Gary has been interviewed by syndicated columnist Marni Jameson for an ongoing series on evaluating and managing Estate antiques.  Marni has connected with Gary via his appraisal work on the PBS series Antiques Roadshow.  Follow each installment here on our blog, by clicking here. Marni Jameson is a nationally syndicated home design columnist, and author of the best-selling The House Always Wins. Marni’s hugely popular syndicated column, “At Home With Marni Jameson,&rdq...

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Here is what appears in the September 2012 Maine Antique Digest. Implementus Obsoleteus Everyday life in the 18th and 19th century included the use of many utensils and implements which are now obsolete. Common objects that were necessities of life, particularly in the kitchen, are today almost completely unknown to all but the most serious historian. Had you lived in that era, you may have regularly performed such tasks as filling your trencher from the firkin, winding the ja...

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Gary and I were very pleased to be interviewed for an article that appears in Design New England this month. The article is an overview of the Willard family of clockmakers and centers around the author's visit to the Willard House and Clock Museum, in Grafton, Massachusetts. While our most scholarly readers and clients may find it elemental, it is targeted toward the emerging collector. We view it as an important opportunity to reach these readers as they begin to explore antique collecting. A ...

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We have just returned from our annual trip to New York for antiques week.  This year we had a booth at The Metro Show NYC, which is the show that replaced the TAAS show.  The new show was terrific, with a great attendance and a much more attractive presentation. Our booth was larger than prior years and yet on opening night there was barely room to stand.  Have a look at the images from that night.   The show was reviewed by Scudder Smith at the Antiques and The Arts Weekly,...

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As you may have seen in our blog, we bought a superb Newport demi-lune games table at CRN Auctions last month. It was made in Newport, RI., and has a wonderful cabriole front leg with carved ball & claw foot and carving on the knee. Well, the story has been picked up by Maine Antique Digest reporter David Hewett.  Follow the link to read more.

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This is a fantastic story about an important piece of furniture that found it’s way to us. We purchased a high chest from a country auction house in Wyoming, that began it's life in Hingham, Massachusetts. The Main Antique Digest covered the story, follow the "Read More" link to learn the details, it is fascinating. It proves that great items are still available out there.

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We were thrilled to purchase an exceptional clock at the March 6th Americana sale at Skinner Auctions. The circa 1822 dwarf clock, standing about four feet high is an exact miniature of a tall case (grandfather) clock. Early 19th century dwarf clocks from the Hingham/Hanover area, on the South Shore of Massachusetts, are highly prized by collectors. We purchased the clock for $189,600. on behalf of a private collector. Although not a record for a dwarf clock, this is one of the highest prices paid at public auction. Skinner's auction is reviewed at the Maine antique digest, click to read the article.

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Here is the review of our booth at 2011 TAAS [The American Antique Show]  We had another great year with strong sales, good turn our and a great selection of important objects.  Sadly, this was the last year for this show.  We intend to be present at a show in New York in 2012 during antiques week, which is always the third week in January.  We will announce our plans so please look for postings  here.

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Steampunk. Never heard of it? Trust me. You'll encounter the term more often from now on. Briefly and somewhat simplistically, steampunkers play with the illusion that time periods can coexist. They imagine what things might have looked like if our technology had been available to the Victorians, and then they create those things. Those who make steampunk objects primarily modify Victorian antiques, but they also use ...

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Here is an interview I did with Style Music TV at The American Antique Show last year.  The style of the interview is pretty laid-back, but the content that I get a chance to convey is fun.  It also offers a great chance to see my booth and what goes on at the show.  The clip is one piece, watch the beginning to see Martha Stewart, but my portion is from  3:45-7:10

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A 28" tall Federal mirror clock by Joshua Wilder of Hingham, Massachusetts, with eight-day time-and-passing-strike (i.e., just oA 28" tall Federal mirror clock by Joshua Wilder of Hingham, Massachusetts, with eight-day time-and-passing-strike (i.e., just one bong on the hour), sold in the room for $35,550 (est. $25,000/35,000) to collector Joe Arvay. The underbidder on the phone was dealer Gary R. Sullivan of Sharon, Massachusetts.

