The Hingham Middle School’s gymnasium was packed with dealers, their wares and customers at opening on March 28.
Review & Onsite Photos by Z.G. Burnett
HINGHAM, MASS.— Goosefare Antiques & Promotions hosted its 37th Hingham Antiques Show & Sale the weekend of March 28-29, historically recognized as their best event of the year. On Saturday, cars filled Hingham Middle School’s spacious parking lot and buyers formed a lengthy line by 11 am. “It was a pretty fabulous show,” co-showrunner John DeSimone reported. “Old and new customers kept coming and buying all [Saturday], and on Sunday we had a few hundred new admissions plus many who returned the second day to pick up items they saw on Saturday.” Dealers were similarly satisfied within just an hour after doors opened.
Charlene Dixon has shopped this show for decades, but this year she added her name to its list of dealers and was pleased early on. “I’ve already sold two samplers,” she shared shortly after the doors opened. Customers were drawn in by a colorful basket of Easter egg candy containers, many of which were made in Germany between the two world wars. More unusual was a small, full-length portrait of a woman, whose face had faded away with time, leaving her features and hair floating spookily above her blue dress. Painted in 1844 and signed “Huston,” its remaining background details included greenery and an urn. The subject also held a drooping flower in her invisible hand, indicating that this portrait was taken postmortem and adding another layer of appealing eeriness to its presentation.
David Thompson Antiques & Art sold another view of lost time just minutes after opening: a silver print photograph of the Traveler’s Building. Formerly located at the corner of State Street and Kilby Street in Boston, the four-story structure was covered with trade signs for businesses such as the Daily Evening Transcript, Hovey & Fenno (Marine Insurance and Fire Insurance), Manhattan Marine Insurance Company, Gore & Payson Pavers, Wilson W. Fay & Company and the Telegraph office, among others. Dated 1886-90, the long exposure also captured pedestrians’ slight movements in a variety of poses. The building was demolished in 1894, and a Santander Bank currently stands on the site.
Demolished in 1894, the Traveler’s Building was once prime advertising space in Nineteenth Century Boston. David Thompson, South Dennis, Mass.
Living artists were also represented. Jim Gahan of Falmouth (Mass.) Antiques showed “Moonrise Over Highland Light” by artist David Kooharian, whose studio is nearby in Mashpee. Gahan collects Kooharian’s work and had on hand a 2025 issue of Cape Cod Art, featuring a profile of the artist. Though the Truro lighthouse scene did not sell that weekend, Gahan reported “decent sales and signs of positivity,” including that the painting was “back on [his] wall… to be admired for a bit longer.”
Jennifer Schwartz brought another nautical-themed painting, though quite different in mixed media and genre. In this work, a mermaid was languidly lounging on the bottom of the ocean floor, surrounded by a fantastical “forest” of coral, sponges and seaweed. The canvas was inscribed with a composite signature possibly reading “I.J. Vez” and dated 1928 in Roman numerals, but Schwartz had no other information about the artist. Its style was similar to that of Ecuadorian artist Eduardo Solá Franco (1915-1996), but he signed with his full name. Until a maker is identified, the fantastical scene will remain a mystery.
The man with perhaps the most information about his wares was Jim Kaufman, who collects and specializes in early “original” Dedham Pottery dated between 1896 and 1943. Known for its cobalt-painted borders and hallmark crackle glaze, Kaufman presented a wide selection of Dedham’s rare animal patterns, including owls, moths and turtles. Founded by Hugh C. Robertson (1845-1908), Dedham Pottery was considered the first non-Asian glaze to perfect the crackle, and some of his designs were likewise inspired by Chinese and Japanese art. Another scarce plate showed a lobster asymmetrically opposed to a strip of seaweed, yet both appeared balanced. Kaufman’s personal favorite on display was a quail patterned plate, sometimes listed as “grouse,” that was one of two variations produced. It sold during the show.
Jim Kaufman is one of the foremost authorities on Dedham Pottery and presented many rare, early patterns of the company’s 1896-1943 production. Dedham, Mass.
An even earlier example of American craftsmanship was a small tabletop chest in the booth of Nauset Antiques (North Eastham, Mass.). Likely made in Connecticut circa 1700-30, it was fashioned from Eastern white pine and retained its original, hand-wrought iron snipe hinges. The chest also showed its primary oxblood red wash along with traces of green paint on the top’s molding and traces of initials on the top surface. Although the exterior exhibited patina appropriate to the chest’s age, its interior was relatively clean for being around three centuries old. Owner Carl Goveia said it is still available and will be brought to Goosefare’s next show.
Goosefare’s 44th Duxbury Antiques Show and sale will occur on April 25-26. For information, www.goosefareantiques.com or 800-641-6908.
