Visitors to The Philadelphia Antiques Show were greeted at the entrance by a blast of color, all coming from the booth of Olde Hope Antiques, which had moved around the corner from last year to the spot vacated by Leigh Keno. “We got off to a fine start with over 1,000 tickets sold for the preview on Friday, April 16, and attendance continued at a pace ahead of last year,” Josh Wainwright, show manager with wife, Sandy, said. He also indicated that there was an improvement in selling this year, and that many of the exhibitors had reported good sales and expressed intentions of returning next year.
There is no wonder this show rates high with collectors and attracts a strong gate, for little is overlooked in making it a pleasant outing for all attending. Valet parking is available during the run of the show, as no parking lots are adjacent to the Philadelphia Cruise Terminal at Pier One, the Navy Yard. A large food tent maintains a variety of eats, and bars are located in several areas about the show floor. But most important, the dealers are well selected and they bring their best.
Four cupboards were presented by Greg K. Kramer & Co., Robesonia, Penn., one in each of the back corners of the booth and the other two on the side walls. Outstanding was a paint decorated Dutch cupboard in two parts, the top with two six-pane doors flanking a three-pane center section and five spice drawers. The surface was a vibrant salmon and red graphic design, attributed to John Lieby, New Tripoli area, Berks County, Penn., circa 1840‱850. Among the miniature pieces of furniture shown was a dry sink in the original paint from Lancaster County, Penn., with one door and one drawer. It dated from the third quarter of the Nineteenth Century.
“We bought the Florence and William Peto collection and kept only one thing, and now that is for sale,” Trish Herr of Lancaster, Penn., said, referring to the beautiful Palampore Tree of Life quilt on the back wall of the booth. It is from the Northeastern United States, measures 102 inches square, and dates from the early Nineteenth Century. “I followed suit and took one of my favorite things out of my collection, a Lehn ware cup,” Don Herr said, pointing out a saffron cup by Joseph Lehn, Elizabeth Township, Lancaster County. Of painted wood, 6 inches high, it dated 1798‱812. Don added, “It is the largest one I have ever seen.”
H.L. Chalfant Antiques, West Chester, Penn., took over the former booth of Olde Hope Antiques and it proved to be a fine spot for the dealer. “Sales were good,” Skip Chalfant said, and during the preview and opening day, he registered sales, including in part, an early Pennsylvania candlestand, a bible box, a miniature blanket chest and a tavern table. A paint decorated dower chest was at the front of the booth, “one of the earliest known,” dated 1769, Berks County, with a total of eight birds painted on the front and top. A rare Chippendale circular tavern table in walnut, 32 inches in diameter, had a scalloped apron, cabriole legs and ball and claw feet. It dated circa 1775.
A Queen Anne bonnet-top secretary bookcase in cherry was against the back wall in the booth of Nathan Liverant and Son, Colchester, Conn. This piece had arched panel doors, flame turned finials, dated circa 1745‱770, and was from Wethersfield, Conn. It descended in the Buck family. Toward the front of the booth was a diminutive Federal lift-top server in mahogany and bird’s-eye maple with inlaid decoration, straight tapering legs, from the North Shore, Mass., or coastal New Hampshire. It was circa 1790‱815. “The show has been good for us,” Arthur Liverant said at the end of opening day, noting that he had sold his portrait of a young girl in pink holding an apple, attributed to Deacon Robert Peckham, Massachusetts, circa 1840. To that first day of sales list he added an early bible box, a schoolgirl watercolor, a couple of pairs of brass candlesticks and three decorated boxes from a collection shown on the outside booth wall.
Hyland Granby Antiques, Hyannis Port, Mass., showed a rare Chelsea Mariner, manufactured 1925, with a silver dial signed “George W. Walsh’s Sons, N.Y.” The dial measured 10 inches in diameter and the ship’s wheel measured 20 inches in diameter. Ralph Cahoon was well represented, including his “Boston and the Tropics,” an oil on Masonite, circa 1965, signed lower right. It was in excellent condition and measured 26 by 31¾ inches sight, 32½ by 383/8 framed. Among the nautical paintings was an oil on canvas by Antonio Jacobsen (American, 1850‱921) of the steamship Mississippi . It was signed and dated lower right and measured 22 by 36 inches sight, 29 by 42¾ inches framed.
Stephen and Carol Huber of Old Saybrook, Conn., had a varied selection of samplers, all displayed against an attractive green wall, and on preview night they sold an Abby Wright School memorial and an Eighteenth Century Boston Adam and Eve sampler. “I am surprised we still have one of our favorites, and it has been getting lots of attention,” Carol said, pointing out a work with two ladies, one with a sprig of flowers and the other with a parasol. The ladies were standing in a bucolic setting that included a stag and a sitting shepherd with his dog. It was worked in a long stitch on an unusual brown background with billowy clouds. The sampler dated from circa 1770 and was from Salem, Mass.
