JoDan’s Antiques, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Review and Photos by Tom O’Hara
NASHVILLE, TENN. – Doug Supinger gathered more than 60 exhibitors for his Fiddlers Antiques Show at Fiddlers Inn on February 13-16, offering collections of Americana and country antiques for a large and appreciative audience. In a post-show interview, Doug said, “While weather did cut our attendance somewhat, the people who came were serious buyers, according to my dealers.” He added, “Buying was good. The antiques that they brought hit the mark!” This site has been used for a show almost every year for the past three decades, although the promoter has changed, and the shoppers know to come the day before the bigger show at the Tennessee Fairgrounds opens for some early buying.
Barbara McDonald is a Knoxville, Tenn., dealer with an extensive collection of early handmade quilts and coverlets. On the first day of the show, she sold several quilts to dealers who were exhibiting at shows opening later in the week.
Miller House Antiques, Carroll, Ohio, completed a room setting in the motel room so that it resembled a pioneer cabin from the early 1800s. The temporary walls were white-washed, but included a 200-year-old fireplace mantel, several different styles of Windsor chairs and a tall pantry cupboard in red paint with gallery. Sales were good, according to Linda Miller, who reported that the cupboard sold, along with a dry sink, a store counter and many smaller accessories.
Carol and Jay Harper from Murphy, N.C., used the front window of their motel room to display their one-piece carved wooden bust of Abraham Lincoln. Carol said they found it at a recent estate sale.
Marion Atten was showing a collection of English furniture. This dealer, from Dewitt, Ill., has a preference for William and Mary and other early Jacobean styles. Her collection featured several large chests and a cupboard from the Seventeenth Century.
Linda Roggow, Rockford, Mich., was showing her collection of stoneware and American folk art. She was selling well with Nineteenth Century paintings and hooked pieces.
Grantham 1763 Antiques, Denton, Md.
Primitives were the color of the day for Stone Barn Antiques from St Louis, Mo. Linda Green is a collector who finds all sorts of late Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century farm and home tools and small furniture to bring to the show. One most curious cupboard was a small wooden box, 3 feet in height, with a hinged opening on the lower front and open at the top, painted in a light green color. It was assumed to have been for some special purpose in a wagon and it sold early in the show.
Jim Worcester brought great painted pieces, little things from home in Antrim, N.H. One of his main attractions was a diminutive, brightly painted yellow game table, probably for a men’s logging camp in the Nineteenth Century.
Another New Englander, Tom Moser from Portland, Maine, filled his room with furniture but also some interesting small objects. In particular, a framed cameo of George Washington, about 2 inches in diameter, was made of wax. These cameos are rare due to the delicate nature of the medium, and thus quite valuable since this piece is believed to be about 200 years old, according to the dealer.
It would seem that Wilson’s Antiques of Asheville, N.C., specializes in candlesticks, for the dealer brought a large and diverse inventory of them – brass, wood, pewter and more. Also selling were firkins and pantry boxes. Judi Stellmach, Stafford Springs, Conn., offered her collection of American primitive small things, especially painted pieces. Period Antiques, Scottsburg, Ind., was selling from a collection of antique samplers and hooked mats.
Supinger has been producing this show for five years now as a companion to the Nashville Show, starting one day before on Wednesday. Look for it again next year at the Fiddlers Inn, February 12-15, 2020. While there is not a website for this show, more information can be obtained by calling 937-875-0808.
