Pantry Box Antiques, Stafford, Springs, Conn., was one of several dealers offering early stoneware. A Charlestown jug with incised double hearts was $995, and there was another Charlestown jug with three incised crosses.
Review and Photos by Rick Russack
CONCORD, N.H. – Peter Mavris’ Americana Celebration show in Concord, one of the Antiques Week in New Hampshire events, is now in its sixth year. It’s about a half hour north of the Manchester shows and gets better each edition. It’s a room-setting show and the quality of the offerings matches the other events of the week. The new dealers added this year, about eight, were well chosen to maintain the tradition of the show: quality Americana and folk art.
About 400 buyers were in line for the 8 am early buyer’s opening, and an additional 350 came through the rest of the day. The facility is large and can accommodate more dealers, so presumably more will be added to future events.
As soon as you walked into the show, you knew you were in the right place. Walking down the aisle closest to the admissions desk, on the left you would have immediately seen Randi Ona’s booth, and you would have seen the 17-drawer apothecary chest she had brought. The color was great and the gold leaf paint on the drawers was bright and bold. It was priced at $2,800. A small penny rug rested on it, and she priced it $795. Ona, from Wayne, N.J., also had some of the best early cloth dolls in the show. A small Black girl doll with real human hair was priced $1,600, and a tall, well-dressed boy doll from the Pat Hatch collection was priced $2,800.
Barret Menson and Martha Perkins, Ashby, Mass., brought a load of original frames. It’s a specialty of Menson’s, and they were priced between $50 and $2,400. The whole family of dogs was destined to remain together — the price was $695 for all.
If you turned around and looked at the booths on the right side of the aisle, you would have seen one of the outstanding pieces of folk art at the show (and maybe the week), although it has been seen before. It was a large, colorful, commemorative plaque marking the founding of the “Washington Light Guard” and mentioning Captain John Fagan. The painted pine panel had a portrait of George Washington at the top, ten furled American flags, two eagles and a painted oval panel depicting firemen pulling a pumper with buildings on fire in the background, signed Edward Kranich (1826-1891), Elizabeth, N.J. The central panel commemorated the Washington Light Guard, and the scrolls at the bottom stated that the guards were organized in 1879. Paul and Connie Polce, Ponzi’s Antiques, Trumansburg, N.Y., priced it at $21,500. The panel had been sold at a Ron Bourgeault auction in 2008.
In the next booth, belonging to Mary DuBuhr, Downer’s Grove, Ill., your eye would immediately have been caught by a large, paneled pine mantel with traces of old red paint. It was $1,400. You would have noticed the two hearth brooms; the larger one was $1,250, and the other was $1,150. The booth of Rona Andrews, Wellesley, Mass., was next, and centered in her booth was a large Doris Stauble arrangement with fruit and flowers, which was priced $995, and she had a very small one priced $595. Thomaston, Maine, dealer Ross Levett was next and, as he usually does, had a selection of early German stoneware, metalware and Delft.
Linda Davis, Alton, N.H., filled a table with Liverpool jugs with historical subject matter. They were priced from $600 to $2,000.
If you had decided to start your shopping at the other side of the show, you would have immediately walked into the booth of Millwood, Va., dealer Malcolm Magruder. It would be fair to describe his offerings as overwhelming, especially if you were interested in early English ceramics. A large hanging shelf displayed more than 35 pieces of mocha, with prices ranging from $475 to $5,500. Another hanging shelf was filled with painted Shaker boxes. The other side of his booth was filled with Prattware, creamware, pearlware and other early ceramics and Magruder also brought early furniture, and his back wall had numerous oil paintings. Turning to the other side of the aisle, you would have seen the booth of Pantry Box Antiques, Stafford Springs, Conn. If eclectic country was your interest, you would have spent a few minutes in the booth, which was filled with stoneware, teddy bears, Halloween decorations, Steiff animals, quilts, painted firkins and more. Stoneware included a large Charlestown jug with incised double hearts, which was priced at $995, and a 3-gallon Charlestown jug with incised triple crosses.
Further down this aisle, Matt Ehresman, Wadsworth, Ohio, filled his large, double booth with early, painted cupboards, tavern tables, early Windsor chairs, pantry boxes, etc. A particularly nice, old red, open cupboard with three drawers, circa 1820, was priced $5,600. A small tavern table with a scrubbed top, deaccessioned by Historic Deerfield, was $4,800. Across the aisle, Barbara Rotundo, Country Collection Antiques, Methuen, Mass., had an unusual, large, five-sided, doweled butter mold. The four sides were deeply carved with a variety of patterns, with the top, also carved, providing the fifth surface. Retaining a red wash, the price was $375. She also had a sugar cone in its original paper packaging, something that doesn’t turn up too often, and a pair of iron sugar clippers to go along with it. The cone was priced $75 and the clippers were $95.
Victorian-style arrangements by the late Doris Stauble, for years a dealer in Wiscasset, Maine, have become sought-after collectibles. Rona Andrews, Wellesley, Mass., priced this large one $995. She also had a small one, 3 or 4 inches wide, priced at $595.
In the center aisle, Bill Powell, Franklin, Tenn., filled his double booth with colorful trade signs, including a large carousel side panel, circa 1900, titled “Exciting” and depicting a Native American in a feathered headdress. Bob Markowitz, across the aisle, also had several signs and there were more throughout the show. Southern pottery face jugs were shown by Markowitz and Hometown Antiques, several booths had quilts and hooked rugs, numerous weathervanes were available, as were firkins, tin cookie cutters, tavern tables, Windsor chairs and much more.
A few minutes after the early buyers entered, red sold tags were seen in several booths. Rona Andrews sold a Queen Anne mirror, Mary DeBuhr sold a hanging wall cupboard, Dave Mason sold a mirror, MG Art had sold yellowware and woodenware, Bill Powell had sold some signs, Morgan McWhinnie sold his early red cupboard and Ross Levitt had sold some of his German stoneware. Numerous customers were already carrying shopping bags.
A few days after the show, Peter Mavris said he was pleased. “There were about 400 early buyers and another 350 during the day. No change from previous years, so maybe we’re getting back to normal. I think the show looked good, and some of the folk art was exceptional and so were the early ceramics. My only complaint would be that I had to stay there until midnight waiting for one dealer to finish packing. That’s a pretty minor complaint so, all in all, I have to say that everything worked fine. Several of the dealers told me that they had good shows, and some said they did better than last year.”
Mavris will start his monthly shows in Hampton, N.H., on Sunday September 26, and they will run once a month through the winter.
For more information, 207-608-3086 or www.petermavrisantiqueshows.com.
