Dayton, Ohio
The summer edition of the Back to Our Roots Antique Show, held June 8 in Dayton, Ohio, was largely the same solid show as always. And yet, it wasn’t.
Three-tier bucket/crock bench with a blue, green, and red paint history, 29¾" high x 48" wide, $749; stoneware, $295 to $495 each; and candle lanterns, $149 to $329 each from Jamie Brunt of Cornfield Primitives, Millbury, Ohio. Jamie and her husband, Ty, stand in the background.
Promoter Jamie Brunt brought 42 dealers to the Montgomery County Fairgrounds for a show where country antiques and Americana are the mainstay. Nothing new there. A longtime antiques dealer with a single-owner shop, Cornfield Primitives in Millbury, Ohio, and a regular at shows across the Midwest, Brunt has long been an ambassador for the antiques trade.
However, a health problem led to her having open-heart surgery five weeks before Back to Our Roots was held. “It puts things in perspective for you,” said Brunt. First, it was a reminder that antiques are just things. As she succinctly noted, “It’s just stuff. Do I love it? Yeah, but it’s just stuff.” Second, the surgery spawned a showing of genuine care on the part of her customers and fellow dealers. “There are so many fabulous people in this business,” she said from the floor of Back to Our Roots, where the required muscle of the day fell to her husband, Ty, as well as to dealers who were eager to help.
Blue and white jacquard coverlet with “Liberty” border and shield-breasted eagles, floral medallions at the center, one corner block lettered “Presented. By. A.G / Millstone. NJ. 1855 / I.W.V.D,” the other corner block similar but beginning with “C.V.P. Sparling,” $165, sold during the show by Louise Swihart of Pine Canyon Antiques, Angola, Indiana.
The show drew a large crowd that bought early and often. Sales frequently had a common trait: desirable merchandise at reasonable prices. One example was a blue and white jacquard coverlet with a border of shield-breasted eagles under the word “Liberty.” A corner block identified the textile as having been woven in 1855 in Millstone, New Jersey. In great condition and priced at $165 by Louise Swihart of Pine Canyon Antiques, Angola, Indiana, the coverlet quickly sold.
Blue and white jacquard coverlet with a bird border and unusual geometric field, the corner block lettered “1835 / Ohio,” $295 from Linda Pastori of Urbana, Ohio.
Good textiles were in abundance. Other coverlets included a blue and white jacquard example with a corner block boldly lettered “1835 / Ohio” and having a bird border and unusual geometric field. It was priced at $295 by Linda Pastori of Urbana, Ohio.
Hooked rug featuring 13 cats in various poses, the center feline with white fur and blue eyes, scattered damage, 36" x 54", $385 from Jeremy Long of 614Primitives, Stockbridge, Michigan.
Cat hooked rug, 26" x 50½", $425 from Karen Bowes of Barnbrowndoor Antiques, Fredericktown, Ohio.
Hooked rugs were also well represented, with one standout example offered by Jeremy Long of 614Primitives, Stockbridge, Michigan. Measuring 36" x 54", the rug depicted 13 cats in various poses. Having some condition problems, it was tagged $385. The rug was a fitting piece for Long, who has a three-year-old calico feline named Cake, which is periodically featured on his Facebook page. “I feel like she has the soul of an antique dealer,” he said.
Shallow, one-door, paint-decorated cupboard on bootjack feet, lined with newspapers, the interior of one board with an ink stamp “From C.D. Price & Co.,” with signs of earlier hinges, 71¾" high x 37½" wide x 9 7/8" deep, $425 from Kathy and Ed Brandle of Antiques at the Old Brick Church, Findlay, Ohio. The earliest newspaper is an 1864 edition of The Sun from Baltimore.
Furniture had a good showing, as evidenced by an ever-changing selection of sold items corralled near a garage door and waiting to be retrieved by their new owners. Still available halfway through the show was a shallow, one-door, grain-painted cupboard on bootjack feet, the interior lined with early newspapers, including an 1864 edition of The Sun from Baltimore. Measuring 71¾" high x 37½" wide x 9 7/8" deep, it was tagged $425 by Kathy and Ed Brandle of Antiques at the Old Brick Church, Findlay, Ohio.
Large platform donkey, papier-mâché, with a nodding head, 27½" high, sold during the show; Uncle Sam outfit with red and white striped pants and a star-studded coat, a cummerbund and top hat also included, $425; turn-of-the-19th-century doll dress in red and white checked fabric, $155; and an early Mennonite stuffed elephant toy, 14" long, $635, all from Leisa Kirtley of The Western Reserve Antique Shop, Canfield, Ohio.
