A new look and professional management had dealers giving words of praise for the 60th anniversary All Saints’ Antiques Show. The show was conducted July 29⁁ugust 1 at the Rehoboth Beach Convention Center. The show is run by a committee of dedicated volunteers with the assistance of show promoters Jay Melrose and Matt Duddy.
“This is the first time they’ve hired a professional show manager and it really paid off,” said Jerry Taylor of Last Chance Antiques in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. “I’ve been doing the All Saints’ Antiques Show for 15 years and this was a beautiful show †the best. In fact, it was the best show I’ve had anywhere in the last couple years.”
Among the items Taylor sold at the show was a R&W Wilson coin tea service, which went out at $8,000.
Taylor was not the only dealer to find success selling silver. Sue Robinette of Sue Robinette Antiques and Silver said she sold a large, early dome for a silver platter and a large number of matches for sterling flatware sets. Robinette was a new dealer for the show and said without hesitation that she would return.
“We usually rely on a mailing list and didn’t have one for the All Saints’ Show,” Robinette said. “If they ask to have us back, we’ll be right there.”
Among the items sold by Gary Manlove, Manlove’s Choice Antiques in Greenwood, Del., were a Hepplewhite chest, a Mark Leavenworth pillar and scroll clock, three Windsor chairs, an Empire chest of drawers, cherry washstand and a Currier and Ives print.
“There was no question the appearance of the show was improved from previous years,” Manlove said
One showcase item brought to the show remained unsold. John Tompkins of John R. Thompkins Antiques brought a rare Delaware sampler. The sampler was worked by Priscilla Talley of Talleysville, in 1839, when she was 15 years old.
“There are a great many samplers out there for sale,” said Tompkins, “but it is rare to find one with such lush composition and color †and with a great history as well. There are many Pennsylvania samplers, but Delaware examples are rarely on the market.”
While the sampler did not sell at the show, Tompkins said it is not uncommon for a rare and valuable item to take some time to find the right home. Moreover, he is confident connections made at the show could lead to an eventual buyer.
“We’ll get there,” Thompkins said. “It was the right show for the sampler.”
For information, www.rehobothantiques.com or 330-519-5132.
