Robert Conrad Antiques, Yeagertown, Penn., was one of the dealers with interesting trade signs. In the form of a key advertising a Honesdale, Penn., shop, it was priced $1,675. It also advertised bobbins.
LUDLOW, VT. – The Vermont Pickers Market, a one-day show on September 30, was the last of the five shows making up Antiques Week in Vermont. It was run by Steve Sherag and Kris Johnson, who also manage two of the other shows conducted during the same four-day period.
The show took place at the Okemo Mountain Resort, the same facility as for the Okemo Show. It’s a logistical challenge, as the Okemo show ended at 3 pm on Saturday and the Pickers Market opened at 8:30 the next morning. That meant that one group of dealers had to pack and move out quickly, so the dealers doing the next show could move in and set up. Sherag and Johnson used the same walls and wallpaper that they used for the first show. The Pickers Market looked clean and fresh, and was ready for the Sunday morning opening. From all accounts, the move-out and move-in was smooth. There were 31 dealers in the show, most of whom had not participated in any of the earlier shows.
As with the other events, attendance was off, attributed to the shows being conducted a week earlier than usual. Along with each of the other shows, the Pickers Market will go back to the old schedule next year.
Americana was the order of the day. Steve Corrigan and Doug Jackman, Stephen-Douglas Antiques, Rockingham, Vt., had a selection that included cloth dolls, early furniture and a trade sign, probably for a boot and shoemaker, or a shoe shop, that would rank among the best signs to have turned up recently. It was lettered “Abram A. Kells, Maker” and included a painted lady’s shoe and boot. The circa 1840-50 sign was nearly 40 inches long and framed at the top and the bottom with open fretwork. Not much was known about the sign other than it had turned up recently at a Midwest auction.
Matt Greig Antiques, Milton, Del., had a number of signs, including a neat red, white and blue barber shop sign lettered “U R Next.” It was priced at $575. A large sign in the form of a key advertising a Honesdale, Penn., shop belonged to Robert Conrad Antiques, Yeagertown, Penn. It was priced at $1,675. A selection of Black Forest carvings was offered by Blue Line Antiques, Lakeview, N.Y. The group included a pair of foxes priced at $935, and there were also carved rabbits, deer and more. The dealer also had a large, carved elephant in grey paint with pink inner ears and white tusks.
Signs, game boards, early glass and more in the booth of Matt Greig Antiques, Glenmont, N.Y.
—Katherine Bovard photo
There were interesting, unusual things throughout the show. DeWolfe & Wood, book dealers from Alfred, Maine, would be expected to have antiquarian books, which they did. They also had a set of six framed engravings from an 1812 bible, which, according to Frank Wood, was the first bible published in Vermont. The engravings were done by Isaac Eddy and the set was priced at $650. Wood also said that most of that edition of the bible had been cut up for the illustrations, so finding an intact copy would be an uncommon find. Wood also had two painted window screens, priced at $475 for the pair. He said they had come from a sea captain’s home in Kennebunk, Maine. One observer thought that the screens might have been originally done in Vermont. Wood also had several Staffordshire children’s mugs with a variety of mottos, priced between $75 and $100.
Greg Kramer, Robesonia, Penn., filled a large booth with unusual things, including a weathered wooden stag weathervane. Kramer thought the stag was probably early Twentieth Century but the hand-forged arrow was probably earlier. It was priced $5,500. He also had an exceptional painted wood and carved panel titled “Old New England Fireside Kitchen.” It was more than 3 feet long and included a hearth with iron pots and implements, a spinning wheel, a cradle, a husband and wife and more. Kramer priced it at $4,450.
Randi Ona Antiques, Wayne, N.J., had black dolls and a nice cloth elephant, which she priced at $785. You can’t talk about cloth animals at this show without mentioning a large cloth donkey pull toy that was in the booth of John Bourne, Pittsford, Vt. It had iron wheels, a very folky look, and Bourne said that he had been told it had been made by Steiff around 1908-1915. The price was $975.
Stoneware and redware was available in several booths, including Walker Homestead, Brookfield, Mass. The dealer shared a booth with Ian Mc-Kelvey, South Windham, Conn., who had a large cast and gilded eagle. He said it dated about 1900-10 and had come off a building in Hartford, Conn. The price was $3,200. On the lighter side, McKelvey had a collection of ten well-carved letter openers that he priced at $325 for the group.
For information, 610-207-2196
