Date: Fri 22-May-1998

Publication: Ant

Author: JUDYC

Quick Words:

GreatAmerican

Full Text:

Great Amer Spectacular

(W/5 CUTS) - SS

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- By self-admission, antiques dealer Joan Johnson of Andover,

N.Y., is a "KOOKS" and proud of it. In fact, she wore a KOOKS T-shirt to

advertise that to those who stopped by her Kitchen Cupboard Antiques booth at

the Great American Antiques Spectacular on April 1-5 at the Metrolina Expo.

KOOKS is an acronym for Kollectors of Old Kitchen Stuff, an organization

established in 1993 just for people who love old eggbeaters, potato mashers

and other kitchen utensils. Johnson said KOOKS currently has about 300 members

from every state, and they attend a KOOKS convention every other year. She

offered dozens of old kitchen utensils, all attractively displayed on

blue-and-white-striped cloth.

"I have old kitchen tools from $25 up to $375, for a Dover eggbeater," said

Johnson, who owns the business with her husband, Warner. Since Beat This, The

Eggbeater Chronicles book by Don Thornton came out, prices for eggbeaters have

tripled!"

Johnson was just one of approximately 6,000 dealers of antique furniture,

glassware, pottery, primitives, textiles, paintings, books, and collectibles

who came out for this huge spring show. She also carried several old metal

nutmeg graters, including one from Ohio priced at $650 and another made by

Skillin & Reed Company in Portland, Maine, for sale for $725. She also had a

good variety of old baskets, including a rare oak basket with a B.G. Higgins

label on the bottom for $375, a rustic clam basket with a weathered handle for

$265 and a buttocks basket for $335.

One of the youngest dealers was 24-year-old Todd Calhoun of Greenwood, S.C. He

owns Southern Antiques by Todd and specializes in selling Empire furniture.

"My grandfather was in this business for years," said Calhoun, a tall, lanky

man with a Southern accent. "My grandparents would buy stuff for the house. I

just got interested in the business from being around them. None of my friends

do this."

Calhoun's highest priced item was an Empire secretary in flame mahogany from

Massachusetts. It was big, more than seven feet tall, dated from the 1830s and

was $4,800. An Empire chest made of mahogany, circa 1830s, with a simple,

rectangular design and backsplash, was priced $895.

Calhoun, who also works in a pallet and crate building business with his

father, had a refinished Sheraton chest, circa 1810, made of mahogany and

cherry with brass hardware for $1,800. "I like Empire style," said Calhoun,

who buys from wholesalers in New England and at auctions. "We have a lot of

requests for it. Empire sells well in Atlanta."

The look of early New England antiques filled dealer Donna East's booth. She

specializes in "any type" of New England furniture from 1700 to 1800 and

smalls from the same period. Quite a few customers were interested in East's

carnival dancing man from Onson, Mass., circa 1920s. This unusual folk art

piece had a metal slot for collecting nickels. For five cents, the black doll

with green pants and cap would "dance." East said a similar dancing figure

sold at auction for $7,000. The price for her dancing man was $3,500.

Other interesting items in East's booth were a 46-star US flag for $195. A

black iron kettle with a handle in very good condition and a gate mark at $150

were in her booth as well as a framed needlework sampler, circa 1822, by

Martha Small, in good condition, $1,400. It featured a "pious verse, trees,

flowers and birds with a stylized floral border."

Dealers Richard and Veronica Thompson said they left their home in Baltimore

that week with "a little of everything, a general selection" of collectibles.

They sell mostly old trains, cast-iron toys, old books and comic books. The

Thompsons had a Popeye puppet made by Gund Manufacturing Company in New York

City, circa 1950s, for $125, and a Minnie Mouse bank handmade of papier mache

and painted, very good condition, for $60.

In a display case, the Thompsons had an unusual Baltimore Colts cigarette

lighter with a music box inside for $125. It was from 1958, a championship

year "when they started this sudden death thing," Richard Thompson explained.

Among their old books was an 1887 Masonic book from the Grand Lodge of MD in

good condition for $125, and E.S. Creasy's The 15 Decisive Battles of the

World, printed in the 1850s, very good condition, for $25.

"When we come here we bring a lot of good books," said Richard Thompson, a

Navy veteran. "I've sold a lot of books with steel engravings. Civil War books

sell well. At home, I specialize in World War II books." He delighted in

showing customers his collection of old comic books, especially a Gene Autry

edition dated September, 1951, in excellent condition, for $50. (The original

book sold for only a dime.) He also had a Tom Mix western comic book, dated

November, 1950, in excellent condition for $75.

