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The Chester County Historical Society Antiques Show

by Lita Solis-Cohen

The Chester County Historical Society Antiques Show, an important regional show, took a big step and, after years in the Hollinger Fieldhouse at West Chester University, moved to a huge warehouse at the QVC studio park just a few miles away.

QVC, the nation's largest television and electronic retailer, offered a larger, more up-to-date facility with convenient parking. Show manager Wesley Sessa enlarged the show by four dealers and designed wider aisles and more spacious booths for this 19th annual show, held March 9-11.

Some said the immense space and the very high black ceiling dwarfed Americana, and they missed the intimacy of earlier shows. Show manager Sessa, however, saw it as a positive change. Those who are used to shows in huge convention halls said they know how to focus on what is at hand, and they liked the spaciousness. Many looked upon the move as a transplant to a larger container and see room for growth.

Sessa was thrilled with the attendance. The preview party on Friday night was well attended. Saturday was even busier with busloads of people who come to shop QVC wandering in; these were not necessarily buyers. Some seasoned major collectors returned to make purchases on Sunday. "Furniture is selling; corner cupboards and chests are moving out," said Sessa when called on Sunday afternoon. He said needlework sold particularly well. "We had a big gate; the right people came through."

The stock market plunged on Friday, which may have made some people feel poorer, so sales were off for most dealers. Nevertheless, it was far from a dead show. A few dealers—Joseph Lodge, the Fassnachts, and Walter Mullen among them—sold very well indeed.

The Chester County show has always had the problem of timing. It comes just a month before the Philadelphia show; this year the dates were closer than usual, with the Philadelphia show a week earlier. Many dealers save their best for the Philadelphia show and for Philadelphia's Navy Pier and Center City shows that same weekend. Collectors knowing this may have decided to wait a month and see what else is coming along. Seasoned collectors know what they want and are very discriminating. They buy anytime and anywhere.

Carlisle, Pennsylvania, dealer James Price said he made sales to young collectors who had not been to this show before, a good sign. Local dealer Walter Mullen said the new facility "was a one hundred-percent upgrade, and the show was better attended with a lot of new faces." Finding new customers is the main reason that dealers do shows.

Dealers new to the show included Richard Wright of nearby Birchrunville, who specializes in antique toys; Cecelia B. Williams of New Market, Maryland, whose interest is cast-iron furniture and lawn sprinklers; Thomas Schwenke of Woodbury, Connecticut, with Federal furniture; Steve Smoot of Lancaster with Pennsylvania furniture; and Lititz dealers Greene & Mays with country furniture and graphic advertising.

Paul DeCoste of Newburyport, Massachusetts, Herbert Schiffer of West Chester, and Skip Chalfant of West Chester are the three dealers who have exhibited at all 19 years of the Chester County shows.

There are always some discoveries to be made. This year there was a rare English silvered brass fruit bowl at Michael Whitman's booth; a sampler from the Rock Run Seminary with a needle left in it from Ruth Van Tassel; the largest chalkware rooster from Sidney Gecker; a rare inn sign from James Price; a Myer Myers coffeepot from Robert Jackson and Ann Gillooly; and lots more.

Four dedicated volunteers led the planning and got 70 others to help with the preview party and afternoon teas and to arrange for Antiques Roadshow personalities Richard Wright and Noel Barrett to do appraisals on Saturday and for Ann Wyeth McCoy to hold informal conversations about her lifelong love of dolls. Four of her favorite dolls were on view in the loan show to publicize the current exhibition at CCHS, "From Queen Anne to Barbie: Two Centuries of Dolls."

Over the years, this antiques show has raised more than $570,000 for the Chester County Historical Society's educational outreach and public programs, all of which are designed to bring the community in touch with Chester County's rich historical past. For more information, contact CCHS at (610) 692-4800; Web site (www.chestercohistorical.org).