As a chilly and blustery morning dawned Sunday, April 5, the dealers and shoppers at Elephant’s Trunk Country Flea Market were warmed by the excitement of another grand opening day of this venerable institution.
The flea market, a fixture on these fields since 1976, attracts a wide range of shoppers, from dealers looking to scoop up a good buy that they can flip to bargain hunters and every manner of collector in between.
“The opening was the best in years,” Elephant’s Trunk manager Greg Baecker said, noting that the fields were dry, even after the previous day’s rain, and nearly 300 vendors packed the market with more antiques and collectibles than in recent years.
“Buying was a bit off during early buying, but general admission was solid, with the strongest showing between 7 and 11 am,” he said. “I was very excited&nd saw a lot of merchandise leaving the field.”
An elementary school principal by day and a savvy promoter by weekend, Baecker amiably worked the fields and the crowd as dealers made their way from their homes in the dark to set up in their spot on the fields before early buying began at 5:45 am. A Westchester County, N.Y., dealer said he woke up at 2 am, others who trekked here from Long Island were already on the road by then.
By 7 am, as the regular admission buyers poured through the gate, the parking fields were filling up and dealers were busy making deals.
“Everything’s cheap, fellas, just ask,” one dealer said to a group of men that crowded into his booth space where commercial-size buckets were filled with all manner of tools: small and large wrenches, drill bits and the like. As the guys picked through the offerings, the analogy “kids in a candy store” came to mind.
Offering a virtual tour of the Orient, Byron H. Benton, Branford, Conn., offered antique Chinese pottery and window panels, kimchi pottery and an attractive collection of calligraphy brushes. Shortly after opening, he had already made a key sale, that of a black memorabilia postcard collection. “Good things always go fast,” he quipped.
A publicity-shy dealer did not want it photographed, but was offering an interesting, handpainted map titled “Longe Island” that was clearly old but not dated.
Winston Shepherd Interiors, Cornwall, N.Y., offered a very attractive and comfortable blue leather Modern chair, as well as a Charlie McCarthy ventriloquist’s dummy, based on the character from the early radio show.
At such a market, one expects to find everything here but the proverbial kitchen sink. Actually, there was an early copper sink offered by one dealer. Also seen was, fittingly, a bejeweled elephant brooch with the trunk upraised, signifying good luck, according to the woman who purchased it.
From a 1700s bureau, thought to be in rosewood and of Southern origins, offered for just under $1,000 to a good sized yellowware bowl for $48 to mounted butterflies and other insects like the banjo beetle, at less than $20 each, there was something here to suit all tastes.
The Elephant’s Trunk will return here every Sunday until November 29. For more information, www.etflea.com or 508-265-9911.
