This nicely arranged booth belonged to John Prunier, Warren, Mass.
Review & Onsite Photos by Jessica Skwire Routhier
BATH, MAINE — It turned out to be a perfect Maine day for the Bath Summer Antique Sale on July 26, but the organizers were prepared for any eventuality. The spacious double gymnasium at Morse High School, home of the Shipbuilders, hosted more than 70 exhibitors in air-conditioned comfort as a steady stream of foot traffic — locals, vacationers and serious buyers — kept the event pleasantly crowded. Plenty of local dealers brought the Maine goods, from furniture to decoys, while vendors from throughout New England offered a dazzling mix of domestic and export ceramics, hooked rugs, theorem paintings, estate jewelry and more.
The Bath Antique Sale, a 40-plus-year tradition, has been under the leadership of Rachel and Josh Gurley since 2023, when they brought the sales back from a multiyear Covid-era hiatus. Monthly shows in the fall and winter continue to take place at Bath Middle School, but the larger high school gymnasium, with its climate control, bright lights and concession stand, is the venue of choice for the bigger crowds the summer brings.
“We are delighted with the show,” said Rachel Gurley. “It has grown so much in the last three years and we really have our dealers to thank for that… We were lucky to have a pre-existing relationship with the school system and we are lucky that they are so easy to work with. The facility is amazing! The fact that we get to use it is a gift.”
Three French oyster plates with Beverly Reynolds, ready for your Maine feast. Brunswick, Maine.
Several dealers echoed Gurley’s enthusiasm. Beverley Reynolds of Brunswick, Maine, who showed a trio of striking French oyster plates, called both the venue and the lighting “perfect.” Joan Mollan of Moon Gold Antiques in Marblehead, Mass., sang the Gurleys’ praises, saying they “run a great antiques show,” and Dennis Raleigh of Pumpkin Patch Antiques in Searsport, Maine, reported: “We’re loyal to the Bath shows, both in the summer and throughout the colder months. Josh and Rachel do a fine job promoting the show.” Mollan showed, among other things, a fetching tabletop folk art sculpture of a black bear with a fish while Raleigh’s attractive display included a variety of vintage game boards.
Animals were something of a theme throughout the show, with carefully curated items sized and priced for vacation impulse buys. Among the expected fishing lures and decoys — some of unusual design and exceptional quality — some standouts were an iron doorstop of a black cat by Hubley Manufacturing Company seen at Curiosity Antiques of Waldoboro, Maine; a plump green toad at James and Nancy Glazer Antiques of Bailey Island, Maine, which was seated under a late federal worktable; a vibrantly painted alligator nutcracker at David McLean of North Monmouth, Maine; an unusual fabric-covered ride-on horse at Bargain Bob’s; and a beaded mat with two deer flanking a pine tree at Vintage Wild West of Pittston, Maine, an authentic Native American piece from the 1920s, probably made for the souvenir trade.
A very photogenic alligator nutcracker in the booth of David McLean, North Monmouth, Maine.
This being Maine, there was the expected array of crustaceans as well, from a vibrant hooked rug with swordfish, a dolphin, starfish and, yes, lobsters with Robert Foley of Gray, Maine, to a finely wrought bronze crab at S.B. Adams of Westport Island, Maine, to a pair of lobster andirons at Jewett-Berdan Antiques, Newcastle, Maine. The latter proved irresistible to a couple furnishing their beach house; Tom Jewett reported that he also sold a large painted wooden sign pointing the way to Pemaquid Light. Buyers who missed out on the lobsters may well have been consoled by the signed duck decoy andirons at Full Moon Antiques of New Harbor, Maine.
Several exhibitors noted that small items were popular, perhaps not surprising given that many shoppers were probably obliged to take their purchases back home on a plane or a car already full of luggage. Another factor, though, may have been the somewhat younger crowd, not necessarily to be expected in Maine, which is the oldest state in the nation, demographically speaking. The Gurleys encourage the younger set by offering free admission to anyone under 25 (they also offer free passes to local business owners), and dealers report that they see the results.
