Amid the accolades and congratulations being showered on promoter Steve Allman by customers and dealers alike, the manager cleared the path early on Saturday morning, February 23, and gave the signal for the 40th annual Holliston Antiques Show to open its doors. As the crowds rushed in, however, the ruby anniversary milestone was quickly forgotten, as it was back to business as usual, with shoppers filling the aisles and hustling to and fro.
Allman purchased the show back in 1978 from the original promoters, Les Hudson and Jack Garfield, and for the past 30 years he has striven to maintain the traditions established by the founders. Very little has changed about the show, but at the same time there have been lots of changes. “We are all 30 years older,” proclaimed Allman with a wry smile, “and lots of the dealers have come and gone over the years. But this show is still about quality, and the buyers from this area recognized that right from the start.
“I was practically a kid when I took over this show,” stated Allman, as he fondly reflected back over the past three decades. And while the promoter manages nine events during the course of the year, Holliston seems to be a favorite. “This show is like your favorite old jacket,” stated the promoter in the days following the attractive event. “It is very consistent and it is always enjoyable.”
Termed by many in attendance as a “sweet little show,” it is a lively event filled with a diverse selection of quality antiques. Holliston is, however, anything but small. Deceptive in size, it is a fairly large event with a cast of 125 dealers. It is also big on attitude, and both the dealers and management have exhibited the same enthusiasm at each and every one of the shows.
There is always a devoted crowd waiting for the show to open, and this year was no exception, with the first of the shoppers in line arriving more than an hour prior to the start. The crowd had swollen as opening approached, with the line filling the hallway and foyer and extending outside. A benefit for the local Citizens’ Scholarship Foundation, the show enjoys a great deal of local support, and Allman proudly proclaimed that more than $350,000 has been raised over the years and presented to local youths preparing for college.
The only show to take place in the area, and only conducted once a year, Holliston has a loyal following of shoppers that anticipate the show year after year †many of whom have been repeating the process for decades. Management commented that Holliston is unique in many ways. “This show is multigenerational, and it seems that we have always attracted a younger crowd,” stated Allman. “Many of the younger married couples that are now coming to the show grew up with antiques that were purchased here and displayed by their parents. And now, they are here with their kids, shopping for antiques for their homes. It is really kind of special.”
Primarily a tabletop show, although booths featuring make-shift room settings are plentiful, there is an excellent assortment of smalls that range from collectibles to quality country. Dedham pottery, stoneware, Rookwood, mocha and yellowware were among the offerings. Indian baskets, Tiffany glass and silver, weathervanes, pewter, Halloween memorabilia, Haviland, colorful 1950s vinyl luggage, Wedgwood, clocks and a host of other items filled displays. Furniture ranged from Midcentury to Arts and Crafts to primitive.
Graham Nye, Court Street Antiques, Cranston, R.I., is a relative newcomer to the show, exhibiting for only his second year. The dealer had a good selection of Dedham plates in his display, with decoration including foliate and rabbit borders. A large Dedham bowl with rabbit banding was also displayed, as were several pieces of Saturday Evening Girls pottery.
Ludlow, Mass., dealer Joe Liszka presented a good assortment of Roseville pottery, filling a series of shelves that wrapped around his booth. An eclectic assortment was presented by the dealer, with a rooster weathervane positioned on one table; a nest of early baskets was nearby, as was a grouping of early lightning rods and several pierced tin and wood foot warmers.
A good selection of Midcentury Modern was offered by Betty Ann Weiner, Wayland, Mass., with a blue-mirrored table topped with an interesting assortment of clocks and tablewares. A signed Gustav Stickley table was attracting attention, along with numerous other Arts and Crafts items, such as a hall stand, wastebasket and some desk accessories.
Decoys were offered by Raven’s Way Antiques, North Kingston, R.I., and they ranged from an in-use painted working wood duck decoy to an original paint Mason’s Premier Grade hollow-carved mallard hen. Several nice miniatures, shorebirds and fish decoys rounded out the handsome display.
Art Gilman, Marlboro, Mass., was on hand with a nice selection of country items, including a Chippendale lift top blanket chest made to resemble a four-drawer chest. A set of ten-pins in good paint, two spice cabinets, several pieces of Rockingham and a group of four graduated yellowware bowls with seaweed decoration were also featured. A handsome multicolored banded yellowware pitcher and a mocha pitcher with squiggle decoration were displayed on top of a country cupboard.
One item on the floor that was attracting a great deal of attention was the Daniel Ridgeway Knight gouache in the booth of Cheryl Van Denburg, Canandaigua, N.Y. The attractive piece depicted a young girl standing on a scenic ridge among a flock of sheep that she is tending and was priced $15,000. Numerous other paintings, watercolors and prints were offered by the dealer, as was a good line of general items that included Rose Medallion porcelains, cranberry glass and a selection of textiles that ranged from a nice paisley shawl to a blue and white coverlet with eagle border and dated 1830.
Westwood, Mass., dealer Maria Carro was on hand with a wonderful selection of costume jewelry. Her booth was swarmed by shoppers as soon as the doors to the show opened, and attention was generated from both her general line of pins and bracelets glittering with faux diamonds and other precious stones and her high-end designer necklaces and earring sets that ranged in price from $150 to $1,500.
The next show for Allman Promotions will be the Round Lake Antiques Show, June 21 and 22. The Holliston show will return February 21 and 22. For further information, 315-686-5789 or www.allmanpromotions.com .
