By: Tom O’Hara
HOWARD COUNTY, MD. — The Heartland East/Howard County Antiques Show was a success in gathering great collections of early American antiques December 14, but according the show’s promoter, Jennifer Sabin, “The weathermen in the area didn’t do us any favor telling everybody to stay home. The roads were clear until midafternoon, so the customers who came found great collections and my dealers were willing to sell.”
The show, managed by Sabin for the last three years, has a history of more than 30 years. Over 80 exhibitors filled the exhibit hall to near-capacity with American antiques covering the earliest colonial periods through the late Nineteenth Century.
In spite of the weather, sales did happen, according to John Sittig, a dealer who recently moved from Pennsylvania to Beaufort, S.C. His sales included an early wall box, a painted early pull toy, several smalls and a painting. The centerpiece in his exhibit was a faux grain painted mule chest from Connecticut, circa 1820, he believed.
Wenham Cross Antiques, Topsfield, Mass., featuring the mother-daughter team of Irma and Emily Lampert, found them selling “just fine” at the show, according to Irma. Early sales included a desk, a quilt from Massachusetts and lots of smalls for the home.
Judy Welton of Crazy Mountain Trading Company, Centerville, Md., was also pleased with her results for the weekend. While she was exhibiting a collection of early Native American rugs and beaded works, she did sell pottery, an early express wagon, a good supply of her early Christmas items and an American quilt.
Coming east from Medina, Ohio, Jane Langol was showing a good deal of midcentury and Art Deco antiques. Her centerpiece was a very atypical Turkish Kilim rug, hung from the back wall.
Many of the exhibitors were veterans from past Howard County shows, exhibiting in their home area and familiar with the usual audience of visitors. One such dealer, Phyllis Suhr, of Suhrprise Antiques in Annapolis, Md., said, “Our regular customers didn’t come probably due to the weather forecast. Sales were limited to smalls.” She sold a variety of Christmas items, small decorator pieces, but none of the furniture. Her exhibit included a set of six Pennsylvania painted and decorated chairs, which had a very reasonable price.
Ken and Jan Silveri, Hamburg, Penn., were here again this year hoping for sales similar to 2012, when they sold nearly a truckload of furniture. In this most recent show, sales included two early trade signs and a variety of smalls. Bob Hartman, trading as Country Huzzah, Burke, Va., also reported mostly sales of smalls.
Wayne Fisher, Brandywine, Md., was showing several early decorator pieces, including a hollow bodied copper running horse weathervane, probably a Fiske, in the large size. Harold Cole, Woodbury, Conn., was offering a portion of his collection of weathervanes, with about a dozen from which to choose. From Lake Placid, N.Y., David Zabriskie was showing art, furniture and several very good Persian rugs. Gary Promey, Atwater, Ohio, offered folk art, including a doll-size chair made entirely from soda bottle caps.
Hooked rugs were very popular among the exhibitors. Raccoon Creek Antiques, Oley, Penn., offered a fairly large cat piece, along with its collection of painted furniture. Bettina Krainin, Woodbury, Conn., had a hooked rug with both a cat and a dog in the scene and as they often are, the cat was relaxed, sitting in the shade, while the dog was anxiously wanting to move toward the feline. Joann Nicholson, Morgantown, West Va., featured a pair of white swans alighting on a pond in her mat. More hooked pieces and weathervanes were offered by Tom and Rose Cheap, Period Antiques of Scottsburg, Ind.
Jennifer Sabin has this event planned again for Saturday, March 29, when she expects better weather. For information, 843-812-0282 or www.heartlandantiqueshow.com.