Richard Fuller said that he “sold to all age groups,” and Joel White of Curiosity Antiques said that he keeps his younger clientele in mind when curating his booth. “While they aren’t always buying in volume, they buy with purpose and passion, often for very specialized niche collections they are enthusiastic about.” For example, White offered a reasonably-priced dozen of 1920s matchmaking placecards, die cut to look like flappers with feather fans, which were likely difficult for a collector of vintage paper dolls to resist.
These 1920s place cards were among the eclectic offerings of Curiosity Antiques, Waldoboro, Maine.
Even so, larger pieces with larger price tags also sold. Fuller sold a rustic “table chair” that looked to be about six feet in diameter and could not have been a casual purchase, and local Bath merchant Peter Murphy sold a pair of unusual bent tube chairs by San Francisco designer Arthur Court. Although the Court chairs are Twentieth Century pieces, Murphy noted in his own booth and others “a swing back to the more traditional pieces of furniture” after years of Millennial-fueled enthusiasm for Midcentury design. This jibes with what Susan Sorrentino of S.B. Adams observed about “conservative buying,” with shoppers perhaps “looking for a unique item to enhance their home” rather than a showpiece. Rona Andrews, Worcester, Mass., also remarked on a “cautious” trend among buyers but noted that “great pieces of folkware are selling well.”
Andrews was one of several vendors showing exceptional ceramic pieces in her booth; she sold an early Nineteenth Century platter with the word “Lamb” rendered in slip. Christopher Stanley of Bremen, Maine, had some transferware platters on view and Brian Cullity of Sagamore, Mass., showed an impressive display of export ware along with some domestic pieces, including more slipware.
White’s Nautical Antiques, North Yarmouth, Maine, had a trio of Liverpool jugs, one with unusual applied decoration. The colorful display of majolica at S.B. Adams caught the eye, as did a paper-thin trapezoidal creamware teapot at Thomas Moser of Gray, Maine. Massachusetts dealer Tom Goddard, who specializes in ceramics, offered a lively faience desk set, a group of mocha ware mugs in excellent condition and rare redware covered jar with the original, unmarred finish, among other items.
This display of fine export wares caught our eye. Brian Cullity Antiques, Sagamore, Mass.
Fine art was also present, although it was the focus in only a few booths: John Woytowicz of Gardiner, Maine, with prints by Carroll Thayer Berry and an array of Twentieth Century landscapes; Martin J. Ferrick of Lincolnville, Maine, with, among other things, a selection of works by Gloucester, Mass., artist Helen Stein; and Owen Shugard, under the name ShugARdT, of Union, Maine, featuring work by Boris Vassiloff and a collection of colorful, gestural landscape studies by Jose Trujillo.
Scattered throughout other booths were carefully selected Nineteenth Century paintings and drawings, including lovely theorem-style still-life works at Jewett-Berdan Antiques and Tom Goddard and seascapes and ship’s portraits at White’s Nautical Antiques.
Whether Doris E. Stauble’s unique faux floral arrangements fall into the category of “fine art” or not is a decision for others to make, but they certainly fit the description objects made with passion, artistry and no purpose other than visual delight. Stauble, a longtime antiques dealer herself, spent the last chapter of her life in Wiscasset, Maine, just ten miles away from Bath, so it seems fitting to see her work continuing to circulate in the community.
Two arrangements noted at Pumpkin Patch Antiques and Rona Andrews’s booth were both fruit-laden, with apples, peaches and cherries, fulfilling Rachel Gurley’s divination that “the summer show is a cherry on top of a long history of Bath shows.”
Gurley Antiques’ next show will be the Dover (N.H.) Antique & Vintage Market on August 22 at The Dover Elks Lodge, 282 Durham Road.
For information, www.gurleyantiqueshows.com or 207-396-4255.
