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York, Pennsylvania

Burk's Greater York Antiques Show

by Lita Solis-Cohen

This was the 34th year that Jim Burk held the spring edition of his Greater York Antiques Show and Sale at the York Fairgrounds, May 7 and 8, and no Burk show has ever looked better. The aisles were wider than in the past, the floor plan easier to navigate, and the booths attractive.

Eric Kramer, the son of Robesonia, Pennsylvania, dealer Greg Kramer, came up with an inventive double booth design for his father, enabling shoppers to get access on three sides while maximizing center display case space and still having long outside walls filled with goods. Many customers made a beeline to the booth, and it was filled with people two hours after the show's opening.

Loyal customers came to the show early, and there were a few new buyers who came to see what all the hoopla was about in York. Some business was done, but it was not gangbusters, as collectors' dollars were spread thin among the nearly 400 dealers in York. Nevertheless, some good Americana changed hands.

Jim Burk did not welcome the competition from other shows. His dealers said they don't believe that York can support more than 370 dealers with the present gate. How to advertise in order to get collectors from the District of Columbia, Baltimore, and Philadelphia to join the locals and the few who came from the South, the Midwest, and Texas was discussed when the crowds expected on Friday and Saturday did not materialize.

There is no question that the strength of Burk's show has been diminished. Several top-end dealers did not return, and Burk lost 26 in all to Frank Gaglio's show next door. Yet, the smaller Burk show was more comfortable than it has been, and the addition of several fresh faces aided the show.

What would make Jim Burk's show more user friendly is a printed list of dealers arranged alphabetically with their towns and phone numbers, as well as their booth numbers and a floor plan. That way when people have second thoughts about a purchase, they can find their way back. This year's brochure had no floor plan, just a list of dealers and their towns arranged by booth number, from 1 to 111.

Probably the most important sale of the weekend occurred in the parking lot outside of Burk's show. Pennsylvania collector Paul Flack said he bought six Bucks County, Pennsylvania, frakturs that he described as "little gems." One was a Schwenkfelder, one by Martin Godshall, one by Johannes Moyer, and three by George Gerhard. Flack said Greg Kramer had saved them for him. They came to York all the way from California through a descendant of an early 20th-century Pennsylvania collector who reportedly bought with the well-known historian, collector, and author Henry Mercer. Now, that's like the old days, when the finds at Burk's York show were the talk of the trade.

There were some other big sales. On Friday Maine and Pennsylvania dealer James Glazer sold a blanket chest, a finely executed Philadelphia scherenschnitte, and a Remmey stoneware crock with handles to collectors. On Saturday Kelly Kinzle sold a clock, and Edwin Hild sold a very good red tole tray and a black tole coffeepot. Referring to the scope of what York has become, Hild said, "York is worth it, but it's grueling when the crowd is so dispersed."

The pictures illustrate just some of the things offered. For more information, contact Jim Burk at (717) 872-2778; Web site (www.jimburkantiqueshows.com).