“For an antiques show, nothing could be nicer, it’s wonderful,” Justin Cobb of Captain’s Quarters said as he put the finishing touches on his booth at the Manchester Pickers Market. Dick Vandall of American Decorative Arts joined in, saying, “It’s a great piece of showmanship,” Lee Ruskin added, “Everyone I have talked to likes it,” and Ken Scott said, “It is quite a spot and I sure hope it works out for him as he has put lots of hard work into it.”
The “it” dealers were talking about was the new venue for the Manchester Pickers Market and Mid*Week in Manchester, the two shows produced by Barn Star Productions as part of Antiques Week in New Hampshire.
“I turned the town upside down and probably know of all the large rental spots in Manchester better than the mayor,” Frank Gaglio of Barn Star said. “We were lucky to come up with The Furniture World Building, a large, unoccupied building right off Routes 293/101 and opposite the Mall of New Hampshire.” And as it turned out, “We had compliments from both the dealers in the show and the general public,” Frank said. He did admit, however, that he had some slight grumbling from both his exhibitors and the general public as to the layout of the show, but not enough to outweigh the positive comments.
The floor plan of the show was dictated, in part, by the permanent walls that served the building as a furniture mall. Booth walls were built in front of these, and each area had track lighting and carpeting. “The dealers appreciated that they did not have to bring a carpet or lighting, and there was more than ample storage in several parts of the building,” Frank said. And most dealers are known to be good eaters and found the new caterers to be top-notch.
Fortunately, Barn Star anticipated a parking problem when the space available at Furniture World filled and made arrangements for additional room across South Willow Street. Easter Seals, for a donation, provided shuttle buses for the less than five-minute ride and “we had very few complaints,” Frank said.
Just over 400 people were at Pickers for the early buying on Monday, August 3, and they moved rapidly into the building, most veering off to the right, to find more than 80 exhibitors set up and offering a wide range of furniture, folk art, fabrics, paintings, etc.
Quiet Corner Antiques, Sterling, Conn., had an interesting portrait of a young boy seated on an Empire sofa with a school book in hand, an oil on canvas measuring 27 by 22 inches sight, 34½ by 29½ inches in the original mahogany frame. A Nineteenth Century child’s highchair, turned legs and arm rests, had the original dark green surface.
The back wall of the booth of Michael Buscemi, Florence, Mass., attracted lots of attention with a display of five oil on board paintings of retrospect views of five cities, all painted in 1939 for the World’s Fair and signed Albright. Each measures approximately 30 by 72 inches and depict Philadelphia 1810, Chicago 1860, Dallas 1860, Washington 1834 and Boston 1826. “These works of art remained with the artist’s family until they were sold recently at auction by Stanton Auctions of Hampden, Mass.,” Michael Buscemi said.
A ship portrait of the SS City of Rio de Janeiro , oil on canvas, hung in the booth of Captain’s Quarters, Amherst, Mass. The iron hulled steam-powered passenger ship was launched in 1878 and sailed between San Francisco and several Asian Pacific ports. “That ship hit a submerged reef at the entrance to San Francisco Bay on February 21, 1901, and sank in a matter of eight minutes and is still there,” Justin Cobb said. About 220 people were on board at the time and fewer than 85 survived the accident. The wreck lies in 320 feet of water just off the Golden Gate Bridge and was reported to have been carrying large amounts of gold and silver.
A Federal period tall case clock, with cherry case and dial by Curtis & Nolan, Boston, stood in the booth of Robert M. Conrad Antiques, Yeagertown, Penn. It was signed John Esterle Maytown and had an eight-day movement in excellent condition. A late Nineteenth Century hooked rug depicted a pair of cats apparently having a stare-fest, surrounded by a double border.
Cincinnati dealer David M. Evans offered four weathervanes, including two horses, a quill and a rooster, as well as several trade signs from a crisp booth filled with folk art. A rack of 15 pairs of children’s shoes, in different sizes, styles and colors, hung in the booth of Bob and Ellie Vermillion, Poughkeepsie, N.Y. They also had a nice selection of food choppers, and furniture included a Nineteenth Century dressing table in the original white with decoration, and a Pennsylvania half-spindle settee with the original freehand stenciled decoration. With curled arms, the piece dated circa 1840.
