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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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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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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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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