The Round Lake Antiques Festival
September 28th, 2010
Ken Woodbury of Nipper’s Choice, Keene, New Hampshire, stands by his Art Case Victrola, priced at $1895.
Marilyn Mullen stands by a highly carved Victorian mahogany desk priced at $1095. |
Round Lake, New York
by Betty Flood
More than 10,000 people visited the 38th annual Round Lake Antiques Festival, which is sponsored by the Women's Round Lake Improvement Society to benefit the town's library. The 160 exhibitors had wares that ranged from lovely fine china, early primitives, silver, musical instruments, and Victrolas to signed bronze sculptures and vintage furniture, plus a few booths of collectibles and modern-day fare, according to show promoters Judy and Steve Allman.
The crowd was huge in the early hours of Saturday, June 26, and the buying was at a fever pitch until the annual Round Lake rainstorm in the afternoon, when the baby carriages and the people walking their dogs disappeared, as did the customers. Unfortunately, Sunday morning followed the same pattern of early rain and then blazing sunshine, but, amazingly, the buyers were back, and that's what counted for the dealers.
All shows are erratic, to say the least, particularly now with the economy the way it is, but by and large most of the dealers made their booth rent, paid their expenses, bought a few things on the field, and made a few dollars along the way.
Michael Goodman of Townshend, Vermont, said there was an initial burst of dealer buying on Saturday morning, but the rest of the day consisted of the "tilters, the ice cream eaters, and the baby carriages." Goodman said he tried to "dumb down" his prices a lot to see whether people were interested, and it did work for some things, such as a mechanical swaging device that crimps wire and had patent papers on it, a weight scoop, two silver-plated hand mirrors, a couple of brass vases, and a neat brass acorn nut cracker that sold for $35.
Goodman's complaint echoed that of several other dealers, in that the dealers are needed, but now there seems to be more shabby chic and collectibles. "The old-time dealers are older than I am, that's the problem. Who are they going to buy from in a few years?"
Marilyn and Duane Mullen of Grey Barn Antiques, Rome, New York, who deal mainly in oak, blamed the economy for the most part for the people not buying as they usually did. "I think the uncertainty is so bad that first of all, we did not see forty percent of the people that we normally see and who buy from us," said Duane. The Mullens did sell a china cabinet for $1125, a hall seat for $1195, and a commode for $295.
Bob and Stephanie O'Donoghue of O'Donoghue's Country Antiques, Ogdensburg, New York, had a great variety of primitives and did very well. They said they asked for a "better location," and the Allmans were happy to provide it. "We sold a blanket box for four hundred twenty-five dollars, a Mission rocker for four hundred twenty-five, a yellowware bowl for seventy, and a painted cow for one hundred ninety-five," said Bob. They also bought an iron force trimmer, some inlaid boxes, and some other smalls. "Out of eight shows we have done, this is the first one that is down a little bit."
The booth of O’Donoghue’s Antiques, Ogdensburg, New York. |
Ken Woodbury of Nipper's Choice, Keene, New Hampshire, sold a spool cabinet for $1000 to "a lady from Saratoga Springs. I had to be creative though, so we arranged monthly payments." He also sold a floor-model phonograph for $500. He said he was happy to be back after a year off and will be back next year.
Round Lake is always a pleasant show, and for the fifth year in a row the village had a Night of Illumination to celebrate the lighting of the village with kerosene lanterns 120 years ago. Opening ceremonies were held in the historic 1895 auditorium in the center of the village, concluding with the ringing of tower bells, signaling houses throughout the village to light hundreds of colorful porch lanterns at 9 p.m.
For more information, contact Allman Promotions at (315) 686-5789; Web site (www.allmanpromotions.com).
Originally published in the October 2010 issue of Maine Antique Digest. (c) 2010 Maine Antique Digest
