Antiques Lovers Brought Unique Treasures to 20th Anniversary Show

By John Voket

Perhaps it was the warm and well-worn wooden floor in Edmond Town Hall’s gymnasium that helped compliment so many of the pieces on display Sunday as Newtown Historical Society presented its 20th Anniversary Antiques Show. The town hall certainly saw its share of foot traffic as hundreds of visitors ranging from the casually curious to serious collectors converged on Newtown for the annual benefit.

The doors hadn’t been open more than a half-hour before event organizer and Historical Society vice-president Nancy Taylor pronounced the show a success.

“We’ve already had some significant traffic,” she told The Bee. “People were apparently waiting outside an hour or so before we opened the doors. And within a few minutes, folks started leaving with items they had bought.”

Not to be outdone by the eager patrons, first-time exhibitor Peggy Gross of the soon-to-be-opened Ram Pasture Antiques sold her first piece before the doors even opened.

“One of the other dealers came over while I was setting up, pointed to one of the pieces and said, ‘I’ll take that one right now.’ It was certainly a great feeling for someone at their first show,” Mrs Gross said.

Over the course of the first few hours Sunday, Mrs Gross said she had many serious offers. By early afternoon she had sold a pine washer stand with its companion porcelain water pitcher and basin, an ice cream table and chair set, and a Royal Doulton china set.

She also pointed out one of the many consigned pieces she was displaying for her son, Michael Jepson, who fashions small tables and other furnishings out of antique saw blades and other cutting tools from his Hudson, N.Y., workshop.

“He calls it his ‘dangerous furniture’ line,” she said with a wink.

Near the front entrance to the show, Ron Allevo and his wife Cheryl were shining some light on visitors to their Old Lamps & Things concession. Mr Allevo was thrilled with the traffic, as well as the many networking contacts he made.

“The crowd has been great, and we’re meeting a lot of people who I think we’ll be doing business with in the coming months,” he said. A retired home improvement contractor, Mr Allevo continues to support a hobby for re-engineering and restoring antique lighting fixtures from his home in Avon.

He also has spilled a few drops of blood learning the craft of manufacturing lead and glass lamp shades, several of which were catching the eyes of patrons as they passed his booth.

“I melt the lead and cut the glass. That’s the most challenging part of a restoration project – either cutting the glass or restoring silver or gold finish without rubbing it right off the piece,” he said.

Part of coming to shows like the one last Sunday in Newtown is the opportunity for the Allevos to discover a few treasures of their own. Mr Allevo pointed to a trio of meticulously restored Bradley & Hubbard sconces, which he discovered in a random box lot he acquired at a similar show last summer.

“I paid a few bucks for that box lot, not knowing we had these original designer pieces buried inside. My $10 investment provided these three beautiful pieces that will go for about $425,” he said.

Coming up to town from Fairfield for her fifth consecutive year, collector Karen Angelo said she was also pleased with the attendees who ooohed and ahhhhed over some of her more precious country primitive items.

“These are perfect for people who are redecorating their kitchens or dining areas,” she said. “People are tired of the cookie-cutter designs and are going for a more eclectic look combining very old with ultra modern,” she said.

Ms Angelo, a self-proclaimed lover of antiques since she started collecting spice jars as a child, said she made a tidy profit on a meetinghouse bench which she obtained from an auction just a few days earlier.

“You can easily retail some of the pieces you find at auction,” she said. “You just have to know what your audience is. I am usually lucky picking up a piece or two that will re-sell pretty quickly at a show like this,” she said.

With more than 40 years of collecting and 23 years of retailing experience, Nadine Ross of Goshen has found her niche with a respectable selection of country and children’s items. Among the treasures in her booth were a collection of antique baby shoes and a pair of painful looking high top girdle-lace boots.

“I moved to Goshen from New Jersey about five years ago, so I’m still learning what audiences here are looking for,” she commented. “It’s surprising the difference between patrons who attended the shows in southern New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and the ones I’m meeting here at this nice little show.”

Ms Ross pointed out what she called her showpiece collectible.

“It’s an entire school library in a cabinet,” she said of a small shelf unit stocked with several dozen similar volumes containing subjects ranging from history to art to earth science. “This would be an ideal piece for a museum, or someone who wants a truly unique sitting room or library piece.”

The $1,400 price tag on the self-contained library may have warded away all but the most serious of inquiries. Among Ms Ross’ other more exclusive items was an antique candle-making set with wick pullers and molds intact.

“This is getting a lot of attention from folks who know this kind of stuff,” she said. “I knew it was a find the moment I saw it. It’s the most well-preserved and complete set I had ever seen.”

Proceeds from Sunday’s show went to underwrite the programs of Newtown Historical Society. While most of the serious collectors appeared happy to make the rounds at Town Hall, a good number of visitors took time to visit the Society’s Matthew Curtiss House across the street, which remained open during the run of the show.