Perhaps it was a coffee table. The well-made, Adirondack-style twig table was in the booth of Allen and Walker, Portland, Maine, and they were asking $295.
Review & Photos by Rick Russack
BATH, MAINE — From early brass candlesticks to automobile license plates, from Eighteenth Century Delft to Staffordshire, from Roseville pottery to midcentury pottery, from ice cream scoops to candy containers, from redware to a collection of stoneware ginger beer bottles, the October 8 show in Bath had a little bit of everything. And there were books, early painted furniture, early glass, pewter, woodenware and more. Some dealers were doing the show for the first time, and many others have been doing it for years.
The Bath show has been around for about 40 years under different managers. It’s now in its third season under the management of Rachel and Josh Gurley. There will be six more shows, one a month, through April, all at the Bath Middle School. There were just under 50 dealers, many of whom are from Maine and who do not do other shows, so buyers will meet dealers they may not have seen before. The show was open from 10 am to 2 pm and its advertising noted that admission, normally $5, is free to those younger than 25.
The first thing you would have seen when entering the show was something that almost defied a simple one- or two-word description. It was in the booth of Bob Foley, Gray, Maine. The booth had an interesting piece of studio pottery, some early lighting, two good marine dioramas, two modern paintings, etc. These are easy to describe. Then there was something that defied an immediate description or name. It was a cross between an early lift-top blanket chest and a bench. We’ve learned to expect that a dealer can tell you what the things in his booth are. Not this time. When asked, Foley said, “well, it could be a chest or maybe it’s a ……” Whatever name it should have had, it was an early, well-made, dovetailed blanket or seaman’s trunk. It had an old greyish, dried paint surface. And it had a well-made back and sides with cut-out handles, giving it the appearance of a bench for seating. During setup, several dealers gathered around, and all agreed they had never seen anything quite like it. Foley priced it $750. The marine dioramas were well made and the larger the of the two, a fully rigged sailing ship flying an American flag and various pennants, was priced $1,450. The smaller one was $650. The day after the show Foley said that he had a good show, selling an unusual L-shaped table, a chimney cupboard, one of the paintings and a really well-made large, carved, painted and jointed wooden Halloween skeleton. It was priced $250, sold, and will be heading to Pennsylvania.
Brett Cabral, Salem, N.H., had this unusual and heavy pair of gate weights. He had a variety of other metal objects, including a pair of chocolate molds in the form of George and Martha Washington, for which he was asking $295. The pair of gate weights was priced $250.
Also with a booth near the show entrance was Brett Cabral, Salem, N.H. His booth at any given show usually looks completely different from the last show, wherever that may have been. This time he had a varied selection of iron and metal items, including a pair of heavy cast iron gate weights in the form of shaking hands, probably dating to the mid- or late Nineteenth Century. Gate weights were used to keep farm gates closed and to help them close gently. Cabral priced the pair $275. He also had a collection of ice cream scoops, pewter ice cream molds and a small collection of tin cookie molds. The wooden handled ice cream scoops were mostly priced under $50, as were most of the ice cream molds. However, a pair of molds in the form of George and Martha Washington were priced $295.
Several dealers had examples of early woodenware, and one dealer filled her entire booth with that material. Doing this show for the first time, but well-known to New England collectors was Mary de Buhr, Downers Grove, Ill. One of the items she had was a large, footed, turned wooden chalice. It had a price tag of $585, and next to that tag was another that read “turn me over.” Curiosity required that we do what the tag said — the base of the chalice had been hollowed out to act as a candleholder, and the area around was well-blackened, indicating that it had often been used for that purpose. She also had a 26-inch-long, hollowed-out sailing ship hull in original, unpainted surface. Mounted on a make-do stand, it could find multiple decorative uses and was priced $615. An early tooled leather covered wooden box with cover was $495. She also showed a selection of early linens.
Du Buhr was not the only dealer with early woodenware. An exceptional lapped, swing-handled bucket, priced $475, was in the booth of John Melby, Eastport, Maine. Melby also deals in wooden “books” to be used as decorative items. He had several at this show, stained and carved to look like old leather books. A group of four, each 8 inches to 10 inches tall, were priced $200. Rona Andrews, Worcester, Mass., had three ash burl bowls with good color. They were priced $495 to $625. Chris Stanley, Bremen, Maine, had a red, lapped, Revolutionary War-era canteen priced $300. There was more to be seen.
John Melby, Eastport, Maine, priced this circa 1760 lift top blanket chest $400. Among other things, he also had an exceptional, well-weathered, lapped, swing-handle bucket, which was priced $475.
There were several nice examples of early furniture and prices seemed reasonable. Martin Ferrick, Lincolnville, Maine, offered a New Hampshire circa 1790 lift-top blanket chest on feet, with an old but not original red paint, for $1,800. Constructed with rose-head nails, it had a scalloped apron, similar to other New Hampshire furniture. He also had a grain-painted one-drawer server for which he was asking $650. Josh Farrin, Randoph, Maine, offered a small grain-painted blanket chest for $650 and a large chair table. John Melby brought a circa 1760, simple one-drawer blanket chest with a red/brown surface and in need of some work, priced at $400. Roger Williams, Wiscasset, Maine, had a slant front, bracket base pine desk for which he was asking $825. He also had a well-done portrait of young Elsie and Earl Hopkins, painted by James J. Sawyer (1813-1888). The price was $950. Sawyer lived in New York City and was a successful portrait painter. Not as early as the other examples mentioned here, but a very nice example of a low Adirondack twig table, perhaps a coffee table, was in the booth of Allen and Walker, Portland, Maine. They were asking $295.
Hollis Brodrick. Portsmouth, N.H., and others had selections of early Delft. Some of Brodrick’s examples had been restored, offering collectors the chance to own early, colorful pieces for very reasonable prices. A restored plate with a colorful parrot was priced just $45 and another colorful, restored Eighteenth Century plate with flowers and a bird went for $35. A circa 1730 English plate with floral decoration was priced $110. His booth included early English bottles: a circa 1730-40 English flattened, octagonal glass wine bottle and a circa 1745 English “mallet” bottle, which was priced $495.
Since Halloween is approaching, it wasn’t surprising that decorations for that holiday were in several booths. The largest was the carved skeleton that Bob Foley had, but the Gurleys, Scarborough, Maine, had an assorted collection of Halloween and Christmas decorations, ranging in price from $30 to $65 and a collection of glass containers priced between $15 and $20. Tommy Thompson, Chichester, N.H., had Halloween items and so did other dealers.
Tommy Thompson, Chichester, N.H., had a small collection of stoneware ginger beer bottles, one of which had never been opened. They were priced about $25 each. He also had a selection of Halloween decorations, not shown in this photo.
After the show, Rachel Gurley said, “One of the things I liked about the crowd was that we had buyers from places like Pennsylvania and New York. So we’re drawing from outside New England. Another thing I liked was that the crowd was steady all day. That’s good for the dealers, several of whom told me they had done well. Speaking for Josh and I, we sold well. We had picked merchandise particularly for the crowd that we knew would be there so that worked for us. Our next show here will be November 12.”
For information, 207-396-4255 or www.gurleyantiqueshows.com.
