Shortly after the 8:30 opening, the aisles were
full of shoppers.

Dealers waiting to get in the building, prior to the 6:30 set-up.

MILFORD, N.H. — Jack Donigian has been running antique shows in New Hampshire for more than 40 years and has probably run more shows than anyone else. He’s built a loyal cadre of dealers and a loyal group of buyers. Both were in evidence at his Sunday morning show, the start of Antiques Week. There were about 75 dealers and early buyers were on the floor at 6:30 am as the dealers were bringing in their stuff and setting up their booths. The first sale occurred about 6:32 — a large rose medallion charger.

It was an old fashioned show: no walls, no special booth lighting, and several dealers even chose not to cover their tables. The emphasis was country, although not exclusively. Several dealers offered country wooden ware, stoneware, paintings, Asian items, early ceramics and glass, art pottery, furniture, and more. Prices were reasonable and there were good buys to be had.

The crowd was large, and two parking lots were full when regular admission started at 8:30 and the hall filled up rapidly. By 8:45, several shoppers were seen carrying bags of stuff. Several dealers and collectors who came for the rest of the week’s shows were shopping and buying. Happy exhibitors, happy buyers-a good start for Antiques Week, a full review on this show will follow later.

Antiques Week continues Tuesday with the New Americana Celebration Antiques Show at the Douglas Everett Arena in Concord (early buying is 8 am to 10 am); Antiques in Manchester, opening Wednesday at 10 am at Sullivan Arena, St. Anselm College; Midweek in Manchester Antiques Show opening Wednesday at 1 pm at JFK Memorial Coliseum, Manchester; and concludes with the 59th annual New Hampshire Antiques Show opening Thursday at 10 am.