For a change, the sun was shining for the opening of the tenth annual Wells Antiques Show on June 27. The DeSimones of Goosefare Antiques & Promotions established this show ten years ago and have at least some rain almost every year. This year, the show started with bright skies and attitudes and experienced its best crowd ever and some of the biggest sales to date.
According to Elizabeth and John DeSimone, everything sold well this year, but the big winners were early furniture and good paintings. “We haven’t seen furniture sell so well in a long time. It reminded you of the old days,” he said. By the 10 am opening there were more than 150 cars in the parking lots. The show featured 53 dealers from all of the New England states, Texas and Tennessee †offering merchandise covering the entire spectrum of antiques.
Sales started early and continued all day long. Greg Hamilton of Stone Block Antiques in Vermont brought one of the longest country tables seen at almost 9 feet long. It sold early, as the doors opened to a long line of dealers and collectors waiting eagerly to enter.
One of the best indicators portending a good summer was the number of retail buyers who were at the show. Harry Hepburn of Hermitage Antiques in Maine sold a Sheraton secretary midday to a Brunswick woman who was going to put it in her new house (as soon as she changed the brasses).
Little River Antiques sold a two-drawer blanket chest with tiger maple drawers later in the day to a young couple from New York who wanted it for their summer place. Pam Peters of Vermont sold a country tavern table in blue paint fairly early in the morning.
One of the nicest pieces at the show was a painting of the War of 1812 with two frigates in battle. The painting was reasonably priced in the low-to-mid four figures and was gone by midday. Paintings from the low hundreds to the high four figures went out the door with dealers and collectors.
The show takes place on the main grounds of Laudholm Farm, which is a fine setting for an antiques show. Dealers set up either in a 100-foot tent that Goosefare puts up, or in two stories of a barn omplete with track lighting †that Laudholm uses for classes or in outdoor spaces where dealers set up their own tents.
During the show, the barn becomes the safe home for many of the glass and china dealers, as well as those selling fine folk art, Americana and the like. Among the 16 dealers in the barn were the Victorian Rose and Edith Harris, both with hand painted porcelains, set up along with Stephen-Douglas Antiques and Benting & Jarvis, with Americana, furniture and paintings.
Next year’s show will be on the same respective weekend, June 26. Among the shows that Elizabeth and John DeSimone run are a series of summer shows along the Maine coast and on Cape Cod. The next two are in Chatham, Mass., on Cape Cod on July 17, and then the following weekend, on July 24′5, in Camden, Maine, where they host their biggest indoor Maine show.
For additional information, www.goosefareantiques.com or 800-641-6908.
