Donna Burk's Spring York Show
Karl H. Pass | August 6th, 2012
Richard Axtell of Deposit, New York, had an unusual Pennsylvania glazed redware fat lamp for $6500; a double-sided wooden butter print for $750; and a New England carved hickory busk board for $1150.
Jewett-Berdan Antiques, Newcastle, Maine, asked $4800 for this mounted, vibrantly colored hooked rug with a house and a floral border.
Ed and Anita Holden of Sherman, Connecticut, wanted $475 for the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, aqua globular bottle on the left. The other two were $425 each.
A miniature Pennsylvania pine doll cradle paint-decorated with yellow and green trim, with a house on the end, a soldier on one side, and a woman seemingly swatting a man over the head with a broom on the other side, was tagged $42,500 by Raccoon Creek Antiques. One rocker had some loss. |
York, Pennsylvania
by Karl H. Pass
May 18 and 19 marked the dates for Donna Burk's Greater York Antiques Show and Sale, held in its familiar Memorial Hall East home on the York Fairgrounds in York, Pennsylvania, with roughly 56 dealers. Some special items changed hands, and a moderate amount of business was conducted, yet not enough to please the majority of exhibiting dealers.
The show's loyal following came opening day, yet attendance was poor on the second day. A few dealers commented after the show that they had some follow-up business that pleasantly surprised them. All exhibitors polled stated that the gate was lacking.
At this point in the famous regional show's life span, a core number of dealers faithful to Donna Burk and family remain with the show. The show is a little more than half the size of the other semiannual show conducted on the fairgrounds.
In its 42nd year, the show remains a fund-raiser for the Y's Men's Club of the York Y.M.C.A. youth service programs. It was started in 1970 by Judge John Rauhauser, who recruited Jim Burk to manage it. In those early years the show's highs were high. Tremendous material surfaced and changed hands in abundance.
The roster of exhibiting dealers minus the dedicated core changes from show to show. The full-time dealers work incredibly hard to find what they feel confident they can sell and shy away from taking chances with material they doubt they can sell. "I think it is harder to find interesting things, let alone work on selling them," said one show dealer.
Some exhibitors were excited for the fall edition, and some stated they would finally be calling it quits, citing a lack of business conducted. "A couple of dealers who couldn't do the show this time have signed up for the fall," mentioned Donna Burk. So mark your calendars with the dates and come see what this show has to offer.
A rare and intriguing item that sold on the show floor was a walnut straightedge with sulphur inlay from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Dated 1805 and with the initials "LH," it was sold by Gene Rappaport of The Bar and Diamond. Local dealer Kelly Kinzle stated that he bought the sulphur-inlaid straightedge during the show from Rappaport.
Kinzle sold his John Drissel paint-decorated slide-lid box made for David Stauffer. Dated 1792, it is believed to be the earliest known example of Drissel's work. The box had been owned by Bucks County, Pennsylvania, collector J. David Miller for roughly 50 years until Alderfer Auction sold his collection in 2011. The box sold for $400 sometime in the 1960's at the Stover family farm sale in Upper Bucks County. At York, Kinzle reported also selling a pair of Windsor chairs and a good piece of stoneware, among other items.
Another gem of Pennsylvania folk art was a miniature pine paint-decorated doll cradle from Raccoon Creek Antiques. It had yellow and green trim and a Federal house rendered on the end panel. On one side was a soldier and exploding cannon, while the other side depicted a scene with a woman swatting with a broom a man wearing a top hat.
The cradle was once in the collection of William Koch of Milton, Pennsylvania. His son Fred used to be a Burk show dealer. Pook & Pook, Inc. held the Koch sale 13 years ago and achieved a gross total of over $4 million. It was considered a high-water mark of sorts for antiques, setting numerous record prices that still hold.
The fall show will take place Friday and Saturday, October 26 and 27. For more information, contact Donna Burk at (717) 872-2778 or her son Jeff Burk at (717) 723-0045; Web site (www.jimburkantiqueshows.net).
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Stephen-Douglas Antiques, Rockingham, Vermont, had these folding duck decoys reading "J.W. Reynolds/ patentee/ Chicago, USA" for $260 each.
The Alexander Pope Jr. (1849-1924) painting was $33,500 from New Oxford, Pennsylvania, dealer Kelly Kinzle. He priced the Compass Artist paint-decorated chest in red ground, dated 1794, at $69,000. The John Drissel slide-lid box on top of the chest, dated 1792, was made for David Stauffer and sold. It was the earliest known example of Drissel's work, according to Kinzle.
The southeastern Pennsylvania walnut hanging cupboard with drawer was $1975 from Lederach, Pennsylvania, dealer Joseph Lodge. The sheet iron Black Hawk weathervane in old green paint was $1550, and the walnut hanging box was $975.
James Emele of Dublin, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, asked $4250 for the Pennsylvania Dutch cupboard in old salmon paint and $850 for the stoneware crock.Originally published in the August 2012 issue of Maine Antique Digest. © 2012 Maine Antique Digest
