by Ed Pfeiffer

Over the weekend of March 20 and 21, people arriving at the 32nd annual Wilton Historical Society Antiques Show could sense what the show would be like even as they drove up to the town's high school field house where the event was held. Two large parking lots near the front entrance were packed with cars, their license plates indicating that they came from at least six states. A larger parking field to the south of the building was about half full, and cars were arriving continually. Then there were the yellow school buses bringing in still more visitors from an off-site parking area.

The scene inside was no surprise. Throughout the two-day event there was a steady stream of people in the aisles exploring some 86 dealer exhibits on the first floor and another 13 booths on a balcony area where cafeteria food service was available.

Interviews with a cross section of dealers turned up generally very positive responses. Most of them have been doing the society's shows in Wilton for the eight or ten years since Marilyn Gould began serving as the society's staff director and its show manager. Most dealers said they also went to other shows that Gould stages in Wilton and elsewhere, sponsored by various nonprofit groups. The dealers gave Gould high marks as a show manager, noting her low-key style and genuine interest in their preferences and problems. They also applauded her continuing efforts to upgrade the Wilton show, citing, for example, the installation last year of attractive wall-to-wall carpeting in the large field house, a step they felt unified the exhibits and made for more comfortable walking for visitors.

As for actual sales during the show, a few dealers reported soft results, including one who said he was disappointed enough to not plan to come back. Several others said their sales were quite low, at least compared to what they had done at the show in previous years. Overall, though, those comments seemed to be the exception; most dealers seemed satisfied with their turnover. By Sunday afternoon, for example, Dennis Bakoledis of Rhinebeck, New York, and Pam Martine of Greenwich, Connecticut, said they had sold quite a few items for respectable totals, though they declined to give actual figures.

The first day had been a very good one for several other dealers. During the show's first two hours, Bert Savage of Larch Lodge, Center Strafford, New Hampshire, who specializes in rustic antiques and sporting collectibles, made about a half-dozen sales totaling just under $8000. Kim Washam of Heller Washam Antiques, Portland, Maine, reported over $20,000 in sales during the same period.

Probably the first big-ticket transaction was the tramp art armoire that Clifford Wallach, Art and Americana, New York City, sold to a decorator for about $20,000 in the show's opening few minutes. He then went on to sell at least a dozen other smaller items.

In a post-show interview, Marilyn Gould said total show attendance was 4500, up from last year's 4000 figure but slightly below the 4500 to 5000 level she had targeted. She added that sales of furniture had been modest, but all types of ceramics did very well, as did expensive smalls.

Clifford Wallach's booth attracted many visitors during the show, most of them interested in learning more about tramp art, a category that was generally unfamiliar to them. Wallach, who was exhibiting at Wilton for the first time, has an interesting background as a dealer. Until about a year ago, he explained, he was a furrier doing business in New York City. Tramp art was his collecting interest, and he wrote a book about it, Tramp Art: One Notch at a Time (Wallach-Irons Publishing, 1998). Irene Stella invited him to have a book signing at her 1998 Americana Pier Show, and she asked him to bring some examples of tramp art and put them up for sale. Wallach selected 16 pieces of what he considered the less notable examples from his personal collection. When all of them quickly sold, he recognized the growing interest in and the commercial potential of tramp art and decided to venture into it as a dealer.

Also apparently enjoying a resurgence in interest is a classic collecting category, antique samplers, according to Philadelphia dealer Amy Finkel, who specializes in them and had a large display of examples in the M. Finkel & Daughter booth. She said she is now receiving about three new inquiries a week from people who want to know more about samplers. Her firm mails a semiannual catalog to subscribers who pay $40 per year, and she said the three dozen or so cataloged samplers, including some in the $25,000 price range, sell out within a few days. Finkel credits much of the stepped-up interest in samplers to Betty Ring's two-volume book, Girlhood Embroidery: American Samplers & Pictorial Needlework, 1650-1850 (Knopf, 1993).

Conversations with dealers also turned up some interesting comments about current developments in the general antiques field. Asked what he thought were the most important things happening now, dealer Jim Hirsheimer of Erwinna, Pennsylvania, quickly noted the impact of the Internet and the influence of the Antiques Roadshow, which offers professional appraisals of antiques and collectibles on national television. Discussions with Hirsheimer and other dealers indicated surprisingly similar views about the two topics, with a mix of positive and negative opinions.

Nearly all the dealers said they had not yet seen any direct effect on their business from the Internet and were not involved in it, but several saw it as a way for dealers to broaden their geographic reach and attract customers they would be unlikely to gain through their shops or by participating in antiques shows. Many dealers said they thought the Internet may, in time, have a somewhat negative impact if buyers and sellers begin to make direct contacts and bypass the dealer channel. Most feel this possibility is more likely for what might be called "standardized" collectibles, such as books, figurines, and sports cards, but items such as furniture, where the prospective buyer usually prefers to touch and feel the object, will probably continue to be sold primarily through in-person dealer channels.

As for the Antiques Roadshow, dealers generally see it as having a double-edged influence. On the positive side, they say it has probably significantly broadened the general public's awareness of and involvement in antiques and collectibles. But most expressed concern that the show is creating unrealistic expectations about prices and a perception by viewers that almost any vintage item in the attic is of high value.

Richard McCarthy of Ballyhack Antiques, Cornwall, Connecticut, recalled a woman who, having seen a similar item on the Roadshow, asked him to buy a sugar bowl. It had been made in Japan and was crudely glued together. He said he declined to give her a price estimate because he was not interested in buying the bowl, but he felt that the Roadshow had produced an unrealistic impression for her about what the item was worth.

Dealer Gordon Converse of Strafford, Pennsylvania, who was exhibiting at Wilton and appears on the Antiques Roadshow to appraise clocks, added some other interesting information about it. Asked how items are selected for appraisal, how much advance notice he has of the selections, and whether he talks to the owners before they appear, he explained the process. As people stand in line waiting for appraisals, the show's producers pick items to be featured, usually about an hour before they and their owners are actually filmed. During that time, Converse said, he knows what items will come up and may be able to do some research about them, but he has no direct contact with the owners until the filming. The on-camera conversation and an owner's response to the appraisal are completely spontaneous and unrehearsed, he explained.

Appraisers are not compensated or reimbursed for expenses, and Converse estimates that it costs him about $7000 a year to participate. He feels it is money well spent and considers it a public relations investment that provides him personal recognition as a clock specialist, particularly because the shows are frequently rerun. He has also realized some traceable business, he added. As examples, he recalled two worthwhile clocks he had bought from people who offered them to him after seeing him on the show and two other situations where collectors who were looking for specialized clocks contacted him for assistance.

For information about Wilton Historical Society membership, museum programs, and events, including its antiques shows, contact it at (203) 762-7257.