Just like the mailman, the antiques dealers and collectors were not deterred by an early morning ice storm during the Concord N.H., Monthly Antique Show at Grappone Center, December 12.
Tam Events produces the show on the second Sunday of each fall and winter month, where 40 or more exhibiting dealers offer early American antiques with an emphasis on home furnishings and folk art. Show manager Trisha McElroy said there were a few cancellations called in very early that morning and several dealers arrived late for their unloading and set up, but even so, by the 10 am show time, all were ready to show their collections.
Beverly Longacre was still hanging ornaments on her feather tree by opening time and there were some rugs being unfurled, but customers that had braved the early morning ice were able to shop and find a good deal of fresh merchandise.
Perusing Longacre’s inventory, it would appear Christmas is her favorite season. Filling a large portion of the exhibit was a vintage feather tree, which she spent the morning decorating with antique and vintage Czech and German blown glass decorations. In addition, she and husband Tom were showing a collection of early folk art and decorating accessories from their Marlborough, N.H., collection.
Richard Vandall of American Decorative Arts, Canaan, N.H., was at the front of the large ballroom with his collection of small antiques. A specialist of Shaker-made objects, Dick also collects them in large quantities and offers them in his exhibits. This Sunday morning, he had arrived early and was ready to explain how the small hair brooms were made, used and in some cases sold by Shakers 100 or more years ago.
Nearby, Josh Steenburgh was offering an early hooked rug with a very clear and crisp scene resembling a Currier and Ives print, consisting of a farmhouse and barn. It was recently cleaned and mounted. Steenburgh also had an early fish bowl from a known maker, Fiske, circa 1840, and several pieces of painted furniture.
Another version of folk art came from the offerings from Bill Kelly, Limington, Maine. He had an early flat beveled frame, also sometimes referred to as the Currier and Ives-style picture frame, but the unusual aspect to it was the faux grain painting, a primitive imitation of mahogany wood. Kelly also offered an early dower chest, about 2 feet long by 1 foot by 10 inches, in its original paint decoration, an off-white color with willow trees and other vegetation, in primitive style. The painting, done by a delicate hand, was still in good condition.
Jewett-Berdan, Newcastle, Maine, was showing useful objects from the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries but with folk art characteristics. There was a hooked rug as their background in a mixed pattern of a colorful waterfall with kaleidoscope center, early cornstalk dolls, and several small pieces of furniture in original paint decoration.
This is a show where dealers bring and customers shop for the early crafted objects from the Northeast. Bruce Miller, Raymond, N.H., was offering a collection of early tin cookie cutters. From Concord, N.H., Brad Kinne was offering a hard-to-find collection of eight Sandwich glass drawer pulls for just $250. Jane Wargo Antiques, Wallingford, Conn., has been known for her early woodenware collection. She was offering painted firkins and household tools carved or crafted in wood.
Candlewick Antiques, Milford, N.H., brought several very early pieces of New England furniture, including a lift top, two-drawer blanket chest in old finish; an early chest of drawers; and several very early country armchairs.
From Brownsville, Vt., Joseph Martin was showing a resting dog scene on a hooked rug, along with an early oil on canvas of a sailing ship and a collection of early port bottles.
For such a short show, there was a good supply of furniture. Chelsea Hill Antiques, Hampton, Conn., was showing a room full of early American furniture, both Federal hardwoods and some softwood pieces. Tom Degnan, a dealer and auctioneer from Ashby, Conn., offered a set of eight early Hitchcock chairs, a later trestle table and several other side tables.
The show attracts dealers with early New England antiques and shoppers who are looking for just that same material. It happens on the second Sunday of the fall and winter months with January 11, as its next date at Grappone Center, 70 Constitution Avenue. For details, call Trisha McElroy at 603-778-8842.
