New Hampshire Antiques Week 2026: The Deerfield Antique Show
From Pennsylvania and Massachusetts, the swan in this hooked rug seemed to share similar sentiments as the “No Sniveling” sign. Wenham Cross Antiques, Salisbury, Mass.
Review & Onsite Photos by Z.G. Burnett
DEERFIELD, N.H. — “Yeah, we canceled for today,” said Josh Gurley of Gurley Antique Shows, during a 7 am phone call. “Just kidding, we never cancel.” It was a good thing too, for no amount of pouring rain or gale-force winds were going to keep customers away from the Deerfield Antique Show August 3. Despite the majority of its 80-plus vendors setting up indoors, everyone in attendance was slightly soggy, and yet they all survived to have a great show.
“Folks travel from far and wide to buy at N.H. Antiques Week… [they] have been coming to Deerfield for 35 years,” Rachel Gurley, co-owner and showrunner, reported. “It’s a tradition. Sales were good and we will see everyone next year!”
Heading into any of the Deerfield Fairgrounds’ three function halls devoted to the event, “sold” tags sprouted like poppies on objects that were just too big to carry around or furniture that would disassemble a booth to remove so early. Buyers should be aware that one-day shows such as this are not limited to small-scale items.
Ian McKelvey was one of a few dealers thinking big, greeting customers in his corner booth with a monumental chest of drawers. Referring to it just as an apothecary cabinet somewhat diminishes its size, which would require a spacious room and/or an actual pharmacy to accommodate. McKelvey acquired the cabinet in Long Island, N.Y., and dated it to about 1800.
This photograph does little justice to its subject’s size, as the apothecary cabinet would occupy an entire wall of a regular room. Ian McKelvey, Windham, Conn.
However, an object on a smaller scale had just as much presence. Staring out from the booth of Days Gone By Antiques was a portrait of a well-dressed, young gentleman in excellent condition. Most attractive were the sitter’s blue eyes, inviting the viewer to examine his carefully styled hair, sideburns and fine silk waistcoat with tiny embroidered flowers. “It’s been in our home for 30 years,” said owner Lorraine Casinghino. “We bought it in Vermont from Hanes & Ruskin [Antiques], who didn’t know anything about him.” Casinghino decided it was time to move the portrait along, explaining that her price was far less than three decades ago. “That’s just the market,” she shrugged. “No use complaining about it; we have to work with it.”
The Gurleys are strong supporters of emerging dealers, especially those who will be leaders of the market in years to come. Todd and Richard Dean are a father-and-son team that represented the high-end “oddities” category. Like Casinghino, Richard, wearing a 1960s medical corpsman smock bought in Scarborough, Maine, was also thinning out his collection, but of human bones. Three skulls sourced from a Serbian collection sat atop a painted lockbox among quilts, folk art and other medical antiques. Unlike those who steal specimens from hospitals, medical schools and even cemeteries, collecting human remains through legitimate, documented sources is perfectly legal. “I have about 15 skeletons at home,” Richard smiled. “And I’m picking up another from an Oddfellows Hall tomorrow.”
Possibly the work of Russell Risley, this early painted Twentieth Century chest was found in northern Vermont by Warren Broderick, Troy, N.Y. The pine wall box was purchased circa 1930 at the Canterbury, N.H., Shaker community’s shop.
Even more enigmatic was an early storage chest with a later solar design painted on its front from Warren Broderick (Troy, N.Y.). It showed an anthropomorphic sun in the center with its rays reaching out in a colorful compass that resembled the style of Pennsylvania Dutch hex signs. The decoration caught Broderick’s attention, reminding him of the eccentric inventor and folk artist Russell Risley (1842-1927), who lived most of his life on a farm in Kirby, Vt. Risley was a prolific creator, carving busts of neighbors in boulders and painting his barn to resemble a ghostly choir, along with every other surface of his home he could decorate. Despite his output, few of Risley’s creations survive today. The Bennington (Vt.) Museum owns one of his works, a fencepost carved into the head of a screaming man, possibly to frighten the curious away from his farm. A portrait on wood was discovered in 2024.
The Castle Halloween Museum in Altoona, Penn., is devoted to antique and vintage Halloween decorations, but its booth was filled with objects of all kinds. Many were folk art pieces with religious themes, such as a low table that was carved and painted table with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden by Jefferson, Ga., artist Tubby Brown (1929-2003). After 35 years of owning and operating his own grocery store, Brown began making birdhouses and soon transitioned into figural art. His work is notable for its bright colors and three-dimensional layers, if not freestanding, as well as his playful sense of humor. Brown created art of all sizes, but his furniture is scarce and is not recommended for actual use, despite the addition of a glass top on the table’s surface.
The Deerfield Antique Show occurs annually at the Deerfield Fairgrounds. Gurley Antiques’ next event will be in Dover, N.H., on September 12. For information, www.gurleyantiqueshows.com or 207-396-4255.