Wayne and Phyllis Hilt, Haddam Neck, Conn., had stacks of coverlets against the back wall, one from Montgomery County, 1838, and nine pewter porringers were mounted on the side wall. A rack of American and British pewter included candlesticks, plates, teapots, tankards and chargers.
Period Investments of Savannah, Haddam, Conn., had a colorful booth filled with advertising, including a large Coke bottle sign and one that read “The Three Millers Co., Boston.” Another sign toted “International Dancing Girls”; several game wheels were displayed, and trade signs included a large razor and a barber pole.
“I was ten years old when I first saw that painting and finally was able to buy it in the late 1970s from a fishing lodge in Bass Lake, Calif.,” Gerald Roy of Pilgrim Roy, Warner, N.H., said, referring to the large painting of an Indian chief hanging on the back wall of his booth. The subject was Chief Arrowmaker of the Ojibwa tribe, and the frame was decorated with a bow and ceremonial piece with horse hair.
The Fassnachts of Canandaigua, N.Y., returned to the show circuit, showing a selection of 17 samplers from various parts of the country, including New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware and Massachusetts. Of interest was a layout of a miniature country fair, deaccessioned from the Historical Society of Greece, N.Y., including two Ferris wheels, wagons, game booths and hundreds of little people enjoying the fair.
Howell Fine Art & Antiques, Unionville, N.Y., showed a life-size retriever in zinc and a reclining dog in cast iron, both perfect for any garden setting, and of a more fragile nature was a selection of eight hat boxes. A rooster weathervane was centered on a large two-board top country table with turned legs and button feet, three drawers and red stained base, offered by Nettlecreek Antiques of Clarence, N.Y.
B&D Johnson Antiques of Stanfordville, N.Y., did not have the folk art country look, but offered a Salem sideboard attributed to William Hook, circa 1800, and an Aesthetic Movement large table in chestnut, circa 1870s.
Among the Wiscasset, Maine, dealers doing Pickers was Dennis Raleigh, occupying the first booth to the right of the main entrance. He took advantage of the large windows, which gave visitors a quick preview of what was inside, showing off his collection of folk art that included a rare pair of carved eagles by Axel Gustafson, Franklinville, N.Y. The eagles were polychromed and done by a carver who had never seen a live eagle, but worked from pictures. A pair of rooster mill weights rested on stands, the smallest by Hummer.
Doug Ramsay, doing business as DBR Antiques, of Hadley, Mass., offered from a selection of furniture and folk art a tea table in mahogany, probably Rhode Island, circa 1720‱750; a leaping stag weathervane, J.W. Fiske, circa 1860‱870, with the original surface; and a fine carved eagle by Bellamy, Kittery, Maine, in pine and dating circa 1880. In the original painted condition, the carving was similar to an example in the Shelburne Museum collection.
Don Olson Fine American Antiques, Rochester, N.Y., filled his booth with pieces of painted furniture and folk art, all marked with extensive labels. A diminutive paint decorated dressing table, one drawer, circa 1830, was of Maine origin, and a dome top box with sponge decoration and the initials “FT” on the lid retained the original hinges and lock and measured 11¾ inches wide, 7½ inches high and 6½ inches deep. Of interest was a set of five golden plover shorebirds with the original bills and paint, circa 1900, from the South Shore, Massachusetts.
The well-known maker John C. Turner from the Los Angeles area was responsible for a ventriloquist’s dummy that was propped up in the corner of the booth of Thomas M. Rawson Antiques, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. John Walker of Peoria, Ill., who studied under Sheldon Peck, did the portrait of Hannah Vaughn, and the folk painting of a young girl and her rocking horse, dated 1872, was by Dwight Benton.
