What happens when you squeeze 30 good Americana dealers and their wares into tight rambling confines of a rural ski lodge and then release hundreds of anxious shoppers into the mix? Sparks fly, checkbooks are out, and stuff disappears from the floor of the show at a rapid pace.
That is the scenario perfected by show manager Jim Dunn at the Bromley Mountain Antiques Show, the 34th annual, and the fourth of the shows to take place during Vermont Antiques Week. The two-day show opened for early buying at 8 am on Saturday morning, October 1, with a long line filling the entryway to the lodge, and then descending down the stairs and out towards the parking lot.
Bromley’s lodge goes hand-in-hand with the antiques offered there. It is old, okay, maybe not all that old †but its tight quarters can certainly be described as rustic and quaint. The exhibition area for the show rambles throughout the entire level of the base lodge; a room here, an adjacent area near the cafeteria over there, a couple of booths down a corridor, and a whole bunch of space across the front of the building and around the corner †all crammed full of booths.
And while the booths are small and the aisles narrow, it is as much a part of the magic of Bromley as is the quality of merchandise displayed there.
Pennsylvania dealers Katona and Lutz displayed in one of the more spacious areas of the show, and their booth took on a patriotic look with the stark white walls presenting a proper backdrop for a pair of soft blue painted shutters atop a red painted wood box. A small kitchen cupboard in worn red paint with two large blind cupboard doors below two drawers was another standout. A large composition painted horse pull-toy and a colorful band box were displayed atop.
Around the corner, The Norwood’s Spirit of America utilized the Lodge’s ski-boot cubby shelving unit to create neatly framed and attractive vignettes that featured early baskets, a painted tin jack-o-lantern, wooden bowls and firkins in old paint, hatboxes and stoneware.
New Hampshire/Florida dealer Tommy Thompson offered an eclectic mix of primitives and a host of the exquisite smalls that he is so well known for. The dealer was busy writing slips and filling bags for customers throughout the morning with sales, including two early German Halloween candy containers. Other items in the booth included several roosters, a weathervane, a windmill weight and a couple of folky carvings.
A long six-board chest in old blue paint with interior dividers was among the country fare at Richard Fuller’s stand. A blanket chest, a tall staved butter churn and a nice early firkin, all in varying shades of red paint, rounded out the mix. Tole lighting, a hooked rug with a dog and an early spice box were also displayed.
A nice swell front chest in bird’s-eye maple with inlaid banding, a central fan inlaid drop and French feet was forefront at Eric Nesbitt Antiques. The chest was topped with a nice soft paste bowl, a theorem watercolor depicting an urn filled with flowers, and an early Nineteenth Century portrait of a dignified woman hung above.
An extensive selection of early furniture was displayed by Norman Gronning with a small tavern table with turned legs ending in pad feet at the front of the stand. A Pilgrim Century armchair and a one-drawer blanket chest in an old grey paint were also attracting attention.
Steve Cirillo and David Proctor shared a booth, and several sales were noted early on in the show, including a nice hooded wall shelf outfitted with a central plate rack. A good early saw-buck table with a nicely scrubbed top and a blanket box in old salmon paint were displayed below a group of three very early portraits.
A circular top chair table with shoe-feet was a quick seller in the booth of Pewter and Wood. Christmas and holiday offerings included a large German feather tree with an unusual wooden base made up of three seated gnomes.
A step-back cupboard in a nice old blue/grey paint was filled with woodenware, early felt pin cushions and Shaker finger boxes at the booth of Sue and Ken Scott. Figural wood carvings, decoys, a potato stamped Indian basket in red and yellows and a nice candle box in early paint were also displayed.
For additional information, antiques@vermontel.net or 802-885-3705.