“We had several designs for our front wall, at one time with our large eagle poised over the painting, but it was too much,” Ed Hild of Olde Hope Antiques, New Hope, Penn., said. And it was a good move, for it focused the attention of those entering the show on the painting “Penn’s Treaty with the Indians,” an oil on white pine panel by an unknown artist after the engraving by John Hall. It measured 253/8 by 367/8 inches and was in excellent condition.
Under the painting was a fancy settee and a pair of matching chairs that “we just acquired and in their original red painted and gilt finish, they look fine against the color of our walls and complement the painting,” Pat Bell said. The set dated 1805‱815, New York State or Philadelphia origin, with a small note on the settee asking people not to sit on the original rush seats. Also displayed was a colorful fireboard from Long Island, carved and painted pine with two panels, each depicting a basket with a pineapple in the center. It measures 35 by 41½ inches and dates circa 1820‱840. Above it was shown an angel Gabriel weathervane, Cushing & White or L.W. Cushing & Sons, Waltham, Mass., circa 1870‱900. It was of molded and gilded copper, 33¼ inches long, and sold during the opening.
Lots of attention was centered on a collection of pages, a total of 58, from the Thomas Earl copy book that was drawn and compiled in 1740‱741. This book, Schoolmaster in America , Burlington Township, New Jersey Colony, was done by Earl to show potential students his skills as a calligrapher and the gamut of subjects he was qualified to teach. Fifteen of the pages were framed and hung in the booth of Allan Katz Americana, Woodbridge, Conn. “We framed an interesting sampling of the pages, and the rest were available for inspection at the show,” Allan Katz said.
The copy book sold during the first few minutes of the preview to dealer David Schorsch of Woodbury, Conn., who told Antiques and The Arts Weekl y that “the collection is going to stay together, as it should.” The copy book surfaced during a benefit appraisal day at Mohegan Sun in Connecticut. Allan said the show was good and among the other objects sold were a marquetry table, several canes and a fine carved lion. His large paint decorated sleigh, American, circa 1840, that descended in the Henry Babbitt family of Providence and Kingston, R.I., remained unsold.
Fred Giampietro of New Haven, Conn., was new to the show this year and came armed with a varied selection of American folk art; he found a very receptive audience. By the end of the first day, the display of red dots was impressive. Among his offerings were an Indian trade figure by Thomas Brooks, 57 inches tall and in the original paint; a carved marble figure of George Washington, circa 1860‱880, 45 inches high with a weathered surface; a comet weathervane of copper and iron, circa 1875, removed from a church in Jim Thorpe, Penn., and a baseball bat weathervane, American, circa 1920.
“We had a very good show as we sold our Edmundson, a couple of weathervanes, six watercolors and we met new people who we hope we will see again,” Fred said. He had also put together a collection of about 35 objects depicting hands, about ten sold, which were of various material including wood carved, cast iron, carved stone, fabrics and pottery.
One of the pieces that was attracting lots of attention was a crewelwork embroidered bed hanging in the booth of Joe Kindig Antiques of York, Penn. Worked in twisted wool, it depicted exotic birds, animals and flowers in a Tree of Life stemming from a hillocky ground, English, circa 1700‱720.
Marcy Burns American Indian Arts, New York City, offered a number of rugs, including a Navajo pictorial rug with “Spiderwoman” emerging from the center of the earth, a Navajo creation tale, circa 1920s, and a large bowl, Mono, circa 1900‱920, measuring 18¼ inches in diameter.
Two large chests were at the back of the booth of Christopher T. Rebollo, Mechanicsville, Penn. On the left was a Pennsylvania inlaid walnut chest-on-chest from Berks-Lebanon County, circa 1800‱810, with colorful geometric and floral inlays of tulips, vines and leaves. To the right was a tall chest with four arched upper drawers, crown molding, bracket feet, in walnut and from Chester County. Charles and Rebekah Clark of Woodbury, Conn., brought several Philadelphia pieces from their collection, including a looking glass, circa 1820, 46½ inches high by 25¼ inches wide, and a pair of diminutive Sinumbra lamps marked “CC” for Christian Cornelius, circa 1830, 18¾ inches high.
Schwarz Gallery of Philadelphia showed on many different subjects, from portraits to a large oil on canvas depicting a “Philadelphia Interior, Getting Ready For School,” 1856, by Christian Schuessele (American, 1824‱879), measuring 32 by 40 inches and signed and dated lower left. “Fly Fishing” by Herman Herzog (American, born in Germany, 1832‱932) showed a man fishing in a wooded stream, oil on canvas measuring 26¾ by 21¼.
A good number of red dots appeared on the samplers offered by M. Finkel & Daughter, Philadelphia, including a pictorial Pennsylvania example by Ann Rodeback, Chester County, dated 1834, and an Allentown sampler by Mary Ann Worman that was worked at the school of Mary Ralston, Easton, Penn., and dated 1819. A Baltimore “Busy Yard” sampler by Elizabeth Ann Caughy, dated 1827, was also sold, along with a sampler made by her sister.
