Old Glory Antiques and Collectibles, Londonderry, N.H.
The Cooperage, Townsend, Mass.
“People should have a place to go when they’re done with the auction,” said Tina Bruno of Flamingo Promotions, whose tandem fairs, The New England and Antiques Festival and The Granite State Book & Ephemera Fair, opened for business on Saturday and Sunday, August 7 and 8, catching shoppers in town for Northeast’s Center of New Hampshire auction.
The side-by-side Flamingo shows set up at the JFK Coliseum, just a few blocks from the Center of New Hampshire, the base for Northeast Auctions and, later in the week, the New Hampshire Antiques Show.
For those who need a quick refresher, The New England Antiques Festival started in Hopkinton, N.H., under the management of Frank and Cathy Sykes. Flamingo bought the show and moved it to the facility formerly used by Kay and Bill Puchstein for their Start of Manchester Antiques Show, now a Flamingo fair held at the Event Center at CR Sparks in Bedford, N.H.
“Who has the most shows? Flamingo has twenty-something. Irene Stella had me beat at one point,” Tina Bruno answered with a laugh. Tina and her husband John now host four Antiques Week events – two in Manchester, two in Bedford – between August 7 and August 13.
“In Manchester, the book fair was more popular than the antiques show,” said Tina, catching her breath between fairs. “We haven’t had time to assess everything, but we are going to continue here at JFK, with an emphasis on books and ephemera. It’s the natural direction for this show.
“Sales were strong for the weekend. A woman came in and spent $5,000. I know, because I took most of it in credit cards. She made many exhibitors very happy,” Tina said.
The book and paper dealers set up on the right side of the Coliseum, a convenient if not particularly attractive location.
“The dedication bar on its base makes it unusual,” Tyler said.
Blue Ridge Books stocked beautiful bindings and early volumes on American history. Robert Jordan, a dealer from Warrenton, Va., featured an 1832 Flora’s Dictionary, $4,500, one of the first American books with color plates. From an edition of 1,000, Frances Parkman’s 1849 The Californian and Oregon Trail was $5,000.
More playfully, Evie Eysenburg of Briarcliff, N.Y., displayed a complete set of folky, figural “Playmaker” painted wood croquet wickets in their original wood box, $800.
A poster advertising the New Oakland Speedster was $7,500 at The Poster Company. Stratham, N.H., dealers Murray Segal and Janice Wayne also featured a circa 1924 poster for the Dutch airline KLM, $1,200, and a pair of die-cut stork display figures advertising Whitney Baby Coaches.
Minutes before The New England Antiques Festival opened on Saturday at 10 am, Bob Hartman of Country Huzzah Antiques was putting the final touches on a winning display of country furnishings, primitives, folk art, toys and textiles. The Burke, Va., dealer offered a New England painted Sheraton chest of drawers, $2,800, and a tole tray, $250, along with miniature furniture, mirrors and game boards.
“I love the back of it,” Hinda Jaffrey said of an ingeniously crafted sheet-metal sign, $350. The maker of this advertisement for “Chaddick Farm” had, at great effort, embedded clear marbles in the primitive piece to create reflective letters.
To the horror of Thad Riggsby of Northern Wholesalers, Sturbridge, Mass., two large rdf_Descriptions – a red lacquered Chinese cupboard and a display figure of a cat – crashed, face forward in his truck, on his drive up to Manchester. Miraculously, damages were minor. Riggsby is pictured here with the black cat display figure.
“I don’t think you can call a Siamese cat Felix,” said the dealer, when asked the name of the $1,200 sculpture.
Bonnie Boswell’s chock-a-block stand included a tempting selection of majolica, from asparagus plates to tea cups to tazzas. Old Glory Antiques and Collectibles of Londonderry, N.H., featured toby jugs.
Hooked rugs, stoneware and treen drew shoppers to Antiques at Seekonk, Seekonk, Mass. The Cooperage was the place for textiles and garden decor. The Townsend, Mass., dealers plumped up a daybed with dozens of embroidered, homespun pillows.
“There is a lot of terrific metal and handiwork on these,” said Donna, pointing to a case of large Victorian ladies’ sash pins. The Ledouxs are also “moving into midcentury,” as Donna put it, offering Lucite desk accessories and other tabletop rdf_Descriptions.
Pamela Brenner of P.B. Antiques, Peterborough, N.H., used several long tables to display art pottery and kitchen glass. There was more colorful art pottery in the next booth, at Willow Antiques of Denver.
There was rest for the weary. After New Hampshire, it was on to “Hollywood East,” as the Brunos put it, for Flamingo’s August 21-22 Hampton’s Antiques At Amagansett.
