allman Promotions with Steve and Judy Allman in charge. This year on August 17 on that same original field, customers arrived in a heavy morning rain storm that diminished the opening crowd somewhat, according to Steve Allman.
With about 250 exhibitors in seven giant tents and also in their own smaller tents around the perimeter of the field, shoppers had much to see in antiques. While the collections are not vetted, Allman does work especially hard to have choice antiques on offer for the shoppers, he said.
Emele Antiques brought a collection of furniture from the Eighteenth Century made in the colonies. Owner Jim Emele’s customers are people who generally are shopping for their homes. Among his first sales was a large corner cupboard, probably about 1750, with some of its early red milk-based paint still visible.
Nearby, in one of the big tents, Wilori Antiques of Rochester sold several major pieces of furniture, including an Eighteenth Century chest of drawers, an early dower chest with paint decoration and a mid-Nineteenth Century farm table.
Jeff Andrews, Salisbury, Vt. —The Big Field
Cabin on the Hill, Georgetown, Texas, was there selling from a collection of country furniture and also accessories. Sandra Sheffield, co-owner, shops in the Northeast for about a month each summer, exhibiting at shows with her husband and filling their truck and camper to be better prepared for more shows in the South in the winter.
The Village Antiques from nearby Syracuse sells all kinds of little things; to paraphrase an old line, nothing bigger than a breadbox. Among the dealer’s specialties are 100-year-old Christmas decorations and toys, sewing notions, special books and many more little things. Sales were good. During the heavy rain on Friday, a lady sat with co-owner Sandra Belko for about two hours discussing and pondering what to buy.
Reports of furniture sales were good from many dealers at the Big Field. Sharon Green Antiques, Sharon, Conn., sold a New England pine lift top blanket box with two drawers, a Massachusetts Pembroke table in mahogany and the set of eight chairs. Another sale was a mahogany tilt top tea table to a lady from Pittsburgh.
The Allmans work tirelessly to make this show as stress-free as possible, with an all-day move-in for the dealers on Thursday. Even with showers on Friday, sales were not bad, according to most as the big tents allowed customers to get in and stay dry. Steve Allman said that the demand this year was strong enough that for next year he will add at least two more tents, increasing the overall capacity of the show.
For information, 239-877-2830 or www.allmanpromotions.com.
