Sunday, June 7, 2009

More time on the road...

It's a busy time for us. Two auctions in the past three weeks at Garth's, and then this weekend, it was showtime...that is, the Fairhaven Antiques Festival in SW Ohio and the Heartland Show in Richmond, Indiana.

There has been much said about the Fairhaven Show in recent years, mainly about its decline. We were not around for its heyday back in the 1980s, but it's still a damn good show. Small, yes...maybe 50 dealers, but some great stuff. David Good, Sam Forsythe, Clifton Anderson, Steve Powers, Chuck White...when you get these folks together, you're going to see some great Americana. And there are less well-known dealers there with moderately priced objects, and even some folks peddling flea market stuff. There is something for everyone, and the setting is fabulous!

Heartland, though much larger, is similar...some great dealers with great stuff and some smaller dealers with good and varied stuff. We were able to document a couple more examples of Midwestern-German stencil-decorated furniture (www.midwesterngermanfurniture.org), including a great blanket chest with birds.

We think that these types of shows, those with a wide range of offerings, are the best kind for the young collector. Let's face it, NY and Philadelphia are just too intimidating for young collectors. But these smaller shows are a great place for the novice to examine some great things and thus learn, but also go home with a nice thing that is affordable. Note, we said "nice thing" and "affordable". That's what it sounds like when when the middle market is NOT disparaged.

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