While researching the award-winning Harbor & Home: Furniture of Southeastern Massachusetts, 1710-1850, with Brock Jobe and Jack O'Brien, Sullivan located a total of five mirror clocks made by Wilder, including the present one, which sold at Skinner on June 8, 1997, for $25,300. Robert Cheney recalls that he tried to buy it at that sale but was unsuccessful. A couple of years later, Cheney said he bought it at Christie's for roughly the same price. It went on from there to be owned by others.ne bong on the hour), sold in the room for $35,550 (est. $25,000/35,000) to collector Joe Arvay. The underbidder on the phone was dealer Gary R. Sullivan of Sharon, Massachusetts.

While researching the award-winning Harbor & Home: Furniture of Southeastern Massachusetts, 1710-1850, with Brock Jobe and Jack O'Brien, Sullivan located a total of five mirror clocks made by Wilder, including the present one, which sold at Skinner on June 8, 1997, for $25,300. Robert Cheney recalls that he tried to buy it at that sale but was unsuccessful. A couple of years later, Cheney said he bought it at Christie's for roughly the same price. It went on from there to be owned by others.

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We are delighted to announce that Harbor & Home: Furniture of Southeastern Massachusetts, 1710–1850, co-authored by our own Gary Sullivan, Winterthur professor Brock Jobe and independent scholar Jack O’Brien, is the winner of the 16th annual Historic New England Book Prize.

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"I bought an Aaron Willard tall-case clock with a spectacular Boston-made dial depicting a fisherman in the lunette, a fine old surface, and with a mint paper label inside the door and a fine old surface," said Sharon, Massachusetts, dealer Gary Sullivan on the phone, incredulous at his good luck. "I found it on line," said Sullivan, "but it wasn't given away."

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This is a review of the 2010 TAAS show.  Our booth is described in the article.  If you would like to see what Marta Stewart thought of the show follow this link, a wing chair from our booth is image #16.
Since the 1970's, the third week in January has been Americana Week in New York City. Nine years ago The American Antiques Show (TAAS) became a new addition to this jam-packed week of auctions and shows. TAAS took over the Metropolitan Pavilion at 125 West 18th Street, and it has remained there ever since. This year the show was held January 20-24.

Maine Antique Digest, April, 2010.

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Gary Sullivan is a clock and furniture dealer, as well as an appraiser for “Antiques Roadshow.” In this scholarly interview, Sullivan explains the differences between early American tall-case, banjo, and dwarf clocks and offers tips on what to watch out for when buying these popular antiques. Sullivan’s book, “Harbor and Home: Furniture of Southeastern Massachusetts, 1710-1850,” was published last year.

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When reading the Declaration of Independence, no doubt some of our founding fathers would have chosen to sit in a favorite "lolling" chair. This kind of chair, with an upholstered seat and back, was popular then and has come down to us today as a classic form still much used and much loved.  Norm Abram seeks out Antiques expert Gary Sullivan to help with his research.  Gary provides a terrific Federal lolling chair as an example, from which Norm makes an excellent replica.

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For the last five years Brock Jobe, professor of decorative arts at Winterthur, and several cohorts have been investigating the cultural history of southeastern Massachusetts. The result is a book and exhibition, Harbor & Home: Furniture of Southeastern Massachusetts, 1710-1850, to commemorate this pioneer regional study of a section of New England about the size of Delaware.

Maine Antique Digest, May, 2009

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"What the world needs is whimsy. It's the best antidote," said folk art partisan Stephen Score, radiant before an A.L. Jewell & Co., molded copper horse weathervane with a luscious surface and an oversized hooked rug of storybook charm and innumerable puppies.

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Gary paid a visit to the New York set of the PBS Television series FIND!. The identical twin hosts Leigh and Leslie Keno, of Antiques Roadshow fame, invited Gary to explain a rare clock they had recently filmed in a home. The Kenos called on Gary's expertise to evaluate this unusual “lyre” form clock that was produced in Charlestown, Massachusetts by Zacheus Gates. The clock was a grand slam, not only was it a uncommon and very desirable form, but it was produced by a rare maker and survives in immaculate condition. It was the best of the form.

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