Chester County Historical Society's 33rd Show

April 22nd, 2015

Dutch Delft garniture, late 17th century, was $6000 from Mark Allen.

Christopher T. Rebollo Antiques, North Wales, Pennsylvania, offered this Chester County tall chest of drawers, 73" high x 42" wide x 21" deep, with the initials “M.P.” It is walnut with poplar and lightwood inlay, 1780-90, and has an unusual drawer arrangement and shell carving and initials. It is Pennsylvania furniture at its best and was priced at $17,500.

From left: iron fork with brass bands, $1500; brass spatula, $150; large skimmer, $950; small fork, $85; curling iron, $850, incised “a gift from a Friend”; brass and iron ladle; fork with brass inlaid diamonds, $2750; brass spoon, circa 1820, $175; large fork, $575; and the utensil rack, $1500; all from Paul DeCoste.

This English pearlware pitcher and bowl, with freely brushed design in blue, yellow, orange, and green, circa 1820, with a well-done repair, was $1200 from the Antique Store in Wayne, Wayne, Pennsylvania.

Margaret Johnson Sutor of Lafayette Hill, Pennsylvania, offered a collection of English pearlware decorated with birds poised for flight. The tankard was $2900; the rest ranged in price from $50 to $1700.

Bill Shaeffer of Shaeffer’s Antiques, Glyndon, Maryland, asked $1250 for the Vicar and Moses, an 1810-20 Staffordshire figure.

Malvern, Pennsylvania

For 33 years, Wesley Sessa, an antiques dealer and dealer in historical architectural materials, has produced an antiques show to benefit the Chester County Historical Society (CCHS). The show has moved its venue five times over the years, and for the last three years has settled into the field house of the Phelps School, a boys boarding school in Malvern, Pennsylvania.

The show has also changed its dates from mid-March in the old days to late April this year. The show moved its announced date from April 9-11 to April 24-26 at the request of the Philadelphia Antiques Show committee, and then the Philadelphia Antiques Show wascanceled. The late April dates coincided with the auctions at Pook & Pook that had already been scheduled, and Freeman’s Americana sale was on April 22, when CCHS show dealers were loading their vans.

The big debate at the show was whether the auctions took money away from the show or brought more buyers to the Philadelphia area who came to the show to shop. Friday’s sale at Pook & Pook was over in plenty of time for attendees to get to the CCHS preview party, and some did. Others who came from afar to attend the Miller auction on Saturday at Pook & Pook stayed over to shop the show on Sunday. Did the more than $3 million spent at the week’s three auctions affect buying at the show? It is hard to tell. Half the show dealers said they sold very well; the other half was divided between those who said business was OK and those who said they did not make expenses. One dealer said he sold more from his website over the weekend than at the show, but all in all it was a good week for Americana. The market seemed healthier.

Fourteen dealers who would have shown at the 55th Philadelphia Antiques Show (had it not been canceled) elected to show at the CCHS show this year. They were glad they did, and so were showgoers and the antiques show committee.

After the cold, snowy winter, people were ready for a party and ready to buy. There was a record crowd at the Friday evening preview party with its legendary oyster bar, and there was a steady stream of shoppers on Saturday and Sunday. They bought small decorative accessories and some big pieces of furniture.

Many dealers bring Chester County chests, Chester County clocks, Chester County samplers, Chester County quilts, Chester County redware, Chester County paintings, and Chester County maps. They know there is a knowledgeable group of buyers aware of local
history because for generations the Chester County Historical Society has made its first-rate collection available in educational exhibits.

Collectors from Philadelphia and the nearby Main Line are the mainstay of the show, but this year more collectors came from afar. On Sunday the illustrious dealers Joe Kindig and his daughter, Jenifer, came from York and Lancaster. Gary and Diana Stradling of New York City, who were at Pook & Pook’s sale on Saturday, were among the Sunday shoppers.

West Chester, Pennsylvania, dealer Skip Chalfant said selling was like the old days. He sold a Philadelphia high chest; a Philadelphia drop-leaf gate-leg table with bold turnings, circa 1740, with a later but old top; a pair of Queen Anne chairs; a Philadelphia candlestand; and more—all to retail customers. Jim Kilvington of James M. Kilvington Inc., Greenville, Delaware, said he had a good show, selling a Queen Anne side chair and another 18th-century Philadelphia side chair with a yoke-shaped back and trapezoidal seat, a map, paintings, and a stone carving. Stephen Shapiro of SAJE Americana, Short Hills, New Jersey, sold a set of Federal chairs, two chests of drawers, and a stand.

New Hampshire dealer Mark Allen had the best opening night ever at this show, selling brass and delft and English figural choppers, and he continued to sell all weekend long. Lederach, Pennsylvania, dealer Joseph J. Lodge sold a blanket chest, a four-drawer chest, small boxes, large bowls (painted ones and a burl one), and more.

Ron Bassin of A Bird in Hand Antiques, Florham Park, New Jersey, sold three weathervanes, three decoys, a pair of carved dolphins, a Grenfell rug, a painting, and a matchstick box. Rug dealer Holly Peters of Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, said local people were trying rugs. Collectors of creamware, pearlware, and transfer-printed china left with packages from half a dozen stands that specialize in ceramics. Dealers said the crowd seemed younger.

One collector went into H.L. Chalfant’s booth, hugged a highboy, and cried, “This is the one that got away!” It did get far away. Skip Chalfant, who had to send it to Michigan, said, “I haveowned this high chest for a long time. If I had sold ten years ago, it would have been $200,000; the price was less than half.” It seemed that the market correction has made it possible for some buyers to collect Americana again. Antiques of high quality, priced right, sold at this show.

For more information, see the website (www.chestercohistorical.org) or phone (610) 692-4800.

A New York painted and stenciled fancy chair was $1175 from Edward Rayeur of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Ruth Van Tassel of Van Tassel-Baumann American Antiques, Malvern, Pennsylvania, asked $5800 for Margaret Lee’s sampler, stitched with the name of her teacher, “Anna Cherington” of Exeter, Berks County, and it was offered together with Margaret Lee’s redware dish with her name on it. One collector said he bought three samplers from Van Tassel.

This ice bowl with polar bear handles was by Tiffany, circa 1870, when Alaska was the rage shortly after the U.S. bought it in 1867. It was $7900 from Spencer Marks, Southampton, Massachusetts.

This 1971 screenprint on linen by Gene Davis (1920-1985) was 139/150 from “Portfolio Series #1” and titled Tarzan. It was $5800 from Framont, Greenwich, Connecticut.

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