MILFORD, N.H. — EverySunday from late Octoberthrough early April the Mil-ford Antiques Show happensfor just two and a half hoursat the tennis courts insideHampshire Hills AthleticClub. On December 28, showmanager Jack Donigian host-ed about 60 exhibitors with afew hundred shoppers attend-ing.Each Sunday the show

begins with exhibitors enter-ing the building from the backbay door at 6:30 am, rollingtheir recent acquisitions intothe large, warm and well-lighted tennis courts wheretables have been neatlyarranged to serve as the deal-ers’ booths. Shoppers begin toarrive about 8 am and are cor-ralled across the front of theroom, where they can see thedealers from a distance butstill cannot do any business.At precisely 8:30 am the tapeis released and the shoppingbegins with enthusiastic buy-ing and selling among all theparticipants.Dealers at the show are pri-

marily those who can drive inthat morning from home. Thismakes it very much a NewEngland show.James LeFurgy has reopened

his Wiscasset, Maine, shopbut he could exhibit here andstill keep the shop since theshow is over at 11 am. Hisofferings included a set ofearly Hitchcock pillow backchairs in excellent condition,with good rush seats andgreat paint and stenciling. Healso brought a sampling of hisart collection and severalantique Persian rugs.Another Wiscasset dealer,

John Sideli, was here for thefirst time, in part to see whatthere was to find for his shop.Popular for his folk art collec-tion and Outsider art, Sideliwas showing several tablescovered in early small hometools. His pie crimpers includ-ed ivory and bone wheels andhandles in their construction.Brett Cabral, Salem, N.H.,

focuses on small things for hisinventory at this marketplace.A large collection of Nine-teenth Century kitchen toolsand flatware, firkins andpantry boxes, early steelknives and related householdantiques filled one of histables.Even though the show is

short, there is a good selectionof early furniture. Dick Wal-lace, New Ipswich, Mass., wasshowing several pieces fromhis collection. Attracting goodinterest was an early Eigh-teenth Century Pennsylvania

spice chest, as he called it,about 3 feet tall and only a lit-tle more than a foot wide anddeep in walnut. The Chippen-dale style feet, he believed,had been added later in itslife.Bud Hughes, Stratham,

N.H., was spread out in a dou-ble space with a large collec-tion of early small Americanaand smalls. He even brought asampling of early Americanfurniture, including a taptable he found in New Hamp-shire and an early Connecti-cut Pembroke table with a setof four yellow Hitchcockchairs.Easter Hill Antiques,

Sharon, Conn., was offering aselection of early sterling sil-ver, Sheffield plate and coinsilver, along with other smallantiques for the dining table.Specializing in Persian rugs,

Wayne Barron was there withhis collection. The Cambridge,Mass., dealer was also offer-ing Asian ceramics and art.Bud Tully, Dunstable, Mass.,

offered early English earthen-ware and a selection of glassware from America, bothSandwich and Pairpoint.Grantiques is Donna Grant’s

business from nearby Win-chester, Mass.; her specialty isearly silver in interestingforms, not just flatware. Forexample, in one case therewere perhaps as many as adozen tea steepers and manyother specialty items as wellBob DeLuca approaches the

business with a whimsicalsense of humor. This week theAmesbury, Mass., dealerfound parts of a clown’s cos-tume — the giant shoes, out-rageous mask and wig —which were for sale. Amonghis serious antiques was aHenry Capt clock, from Gene-va, Nineteenth Century,hourly repeater movementwith enameled faces andrestored works.Each week this show hosts

between 60 and 80 dealersand has several hundredshoppers all looking for a lit-tle bit of early New England,for this has become a source,one of the places to find thatspecial something and tomake the connection betweenthe shopper and seller.This show is conducted every

Sunday, unless the weather isreally too difficult to travel,from 8:30 to 11 am. Admissionis $5 from 8:30 am to 9:30 am,with free admission from 9:30am to 11 am and parking isfree.For additional information,

www.milfordantiqueshow.comor 781-329-1192.

January 16, 2015 — Antiques and The Arts Weekly — 1

Brett Cabral, Salem, N.H. / Emmons & Martin, Essex, Mass.

Grantiques, Winchester, Mass.

John Sideli, Wiscasset, Maine

Dick Wallace, New Ipswich,Mass.

Bud Tully, Dunstable, Mass.

Peter Hadley, Salem, N.H., and Anne Baritz, Needham,Mass., shared several spaces at the show and she said itwas well worth their efforts.

James LeFurgy, Wiscasset, Maine

Review and Photos byTom O’Hara

Rick Dodge, Marblehead, Mass.

An early restored HenryCapt Swiss repeater clock,offered by Bob DeLuca,Amesbury, Mass.

Milford Antiques Show Brings Holiday Cheers To Hundreds

Jack Donigian’s Weekly New HampshireMarket Is Popular Shopping Event

Mountain Rugs, Parsonsfield, Maine