Hunting for Antiques in (Soggy) Hunt Country
On Saturday April 2 my partner and I set forth on a quest for fine antiques after a hiatus of nearly a month (due to sickness, personal commitments and lack of local events). The show was the Mid-Atlantic Antiques Market at the Howard County Fairgrounds in West Friendship, Maryland.
We braved a monsoon rain and a few traffic accidents to suburban Baltimore for the show. We had attended this show once before and found it to our liking. The admission fee is $7 per person. The facility is a single fairground building which is all indoors. Once out of the monsoon-like rain we paid our fee and were onto view the treasures. With 100 dealers from Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Florida, New York, Ohio, Massachusetts, Tennessee, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Michigan, Maine, New Jersey, Delaware, Connecticut and South Carolina it is a real treat for the serious collector of antiques. Almost without exception the antiques are quality eighteenth, nineteenth and early twentieth century. The booths, for the most part, are well laid out and displayed as a treat for the eye. The prices, overall seemed somewhere between reasonable and high. Few bargains were to be had. But people were buying – and buying. A few dealers offered a slight discount. But an equal numbers stayed firm on the prices.
A few of our favorites from the show deserve mention below:
Tom and Judith Whitmore Antiques from Frederick, Maryland. They offer “classic American country”. They had a nice offering of yellow-ware, a great collection of ironstone and some lovely mirrors.
Snug Harbor Antiques – Tom Huff and Janette Barto of Cambridge, Maryland specialized in country furniture and accessories. In particular, we were taken with their quilts, baskets, tables and shaker boxes. They were especially helpful when we were considering (and later bought) one of their quilts.
Riverview Antiques of Marietta, Ohio, (e-mail @ riverview antiques.com) offered a nice collections of glass, brass, great paintings, wonderful painted Baltimore style chairs and fancy lusterware.
William and Teresa Kurau who offer historical Staffordshire and collectors items ((www.historicalchina.com) had an incredible collection and selection as always. We have seen their top of the line offering at other shows and are always breathless. From Lampeter, Pennsylvania, their historical China is always worth seeing even if it is not your collecting specialty. A true treat for us in that it is one of ours.
Granthum “1763” specializes in early painted American antiques and folk art plus unique smalls. They hail from Denton, Maryland. They too had a nice selection of painted early furniture.
Charles and Lucille Berge Antiques from South Easton, Massachusetts (email c.berg@comcast.net) specialize in “American antique furniture and furnishings of Colonial and Federal eras”. Of particular interest were their two-tine forks (harder to find), feather-edge plates and a very nice plate rack.
Gardiner’s Antiques (Andy Gardiner) from Johnson, Vermont and Falls Church, Virginia specialize in country furniture and architectural elements. Andy offered some wonderful frames, prints, paintings and nineteenth century mirrors.
Sorisio’s Antiques – Mario and Reggie Sorisio, from Leechburg, Pennsylvania offer American furniture and accessories. Their quilts, chairs and farm table were quite memorable.
A personal favorite is Jeff R. Bridgman American Antiques – or the flag man (www.jeffbridgman.com) We have met Jeff several times at Brimfield. He is out of York, Pennsylvania and specializes in early American flags, painted furniture, folk art and decorative textiles.
The most eye pleasing display belonged to John Melby Antiques from Sunapee, New Hampshire. They specialize in early painted furniture, cabin, garden and leather bound books. The mantle, chests, chairs, and numerous volumes of early books were visually impressive and true finds for the collectors at the show.
Also of interest:
Jas. S. Poles of Frederick, Maryland and Washington, DC (jim120253@aol.com)
Colleen Kinloch Antiques from Laurel, Maryland and Bristol, Maine.
Dogtreasures.com – “the website for dog antiques” from Coatresville, Pennsylvania.
Vintage Rose Antiques from Falling Waters, West Virginia with very nice transfer ware and children’s plates.
In closing for this week’s antiquing adventure, the food at most antique shows – inside or out is usually awful. Well, at this one there was a rare treat. I braved the rain to grab cheeseburgers, French fries, a soda and coffee at the Fairgrounds single open restaurant. It was fast, well prepared, quality food. A nice change of pace for these events and in deserve of recognition as such.
We packed up the SUV and braved the rain home to compare notes on a very successful and pleasant day of antiquing.
Don’t forget to visit www.ComfortableStyle.com for a wonderful selection of antiques, decorative accessories and gifts.
