The Greater York Antiques Show made its annual fall appearance at Memorial Hall on the York Fairgrounds on Friday and Saturday, October 29 and 30. “We had 64 exhibitors this fall, filling 70 booths, and our gate was not great, but steady, and comparable to last year,” Donna Burk, show manager, said. “All and all, it went very well,” she added.
Twenty-seven of the exhibitors came from Pennsylvania, with the rest of the dealers hailing from New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Maine, Virginia, Delaware, South Carolina, Ohio, New Jersey, Connecticut, Kentucky, Delaware, Maryland, Indiana, New York State and Maryland. Only a scattering of “brown” furniture was offered, with the emphasis on country and painted pieces, and the usual display of pottery, fabrics, Christmas and folk art. And, for the most part, the sale of smalls far outnumbered the interest in furniture.
“I was offered a collection of miniature pieces of redware at Brimfield recently, which reminded me of the pieces I had and had not shown recently, so I brought them here, plus a few I have bought since,” Greg Kramer of Robesonia, Penn., said. In one corner of his large booth he had a tapering corner cupboard, perfect for showing his sampling of miniature pieces, about 50 in all, ranging from jugs and open pots to a variety of pitchers. A large wooden trade sign in the form of a swordfish was mounted high above a table, spatter filled the best part of a showcase, a number of cast iron snow eagles were displayed on the floor, cast iron decorative hinges were arranged on a bench, and even a painting of General Douglas MacArthur was among the pieces displayed on the walls.
An early pine dry sink in the original soldier blue painted surface, circa 1830‱840, Pennsylvania origin, was shown by Salt Box Antiques of Sugar Loaf, Penn. Against the back wall of the booth was a Nineteenth Century apothecary in walnut, 48 drawers, that came out of the stone Shanesville General Store in Oley Valley, Berks County, Penn. It was never painted and had small feet applied to raise it off the floor.
Three shelves of mocha and a row of sponge pitchers were displayed by Greg Ellington of Wilmington, Ohio, while Country Huzzah, Burke, Va., showed a selection of cast iron doorstops, including a rare penguin, rabbit and two versions of the Old Salt.
A small New England settle in pine was offered by Marjorie Staufer, Medina, Ohio, along with a New England one-door cupboard in natural finish with butterfly hinges and rosehead nails, circa 1710. Dan and Karen Olson of Newburgh, N.Y., showed a tavern table with one-board top, breadboard ends in pine with birch legs, New England, circa 1800‱820, and a circa 1835‱850 Connecticut chest in pine with cutout heart in the splash board, mustard paint, and 35½-inch-wide case.
With Halloween the day after the show closed, holiday objects were in many booths, including an impressive display by Jewett-Berdan Antiques of Newcastle, Maine. About 25 pumpkins were offered, some the traditional cutouts while others were in the form of cats, the devil and skulls. A large hooked rug, circa 1890‱900, was featured at the center of the booth depicting a colorful turkey with the wording “Welcome To Turkey Hill.” A small fully carved turkey, paint decorated, was shown next to it. Known for having painted decorated boxes, this time six were on offer, ranging in size from document to large six-board ones. “Made and Repaired,” together with the image of a boot, was on a shoemaker’s trade sign.
Thomas Longacre, Marlborough, N.H., had a three-board-top sawbuck table in pine, with old finish; a few game boards for checkers, Parcheesi and backgammon, and a large oil on canvas depicting a recumbent dog on a colorful floor covering, 30 by 22 inches, that was found in Springfield, Mass., and is signed Hunt lower right. And, with Christmas just around the corner, Beverly Longacre brought along many seasonal ornaments and four feather trees, two of which were fully dressed. She took over an end of the booth, causing Tom to comment, “Pretty soon she will be have me wearing a Santa Claus suit and sitting in the corner of the booth.”
For those who wanted to cover a large space with great colors, the baseball dart game board shown by Doug Wyant of Cassopolis, Mich., would fit the bill. Standing nearby was a tall figure of Uncle Sam, once a post office box or flag holder, in the original faded red, white and blue paint, and a contemporary tall table and four stools was shown, constructed with old baseball bats for legs. “These sell well and we make them up all the time,” Doug said.
Alice and Art Booth, Wayne, N.J., offered many Christmas-related items, including a large German Santa with reindeer and sleigh, a rare double nodder dating from the early Twentieth Century. Jacqueline Walker, Aberdeen, Md., had a large trade sign for “Majestic refrigerators,” four colorful carnival game wheels and a Nineteenth Century taxidermy trade sign in the form of a carved wood deer’s head. Gene Pratt of Victor, N.Y., had a nice three-board-top hutch table in pine and birch and dating from the Nineteenth Century.
Hilary and Paulette Nolan, Falmouth, Mass., had a corner cupboard with shaped shelves and grain painted doors top and bottom and a nice matching set of six Chippendale side chairs with slip seats and owl’s-eye spalts, mahogany and white pine, North Shore, Mass., dating circa 1775‱790.
