The Brandywine River Museum Antiques Show
September 10th, 2008
Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania
by Lita Solis-Cohen
For 37 years, everyone who has come to the Brandywine River Museum Antiques Show has marveled at its perfect setting. At what other show can a shopper see 31 dealers, a first-rate museum collection, and a special loan show—this year it was Beyond Content: Decorative Wooden Boxes—for the price of one ticket? In addition, the ambiance on the banks of the Brandywine is hard to beat.
The dealers who set up in the carriage shed in the courtyard enjoy the fresh air and the fact that the show begins at their stands. Dealers inside the museum on the ground floor, the second floor, and the third floor prefer the comfort of the air-conditioning. Many dealers return to the same stands year after year, and their customers know exactly where to find them.
The Brandywine antiques show is a community project with a huge staff of volunteers from the surrounding Pennsylvania and Delaware communities. All the dealers love the way the show committee wines and dines them, supplies fresh flowers from their gardens, and supports the show by buying antiques.
People also come from afar because they see the Brandywine River valley as a destination for a weekend getaway. There are charming bed-and-breakfasts and legendary restaurants, some of which are sponsors of the show.
"People come to the show and then go on to Winterthur, Longwood Gardens, and the other historic sites nearby," said Bob James, who took over the management of the show from Robert Armacost two years ago. "I talked to a couple from Ohio who drove here just for the show. Another couple said they drove up from Florida. I know they bought some Windsor chairs from the Brills," he continued.
James said the museum gave him a larger budget for national advertising this year, and he thinks that the ads brought some serious buyers to the show. "The museum looks upon the show as part of their membership drive. It brings people to the museum who then join and become involved in the activities," he explained.
On a gorgeous Memorial Day weekend, May 24-26, people came with a purpose. They shopped carefully, and they bought. The majority of the dealers said they enjoyed talking with avid collectors, and some said they had a good show. Bob James said one question on his dealers' survey was "Is it likely you will return?" and every dealer replied yes.
Six dealers were new to the show this year, all strong additions. Philip Dubey of Dubey's Art and Antiques, Baltimore, specialists in China trade porcelain, took James Galley's stand on the second floor when Galley became ill. Brass dealer Michael Whitman of Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, took the place of Trela Antiques on the third floor; Carol Trela has retired from show business. The Norwoods of Timonium, Maryland, specialists in samplers, theorems, and watercolors; Jane McClafferty of New Canaan, Connecticut, with Staffordshire figures and English 18th-century ceramics; Douglas Constant of Orient, New York, with formal American furniture and accessories; and Aileen Minor of Centreville, Maryland, with garden furniture and ornaments, were the new dealers outside in the courtyard. The new additions kept it a strong and varied show, one that is still affordable.
Manchester, New Hampshire, dealers Mark and Marjorie Allen, specialists in tin-glazed earthenware, brass, iron, and furniture, returned after a dozen years and set up a stunning stand on the ground floor. Mark Allen said he was glad he came and that business was good. The space became available when Thurston Nichols did not return.
Dealers said business was done every day. They sold weathervanes (two horses and a boat), three hitching posts, some silver, brass, and iron, English pottery, Dutch and English tin-glazed earthenware, American spongeware, and Chinese export porcelain. Useful furniture that sold included sets, pairs, and single examples of chairs: Windsors, Hitchcocks, painted fancy chairs, a ladder-back, and a wing chair. Tables also sold, including harvest tables, a trestle table, drop-leaf dining tables, a round table, and several stands. There was also serious interest in a highboy and a cupboard. Follow-up business is expected.
More people are apparently getting the message that furnishing with antiques is the green thing to do. In the Brandywine River valley, buying antiques has a long tradition.
For more information, contact the Brandywine River Museum at (610) 388-2700; Web site (www.brandywinemuseum.org).
© 2008 Maine Antique Digest