A collection of stone fruit, shown in a cast iron tazza, probably American, circa 1860, had a sold tag attached and was displayed on a Hepplewhite sideboard in the booth of Jeffrey Tillou Antiques, Litchfield, Conn. The sideboard, probably Charlestown, Mass., dated 1792‱800 and was of mahogany and mahogany veneer with the original brass hardware. Also sold, and hanging over the sideboard, was an oil on canvas by Wesley Weber (American, 1841‱914), “Capturing a Sperm Whale.” It was signed lower right and measured 29¾ by 49¾ inches.
A pair of fancy chairs, probably by Thomas Renshaw, John Barnhart, Robert Fisher or another in their circle, was shown by Sumpter Priddy III, Alexandria, Va. The chairs, Baltimore, circa 1810, were of maple and walnut with painted and gilt ornament and cane seats. A writing cabinet, Shenandoah Valley, Va., was of walnut, circa 1800, and measured 29½ inches high, 21 inches wide and 8¾ inches deep. A sold tag was attached to a Southern Chesapeake slant front desk in mahogany, circa 1780‱800, measuring 44¼ inches high, 40 inches wide and 22 inches deep.
Lillian Nassau of New York City, specialist in the works of Louis Comfort Tiffany, offered a wide selection of lamps, including two floor models, a signed Salamander by Tiffany Studio, circa 1910, 26 inches in diameter, and a signed Snowball, Tiffany Studio, circa 1906 and measuring 24 inches in diameter.
Peter H. Eaton American Furniture and Joan R. Brownstein Art & Antiques, Newbury, Mass., shared a booth that included a high country Chippendale tall case clock with floral painted dial, eight-day brass works, case with fluted quarter columns and ogee bracket feet. The case was of birch with old surface, Southeastern New Hampshire or North Shore origin, and dated from 1800. At the front of the booth was a rare shoe-foot hutch table with an oversized top, 48 by 51 inches, triple scalloped skirt, raised and molded shoe feet and three-board top with the original thin red wash. The piece was of pine with oak feet, probably from Southern New England, circa 1740‱760. Paintings included a pair of portraits of young boys with their dogs in landscape settings, attributed to Joseph Goodhue Chandler, circa 1840‱850, and a Jacob Maentel of a child seated in a green painted, bamboo-turned rocker, painted in Harrisburg in 1810, measuring 97/8 by 111/8 inches sight.
A painted two-drawer blanket chest in pine, New York State, circa 1820‱840, was shown in the booth of Samuel Herrup of Sheffield, Mass. Each drawer was outlined in red with sponge decoration on a yellow ground. A sold sign was attached to a fine Federal lolling chair from eastern Massachusetts, circa 1795, in mahogany with poplar and birch secondary woods and line inlay on the front legs.
A booth filled with furniture was offered by C.L. Prickett Antiques, Yardley, Penn., including a Federal inlaid mahogany D-shaped, five-leg card table with mixed veneer top and apron centered by a pictorial inlay of an urn of flowers, New York City, circa 1790‱805. The table was flanked by a fine pair of Federal inlaid shield back side chairs in mahogany with bellflower inlay. The chairs were from Baltimore, circa 1790‱810, and had a provenance that listed Israel Sack, 2001.
A dry Nineteenth Century surface was on a banister back side chair, Eighteenth Century, Hudson River Valley, molded banisters, circa 1740, offered by Grace and Elliott Snyder, Egremont, Mass. Also shown was a child’s tilt-top candlestand, mahogany and birch, original finish, Boston/Salem area, circa 1770‱795, 17 inches high and 12 inches in diameter. A paint decorated plank seat bench by William F. Snyder, Mifflintown Chair Factory, Juniata County, Penn., circa 1868, measured 78 inches long.
New Hampton, N.H., dealers Mark and Marjorie Allen showed a large landscape, oil on canvas, of a view of the oxbow on the Connecticut River from Mount Holyoke by Victor de Grailly, 1840, 23 by 16½ inches sight. At one time on opening day, Mark had a selection of about 20 brass candlesticks, with more still in the display cases, spread out on a table for a customer to inspect. “He bought four pairs,” Mark said as he returned the others to the case.
The center of the exhibition floor is always taken by a loan exhibition, this year featuring “A Call To Arms,” Chinese armorial porcelain made for the British and American markets, 1700‱850. Six lenders filled cases with fine plates, vases, coffee cups and teapot stands that demonstrated sophistication, wealth and family pride by the original owners.
This show, a benefit for Penn Medicine, has a committee of more than 220 volunteers, many of whom work all year to see that things run properly during the four-day show. And with the help of professional management, word is out that it runs like clockwork (once in a while a small glitch), but the wheels are already turning and heading for next year, the 50th anniversary of the show.
For information, 215-387-3500 or www.philaantiques.com .
