Marburger Farm Antiques Show, September 29⁏ctober 3, was the gathering place for about 400 exhibiting antiques dealers. It happens twice each year in this tiny Texas town, a place in the hills. A weekender’s place for the second home, the shows have transformed Round Top into a stop on the unofficial national tour for antiques.
Marburger was begun more than 20 years ago by John Sauls and friends as an alternative to some of the other shows that had developed in this remote community. It quickly became the place for Texans to find their home décor and furnishings. Sauls’ personal taste runs to country, so this show at first was known for the same. Over the last ten years, however, its offerings have become much broader in scope, including a great deal of English and Continental collections and even some relics from Asia and South America.
This year’s show was operated for the third time by the new owners, Rick McConn and Ashley Ferguson, who seemed to have the job well organized. The only problem during the week was a few very heavy rainstorms, but that is inevitable at any outdoor show that has all this real estate to cover, more than 40 acres of tents, buildings and parking.
Clutter Antiques, Dallas, Texas, is Shannon Peppino’s retail shop and the source for her business at Marburger Farm. In one of the modern, pole-less tents housing about 50 exhibitors, she offered a large number of antique and early collectible objects. Her assortment was vast in majolica and English Staffordshire, with “more dogs of assorted sizes, breeds and colors than ice cream bars in a Good Humor Truck” according to one customer trying to decide which one or pair to pick.
Heather Bowen buys Georgian period antiques for the market, with an English japanned two-over-three chest of drawers as one of her prime pieces. In addition to the paint, the piece was decorated with scratch gilt designs, all in very good condition. Priced at $7,950, it sold on the first day.
From West Cornwall, Conn., Dave Mason, Mason Art and Antiques, was able to sell enough art to call the show okay. He said that in these times, “that was not bad, as my sales were paintings of about $3,500 and under, which featured people and critters, just for the decorating.”
Crossroads Antiques from Houston shops for its collection in the United States but also in England in prior years for the large assortment of Georgian period furniture and home furnishings. Patsy Clapp Schalles was very pleased with the sales on opening day, with more activity through the week, including a corner cabinet on Thursday.
Selling very well throughout the show, Michael Moore of Artifacts was finding that the biggest problem was the rearranging he and his partner, Randy Farmer, had to do. Their business, headquartered in a Nashville, Tenn., shop was brought to Texas in a very large rental truck in order to carry all they needed.
Another of the many successful dealers at the show was Ender Tasci, owner of Elephant Walk, Orlando Fla. Tasci said his inventory was acquired in Eastern Europe as well as the United States, and for the week it proved very popular with the shoppers.
Moss Studios, Fowlerville. Mich., sold industrial antiques and décor items. A pair of lamps was constructed from large “C” clamps, another pair had been truck springs in a former life; forms were made into mirrors, and industrial lighting was stylishly reconstructed into desk lamps.
Oriental rugs were a large portion of the collection offered by Interiors with Provenance from Amesbury, Mass. Additionally, the firm brought a large, folio-size Grenfell silk stocking hooked rug showing four geese in flight.
Lance Hoyt, Brewerton, N.Y., offered doll head forms as wall hangings and lighting. Flashback Funtiques, Houston, Texas, sold restored Coca-Cola vending machines for home use. Carol O’Steen, a Tallahassee, Fla., silver dealer exhibited in one of the buildings for the extra security it allowed her. Shakelford V R S Antiques is primarily antique and vintage jewelry from Sacramento, Calif.; it also exhibited in a building.
Traveling from Seaford, England, for the show, Stuart Cropper brought a small quantity of furniture, as well as a good collection of samplers for sale. He also had many other small objects in his inventory that are popular with the American market, including silhouettes, small prints and engravings and silver. The Genie of Texas, College Station, was showing its collection of majolica, vintage jewelry and silver in the Silver Dollar Saloon, one of the many buildings at Marburger.
Some exhibitors go to extremes to organize their five-day showcase, with very large spaces and a great deal of merchandise. Sniktaw Trading Company from Gurnee, Mich., is one such dealer. Luan and Jerry Watkins and friends had so many antiques, it took them three days to complete their exhibit with folk art, including weathervanes, carousel knock-down targets, furniture in original paint, Shaker handcrafted boxes, early toys and household objects and much more.
Fishers Antiques, Fishers, Ind., offered furniture, selling an American Queen Anne period serving table that had been priced at $3,500 and several lesser pieces of furniture. Country House Antiques, Marshall, Mich., offered the wagons with which to take it all home †but that might have taken a while, as they were designed for ponies.
The show’s date pattern, ending on the first Saturday of October and April, continues with the next show, March 30-⁁pril 3. For information, www.roundtop-marburger.com or 800-999-2148.