The longest trade sign in the show was a yellow pencil, sharpened on one end and with no eraser on the other, from a stationery store window in Columbia City, N.Y., circa 1940s, displayed by Platypus Antiques of Dix Hills, N.Y. And mounted on a stand was a lobster trap marker carved in the form of a fish from coastal New England, old red painted surface, with the initials “SM.”
It was all early country for Matthew Ehresman of Wadsworth, Ohio, who displayed furniture and accessories against a black-papered booth at the front of the show. A step back cupboard was filled with early leather-bound books, a large trencher was centered on a long worktable, and pantry shelves were filled with treen, painted wooden bowls and plates.
A small, narrow step back cupboard in old blue was a perfect spot to display a large pair of wedding band hog scraper candlesticks, offered by Robert Simpson Antiques of Ramsey, N.J. Beside it was a child’s chair in old green, tall finials, rush seat, from Bergen County, N.J.
The largest piece of tramp art was in the booth of the Village Braider, Plymouth, Mass., a chest of drawers of very simple but striking lines. A pair of cast stone dogs was among several objects for the garden, and for the indoor gardener, Bruce Emond had a large terrarium on legs with 12 wooden stands around the top for holding small pots.
Malone, N.Y, dealers Ken and Susan Scott had an early tap table with one board top, tapering legs, original finish, and a hooked rug showed a pair of black horses facing each other. A circus, very colorful with cutout figures, clowns, elephants, dancers, bears, etc, came complete with an audience on a 34-by-49-inch platform. It was originally made by Zets Bros.
“When you push it, there is some compression and the base of the spark plug is wet, so it might turn over,” Kelly Kinzle of New Oxford, Penn., said about his early Twentieth Century motorcycle, complete with goggles hanging from the handlebars. “I think it saw quite a bit of action during the war days,” he added. Adding to the great variety in this booth was a carousel goat from Spring Grove, Penn., a stoneware water cooler with a cobalt blue face decoration, and a framed collection of fire department badges, about 75 in total, from many different units.
A flattop highboy in tiger maple stood in the booth of J&G Antiques, Amityville, N.Y., with a painted copper sailing ship weathervane displayed on top. A barber pole with star decoration near the base came from the Lee Hotel, Peoria, Ill., measured 6 feet 7 inches tall, 8 inches in diameter, and retained the original surface. A large hanging corner cupboard retained the original salmon paint.
Woodenware in the booth of Pewter & Wood, Enfield, N.H., was highlighted by a collection of 14 storage boxes, most with painted surfaces in red, green, gray and yellow. Other treen included a selection of scoops, circa early 1800s, ranging from a few plain examples to more elaborate ones in tiger maple.
Hanes and Ruskin of Old Lyme, Conn., had a Queen Anne dining table, Boston or North Shore, 1740‱770, with two leaves and of Santo Domingo mahogany, complemented by a pair of English brass candlesticks, circa 1850. A collection of child’s mugs carried inscriptions such as “Present for a good boy” and “Present for my girl.”
Looking for a large ironstone pitcher? A row of an even dozen filled a shelf at Over Hill Over Dale, Harlan, Iowa, shown near an equal number of yellowware bowls and country store items, such as ice cream cone holders. A one-of-a-kind piece was a salesman’s sample of a windmill, with a fan measuring about 2 feet in diameter.
So the Manchester Pickers Market got Antiques Week in New Hampshire off to a good start, with a wide variety of antiques in a snappy new venue. “It came out fine and we believe that it was a real success, but it did not fall together easily,” Frank Gaglio said. Floor plan details, some track lighting problems, a new food vendor, re-planting to make the front of the building presentable, new signage and on and on, all took time. “We went up to Manchester Wednesday nights and returned late Friday night for a good number of weeks to take care of all the details,” Frank said, “but it was worth it.”
Now the big question. How about next year? “The building is for sale and it is being shown. I am not sure a buyer is out there with the funds, and if not we will be back there for 2010 on Monday, August 9th,” Frank said.
Antiques Week in New Hampshire has become an important destination, attracting people from all over the country, and “each show has its own style and fans.” Collectively, it really works, as more and more people are finding out each year.
For information, 845-876-0616 or www.barnstar.com .
