Customers returned in great numbers to Marburger Farm Antiques Show on March 30, opening day for this twice yearly, five-day affair. About 75 miles from Houston, this property was transformed into a sold-out antiques market for 400 exhibiting antiques dealers. Even an hour after the 10 am opening, the cars were lined up bumper-to-bumper, for more than two miles in both directions on the two-lane State Highway 237, slowly working their way into the parking lots.
Marburger Farm was purchased from John Sauls two years ago by Margaret Mebus and is now operated by her family members, Ashley Ferguson and Rick McConn. They have instituted some changes to ease access to the site, but so many people came to this show that congestion is just a part of what has to be expected. Customers seemed to take it all in stride, for as soon as they entered the show, the buying began.
Said Rick McConn, “[Dealers] told me sales were good, and we did have an outstanding gate with a total admission 20 percent higher than ever before.” He added, “We had good weather; good crowds and good selling, which may have been assisted by the fact that it was Easter week, with many people having days off from their work and time to spend at the show.” The show closed April 3, the day before Easter Sunday.
The big tents each house about 50‶0 dealers and Sniktaw Antiques is among them. Formerly known as Sniktaw Trading Co., Luan and Jerry Watkins hail from Gurnee, Ill., with a wonderful assortment of painted Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century furniture, folksy things and small valuable antiques. They also offered a large collection of shooting gallery targets.
Rosamond, Ill., dealer Larry Durbin was nearby selling from his collection of early painted furniture. One of the first pieces to go was a well-constructed and detailed bench in several layers of old paint.
Georgia and Buddy Morel were there with their collections of furniture, lighting, early advertising and folk art. From New Roads, La., they participate in many of the best-known and best-attended shows throughout the East and South, selling stylish furniture from early periods and even the later industrial pieces together with vintage lighting.
Apropos, the Richmond, Va., antiques shop owned by Karen Austin, has been exhibiting its collection featuring Nineteenth Century antiques for several years. Austin takes periodic trips to England and Europe in search of the early pieces that best meet the US market. For this Texas week, the collection included room settings of furniture surrounded by some architectural pieces, such as pillars, bolsters, cornices and mantels and a sampling of fine art.
Mitra Kilburn said she “shops all over the world, except England, for my collection.” The stock for her business and how she shops is a reflection of her childhood, raised by multinational parents whose heritage includes Italy, Persia, Turkey and more. She said she “shops very hard to find good quality pieces in original condition, which will be appreciated and enjoyed in the American market.”
Mel’s Mantiques, San Antonio, Texas, is a collection assembled for those who want an alternative to the flowery decorator things. Here, the collection included big, heavy stuff, like a butcher’s block with meat cleavers, a metal carousel from a hardware store, including the assorted nails it used to offer to builders and contractors, a billiard parlor sign and a lot more guy things.
In addition to tents, Marburger has about a dozen buildings on the 40-plus acres, which were taken down from sites in the region and reassembled here. Dennis and Dad, Fitzwilliam, N.H., dealer of early earthenware, shared one such building with Christopher English, West Palm Beach. English sold well on the first day of Marburger, with interesting antiques finding new homes, including a child’s doll house with many small figurines and furnishings included. Dennis Berard of Dennis and Dad was also pleased with his sales. He said the “regular buyers came back and made the show for us.”
The show attracts many dealers who travel 1,500 to 2,000 miles. Bernice and Arnold Conn, Voorhees, N.J., offered an extensive collection of early samplers. Mountain Thistle, Waynesboro, Va., sells small Black Forest carvings, barometers, a collection of cork screws and bottle stoppers. Snow Leopard, Raleigh, N.C., offered a large assortment of vintage linens. Great Stuff, Seattle, Wash., had a variety of styles of early furniture and also a mechanical bull.
Dates for this show in the fall are September 28⁏ctober 2. While it has been sold out for space each show for the last several years, there is often some room for newcomers. For information, www.roundtop-marburger.com or 800-999-2148.
