Christmas and Halloween decorations, Steiff animals, Raggedy Ann dolls and more was in the booth of Dennis Erb, Erb’s Antiques, Lancaster, Penn.
Review & Onsite Photos by Rick Russack
DEERFIELD, N.H. — The antiques show at the Deerfield Fairgrounds is a long-time staple of Antiques Week in New Hampshire. Run by the brother and sister team of Josh and Rachel Gurley, with the assistance of several other family members, it took place this year on Monday, August 5. This year’s show had 87 exhibitors, an increase over past years. Previously, shows used two of the several buildings on the fairgrounds; this year the show utilized a third building. In addition to the three buildings, numerous dealers were set up outside and the weather was perfect for those dealers. The show attracts quality dealers and offers good folk art, textiles, furniture, treen, painted wooden ware and far more. Buyers began lining up about an hour before the 9 am opening. The Gurleys arranged a shady area for these buyers, and it was obvious that many knew one another and were catching up with old friends. By the time the show opened, it appeared that about 300 people were waiting and the initial admission was $15 per person; that dropped to $8 after 11 am. There were well over 600 buyers in total, with more than 350 entering in the first two hours.
When entering the first building, it seemed that the exhibitors had determined that color was the order of the day. No longer could anyone say, “antiques are just dusty old brown things.” Joel White, Waldoboro, Maine, displayed about a dozen colorful paintings by the late Outsider artist, Elaine Niemi, who had described her technique as “erasuring.” She would start a painting by applying color to her chosen surface and then “sculpt out” the images she saw in the paint. She lived in Maine and died a few years ago. Niemi had supported herself by selling her artwork at the Montsweag Flea Market near Wiscasset and other flea markets in the area. White said he bought about 2,000 of her paintings but this was the first time he brought any to Deerfield. They were all priced $100 each. White’s booth also included a snowshoe about 7 feet long. He said it was a trade sign and had hung it outside a canoe and snowshoe store in western Maine until a recent storm blew it off the building.
A few minutes before the show opened, the line was extensive, with many conversing with friends while they waited.
Just down the aisle from White’s booth were two other very colorful booths. Chuck Auerbach, Akron, Ohio, had a set of original illustrations for a child’s ABC book. He also had a selection of 1920s advertising posters, other watercolors, trade signs, hooked rugs and more. Backdoor Antiques, Middlebury, Vt., offered several pieces of very colorful architectural tile made by the Mosaic Tile Company in Zanesville, Ohio. It was thought that the tiles dated somewhere between the 1930s and 1950s. Each of these booths was in the same aisle and, at the end of the aisle, Emily Lampert, Salisbury, Mass., offered a colorful, fanciful landscape with a river, house and large turreted building on a hill overlooking the scene. Her inventory also included cloth dolls with painted faces, textiles and a well-loved teddy bear.
There were interesting and unusual items in almost every booth. Farrin’s Antiques, Randolph, Maine, sold a very large trade sign for the Gus Farris & Sons Department Store. They also had a large and elaborate set of iron hooks for a butcher shop. There was no question about its purpose: the hooks included a steer, a hack saw, a meat cleaver and a knife. Partridge Hill Antiques, Georgetown, Maine, offered a full-length silhouette of a Civil War soldier; they also had a table full of silver. Two Sides of a River Antiques, New London, N.H., had two framed sets of late Seventeenth or early Eighteenth Century embroidered needlework ecclesiastical medallions, which were Catholic symbols of faith.
Joe Martin brought early furniture and accessories, including a selection of brass candlesticks. Lyndonville, Vt.
A number of dealers offered early American furniture along with their other selections. Joe Martin, Lyndonville, Vt., had a lift-top Queen Anne blanket chest dated on the back “1769”; it retained its original finish and original brass. He also had a large selection of early brass candlesticks and other early lighting, trade signs, a folk art bird tree, an eagle weathervane, fireplace accessories and a large burl bowl, among other things. Gurley Antiques, Scarborough, Maine, run by Rachel and Josh Gurley, offered a small Eighteenth Century Rhode Island Queen Anne drop-leaf table, a large glazed and painted corner cupboard as well as other furniture; they sold an early hutch table. The back wall of the Gurleys’ booth displayed an exceptional candlewick table cover that centered a large spread-winged eagle surrounded by floral vines.
Mary de Buhr, Downers Grove, Ill., had a lowback Windsor armchair, probably from Connecticut circa 1760-90. It had old red paint and showed its age, with flattened legs and worn stretchers. De Buhr believed it had been used as a walker by several generations of children in one family. The tag for the chair invited showgoers to “turn [it] over to appreciate the wear.”
Without a doubt, the heaviest piece of “furniture” was a large Nineteenth Century workbench with Firehouse Antiques, which added a heavy anvil to it. The Galena, Md., dealers also had woodworking tools and an exceptional selection of early blacksmith-made hardware, including unusual hinges and door latches.
Almost certainly the heaviest item at the show was this large Nineteenth Century carpenter’s workbench being sold by Firehouse Antiques, Galena, Md.
Some booths included Twentieth Century items. Chris Stanley, Bremen, Maine, offered a signed glass sculpture by well-known contemporary transgender glass maker, Peter Paedra Bramhall, West Bridgewater, Vt.
John Chaski, Camden, Del., is well-known for early furniture and folk art and brought to the show a collection of largely painted wood carvings by J.E. Buso that dated from the 1960s to the 1980s. Most represented rural folk; some were depicted wearing western garb, some were farmers and others were doing simple domestic tasks.
Warren Broderick, Troy, N.Y., had several pieces of redware, including an unusual Nineteenth Century Pennsylvania socket cup, a western New York State two-handled jar with an opaque glaze and a 13-inch-diameter pan or bowl with slip decoration that was attributed to Hervey Brooks, Goshen, Conn.
After the show was open for a couple of hours, several dealers reported making numerous sales. Joe Martin said he had sold gameboards and trade signs. Tommy Thompson sold a medium-sized Noah’s ark, Josh Farrin sold a very large trade sign and Mike and Lucinda Sewards had sold several pieces of silver, among other reported sales.
Josh Gurley said the small Eighteenth Century Queen Anne dropleaf table at the front of their booth was probably made in Rhode Island. The framed candlewick table cover hanging on the back wall had an eagle motif. Scarborough, Maine.
Following the show, Rachel and Josh Gurley reported being extremely pleased, both with the size of the crowd and exhibitor comments. “We had a long line an hour before the show opened. There were 350 buyers in before 11 am. When the admission price was reduced after 11, it was solid all day. We heard some exhibitors say it was the best Deerfield they’ve ever had, and our booth sold a lot of stuff, both furniture and smalls. We had more than 85 exhibitors and we used a third building; that hasn’t happened since our mom’s time. It all worked.”
For information 207-396-4255 or www.gurleyantiqueshows.com.
