Fine Fall Weekend at Fishersville
October 15th, 2017
Shenandoah Antiques Expo, Fishersville, Virginia
The 61st edition of the Shenandoah Antiques Expo was held October 13-15 at the Augusta Expoland in Fishersville, Virginia. The Fishersville show is organized and managed by Heritage Promotions.
Fishersville is always a good show and a fun experience. Historically, dealers offer a full spectrum of fine and folk art, traditional antiques, collectibles, and unusual stuff. This edition continued that tradition. Speaking for Heritage Promotions via e-mail following the show, Raymond Stokes stated that the weekend was one of the best shows in recent memory. Attendance topped 4000, and those who came were in the mood to buy. That was confirmed in the conversations that I had with a number of dealers, many of whom were encouraged by the sale of larger pieces of case furniture.
Marlene Roeder of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, trades as Funk & Junk, Inc. On this table she arranged a group of yellowware food molds, each $40. The patterns include a swirl, ears of corn, and a cluster of grapes. The fabric-covered cheese basket was marked $25 and the copper saucepan, $45. The set of vesica piscis-shaped nesting pastry cutters was tagged $40.
This food safe from Halifax County, Virginia, dates circa 1850. It was in the booth of Burt Long Antiques, New Market, Virginia. The safe appears to have an undisturbed surface and features four punched-tin door panels and a nicely scalloped skirt. The price was $2400. The Pilot Knob Coffee tins were marked $475; the Turkey Brand tin was $495.
Burt Long Antiques offered this single-drawer desk, second half of the 19th century, thought to be the work of Lexington, Virginia, cabinetmaker Andrew Varner. The desk is constructed of walnut and poplar and features a distinctive turning on the lower legs known as a “Varner cuff.” Andrew Varner was a Confederate veteran who continued his distinctive cabinetmaking career even after losing one arm in the war. The table was tagged $575. The Sauer’s Flavoring Extracts counter display case was $1150.
Glenn Wilson said that he found this small dovetailed chest in Pennsylvania. The front panel is decorated with floral images, initials “B O I S,” and the date “1832.” The box features an internal till, large strap hinges, and a hasp. It is constructed entirely of oak and has a slightly curved top. Wilson trades as Olde Log and Stone, LLC, Raphine, Virginia. The chest was priced at $275.
Although we live in an antiques and collectibles world that is rapidly changing, Fishersville does seem to remain one of the few constants. From show to show there are always some changes in the sorts of items that dealers offer. Nowadays booths are arranged with fewer pieces of large case furniture and with more emphasis on smalls. Folk art is always a good seller. The country and primitives categories seem to ride the roller coaster of design popularity. Fine art is a mainstay; tools always seem to do well.
The aspect that remains most heartening is that even with the expansion of online salesrooms and the dramatic growth and proliferation of 24/7 point-and-bid auctions, there is no cyber substitute for the live and in-person experience of a show. Very few settings provide the ability to handle and physically examine one’s prospective purchase along with the interactions among patrons and dealers. Those attributes continue to bring back the crowds to Fishersville.
For additional information, contact Heritage Promotions at (434) 846-7452 or at (www.heritagepromotions.net).
Richmond, Virginia-area dealer John Knight displayed this pair of boldly figured tiger maple side chairs. It appears that the chairs were constructed using only a drawknife. There are no turnings on either chair; all of the components, including the stretchers and seat rails, are octagonal. The legs are finished with peg-shape feet, also octagonal. The seats are woven and show some repaired sections. The chairs seemed well priced at $295. Knight stated that he sold a very nice walnut corner cupboard early on Friday.
This table of fire tools was found in the booth of Ramsey Restoration, Inc., Wingina, Virginia. The various tongs, shovels, and pokers ranged in price from $50 to $125. The pairs of brass andirons were marked $350 and $375.
George, Carol, and Robert Meekins of Country Treasures, Preston, Maryland, displayed the range of their offerings. The large oil on canvas scene, depicting a hunter and his dog among corn shocks, is Pennsylvania in origin and was $1450. The smaller oil on canvas landscapes were $250 and $450. The open wall box from Virginia was $850. The paint-decorated saltbox-form wall box was priced at $550. The colorful fireback was $375; the Windsor armchair was $1250; and the various decoys ranged from $350 to $675 each.
This nicely dovetailed bucket bench displays various examples of the earthenware offered by Siobhan Tack of Carry Me Back, Clifton, Virginia. The crocks, jugs, and storage jars ranged in price from $75 to $425. The hogscraper-style candlesticks were marked $225. The bench itself was tagged $525.
Rick Fleshman of Fleshman’s Antiques, New Market, Maryland, is a regular at Fishersville and always offers a fine array of case furniture. This grouping was arranged on the side wall of his booth. The Currier & Ives print, Home Sweet Home, in a very fine tiger maple frame, was priced at $325. The mirror was $125. The mahogany four-drawer miniature dresser from New England was $1250. The two-drawer jelly cupboard, constructed of walnut, features a nice gallery and was $1250.
It wouldn’t be Fishersville without Tom Thornton of Oxford, North Carolina. Thornton allowed that by midday Saturday he had declared his weekend a success. Among the items still in search of a new home were a gilt-trimmed mirror, $285; several cut-paper silhouettes, $150 each; and a pair of reverse-painted silhouette portraits, $235.
This sign in the booth of John Cooper Antiques and Folk Art, Wilmington, North Carolina, was perhaps subliminally suggestive to those who approached. The farm stand sign was priced at $250. The painted pantry boxes, arranged in stacks and ready for picking, were $175 to $395. The wooden mortar and pestle was $695. The bail-handle bucket was $135. The roof of the small handmade Noah’s ark lifts off. Inside are numerous tiny carved animal figures. It was marked $395. The 60" wide mid-19th-century 24-drawer apothecary was priced at $2395.
The 19th-century large folky oil on canvas was labeled as depicting a farm scene in the White Mountains of New Hampshire and was $1550. The 18th-century lidded two-drawer wall box features a heart cutout and is attributed to Virginia. It was tagged $2450. The 12-drawer spice box was $875, and the paint-decorated hanging lift-top candle box was $1800. The circa 1810 walnut sugar chest from Kentucky features a lift-off lid with breadboard ends, is raised on tapered square-section legs, and was priced at $2800. This fine group of Americana pieces was in the booth of Sharon and Claude Baker of Daytona Beach, Florida.
Originally published in the December 2017 issue of Maine Antique Digest. © 2017 Maine Antique Digest
