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London sterling tea caddies with matching sugar box, circa 1764, by makers Daniel Smith and Robert Sharp. They were described in the annotated edition of Jackson’s Hallmarks as “Important makers. Made some of the finest silver of the period.” The set was virtually on view in Bill Beck’s gallery, Beck’s Antiques & Books, Fredericksburg, Va., and priced $9,500.
Review by W.A. Demers; Photos Courtesy of Participating Dealers
NEW YORK CITY — Nearly 4,000 people generated more than $86,000 in sales from 113 items for the 37 exhibiting dealers in the fourth year of Marvin Getman’s Virtual New York Antiques Show, with many dealers returning from the previous three years of the online event. The fourth annual show opened Friday, January 26, beginning at noon Eastern, and was open continuously through Sunday, January 28, at 7 pm. Hundreds of items were available for sale when the show opened and dealers could “restock” with fresh items as merchandise was sold.
This show has now become not only one of the staple events of New York’s Antiques Week [See additional reviews in this issue] but it is also considered the “gold standard” of online shows.
Some of the usual antiques show atmospherics may be missing from the online experience; for example, you cannot see items in conversation with one another as you would in an in-person show. You have to rely on the dealers’ photos of their merchandise and you cannot pick up an item, turn it over and around to check its bona fides. There are plusses, though, to counter the minuses. No pack-in or -out for the dealers. Shoppers can browse from the comfort of home or wherever they may be on their mobile devices. And while conversations with the dealers may not be instantaneous, their phone numbers and email addresses are listed for one-on-one contact.
A sea-creature vase with lobster handles, circa 1930, 11 by 9 inches, was among the fantastic artworks shown by David Smernoff. Created by Italian potter Pietro Melandri (1885-1969), the glazed clay vase was priced $5,800.
All of this grew out of a very real need when the Covid-19 pandemic shuttered most commercial events in 2020. Promoter Getman spent a little of the downtime developing the online platform that now hosts his popular antiques shows and book fairs. His first online show took place in June 2020. In a eureka state, dealers worked on their keyboarding skills and were soon able to upload descriptions and photos of their items to Getman’s site before a show. Suddenly they were not dependent on weather or the availability of venues like New York’s piers or church halls. Online they soon expanded their clientele from Tristate suburbs to the world over.
Access to the show is free and the site is easy to navigate. One merely needs to point the device’s browser to the website at www.nyantiqueshow.com where they can enjoy a host of user-friendly features: dealer-name exhibitors list, directory of categories and the ever-important “new items” listing. Exhibitors can highlight items that have been sold, recently added or priced less than $100. Even as Sunday morning, the final day of the show arrives, they are able to add additional items to keep “booth traffic” going. Did we say, “no pack-out?”
There is a sampling on these pages of what astute shoppers could find over the weekend. Several exhibitors offered Native American items, including a vintage sterling and turquoise row cuff bracelet, circa mid-Twentieth Century, offered by Auerbach & Maffia, priced $1,750.
An exceptionally large and well-decorated rainbow trout-form ice fishing spearing decoy, circa mid-1900s, was sold by Ed and Anita Holden of Naples, Fla. It exhibited a very well-carved, “chunky” body with a carved open mouth, glass eyes, seven cut tin fins and a broad carved curved tail. “We sold five items and covered our costs,” wrote Ed Holden in an email after the show, adding that this was always going to be their last antiques show. “We are retiring from the antiques business after a lot of very good years and meeting some terrific people,” he said.
An exceptionally large and well-decorated rainbow trout-form ice fishing spearing decoy, circa mid-1900s, made it onto the sold list of Ed and Anita Holden of Naples, Fla. It exhibited a very well-carved, “chunky” body with a carved open mouth, glass eyes, seven cut tin fins and a broad carved curved tail. Two large lead weights ensured proper swimming, and the lure’s paint work was not only colorful with reds and greens and cream underbody, it was accented with traditional all-over black spots, very representative of the species.
“We sold five items and covered our costs,” wrote Ed Holden in an email after the show. “We had only four calls or emails of interest, well below the previous New York shows.”
Holden added that this was always going to be their last antiques show. “We are retiring from the antiques business after a lot of very good years and meeting some terrific people. Our first show was in August 1965 with Russell Carell. We did our last live show with Rhinebeck in fall 2023. We are in the process of selling our inventories and personal collections. We also closed on the sale of our Connecticut house in December and are now full time in Naples working on other things. Was lots of fun, and I am sure Anita and I will miss it, but time to move on.”
A Charles Woodbury 1903 oil on board of Naushon Island was priced $5,000, at Garvey Rita Art & Antiques, Orleans, Mass. The 8¼-by-10-inch painting was annotated on verso, “Naushon Sentinel Tree by Charles H. Woodbury in 1903 Given by him to E.W.F.,” indicating that the Woodbury painting belonged to Edwin W. Forbes, director of the Fogg Museum.
