Jim Montell hosted his 100th antiques show at the Augusta Armory with his New Year’s Antiques Show that took place January 1. More than 40 exhibitors and many hundreds of shoppers joined him for the day’s show. Montell realized the milestone he had achieved while chatting at the show with a longtime friend and one-time exhibitor, Judy Tyler, when he said he had completed 39 spring and fall shows here and this was the 22nd New Year’s Day show.
The Maine-centric show had all but two of its exhibitors from the state of Maine, arriving earlier that morning for a couple hours of unloading and arranging their antiques,
Just inside the door, Sandy St Pierre of Maine Antique Attic, Whitefield, Maine, was “selling up a storm” with small early antiques that made for easy set-up. Among the sales in the first few minutes of the show were a black painted spoon rack with gilt decoration, a wall box also in early paint decoration and an early iron still bank in its original yellow and black paint.
Across the aisle, Bob Hammond of Winter Harbor, Maine, offered his collection of little things. Among his early sales were ivory handled canes, brass and ceramics.
Walt and Liz Textor came from nearby Auburn, Maine, with an extended family member’s collection. Among the antiques was a set of six thumb back pine plank seat chairs in fresh varnish finish. There was also an early blanket box with false drawers, made at about one-fourth scale, perhaps as a salesman’s sample or as a child’s piece.
Bisque dolls filled several small showcases in the booth of Sandra Bergland, West Gardiner, Maine. Her miniature dolls, about 4 inches tall, had bisque heads, hands and feet. Her collection included clothes and accessories for them as well. She was also showing many more Victorian-era children’s things, toys, games and more.
Toys and accessories were the stock and trade of River Edge Antiques, Pittston, Maine. Owner Barbara Thomas had an early kitchen woodstove, which was attracting a good deal of attention as it was extremely accurate in its details. It could work with very small logs, for it was only about 10 inches wide.
Doug Carnick is into banking in a big way. This Winslow, Maine, dealer was offering to sell several dozen of them, but with no deposits, as they were all the cast iron variety, suitable for a shelf or desk top.
Among the fine art offered, John Reinhardt of Wiscasset, Maine, was cornering the trade, in part because his exhibit was in the corner of the armory. The dealer was showing original art and fine early prints.
Book dealer Richard Mori, Milford, N.H., was one of the two dealers not native to Maine at the show, an even more notable feat given that his truck gave out on the ride here and had to be towed some of the distance. The show started off well for him right out of the gate with his first sale of the day, three first editions of Uncle Wiggly books.
Montell’s next show is Sunday, March 24. For more information, 207-582-2849.
