The Weston Antiques Show
September 30th, 2017
Weston, Vermont
For the 56th time, the Weston Antiques Show opened its doors to dealers and collectors. The show, held September 29 and 30 with a gala preview on Thursday evening, September 28, was the kickoff for Antiques Week in Vermont, a slate of five shows in four days.
The Weston Playhouse, a Greek Revival building, hosts the show, and it’s a challenging location in which to hold an antiques show. There are nooks and crannies and upstairs offices/rooms that host dealers and that could easily be overlooked, if the show committee didn’t post a plethora of brightly colored yellow signs directing traffic to the dealers. The show is a benefit for the building—originally built as a church in 1827 and converted to a theater. It burned in 1962 and was rebuilt on the same property—which is owned by the Weston Community Association. According to the show’s website, over 85,000 attendees have enjoyed the show since its inception and over $1,000,000 has been raised for historic preservation.
The Weston Playhouse has an unusual layout to host an antiques show, but the show committee does a good job with a challenging environment.
What a creative way to fill an auditorium—Oriental rugs were draped over the chairs by Frandino Antique & Vintage Oriental Rugs, Walpole, New Hampshire.
Cochair of the show Robert Brandt said after the event, “I thought it was sensational, and particularly elegant. We had three new dealers, and I think they all presented themselves very well, as did our existing dealers.”
Brandt said he was doing door duty on Friday, a chilly day, opening the door for attendees. “As we were letting people in, we were also letting people out. We were taken aback by the number of people walking out carrying packages,” said Brandt. “As I said, if someone walks in with a ten dollar bill, that’s good for today. If they walk out with a package, that’s good for next year.”
“As we were supervising the pack-out on Sunday, some dealers who I suspected had not done terribly well said they had done very well. No one said they weren’t coming back, which is unusual. I expect a number of repeat dealers for next year.”
For $1100 you could own this late 18th-century cherry dish- and tilt-top table with a birdcage and robustly turned post, attributed to Theodosius Porter of northeastern Connecticut, offered by New England Home Antiques, Wethersfield, Connecticut. The pair of mid-18th-century Queen Anne side chairs was $1400, and the rustic bucket on top, serving as a vase, was $70.
Martin J. Ferrick of Lincolnville, Maine, asked $1895 for this two-drawer stand in tiger maple with an overhung top, cock-beaded drawer fronts, and scratch-beaded legs and skirt.
Henry T. Callan of East Sandwich, Massachusetts, asked $4695 for this Hopkinton, Massachusetts, needlework, dated 1822 and stitched by Mary Prentiss, aged 11. It was included at the Pilgrim Hall Museum 2014 exhibition Needlework Samplers: Wrought by Tradition.
Paintings dealer Donna Kmetz said in an e-mail: “The Weston show is one of my favorites and it remains quite special for its dedicated committee, enthusiastic supporters, unique setting, and beautiful presentation throughout the playhouse. This year worked out well for me—I had a focus on Vermont plein air paintings and they were well received. I was also fortunate to have some inquiries based on my mailing before the show, which resulted in sales.” Kmetz said she saved some works, including paintings by Bernard Corey, just for Weston and many sold.
Dealer and show promoter Debbie Turi of Roseland, New Jersey, had a successful show. “I think the gate was higher,” she said. “I did well. I’m happy. For me, this was significantly better than last year and comparable to two years ago, numbers wise. A lot of people I had never seen came through, and many had little name tags—they were most likely off a bus.” Tour buses stop in Weston at the famed Vermont Country Store, and some tourists found their way to the show during free time.
Wilmont “Bill” Schwind of Yarmouth, Maine, said, “It was a tough year this year at Weston…. I love the show and it has a great committee—it’s one of the few shows left that’s committee-run, and it’s also a benefit for a charity, but Weston faced a couple of things right off the bat. The dates were a little too early—it’s just the way the calendar falls. Because of that, there was absolutely no color.” The fall foliage was disappointing. “That’s part of the draw for people to come up to all the Vermont shows. I think the attendance was a little thin; the buying was tough, but luckily I had two follow-up sales that happened, and that put the show into the realm of acceptable.
The Bennington Pottery flint enamel pitcher and bowl, both marked 1849, were $2500 together from Charles and Barbara Adams of South Yarmouth, Massachusetts.
This large (32" x 60" x 26") Vermont sponge-painted grain bin from the early 1800s was $1500 from Black Feathers Antiques, Colebrook, New Hampshire. It has a molded base and ball feet. The leather-handled document box, black over red grain paint, with a brass plaque on the lid inscribed “A.A. Bridges, Craftsbury, VT USA,” was $59.
Camillo Adriani’s winter landscape, a 25" x 30" oil on canvas of a village with a church, was $4500 from Ester Gilbert Antiques, Southampton, Massachusetts. Adriani (1908-1990) was a member of the Rockport (Massachusetts) Art Association.
This wooden vent in original putty paint was from the early 1900s and $425 from Pioneer Folk Antiques, Ellsworth, Maine.
“It’s a great group of volunteers. They work very hard, and it’s not their fault,” Schwind added.
Marc Witus of Gladstone, New Jersey, doing his fourth Weston show, said, “I did fairly well—certainly better than last year. There were repeat customers and new customers. I thought the gate was strong on Friday but weak on Thursday evening. They [the show committee] treat us very well…. There was a tremendous amount of business done at Weston. A ton of furniture sold off the floor.” Witus sold a “good hooked rug, a great Aesthetic Movement stand with painted, glazed rooster tiles, and two pairs of wooden spills.”
For more information, check the website (www.westonantiquesshow.org).
This chestnut hanging corner cupboard with scalloped base is English, circa 1750, and was $3500 from The Red Horse Antiques.
Pair of HB Quimper décor riche vases, circa 1920, $1200 from The Red Horse Antiques, Bridgewater, Vermont.
This American blown, engraved glass compote, circa 1860, was $850 from W.M. Schwind, Jr. of Yarmouth, Maine.
This gilt copper cow weathervane from the late 19th century with applied sheet copper ears was $4800 from Willow Springs Perennial Antiques, Rexford, New York.
Originally published in the December 2017 issue of Maine Antique Digest. © 2017 Maine Antique Digest
