The Sixth Annapolis Antiques Show

January 8th, 2017

Annapolis, Maryland

The sixth Annapolis Antiques Show was held January 7 and 8 at the Byzantium, an events center in Annapolis, Maryland. Thirty-nine dealers offering an excellent selection of antiques, fine art, collectibles, and curiosities set up in the multipurpose venue on the grounds of Sts. Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church. The Annapolis show is produced by Dordy Fontinel Show Management, Inc.

The weekend was forecast to begin as a snow event, and while that did not materialize as particularly significant, Saturday’s gate was off from 2016. Dordy Fontinel said that in spite of the iffy weather, 300 patrons did attend on Saturday, and several dealers reported excellent sales to local buyers who braved the blustery day. Robert M. Quilter of Baltimore sold a set of eight chairs (four period and four early quality reproductions) to a local buyer. Quilter’s day continued when he was able to place red “sold” tags on a nice oil on canvas and a mahogany drop-leaf table.

Rudolf Stumpf of Lambertville, New Jersey, offered this interesting and colorful engraved plate from William Frederic Martyn’s A New Dictionary of Natural History; or, Compleat Universal Display of Animated Nature. With Accurate Representations of the Most Curious and Beautiful Animals…. This hand-colored engraving is plate XIV from that set and was published in London 1785-87. The curious aspect of this leaf is how the author arrived at the grouping of an American bison with three varieties of birds of paradise and a small bittern. A close look reveals that the bison appears puzzled as well. The leaf is framed and has some damp staining at the top margin. It was marked $95.

Sunday was sunny but windy and very cold. The sunshine brought out the patrons, and attendance was excellent. Fontinel did not offer attendance figures for the entire weekend, but I did notice a significant increase in foot traffic over my Sunday visit last year. By all accounts, attendance did result in increased sales. As is always the case, some dealers fared better than others, but as a whole, those who commented were pleasantly surprised by the strong “buyer’s mentality” that seemed to inhabit the hall.

Michael Gunselman is from Wilmington, Delaware, and trades under his own name. In addition to displaying more traditional antiques offerings, Gunselman routinely displays an array of various pieces and parts ready for today’s decorator market of repurposed items. Here are several items poised to become something other than their original intended design. The carpenter’s toolbox may find new life as a coffee table. It was tagged $250. The painted steel clock faces may find their way into a picture frame or a wall collage. They were $25 each. The convex mirror may enjoy a more conventional use. It was marked $125. The hard rubber tire buggy wheels were not tagged.

Rockford Toews is the proprietor of Back Creek Books, located in the old town section of Annapolis, Maryland. His booth featured a wide range of books and associated antiques and ephemera. The titles of the books shown here suggested that they may have come from Back Creek’s “social consciousness” section. Included are Thirty Years in the Harem, Women under Socialism, In the Land of Head Hunters, Street Arabs and Gutter Snipes, and Indian Hemp / A Social Menace. Toss in a copy of H.L. Mencken’s The Philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche, and the not-so-casual reading list is complete. These volumes shown ranged in price from $100 to $250.

After the show, Fontinel commented in an e-mail: “I really appreciate the loyalty and enthusiasm of my customers.” Fontinel has managed the longstanding show for six years, and she has confidence in the viability of the Annapolis market. That confidence was demonstrated as she announced that her firm is adding a second Annapolis show to its schedule. The new event will be held in the summer. The first Annapolis summer sale will be held the weekend of June 24 and 25, and it will also be held at the Byzantium.

For additional information, contact Dordy Fontinel Show Management at (434) 361-1770 or see the website (www.dfshows.com).

John and Elaine Engstrom of Newark, Delaware, call themselves the Old Packrats. The bicorn hat and its original wooden case were once the property of Captain O.W. Brinton of Britain’s famed 21st Lancers cavalry. As a second lieutenant, Brinton served in the Sudan during the Mahdist War at the Battle of Omdurman. He is mentioned by name in Winston Churchill’s book The River War. Captain Brinton’s bicorn with its engraved box and his epaulettes in their original box were offered as a group for $1195. The Civil War-era epaulettes on the second shelf were marked $595.

Other headgear-related items offered by the Old Packrats consisted of a judge’s metal wig box and stand, $395, and a small beaver or sealskin top hat in a leather case, $250. The case is inscribed “British and North American Royal Mail Steam Packet Company.” Over time, that firm became part of the Cunard Lines. The countertop tobacco packet display tins are $295 and $395, left to right; and the red-vested and top-hat-wearing fabric duck toy was marked $55.

Charles and Phyllis Suhr of Suhrprise Shop Antiques, Annapolis, are regulars at the Annapolis show. Here they displayed a pyramid of cast-iron doorstops. All of the stops date from the late 19th and early 20th centuries and appear to retain their original surfaces. The lone non-doorstop is the sheet steel Scottie dog-form boot scraper on the bottom shelf. These examples of early metalware ranged in price from $100 to $250.

Jim Nagy and Linda Erbs of Waterford, Virginia, trade as Nuance of Old. The drop-leaf table or sewing stand is constructed of mahogany, with pine and poplar secondary woods. The stand dates circa 1820 and features two cockbeaded drawers, the faces of which are from a single section of crotch mahogany. The legs are turned, with deep reeding. The little table was priced at $425. The three-gallon stoneware crock features brushed cobalt floral designs on the body and as accent on the handles. It is by the well-known German-born Baltimore potter Peter Herrmann and circa 1875. The crock was tagged $565.

Benjamin and Linda Scherer of Blue Lion Antiques, Williamsburg, Virginia, specialize in Americana, primitives, and tools. The inlaid checkerboard was marked $275; the circa 1750 mortar and pestle, along with a wooden wall rack, $395; the wall-mounted clockwork shop bell, $185; and the hand-painted “Welcome” sign, $75. The cottage style two-over-two-drawer chest is from North Carolina and was marked $395. The turned pedestal-form curly maple master salt was tagged $95; the keg-style three-spool thread holder, $175; the small two-drawer cabinet, $145; and the early 20th-century papier-mâché cow-form pull toy, $475.

Barbara Rew and Gary Manlove frequently share a booth. They did so again at the Annapolis show. Rew is from Lewes, Delaware, and trades under her own name. Manlove trades as Manlove’s Choice and is from Greenwood, Delaware. The cast-iron fire insurance mark features the cast initials “F A” (Fire Association of Philadelphia) and was tagged $325. The food mold was marked $165; the double burner whale oil finger lamp, $250; the fan-shape fragment hand mirror, $225; and the five-drawer child’s chest, $375. The mahogany and yellow pine miniature three-drawer chest features brass pulls and inlaid banding on the drawer faces. It was marked $750. The mahogany server is thought to be from Baltimore. Its secondary woods are yellow pine and poplar. The server was marked $1600.

Originally published in the March 2017 issue of Maine Antique Digest. © 2017 Maine Antique Digest