Hirsh Antiques, Pleasant Valley, Conn.
Review and Photos by Greg Smith
Lynn Webb and Frank Gaglio of Barn Star Productions.
SOUTH SALEM, N.Y. — It was a beautiful Fourth of July at Barn Star Production’s Antiques in the Church Yard as more than 70 dealers set up shop on the grounds of Stevens Memorial United Methodist Church, ultimately hoping to leave with less than what they came with. The sun was shining on the grassy field and the volunteers inside the church were cooking up piles of pancakes for hungry showgoers. As the gate readied for opening, though, only a handful of people sat there waiting to get in. It seemed as if the Church Yard would be a slow day for the dealers this year.
Five minutes prior to the opening, dealers eyed the gate warily and continued putting the finishing touches on their booths. The quiet settled in. Then, the very minute the show opened, like a scene out of a cartoon, the cars started to roll through the entrance. One after another, they poured in from a seemingly endless caravan that came from both directions on the main road. As it turns out, collectors here opted to ditch the line and arrive punctually on time and in turn. Waiting on the other side of the fence for them was a lush country antiques show filled with Americana, folk art, primitives, garden items, fine art, jewelry, furniture, ephemera and decorative items.
Visitors walked along the sun-filled aisles early on in the day.
“For the second year running, Barn Star Productions is pleased to have presented this July 4th celebration of antiques and our country’s independence with Antiques in the Church Yard,” said show manager Frank Gaglio. “By the end of the one-day show, close to 1,500 attendees passed through the gate, scoured the field and went home with vehicles full of treasures. The great majority of exhibitors had a successful show and have already asked to sign up for next year’s event.”
A lovely blue and white display lured visitors into the booth of Delaware dealer Summer House Antiques, as they perused a selection of Staffordshire and Delft along with examples of sterling silver and silverplate dinnerware.
John Eagle from Stuff & Things Antiques, Warrensburg, N.Y., brought along a display of fish decoys, including some fanciful examples by Duluth. The Duluth pieces featured large sharp teeth and vibrant colors and are included in the collection of the American Folk Art Museum.
Jamie Heuschkel of Hirsh Antiques, Pleasant Valley, Conn., displayed a nice selection of country painted trays, weights, andirons, and tobacco tins. Atop it all was an appropriately painted horse-drawn carriage in red, white and blue.
A buyer inspects a piece of pottery at the booth of Jaffe & Thurston, Wawarsing, N.Y.
Visitors would have been hard pressed to miss a late 1800s or early 1900s rocking horse in the booth of Town and Country Antiques of Westchester, Pound Ridge, N.Y. The horse came out of a house in upstate Connecticut and had newly applied burlap over the antique frame.
Fenwood Studio, Mahopac, N.Y., set up an attractive display of country antique furniture with Eighteenth Century French Jaspe pottery and Imari porcelain. The dealers featured a Nineteenth Century two-door cupboard in an attractive blue paint, a possibly Tennessee Shaker Nineteenth Century yarn winder, also in original blue paint, and a Nineteenth Century Welsh dresser.
From Arlene and Bob Kimerling, Ridgefield, Conn., came a vibrant Royal Copenhagen ichthyological service. Each piece featured a different, detailed fish with a scale-decorated rim and gilt fins overlapped around the edges. The platter featured an outstretched lobster in a dramatic pose, hoping something else would be for dinner.
Art Nouveau was on show in the booth of Flora Haller, Chappaqua, N.Y. The dealer brought along three mirrors, two of which were hammered copper and featured heart and flower decorations. The dealer also had a small stool by Liberty and Co.
Debbie Turi Antiques, Roseland, N.J., featured a playful mix of things, with a handsome antique guitar placed about other country smalls, cast iron still banks and American pottery. The dealer also had a primitive coffee grinder with a fine cast iron grinder atop.
A late Eighteenth or early Nineteenth Century rocking horse at Town and Country Antiques, Pound Ridge, N.Y.
Dora Connoly of Antiques Folly, Emmitsburg, Md., whose slogan is “Follow Your Folly, Mine is Antiques!” had a colorful booth filled with Staffordshire, Canton and famille rose. Sitting front and center was a pair of Staffordshire red and white spaniels that rose to approximately 11 inches in height. Each featured a girl standing well underneath the chin of the spaniel, which would have made the dogs about 10 feet high had they been representational.
Connoly followed in her mother’s footsteps as an antiques dealer and also introduced her son to the trade, spanning three generations. She said, “I started young, so I couldn’t read, but at least I could open the door to my mom’s shop.”
Francis Crespo Antiques & Folk Art, Lancaster, Penn., brought along folk art and Americana objects, including a 1900s toleware coffee pot with a bright yellow paint, a bouquet cast iron doorstop, an assortment of miniature carved birds and a unique cast iron ashtray with a gun atop.
The show was a benefit to Stevens Memorial United Methodist Church and the church’s “Grandma’s Attic Booth” drew a healthy crowd, as it was filled with antiques and decorative items donated by church members.
The show will return next year on July 4 at the same location. For more information, www.barnstar.com or 845-876-0616.
