The larger than usual crowd waited eagerly for the opening of the 41st annual Holliston Antiques Show, and then surged into the high school gymnasium where they rushed the dealers who awaited them. Energy generated energy and buying began briskly. Good sales were made over both days, February 21 and 22.
One of the more eye-catching displays was mounted by William Beaupre of Barre, Mass., who showed some of his handbags, heads and birdhouses he makes from vintage jewelry. The quirky pieces piqued wide interest and sales were healthy.
Milton, Vt., dealer Partridge Hollow sold early and easily: chocolate molds, vintage kitchen utensils, white ironstone and sterling such as a teaset, a set of spoons and serving pieces.
The Fry Antiques booth was busy throughout the show. The Elmira, N.Y., vintage toy dealer showed every imaginable toy and game. The star was a 15¾-inch white mohair Steiff bear.
Theresa Fleurent of Belchertown, Mass., reported good sales. She filled her booth with appealing country smalls: wood, glass and ceramics, such as the Staffordshire platter marked Cyprus and JRB, and buyers flew to her. She also offered a glamorous white ostrich feather fan.
Sally Fuller of Acton, Mass., was also pleased and had good sales early in the show: an interesting blue and white tile depicting the “Old Hancock House, erected 1737 and demolished 1863,” the Boston residence of John Hancock, was one sale.
By noon of the first day, Woonsocket, R.I., dealers, the Reinhardts, reported 21 sales from their display of vintage kitchen tools. They also displayed a selection of Massachusetts bottles that caught many eyes and a substantial Vauxhall automobile medical kit made in England in the 1930s.
George and Jackie Bernheimer of Moonstone Antiques, Mansfield, Mass., had their reliable selection of mouthwatering jewelry, including a pair of deep green diamond earrings. Of great interest was an exceptional Apache olla, woven with dogs and other figures, which was sold. They also brought along a good selection of children’s moccasins, an Iroquois mask and some noteworthy arrowheads.
Room settings in the booth of Bristol, R.I., gallery The Center Chimney were exceptionally inviting. The booth was set out with a fine pair of Chippendale side chairs, an easy chair, a sofa table and a good green blanket chest, accented by blue Canton ware, yellowware and other glass and pottery.
Vintage photos of area sites and events drew a steady stream of visitors to the booth of Patricia Carnegie Antiques of Upton, Mass. A framed 1912 stock certificate of the Spring House on Block Island was of interest along with 1902 charts of the Charles River Valley. Nicely framed fish prints culled ready sales.
A National Biscuit Company display rack was sold and being hauled out of the booth of Farmer’s Village, Attleborough, Mass. The booth also had a birdhouse with balconies evocative of Southern architecture. Jewelry also sold.
Diane DeVolder of Ontario, N.Y., sold a fine bandbox with Massachusetts provenance; Rochester, N.Y., dealer Sandra Wilson sold sterling silver with great results.
Anita and Ed Sweeney of Auburn, Mass., had enviable vintage dresses and vintage jewelry and evening bags for accessorizing. Their selection of medals was impressive and drew interest. Sterling, porcelain and linens rounded out the selection.
Local fine art dealer Peter Feldman of Jonah Fine Art of Holliston, was busy buying and selling in and out of his booth. He showed works such as “Rocks at Scituate” by Marilyn Powers, “Crested Honeycreeper” by Wayne E. Smith and a view of Mount Chocorua, N.H., by Giragos Der Garabedian. Feldman was pleased to exhibit at the show; said he made some good contacts and had several sales.
Woven silk Stevensgraphs in the booth of Naugatuck, Conn., dealer Newell Antiques included the curious, “The Lady Godiva Procession.” There was also a group of miniature portraits along with Asian pieces, such as netsuke and ivory figures, a pair of famille rose parrots from the 1920s and several Chinese earthenware funerary urns.
The selections were eclectic in the booth of Wayland, Mass., dealer Bette Ann Weiner, who operates as One Call Organizer. A Hardin Line oak settee and an oak National file cabinet stood with a cased mahjong set, The Foxy Grandpa , one of The Stump Books and daguerreotypes. Weiner also offered a selection of Roseville pottery, a Nineteenth Century hair crimper and other smalls. She made sales early of pottery, jewelry and silver.
Two Edison phonographs and a stack of records were on offer from Verona, N.J., dealer A Touch of Glass. The booth had a colorful display of vintage Christmas ornaments and art pottery, including a piece by Betty Harrington for Ceramic Arts Studio of Madison, Wis. Gold coins, toys and hat pins were sold along with a work by Mabel Lucy Atwell.