A stern lady with three strands of black necklace, a portrait by William Matthew Prior, hung in the booth of The Norwoods’ Spirit of America, Timonium, Md., along with an oil on canvas depicting a winter scene of an oxen pulling a sled laden with logs, “to keep you warm,” dating from the Nineteenth Century.
A stack of seven graduated wallpapered hat boxes, with river scenes, birds, houses, trees and foliage, was in the corner of the booth of Stephen-Douglas, Rockingham, Vt., and a pair of leather fire buckets, black, red and yellow decoration, had the name J.B. Topham and the date 1860. A very primitive rocking horse retained an old leather saddle and most of the original white paint.
James Kilvington, Dover, Del., showed a George III rectangular top tea table, English, circa 1780, flanked by a pair of Chippendale ribbon back side chairs, Philadelphia, circa 1780. A Philadelphia William and Mary gate leg table, “exhibiting the best turnings,” dated circa 1730.
Hanes and Ruskin, Old Lyme, Conn., had a diminutive William and Mary chest of drawers in cherry, with pine sides and top, Connecticut River Valley, circa 1720‱750, and a Connecticut Chippendale four-drawer chest in cherry with molded top, inlay of satinwood and mahogany surrounding each graduated drawer, circa 1780. Wesley Sassa of Elverson, Penn., offered a New England sack back Windsor armchair with turned arm supports, circa 1780, and an English mahogany Chippendale veneered and gilded looking glass.
Dennis Bakoledis of Rhinebeck, N.Y., had a circa 1800 three-drawer black chest with black painted surface, a large wood carved patriotic eagle and a large rooster weathervane in sheet metal, both dating from the Nineteenth Century. Elizabethtown, Penn., dealer Steve Still had a couple of trade signs, one in the form of a painted bull, French, of zinc and dating 1880, another a large wood saw, circa 1800, from a hardware store and found in New York City. It measured 8 feet 3 inches long and had the word “Hardware” across it.
Thurston Nichols, Breininger, Penn., showed two Nineteenth Century full-bodied copper eagle weathervanes, complete with directionals, and a grained paint decorated blanket box with a whirligig in the form of a man with top hat displayed on it. A colorful barber pole was leaning against the back wall.
“It’s the Spirit of St Louis,” Chuck White said about his large airplane weathervane, with directionals, and pointing out that it had no front window. The Warwick, N.Y., dealer dated it circa 1940. A three-piece wall cupboard was from central Pennsylvania, circa 1840, in the original salmon paint, and an Eighteenth Century sawbuck table, two-board top, had a blue-green painted base.
Louis Scranton, Killingworth, Conn., brought less furniture than normal, but was strong on redware pottery with three slip decorated plates reading “James,” “Sally” and “Sarah.” Four stoneware pieces were lined up, each with cobalt bird decoration, and nine pieces of painted tole were scattered about the booth. The booth was well-stocked, and Lou said that “lately, I have been buying things and just putting them in the van. Then when I get to a show, I generally have too much for the booth space.”
One of the highlights in the booth of Axtell Antiques, Deposit, N.Y., was an early tinder box with “T. Johnson 1793” punched in the tin. It came from Islip, N.Y., and “this is the first one I have seen with punchwork, most are generally plain,” Smitty Axtell said. A dry sink in old red dated circa 1830, and a colorful hooked rug with geometric pattern was circa 1905.
Harry Hartman of nearby Marietta, Penn., used the top of a large hutch table to display his animal kingdom, a large horse weathervane with fine surface and two pigs, one made of sewer tile and the other a Hampshire as a cast iron bank. A large burl bowl was filled with large Christmas tree ornaments, including large balls and bunches of grapes in many colors. The green painted and decorated child’s settee was “the best one I have ever seen,” Harry said.
An early Nineteenth Century theorem, large size and on linen, in period frame, came from a Williamsburg, Va., collection and showed a yellow basket with fruit and a bird on top. Grapes, apples, pears and cherries made up this still life. A double-sided sign from Miller’s farm, near Wilmington, Del., circa 1890‱910, was in good condition.
In keeping with the Halloween season, Ron Van Anda of Lititz, Penn., brought a papier mache skeleton laid out in a coffin, a lodge piece, as well as a large tailoring-alterations sign in the form of scissors, measuring about 6 feet tall. Sandra Whitson had filled a showcase with figural napkin rings and another one with several boxes of patriotic jewelry.
There was no shortage of furniture in the booth of Joseph Lodge, Lederach, Penn., who offered a black painted candlestand, circa 1815, with high kick to the legs; a salmon grained blanket chest with yellow pinstriping, strap hinges, 9-inch-high turned feet, dating circa 1835, and a paint decorated Dutch cupboard with different types of graining. It had six-light doors over three drawers over two raised panel doors and dated circa 1840.
May and October shows in York are planned for 2011 and a call from Donna Burk Monday, November 1, began, “I have to change my May dates.” It is not going to be on May 27′8 as originally announced, but, “We had to move it back a week to May 20′1.” Mark your calendars accordingly.
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