The Oglebay Institute's 61st Annual Antiques Show & Sale
April 12th, 2015
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Rick Fleshman of Fleshman’s Antiques leans on an Empire tiger and burl maple server featuring its original swirl glass handles. It was priced at $2150.
Langhorne, Pennsylvania, dealer Linda Grier, who offered formal and primitive country items, put this pair of 19th-century settle benches with mortised construction smack in the middle of her dealer space. The show price for this set was $850, and the large buttocks basket was $295.
Because Wilson Lodge could accommodate larger items, pieces such as this 7' long table ($1400) and oversize wooden box ($250) were easy to display for Jill Taber of Hancock House, Findlay, Ohio.
Tom Heisey of Newark, Ohio, stands next to the family portrait of George Duncan of Duncan glass fame. Having passed through Heisey’s family, the portrait was offered at $13,500.
Joseph Weaver of Catskill Antiques stands by his booth’s extensive display of early iron. The andirons with adjustable skewer rests were $395, while the two-tier toaster could be purchased for $625.
Sorisio’s Antiques of Leechburg, Pennsylvania, offered a booth filled with American furniture and accessories. The Pennsylvania plank-bottom chairs ($1495) had an interesting design of oranges on each rail. The pine table with a three-board top was $1400. A Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, jelly cupboard in old graining over red, with two drawers over two doors and a backsplash, was priced at $3200. Other items in this dealer’s display included a copper horse weathervane for $695; a Tree of Life quilt, red on a white background, for $1250; and a wood “PLOWS” sign for $350.
This 7½" high x 15" wide burl bowl of possibly northeastern Native American origin featured cutout handles and its original finish. White & White Antiques & Interiors, Skaneateles, New York, priced it at $4850 and asked $1150 for the large ash burl scoop. Dealer Stephen White said he really enjoyed participating in the show this year.
John Cooper of Wilmington, North Carolina, always fills his dealer space with color. This tabletop rug featuring a basket of flowers, including red roses and a yellow pansy, had been found in the Shenandoah Valley region. It came out of a Mennonite’s home, according to Cooper, who priced it at $495. The pipe box with two inverted heart cutouts was a Winchester, Virginia, find and cost $595. |
Wheeling, West Virginia
For 80 years, the Mansion Museum Committee of the Oglebay Institute in Wheeling, West Virginia, has made it its mission to promote and preserve the Neoclassical style mansion that resides at Oglebay Resort. The Mansion Museum features “12 period rooms which focus on Wheeling’s pioneer settlement through the opulent Victorian era,” according to Oglebay literature. Showcased there is the permanent collection of furniture, china, pewter, paintings, and portraits that depict the lifestyle of the Ohio Valley residents from 1790 to 1890.
And to properly promote and preserve the mansion, it takes cash. Many years ago, the museum committee hosted an antiques show to raise funds to do just that. It started out small but has continued to thrive. This year’s edition of the Oglebay Institute’s annual antiques show and sale, held April 11 and 12, proved that success does indeed breed success.
This 61st edition was simply stellar.
About eight new dealers participated this year, bringing the total number of displays to 55. Show promoter Peter W. Chillingworth of Scenery Hill, Pennsylvania, has been in charge of this annual fund-raiser since 2000. This show is not only the largest but also the longest-running antiques show in West Virginia.
The event was again held at the Oglebay Resort’s Wilson Lodge, a beautiful structure very well suited to host a show of this size. Large door openings, high ceilings, and a variety of rooms throughout two floors meant that the dealers had sizable space for their booth displays and the buyers could move around.
The antiques were, indeed, the main attractions, as can be seen by the images presented here, but the 2015 show committee, cochaired by Paula McClure and Stella Boldrick, went above and beyond the promise of treasures waiting to be found and offered show attendees dealer booth talks, tours, raffles, and even desserts to draw potential buyers of all ages to the event.
The show started off on Friday, April 10, with a cocktail party and dinner at 6 p.m. and a dessert preview of the show from 7 to 10 p.m. Lots of great food and an open bar awaited show patrons at the Oglebay Glass Museum, located in the Carriage House Glass Center, where tables were set up throughout the museum. Patrons ate, drank, and roamed about the museum’s 3000 examples of historic glass made in Wheeling from 1820 to 1939.
Limos then drove the patrons to Wilson Lodge, about a mile away, where their first peek at the antiques for sale included three large tables stacked with an extensive display of cakes, cookies, pies, and candy. The preview was packed.
On Saturday, the show and museum committees enticed buyers to their event with three other attractions that helped showcase the wonderful items on display. Holly McCluskey, the curator of glass at the Mus-
eums of Oglebay Institute, took those interested on an hour-long tour of the antiques show, highlighting the many types of glass available for purchase.
Later in the afternoon were three dealer booth talks. Jim Emele of Emele’s Antiques, Dublin, Pennsylvania, talked about eastern Pennsylvania furniture; Paul Fischer and Dannie Chandler of Indianapolis, Indiana, spoke about miniature furniture and salesmen’s samples; and Carlese Westock of Woodland Park, New Jersey, held forth on cut and engraved glass.