Folk portrait by Pedro Coe Hudgens labeled “Booker. T. Washigton [sic]. The. Great,” dated 1948, carved and painted wood, 11¼" x 10", $395 from Judson and Karen Fults of Signature Antiques N Art, Lakeview, Ohio.
Americana and items with a folky touch mixed well with the primitives in the show and included a large platform donkey, standing 27½" high, made of papier-mâché and having a nodding head. It was sold early during the show by Leisa Kirtley of The Western Reserve Antique Shop, Canfield, Ohio. A carved and painted wood plaque by Pedro Coe Hudgens with a bust labeled “Booker. T. Washigton [sic]. The. Great,” dated 1948 and measuring 11¼" x 10", was $395 from Judson and Karen Fults of Signature Antiques N Art, Lakeview, Ohio.
Back to Our Roots Antique Show is held each June and September. For more information, phone Brunt at (419) 787-4895 or see (www.facebook.com/backtoourrootsantiqueshow).
Duplex birdhouse in the form of a church, in white paint, the windows in dark wood, 23" high overall x 21" wide x 12¼" deep, $425 from Kent and Cheryl Williams of Pickerington, Ohio.
Handled carrier in green paint, with two lids, each side of the interior divided, the base with feet, 7½" high overall x 24½" wide x 12¾" deep, $129 from Erick and Lizabeth Grossl of Make Do, Maineville, Ohio.
Bin in putty paint, with a hinged lid and cutout feet, 29¾" high x 52" wide x 19¼" deep, $950; wooden trencher with handles, early repairs, 24¾" x 12¾", $850; and turned wooden bowl in red paint, 15¾" diameter, $450 from Matt Ehresman of Wadsworth, Ohio.
World War II homing pigeon carrier, 9½" high (excluding handle) x 20½" wide x 12" deep, $95 from Donna J. Downes of Connecticut Yankee Antiques, Berkley, Michigan.
Large footed basket with a hinged wooden lid, red paint, thought to be a wool basket, 22" high x 32" wide x 24" deep, $689; and two-gallon stoneware jug by Bangor Stoneware of Bangor, Maine, $189 from David and Teresa Hunt of Primitives on the Prairie, Heyworth, Illinois.
Sawbuck table in blue paint, 26" high x 24" wide x 20½" deep, sold during the first minute of the show; yellow folding chairs in mustard paint, $37.50 the pair; game board in yellow and blue paint with a black border, $275; and a hogscraper candlestick, $65 from David and Dottye Shepherd of Black Sheep Antiques, Charleston, Illinois.
Cobalt-decorated salt-glazed stoneware crocks made in Greensboro, Pennsylvania: three-gallon Jas. Hamilton & Co., $560; six-gallon Hamilton & Jones, $720; three-gallon Hamilton & Jones, $585; and one-and-a-half-gallon James Hamilton & Co., $700 from Laura Kassebaum of Southern Mercantile at Moonshine Ridge, Forsyth, Missouri.
Oval pantry boxes from a Vermont collection: brown paint, 5" wide, $450; blue paint, with an old leather patch, the lid with a carved slot, 5¼" wide, $395; and green paint, the lid lettered “B-Sp_ague,” 63/8" wide, $495; and a marble desktop accessory with a recessed top, lettered “K.C.E. / 1873,” 3 3/8" high x 5" wide, $165, all from Harry J. Hall of H. J. Hall Antiques, Springboro, Ohio.
Punched-tin cheese mold, with stars, hearts, tulips, four-leaf clovers, and smiling suns, 13 5/8" diameter, $595 from Mary de Buhr of Downers Grove, Illinois.
Primitive oval trencher with chop marks, 24" x 35½", $595; piggin, $295; platform horse pull toy with cart, the horse 16" high (including platform), $395; wooden bowl in red paint, with stapled repairs, 20" diameter, $375; and wooden bowl in red paint, 19" diameter, $225 from Laura Burr of Bureau, Illinois.
Settle, 58" high x 50" wide, $1895; horse from a glider, sold during the show; footstools/benches, $59 to $79 each; drop-leaf table in red paint, $450; and painted wood bowls, $125 to $265 each from Will Bachman of Metamora, Illinois.
Originally published in the November 2024 issue of Maine Antique Digest. © 2024 Maine Antique Digest