Shoppers who were looking for Northern Chinese pieces could find them in

dealer Michael Bauer's booth. Bauer, who owns Michael Bauer Antiques and

Appraisals in Lexington, Ky., had an impressive Nineteenth Century herbal

medicine chest from the Hebei Province, in very good condition, for $1,450. He

also had a pair of Nineteenth Century Chinese carved panels, also in very good

condition, for $850.

"My tastes run very eclectic, but period, from French to Italian to period

American. I like it all! I mix it at home. I prefer to handle Eighteenth and

early Nineteenth Century Italian pieces but can't find enough of that," said

Bauer, who is in his fourth year showing at Metrolina.

Among Bauer's other offerings were a miniature Hepplewhite chest, circa 1940,

made of cherry, in very good condition, for $800. He also had a pair of bronze

and black marble urns, circa 1860, in excellent condition for $3,000, and a

Victorian style English gentleman's chest with mahogany drawers and bun feet,

circa 1860, $2,250.

Collectors of black memorabilia found a selection in Ken and Mara Suvatey's

booth. They own New England Antiques in Queensbury, N.Y. One of their best

pieces was a rare "Washtub Mammy" cookie jar by Metlox. The piece, in very

good condition, was $2,970. The Suvateys also had a Mammy sugar bowl by

Marunon in very good condition for $820. "Any piece of Marunon ware is rare,"

said Ken Suvatey. Two unusual "googley-eyed" Mammy cracker jars were for sale

for $1,495 and $1,475, respectively. The third, and smallest of the three

jars, had already been sold.

The Suvateys also offered a pair of Little Black Sambo batter and syrup

pitchers from Sambo's restaurants, circa 1950s. Suvatey said only the Sambos

in Florida used these pitchers. The price for the pair was $925. Other Little

Black Sambo items were a paperback book from 1942 with "great color" in very

good condition for $160, and a 45 rpm record, circa 1971, in very good

condition for $45. "Upscale black memorabilia is our specialty," said Suvatey,

and very few dealers carry it."

The Suvateys also had a rare Howdy Doody bust bank, circa 1950, in excellent

condition for $1,250. "This bank is one of the top collectors' pieces," said

Suvatey. "We just got it on the way back from California. I've only seen two

others like it, and they were not in as good condition. It's a real rare

piece."

Another husband-and-wife team showing was Joe and Jayne Eliopoulos of Keyport,

N.J. They do 40 shows a year in 11 states. April marked their fourth year,

which Joe called "one of the best shows we do." Jayne Eliopoulos specializes

in glassware, porcelain and pottery, including such recognizable names as

Cambridge, Royal Doulton, Heisey, Morgantown, Roseville, Weller, Van Briggle

and figurines made in Czechoslovakia. One of her Staffordshire painted mugs

was a portly boy with his hands in his pockets and with a frowning English

bulldog beside him. The undated piece, excellent condition, was $75.

Joe said he specializes in old toys, furniture, advertising and architectural

pieces. He had a #410 Smith-Miller fire truck with an aerial ladder in very

good condition for $595. "The truck would be worth $1,200 if mint," he said.

Other collectible toys available were a green Marx utility vehicle, circa

1940, for $15, and a green Tonka horse trailer, $95. His collection of Western

cap guns ranged in price from $22 up to $295 for a Gene Autry gun signed

Kenton USA. "This is not a sideline or hobby for us," said Joe Eliopoulos. "We

have a lot of dealers who buy from us. We prefer to buy the contents from

entire estates."

Colorful stained glass windows from English cottages attracted many customers

to dealer John Payne's outdoor booth. Payne, whose business card states he is

"Britain's largest dealer in stained glass doors and windows," said he has

been in business 25 years. His wife, Cathryn, assisted him. They live in

Nottingham, England. "Stained glass is scarcer to find now," said Payne, who

brought about 500 windows to show. "I'm looking in 20 different cities for it

now. People ring me up when they have something to sell to me."

Most of Payne's windows contained textured clear glass panes and simple

stained glass designs in various geometric and floral shapes. Most customers,

he said, like to hang his old windows up "for decorative purposes." Payne's

windows range in price from $30 to $1,000 and date from the 1930s.

For more information, 800/824-3770. The next Great American Spectacular will

be June 3-7.