The committees also took the initiative to include a special event for children. An hour-long children’s tour of the show was headed up by Holly McCluskey. Though the tour was limited to ten participants, McCluskey’s goal was to introduce children to the concepts of antiques and collecting.
Perfect.
I would bet the kids loved what Paul Fischer and Dannie Chandler included in their dealer display. Everything from children’s tea sets and wash sets to miniature furniture was available. A child’s corner chair that predated 1860 and still had its original paper label under the seat was priced at $1250; painted black and with crane and lotus flower decoration, it was eye-catching. Also a standout in their booth was an early children’s toy buggy complete with carriage lamps; it was available for $3500.
Stephen and Beverly White of White & White Antiques & Interiors, Skaneateles, New York, offered a spectacular 1780-1800 burl maple bowl with cutout handles for $4850. It had no sign of an applied finish, measured 7½" x 15", and was thought to be northeastern Native American.
Also in the Whites’ space was a hard-to-find small-size Chippendale mahogany blockfront chest priced at $16,950. According to Stephen, this 1750-80 piece is illustrated in Albert Sack’s legendary “good, better, best” book, Fine Points of American Furniture: Early American.
“It was a delightful event,” stated Stephen White. “We did not have our best show, but I always like to set up at an event two or three times before really critiquing it. I do see potential there for us, and we were treated beautifully.
“We are a little more ‘high style’ and a little less country, but there were some wonderful things for sale, and the variety was huge,” White said. “And it was like ‘old home week’ for me. I saw dealers at Oglebay that I hadn't seen in quite a while, which was so nice.”
Numerous smalls were abundant throughout the show. A colorful group of glass tulips, each with a fiberglass leaf, could be had from Jerry Laitinen and Jerry Easterla of Jerrys’ Antiques, Davenport, Iowa. They priced these circa 1900 tulips between $55 and $75, depending on size. The bent tulips are the hardest to find and the priciest. Having been in the business for more than 30 years, the pair specializes in Heisey and pattern glass, as well as other Victorian items.
Large pieces of furniture are the norm at this event, probably because the venue is so accommodating. Rick Fleshman of Fleshman’s Antiques, New Market, Maryland, had an entire room off the back hall, filled with large
furniture items. Included was an American Sheraton period tiger maple and cherry two-piece corner cupboard priced at $6850. It stood 7'7" high, required a 37" corner, and was gorgeous.
An American Empire chest in bird’s-eye and tiger maple, as well as mahogany and cherry, was available for $1950, while an Empire tiger and burl maple chest having its original handles was $2150. A walnut two-over-three-drawer chest of the Federal period was $2350, and a rosewood tabletop china cabinet with ripple carving was $495.
Fleshman said after the show, “To put it simply, the show went very well for me, and I think overall everyone was happy. It is a fun show to do, and the people at Oglebay take such great care of the dealers, which is extremely appreciated.”
The dealer space of Tom Brown of McMurray, Pennsylvania, is always a joy to peruse. Brown had a number of unique items, including a large Dalmatian that once greeted children as they entered the iconic Pennsylvania playground Kennywood Park. This circa 1950 canine was marked $1200 and sold at Friday night’s preview, as did a 1920s pond model boat made of mahogany and featuring great detail work. Still available from Brown were a circa 1760 Pennsylvania walnut and pine desk-on-frame having a fitted interior with several drawers and slides ($6500) and a circa 1790 Pennsylvania hoop-back Windsor armchair made of mixed woods ($1400).
“I had a good show,” Brown said. “The crowds were decent, especially Friday night and Saturday, and Peter Chillingworth, the show manager, once again put together a great list of dealers for the event. He does an excellent job of bringing in a great mix of dealers that keeps the show interesting.”
Artwork, too, was in abundance, but none as important as what was offered by Tom Heisey of Newark, Ohio. Heisey had a family portrait, not beautiful by any means (well, maybe to his mother), of George Duncan, the founder of Duncan glassworks. “This is the first time this portrait has been offered for sale,” Heisey explained. “It has been passed down through and has never been out of our family.” Yes, he said “our.”
It seems that George Duncan’s daughter Susan married Augustus H. Heisey, the founder of Heisey glass. A.H. had worked for George Duncan & Son, which then became the Duncan & Miller Glass Company, Washington, Pennsylvania. When that factory was destroyed by fire, it allowed the company to sever its association with a glass trust headed by the United States Glass Company. At that time, son-in-law Augustus Heisey left Duncan & Miller to begin the A.H. Heisey Glass Company, Newark, Ohio.
And being that Tom is a Heisey, well, you see where this is going. The portrait was thought to date from 1845 to 1850 and was still in its original frame. Heisey hoped that the Duncan & Miller Glass Museum would purchase the portrait, but at the show it could have been bought for $13,500.
This was what made the Oglebay show a blast to attend. Around every corner a great discovery was waiting to be found. For more information, contact the Museums of Oglebay Institute at (304) 242-7272; website (www.oionline.com).
Originally published in the July 2015 issue of Maine Antique Digest. © 2015 Maine Antique Digest
