This solid fabric cloth friendship bird, circa 1880, from Pennsylvania sold early in the show from the booth of Baker & Company Antiques, Delmar, N.Y.
Review by Andrea Valluzzo
ONLINE — Smalls and folky pieces seemed to be drawing the most interest in the fall edition of the virtual Fox Valley Antiques Show that ran October 10-11 and featured a good selection of Americana. On offer from the 22 dealers were firkins and flags, brass and butter prints, pitchers and paintings and much more.
Virtual shows can be challenging, especially as far as attracting new audiences that are comfortable buying online without being able to see and touch the merchandise. Sales seemed to be slower and harder to achieve in this edition, but most dealers ticked off-site visitors and some sales. The Chicago Suburban Antiques Dealers Association (CSADA), using Marvin Getman’s online platform, created this twice-annual event that truly complements in-person antiques shows and drives buyers towards it.
One of the most successful dealers this time was Iron Horse Antiques & Art, which had notched six sales by Sunday morning. Among those were a hand-carved Nineteenth Century gilded pilot house eagle with detailed feathering on the spread wings, an 1875 document box in its original mustard-yellow grain paint and a blue circa 1900 firkin with finger-jointed hoops, rose-head nails and a tapered swing handle.
Firkins were quite popular in the show. This Nineteenth Century New England painted bucket example, circa 1800-20, was sold by Fenwood Studio, Mahopac, N.Y.
Iron Horse dealers Jim and Debbie McArdle said they were excited to again be among the Fox Valley dealers, all pioneers in this online antiques show frontier, and have already begun saving up items for next spring’s edition. (Debbie is president of CSADA and is one of the show producers.) “Typically, best-selling categories for us are stoneware, patriotic Americana and painted smalls. This time around, we didn’t have enough inventory in those three categories to fill our booth, so we offered some unusual toys and a fine William Spratling silver cuff bracelet,” the McArdles wrote in a follow-up email. “The show’s platform shows each dealer how many clicks they get on each item in their booth. Surprisingly, a make-do toy of ‘The Old Woman Who Lived In A Shoe’ received the most clicks in the booth even though it was marked ‘sold’ shortly after opening.”
The McArdles also had serious inquiries about their five 1907-23 New York City marine model yachts made by Frederick “Fritz” Gentzen (1877-1969). They could not safely be shipped, and arrangements for hand delivery could not be made during the short run of the show, but the dealers feel the yachts will soon have a new home.
Bonsell Americana, which featured several American flags in its online booth, reported having a great show with strong interest that should yield several after-show sales.
A standout in the booth of Bonsell Americana was this 30-star American flag having an exotic medallion star pattern, signed “Mother,” circa 1864. Hillsdale, Ill.
“We could see a spike in website traffic with many clicks coming from the Fox Valley Show. We see these shows as so much more than a one-day opportunity to sell our antique American flags to potential new clients,” said Heather Bonsell. “Many of our clients often need a few days to select the best piece for their space or collection. They often become repeat buyers.”
“At this show we had a 30-star flag commemorating the addition of Wisconsin as the 30th state. With many of the Fox Valley audience in the Midwest, it was a very popular piece,” she said. “I have a Wisconsin collector who is still convincing his wife to add the piece to their collection. We love the opportunity to match an antique piece with the best collector/caretaker.”
Perusing the show, a mix of interesting items caught this writer’s eye, including a circa 1880 solid fabric cloth friendship bird from Pennsylvania at Baker & Company Antiques; a circa 1918 copy of Mother Goose or the Old Nursery Rhymes illustrated by Kate Greenaway in the booth of Sandra L. Hoekstra Bookseller; and a small Nineteenth Century, circa 1880, firkin in red paint with a wire handle, dovetailed staves and a beveled bottom, with David M. Weiss Antiques.
Weiss chose mostly smalls for his booth for ease in shipping. While his sales were not what he hoped, he praised show management: “The promoters are excellent. They spread the word effectively and got quite a few customers to the show.”
This USS Constitution “Old Ironsides” cast iron doorstop by Greenblatt Studios in Boston, circa 1924, was among sales by David and Jane Thompson, South Dennis, Mass.
Among sales for David and Jane Thompson were a circa 1924 USS Constitution “Old Ironsides” cast iron doorstop by Greenblatt Studios in Boston and a 1920-34 cast iron newsstand paperweight for the “Always Dependable” N.Y. Evening Post.
“We had a very nice show this time, and the Constitution doorstop went to a collector in New York who has bought from us before,” the dealers said. “We find that when customers have bought from us before, they like to shop with us again. And sure enough, many of our buyers were repeat customers, some buying more than one item. We try to pick items for the online show that have stories or histories to tell as part of the description.”
Sharon Waddell of Kay’s Attic Finds reported her booth had 973 visits. The most popular items were quilts (two sold) and a 1940s “Truly Yours” autograph cigarette case. Least popular were 1830s hand-colored European and US maps. “I enjoy doing the show and learn from each event,” she said. “I’m looking forward to the spring show and plan on making my booth even better.”
Barb Lemme of Liberty Tree Antiques, who is CSADA secretary and one of the show’s producers, said she had very strong interest in early smalls in original paint. “I could have sold the painted items I offered several times,” she said. “In retrospect I wish I had included more similar items, but of course I always try to offer a variety of categories — this time that seemed to be the ‘thing’? It’s always a bit of a guessing game, right? This was true not just in my booth, but across the show.”
Donna Kmetz is known for her fine selection of American paintings. On offer was this early Twenteth Century oil on panel by Impressionist Walter Farndon, who was born in England but settled in Yonkers, N.Y., painting up and down the East Coast. Douglas, Mass.
Lemme also earned two follow-up sales from the show from customers who came into her shop, Sign of the Whale Antiques in Glen Ellyn, Ill., to purchase items they had seen in her Fox Valley booth. “Also, I had new customers. This is always a wonderful benefit of our online show. These are buyers who would never have found their way to my brick-and-mortar shop. The reach of the show is one of the strengths we mention to prospective dealers.”
Dealer Jane Langol only wrote up one sale but remains a fan of the show. “The recent Fox Valley Antiques Show offered an opportunity for the customer to make some good selections. Prices appeared fair and the range of choices was broad,” she said. “I sold only one item — a Greiner doll — to a customer in Illinois. In the past, I have sold between two to four items out of the 15 items submitted. Although somewhat disappointed that I did not sell more, I was quite pleased with the sale, as she was an investment-level doll. It takes a dedicated ‘doll person’ to purchase these sweet historic dolls, but that market appears to be shrinking.”
“Overall, I sensed that sales were slower for many of the exhibitors noted by the sparse ‘sold’ signs attached to the show images. There were some lovely fine art pieces submitted by the dealers,” Langol added. “I submitted three pieces of artwork/fine art with zero interest in them, although I did have an inquiry about a pastel drawing. Yet, no sale resulted.”
Langol will be back for the March show, saying, “The platform is easy to navigate and the opportunities to present quality antiques should never be neglected.”
The show will be back in the spring March 13-14. For information, www.foxvalleyantiquesshow.com.