There were plenty of paintings representing a wide variety of styles and these included a Charles Woodbury 1903 oil on board of Naushon Island, priced $5,000, at Garvey Rita Art & Antiques, Orleans, Mass. The painting measured 8¼ by 10 inches and was annotated on verso, “Naushon Sentinel Tree by Charles H. Woodbury in 1903 Given by him to E.W.F.” There is a note that indicates that the “Woodbury painting belonged to Edwin W. Forbes, director of the Fogg Museum.” Housed in an original Arts and Crafts frame. The image documented the place where Forbes was born on July 16, 1873. Observed dealer Kevin Rita after the show, “One sale and just a few inquiries…low energy from the start…no blame…a condition of the present world…”
Donna Kmetz, Douglas, Mass., had several paintings on offer. One was a soft, small landscape capturing the essence of Old Lyme Impressionism by William S. Robinson, N.A. (1861-1945) “Old Lyme,” 1924, which she was making available with or, at a discount, without the frame. She was asking $2,200 for the signed, 8-by-10-inch oil on board. “Seems that in general paintings weren’t the big thing this time around,” she wrote in a follow-up email. “But the good news is that I’m still working on a few sales. It just takes longer with pricier items. I just love Marvin’s platform and the show nicely fills a winter gap without the need to travel.”
“We had 21 sales from our 33-item booth,” reported David and Jane Thompson after the show closed. Among their Americana-rich inventory was this carved and painted pine warbler songbird by the noted bird carver Peter Peltz (1915-2001) of Cape Cod, circa 1960-80. “The bird carvings by Peltz are highly sought-after and the miniature carvings by him are harder to find,” they said.
There were few categories left uncovered in this online venue. South Dennis, Mass., dealer David Thompson Antiques & Art, sold a carved and painted pine warbler songbird by the noted bird carver Peter Peltz (1915-2001) of Cape Cod, circa 1960-80. David and Jane Thompson wrote in their item description, “This delightful, miniature carved and painted pine warbler, a well-loved songbird by the renowned bird carver Peter Peltz is coming to you from a Massachusetts collection. The bird carvings by Peltz are highly sought-after and the miniature carvings by him are harder to find, and collectors understandably enjoy having a wide variety on their shelves.”
“We did have a very good show this time,” they said. “We had emailed our usual list of previous buyers a couple days before the show and they came and bought. We had 21 sales from our 33-item booth.
“Serendipitously, we had a sale of a daguerreotype to a longtime collector of Rhode Island Civil War material relating to the Hopkins family. It was a touching portrait of an identified mother and child with their faces pressed together. (She died young of consumption just a few years after this portrait was made, but her little son went on to have a great, long life.) Thanks to a note that had survived with the image, they were identified as Phebe and William Hopkins. Due to our genealogical research and some astute networking on the part of a fellow exhibitor in the show, we put this together with the collector. Amazingly, the young boy in the daguerreotype went on to become a soldier of some significance in the Civil War, and an archive of all of his papers is in the collection of our buyer. It is always so gratifying when we are able to place these items with collectors who are interested in preserving history.”
“I make a special effort to diversify the type of items I offer, as well as the price range, while I continue to highlight works by Rockwell Kent and Edward Christiana,” said Scott Ferris of Boonville, N.Y., doing business as J&R Ferris Antiques. For this show he was offering “Revisitation,” a lithograph by Rockwell Kent, circa 1928, for $1,550. It was a lithograph on zinc, partly crayon transfer and partly tusche wash rendered directly on the plate. Printed in an edition of 100 proofs, the piece measured 8½ by 13¾ inches. The print was signed lower right.
“I have participated in three of Marvin’s shows — Palooza, Ephemera Society and this one,” reported Scott Ferris, Boonville, N.Y., who specializes in Rockwell Kent material. “The virtual shows, like the live shows, continue to be challenging, so I make a special effort to diversify the type of items I offer, as well as, the price range, while I continue to highlight works by Rockwell Kent and Edward Christiana.
“What was a bit different this time was that viewers of my N.Y., page did use it as a gateway to my website, and I did make additional sales from that. And, I pulled, from my collection, a full plate ambrotype of sitters at Niagara Falls, which added noticeably to my sales results.
“Marvin works hard at promoting his shows and making them as easy as possible for a dealer to utilize, so kudos to him for that.”
“Another successful online event with Marvin Getman’s excellent platform, our 11th,” enthused Jan and John Maggs, Conway, Mass. “Jewelry sales were strong, while smalls, furniture and paintings were not. We sold more than one-third of our 33 listings, with a solid profit margin. Notable amid the general softness in furniture was an early English Eighteenth Century walnut rope-twist candle stand, circa 1690-1720, for which they were asking $3,000. An exceptionally detailed form, it featured a scalloped top covered with burl veneer and attached to the standard with a turned plate. The standard is turned as a robust rope, and the three shaped feet elevate the stand only slightly above the floor.
Getman’s virtual Greenwich Village Antiquarian Book and Ephemera Fair will take place February 23-25. For information, www.getmansvirtual.com or contact Marvin Getman at [email protected].
