An overcast sky, a Marchlike chill and the threat of rain greeted the 75 or so antiques dealers as they set up around the periphery of the historic Lounsbury mansion for the one-day annual Ridgefield Outdoor Antiques Market on May 8. At 10 am, as the show opened to the public, so did the skies, drenching the grounds of the Main Street site, sending some dealers to scramble and cover up some of their more tender treasures with tarps, while early shoppers popped open umbrellas.
Under new management †Armonk, N.Y.-based Cord Shows Ltd †the 48th annual antiques show that began nearly a half century ago with Russell Carrell was also trying out a new date †the first Saturday in May rather than its previous early June slot. That new date will likely stick, according to show promoter Vivien Cord, who stated, “Not one dealer complained about the new date. We will keep it as the first Saturday in May.”
Cord estimated the gate for this year’s show at “about 800, not bad considering the weather that day,” she said. In addition to the rain that began as the show opened, there were high winds later in the afternoon that gusted up to 50 miles an hour, causing downed trees in Ridgefield and closing Route 33 for 20 hours as crews cleaned up. Cord’s valiant dealers had a window of about two hours in which calm, sunny skies †the hallmark of a perfect outdoor show †supported their efforts to sell.
Jerry Fredette, whose Bear Hollow Antiques business brought stoneware and early lighting to the show from Williamsburg, Mass., said after the show, “Even though the day started a bit wet, good sales were made after the sun came out. I sold stoneware, coin silver, a beautiful Rice seed box and other smalls.”
Fredette, who is president of the Pioneer Valley Antiques Dealers Association, was showing an undecorated ovoid T. Crafts 4-gallon jug, Whately, Mass., circa 1830‴0, along with an Athens, N.Y., N. Clarke Jr 4-gallon jug with floral decoration, among other stoneware examples. The Ridgefield show worked out well with his schedule, as he was heading to Brimfield, Mass., to show his merchandise at Brimfield Acres North the following Tuesday.
Richard Mori, a dealer of rare and collectible books †not the kinds of items one wants to display al fresco on rainy days †was inventive. He used the rear of his hatchback van to good advantage, setting up a couple of shelves to display some of his volumes. He, too, was en route to Brimfield. He carried several first editions, the most interesting of which was a signed copy of A Field Guide to the Birds by Roger Tory Peterson, 1934, the man who revolutionized the study of birds by giving the tools that once belonged only to the field biologist to the ordinary person, who could now easily learn about and understand the natural world.
Rare copies of Tasha Tudor books, the original The Wizard of Oz and currently popular cookbooks by Julia Childs were in his inventory, as well as a fascinating small collection of envelopes and ephemera that had been collected by the grandson of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt. Mori stated that he was pleased with the customers’ response to his books. “They seemed to appreciate the quality of my inventory as well as its diversity. Felt a little like days of years past. Sales were good, in a relative way as compared to other recent shows,” he said.
Cord seasoned the show with a good sampling of vintage jewelry dealers, among them Jerry and Ina Merdinger from Long Beach, N.Y., and Pat Frazer of Easton, Conn. The Merdingers, who do business as Just For You, brought the currently popular Victorian gold pieces that are highly collectible, necklaces with Czech glass and sterling silver Art Deco cuffs. Frazer’s business, Vintage Couture Jewelry, offered an impressively large range of vintage jewelry that inspires today’s styles and is sought after by designers like Kenneth Cole. On display was an unusual collection of copper pieces, midcentury Danish and Swedish pieces, coral and cameos.
Most of the furniture that is brought to this show is of the outdoor, garden variety. There were some notable exceptions, however, such as the golden oak washstand, circa 1880s, that had come out of a Cold Spring, N.Y., house and was being shown by Les Lorant, Glenbrook, Vt. Lorant, who has been actively dealing for more than 25 years, specializes in furniture, small antiques, books and lighting. Also protected from the rain under a canvas popup was the oak pedestal lamp table, probably 1905, that was being shown by Robert Schicke of Denville, N.J. His business, Reclaimed Memories, is focused on furniture and depression glass.
Nearby, Flora Haller from Chappaqua, N.Y., was asked by a reporter to lift the tarp up to reveal a pair of very heavy Arts and Crafts cast iron fireplace andirons. Signed Lowe, Boston, the andirons stood next to an English oak Arts and Crafts table with cutouts, 1905. Haller, who also specializes in antique photo frames, has about 20 years in the business and can be seen at the Pier shows in New York City with her collection of Arts and Crafts, Aesthetic Movement and Art Deco items.
A welcome addition to this year’s show was a large white exhibitors’ tent on the parking lot to the left of the Lounsbury mansion. In the past, dealers were set up with their own popup tents or unprotected on the asphalt lot, and this year’s protective space allowed Donna Kmetz to come down from Douglas, Mass., with her fine collection of American paintings, including a work that was titled “January” on the back of a winter scene of a meandering brook and distant farmhouse, 1920s″0s, by Horace Brown. Brown, a student of the American Impressionist master Willard Metcalf, was among the artists shown in a recent exhibition at the Bennington Museum.
Under the same tent were Jeff Hogan of Jeff’s Antiques and Folk Art, Massapequa, N.Y., showing folk art, Outsider art and Americana; Rosemary Lazaro, a vintage jewelry, clothing and accessories dealer from Albany, N.Y., doing business as Metropolis Vintage; and Dora Connelly’s Antiques Folly, Emmitsburg, Md., with a colorful selection of transfer ware, majolica and other porcelain categories.
Cord’s next show is at Lasdon Park and Arboretum on Memorial Day, Monday, May 31, with the 25th Lasdon Memorial Day Antiques Fair. For information, 914-273-4667 or www.CordShows.com .
