On the polo grounds in this affluent Hartford suburb, 200 antiques dealers gathered September 5 and 6 with their collections and inventories to offer antiques, high-style designer furniture and accessories to the largest crowd in the past five years, according to Jon Jenkins of Jenkins Shows. The twice-each-season show, now running for more than 25 years, “has continued to be a popular way to spend the weekend and furnish homes in the Northeast region, keeping this show a major destination for antiques,” he said.
Farmington Antiques Weekend has evolved over the last ten years to be the place to find the very special antiques to furnish the home or simply to find that special piece. Started in the mid-1980s by Don Mackey, it has been a standard for antiques shoppers and has remained strong with great customer participation.
Dealers were pleased again with sales, reporting strong buying of both small items and the big special pieces. Mario Pollo, Woodstock, N.Y., was in an oversized tent with friends where he sold a tall chest and a small library table, both in tiger maple, to a New Haven-area family. That sale made the weekend for him when combined with some other antiques that found new homes.
Ruchelle Davis and Bill Cawood organized one 20-by-20-foot tent with a diagonal separation, allowing each to have their own space. Davis sells antique textiles and linens, while Cawood sells antique maps and a selection of early prints. From Rome, Ga., both had sales Davis described as “not bad.”
Bennington pottery is a large portion of Stuart Magdefrau’s collection. The Ellington, Conn., dealer said he sold some of that along with other antique pottery he was offering. Arline Rabin from Fogelsville, Penn., was selling from her inventory of Asian dishes. Sales included some Japanese Imari, Rose Medallion from China and Chinese Export.
Florida dealer Daphne Antiques carried a collection of art, silver and small valuable dishes and decorative accessories for the home. Nipper’s Choice sells restored early record players. From Keene, N.H., the collection is large and all are in good working order; in fact, the dealer sold records as well, both flat and cylindrical.
Victorian Rose, Wenham, Mass., and A Classic Touch, Melbourne, Fla., shared a tent for the weekend with some of their inventories overlapping. Kathy Tarr of Victorian Rose said sales were good, in her case, Limoges and other fine porcelain dishes and Penny Ross sold from her collection of primarily English earthenware and fine linens.
Nancy Hagen lives in Dorset, Vt., and Florida but collects most of her inventory on shopping trips to England. Spode, transfer ware and ironstone are the principal stock in her inventory, which she was selling well. Acorn Antiques, Killingworth, Conn., offered a collection filling several tables with small antiques. The dealer also collects and trades in early art, and the tent walls were covered with the old canvases.
Furniture overflowed from the Benting and Jarvis tent. Al and Jane Benting live in Barrington, N.H. They showed a huge inventory, with more than 200 years of history visible in their selections. Nearby, Mapleside Antiques of Titusville, Penn., sold from a collection of small primitive antique objects. Business partners Tom Varney and Cyd Paden have been collecting early lighting, kitchen tools and other interesting and useful things for their shows. They also had a collection of early country furniture, much of it with early painted surfaces.
Industrial antiques have become a category unto itself, with objects such as unusual workbenches, casting forms, tools and machinery †all that can be used as decorative objects or, in some cases, as furniture in the modern home or loft. Janice and Jerry Bonk are specialists in the line, and shop near their home in Hellertown Penn., as well as in France. Their centerpiece for Farmington was an unusual and large and angular maple work bench.
Burr Oak, Mich., dealers Lynn and Michael Worden are much more traditional in their collection. The biggest object they were showing was a dining room sideboard in hardwood, which was from the mid- to late Nineteenth Century. They also had many wall hangings, including a hooked mat depicting two pink beavers smooching.
David Zabriskie had his friend, Madeleine Killeen, assisting him for the weekend with the collection of Americana and some fine Persian rugs. From Lake Placid, N.Y., the collection included a pair of Norton 2-gallon stoneware jugs with sitting bird designs, molded stone objects and things that just appealed to them as good inventory for the special piece in the home or garden.
There were many dealers who displayed large collections of smalls. Thomas Thompson, Pembroke, N.Y., showed his Nineteenth Century inventory of toys and other children’s playthings. Robert Perry’s collection was more diverse with a great deal of smalls, but he also filled his booth with furniture to display the smalls. From Orchard Park, N.Y., Perry had several painted furniture pieces, including a tall case clock.
Furniture specialists were there and doing well, too. Karen and Edd Oberg of Richmond House Antiques in Ashford, Conn., sold several large cupboards and other furniture. They also obtained a potential customer for the wall Edd Oberg found in an old building about to be demolished. As part of the couple’s business, he removes such walls with permission and resells them, usually including installation.
Nancy Fishelson exhibits at Farmington as much to show her design capabilities as to showcase her inventory. Her style is white, with furniture in as-found finish or painted. For this weekend, she showed a pair of wing chairs in white fabric and a drop leaf table and corner cupboard in old white paint. Fishelson recently moved to Middlebury, Conn.
The Nagys were there representing their Hampton, Conn., business, Chelsea Hill Antiques, showing fine early American and European hardwood furniture. J&G Antiques, Amityville, N.Y., was doing much the same but with a collection of all-American furniture.
Jenkins Shows was ready for the crowds for the weekend, weather forecasts were excellent and the crowds did indeed come. Jon Jenkins said, “Saturday was the biggest attendance we have had in the last five years, Sunday was surprisingly good, but we don’t get a count because the Saturday ticket is good for both days. From the parking lots, it looked very full!” He said their plans for next year are to continue with rebuilding the show, inviting more dealers with quality merchandise. Dates for next year are June 12 and 13 and September 4 and 5. Jenkins’ next big show this year will be Music Valley Antiques Show and Tailgate Antiques Show in Nashville, Tenn., October 29″1 at Tennessee State Fairgrounds. For information, www.jenkinsshows.com or 317-598-0012.
