The rear field of the Railroad Museum was populated with tables and tents; at right, the 1875 Brick Station House and in the center, a J.L. Mott Irons Works cast iron fountain, Bronx, N.Y.

Review & Photos by Z.G. Burnett

SCHOHARIE, N.Y. — The Schoharie Colonial Heritage Association (SCHA) celebrated its 47th annual Fall Antiques In Schoharie show on September 23 and 24, at the Schoharie Valley Railroad Museum Complex. The show was conducted in support of the Railroad Museum and the 1743 Palatine House, the oldest in Schoharie County, and featured a “country kitchen” with a full menu, including a wide selection of homemade pies. The SCHA is dedicated to acquiring and preserving historic sites in the Village of Schoharie, a benefit of which is the ability to use sites such as the Railroad Museum as a rotating location for its antiques shows.

From the SCHA website, “The museum complex occupies four acres on Depot Lane in Schoharie. The Station House, Freight Shed/Engine House, Weigh Station, Frisbieville and Fair Street Waiting Stations, Borden’s Creamery Building #99 and Mill Building form an unusually intact railroad complex. The 1891 Middleburgh & Schoharie Railroad restored a passenger car, a boxcar, a flat car and a 1914 wooden caboose form the collection of railroad rolling stock.”

“The show seemed to be good for most dealers,” said Jim and Mara Kerr of Cavern View Antiques, Howes Cave, N.Y., who help with the show’s advertising. “There was a good crowd of shoppers on Saturday, smaller on Sunday. The rain held off for the most part each day.”

Dealers partake in some pre-opening shopping.

Of the Railroad Museum’s four acres, not a square foot was ill-used during the show. Visitors would first encounter dealers set up in the original Borden’s Creamery Building, along with the tempting goodies in the Country Kitchen. Just as sweet was the display of antique chocolate molds in the shining booth of Partridge Hollow Antiques, Milton, Vt. Mostly oriented towards Easter candy with rabbits, lambs and hens, there were also more uncommon examples, such as a pug. Dennis Chrin of Partridge Hollow Antiques explained that he and his wife spotted these in the 1980s when passing a chocolate factory that was closing down. This began a decades-long search for similar scores, building a large collection from which these were being deaccessioned.

The John Fain Lumber Mill & Storage Building was the largest covered vending space, and dealers matched their stock to the well-preserved industrial interior that just seemed to keep going. The Kerrs were set up directly to the right of the entrance with a pair of brass and iron twin beds given pride of place. These were made by the Kimball & Chappell Co, Chicago, which produced brass beds around the turn of the Twentieth Century. This pair retained labels that categorized them as “Phoenix Beds,” which are distinct from other Kimball & Chappell brass beds due to their polished brass exteriors and concealed iron tubes for strength. The Kerrs shared that the beds were sourced from an estate in Oneota, N.Y., where the same family had lived for around two centuries. They later reported that the beds were sold, along with two marble top tables, a set of chairs and a country cupboard.

Karen and Mark Wheaton of Maria’s Pond Antiques, Mariaville Lake, N.Y., were situated across from the Kerrs, displaying more of a dining and kitchen motif. Front and center was an Eighteenth or very early Nineteenth Century cupboard that showed as many layers of paint as decades it had been in existence. We discussed its “great form” with Karen, who shared that it was found in Penn Yan, N.Y., which was settled in 1799 and named for “Pennsylvania Yankee.” The doors hung somewhat crookedly on their hinges and what remained of the hardware had been replaced multiple times, but the temptation to leave the cupboard as-is was overwhelming. Karen mentioned that the door carving reminded her of examples she had seen from Mohawk, N.Y., but was otherwise unsure of its exact origin.

Interior of the John Fain Lumber Mill & Storage building, the largest covered exhibitor space at the Railroad Depot.

Another nearby showpiece in the booth of Quality Refinishing, Governor, N.Y., was an early Nineteenth Century Empire style dresser with glass knobs and maple veneer on the drawers’ front boards. The light was positioned just so that the dresser appeared to be glowing. Allan Boice has been refinishing and selling antiques for more than 20 years, owns Quaker Acres West of the Madison-Bouckville, N.Y., Antiques Week, and has managed its East Expo Field with his wife Rachel for more than 15 years.

More contemporary goods were also available, such as the seasonal blow mold holiday decorations offered by David Welton of Cobbler’s Knob Antique, Roscoe, N.Y. “They’re getting harder and harder to find,” Welton said of vintage Halloween decorations. “My daughter collects them; she gets all the best ones.” With Halloween and Christmas coming earlier and earlier every year, the trend for such goods does not seem to be slowing down anytime soon.

Outside, the upcoming holiday was on other dealers’ minds, as well. A North Adams, Mass., vendor who only wished to be identified as Keith had an antique opera mask under his tent. Made from papier mache, cloth braiding and feathers, the mask was most likely from the Twentieth Century and was in remarkable condition as it had apparently been stage-used. Keith acquired it from a large collection of masks from an Adirondacks collector, and wore it himself for the last few Halloweens. He would style it with an all-black outfit and cape, leaving only his eyes visible through the mask. Certainly spooky, but also stylish.

Fresh to the show was this European genre scene, which was sourced from a Pittsfield, N.Y., estate by Rob Gatch, Waterville, N.Y.

Fine art could also be found among the folk, especially on the tables of Rob Gatch of Waterville, N.Y. A lawyer by trade, Gatch had at least three tables with antiques and art placed precariously under a chestnut tree that was shedding its fruits. No goods were harmed, but some dealers’ cars may have had dents by the end of the weekend. Many of Gatch’s paintings were snapped up immediately after opening. One intriguing canvas was a genre painting, likely German and from the late Eighteenth to early Nineteenth Century. Gatch shared that it had belonged to the same Pittsfield, N.Y., family for decades, and it would definitely require some restoration.

The Schoharie Valley Railroad Museum is at 143 Depot Lane. The Spring 2024 show will be at Schoharie Central School on April 13-14. For more information, 518-295-7505 or www.schoharieheritage.org.