Thomasville is a small Georgia town near the Florida and Alabama state lines that has become a center for raising hunting dogs and roses, but it also loves its antiques show. This annual show and sale and social event for the local people and many visiting second home owners has become a ritual: to visit, socialize and to buy †both for their second homes and those far away. This year, that weekend was February 27 through March 1, with more than 40 exhibitors and a full schedule of talks and at the Thomasville Fairgrounds.
The socializing began Thursday evening with a black tie formal reception for the patrons of Thomasville Antiques Show Foundation, the sponsoring organization. This local group makes the show a big event for all, a rather glamorous evening with live music, open bar and a great spread of hors d’oeuvres, followed by a sit-down dinner, where exhibiting dealers are invited to join. While all very cosmopolitan and very enjoyable, there was enough spending to start off the show for most of the exhibitors.
A Boston area couple in Thomasville for the bird hunting was adding several pieces to their home collection, including an American Queen Anne-style table purchased from Michigan dealer American Eagle Antiques. This dealer’s collection included Nineteenth Century upholstered Louis XVI chairs, art and accessories.
Variety at the show was the key, with exhibits of most styles and objects. Elinor Penna was offering a selection from her collection of Staffordshire figurines. From Old Westbury, N.Y., she featured a large variety of early decorator pieces, including the popular Louis XIV and romantic lovers.
David Herndon trades in exceptional and very rare forms of early English and American dishes, frequently with wild fowl motifs, especially appropriate for this audience, and a selection of Black Forest carvings. The Atlanta dealer has been in the show for several years and has perfected his offerings based on what he finds people want.
Whitehall Antiques from Chapel Hill, N.C., was showing its extensive collection of Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century English furniture and accessories. By Sunday morning, a good deal of it had sold tags, including a large pewter cupboard and a pair of leather upholstered overstuffed chairs.
Malchione’s Sporting Antiques, Kennett Square, Penn., was selling a good assortment of its gear to the local hunters and anglers. Manor House Antiques brought an excellent assortment of tortoiseshell boxes: snuff boxes, tea caddies, patch boxes and even a card box in that exotic material.
Silver was the subject of Mark Antebi’s business, Atlanta Silver and Antiques. The Georgia dealer is an expert in the precious metal, how it was used and ultimately the objects and art form as well. His collection ranged from objects as recent as mid-Twentieth Century to late Jacobean pieces. One unusual example on display was a water pitcher by Whiting Manufacturing of New York, circa 1880. Made of mixed metals, the body was silver in the early Aesthetic Movement piece, with life-size beetles and bugs in copper as decoration on the sides.
Two Maine dealers were exhibiting: Patricia Anne Reed of Damariscotta came with a collection of early Americana and folk art, while Iron Renaissance was showing and selling late iron for the garden as its mainstay.
More dealers from the Northeast included two New Yorkers: Silver Plus was selling objects for the dining table, while across the aisle specialist William Secord offered paintings of dogs. Lexington, Ky., Oriental rug dealer Dana Kelly said his sales were not bad in these quiet economic times. He trades in antique rugs at a few shows and in his Kentucky shop.
Brill’s Antiques, Newport News, Va., was ready to decorate the entire house. Exhibiting at the show for many years, Jerry and Judy Brill have a strong customer base, with many waiting to consider what the Brills have to offer this year. While their collection looked to be very Georgian, English, their shopping is all in the states where they buy at estate sales and via house calls, allowing them to offer their collection at reasonable prices.
Special events during the show added to visitor interest. Talks by Bunny Williams on interior design and gardens, Sumpter Priddy III on Southern painted furniture and Susan Sully on decoration and design were offered; show manager Charlie Miller gave a tour on how to shop the show early one morning.
The show is an annual affair with fundraising as the motivation. According to Barbara Park, co-chair of this year’s show, “We did very well, raising more for our charities, and the attendance was the best. Our speakers, the preview reception, all the weekend activities were very good for the show.”
Look for the show again in 2010, toward the end of February. For more information, 229-225-9354 or www.thomasvilleantiquesshow.com .