Proprietor Jerry Arnold of Whistle Stop of Dover, Mass., was pleased to report, “Smalls are drifting out at a reasonable pace.” He shared a booth with James A. Turbayne of Needham, Mass., who restores copper diving helmets. Together they filled the space with a diverse selection that ranged from a crystal radio and a photography collection, including the enlarger, that had belonged to Lawrence T. Welsh, a late photographer for the Boston Globe , to linens, a nice blanket chest and pens.
Dealer Sam Petkov was a radioman in World War II, and he made a career of collecting radios. He carved out a space for his radios in the booth where he and his wife had set up an inviting display of jewelry that was selling rapidly. He showed the most popular radio in World War II, a Zenith Transoceanic L 600 with seven push buttons. It attracted the interest of a young man headed to Memorial University in St Johns, Newfoundland, to study marine science, who recognized the radio and was enthralled with it. The Petkovs have exhibited at Holliston since the beginning.
Judy Allman, Naples, Fla., made early sales, including a Northwest Coast Dog Rib game bag, but still had some fine offerings later in the day that included some intriguing black and white watercolor portraits, silhouettes and a desirable pair of ivory clothes brushes.
Antique marbles of clay, glass, stoneware, salt glaze and other ceramics made an arresting display in the booth of Reflexions of Salem, Mass. They were set out in ceramic reagent trays that were made by the Coors Porcelain Co. during Prohibition when not a lot of brewing was taking place. The booth was filled with pipes, games and political pins, all of which were well received.
Choice ceramics, glass and pewter from Antique Cellar of Easthampton, Mass., included a Clewes feather edge platter and a Staffordshire Davenport wash basin and jug in the Friburg pattern.
A stoneware churn and a stoneware glazed jug or flask were offered by Longmeddowe Antiques in Monson, Mass., who also offered a nice figured birch table, treenware and a trencher and two Wilton, N.H., pantry boxes.
Wayside Antiques of Marlborough, Mass., used a Sunshine Biscuit display rack to arrange their wares, which included an antique wicker doll carriage filled with Steiff bears, stoneware and yellowware, miniature Toby jugs and mocha pitchers, a Queen Anne looking glass and some fine framed toile prints.
Janice Andrews and Jean Peterson of Douglas, Mass., filled their booth with mellow wood in the way of treenware, tool boxes and benches, a brown ware jug, a child’s mug with chickens and a gray painted desk from an area family.
A four-piece, red and white Staffordshire dresser set made by Dudson, Wilcox and Till, Ltd, and some ruby glass beckoned from the booth of K and B Enterprises of South Bethlehem, N.Y. There was also an extensive 1953 dinner service in the Autumn Leaf pattern made by Hall China and sold by the Jewel Tea Company, complete with catalog.
Camille Buda and Matt King of Sandwich, Mass., had some fine glass, including elegant violet hued bottles. They also showed a Steigel type flip glass etched with a tulip, mercury glass, redware and pewter and some very good redware, along with an Eighteenth Century pine table with cut corners, textiles and lusterware.
Bright red sold tags were stark against the largely white wares for sale from Twig and Berries Antiques of Westfield, Mass. A trio of white ironstone pitchers and a trio of cement finials were marked sold; others were under discussion. A vignette of architectural elements, a trellis and a plant stand mixed with an early iron candlestand underwent careful inspection and sales were made again.
Pewter and brass in the booth of Kay Baker’s Antiques of Amherst, Mass., competed with badges, including an English Yeomanry example, a framed early English toile and an English gentleman’s saw for dovetailing and ceramics.
Local Holliston dealer Candleglow Antiques had a late Eighteenth Century fir tripod stand with an interesting construction, several good country chests and a diorama of the tug boat Bassens at LaRochelle, France, that was made at Newcastle in 1917.
Chelsea Hill Antiques of Hampton, Conn., set up the booth in an extended room arrangement and had a good show. A 96-inch Pennsylvania tall clock by Jacob Smith of Lancaster was sold. Four painted side chairs, circa 1820″0, came from a house in Willimantic, Conn., and attracted much attention.
Allman Promotions has managed the Holliston show for 31 of its 41 years. It has added a new show, Old Naples Antiques Show, January 30″1, 2010, at St Anne’s Jubilee Center in Naples, Fla. For information, 315-686-5789 or www.AllmanPromotions.com .
