Maine Antique Digest, March 2017

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Maine Antique Digest, March 2017 5-A
Dealer
Associations
their holdings, they would call
Presley.
Any Don Presley auction
typically contained high-end
European decorative art, fur-
niture, and clocks, but through
his Hollywood contacts, Presley
was also entrusted with celebrity
items. Over the years he sold an
antique clock that belonged to
Michael Jackson, Frank Sinatra’s
monogrammed shirt, and a per-
sonal ensemble worn by Marilyn
Monroe. However, when it came
to attracting publicity, nothing
topped the “LaffBox,” a device
containing a library of canned
laughs and audience applause
used during the production of I
Love Lucy and many other popu-
lar sitcoms of the 1950s through
the 1970s. “People came in off
the street just to test out the Laff-
Box during the preview. We had
a lot of fun with it,” Presley told
a reporter in 2011.
Because of his reputation
for bringing personality to the
podium, Presley was a popular
guest on TV shows. He made
multiple appearances on A&E’s
Storage Wars and auctioned
properties on HGTV’s Flip or
Flop. Additionally, his auctions
were filmed on site by the His-
tory Channel and other networks.
Presley was an active member
of the Los Angeles Al Malaika
Shriners, whose mission is to
raise funds for Shriners Inter-
national’s 22 hospitals through-
out the United States. Presley
considered charitable pursuits
and fund-raising projects “an
integral part of [his] company’s
mission” and made sure that
his auction-house services were
available to any worthy cause.
Over long weekends, Pres-
ley loved nothing more than to
escape to the west coast of Mex-
ico, where he spent each day,
from sunrise to sunset, on a fish-
ing boat in the Pacific waters. As
he approached the end of his life,
he promised one close friend
that he would “not catch all the
fish in Heaven,” but leave some
behind for others.
Presley was predeceased by
his brother Robert Presley. He is
survived by his wife, Kimberly;
brothers Steven and Ted (Tangi);
sister, Janis Presley Baker;
son, Don Jr. (Lauren); daugh-
ter, Tiffany Presley Mancao;
stepdaughter, Aubree Clayton;
grandsons Joey and DJ Presley;
granddaughters Priscilla Man-
cao and Betty Lou Horrigan;
great-grandson, Blake Horrigan;
and great-granddaughter, Hai-
ley-Jo Horrigan.
Per his wishes, there were
no formal services. The family
suggests charitable donations in
Presley’s memory to the Amer-
ican Cancer Society (www.
).
ARTHUR SAMUEL
DAVIDSON
Maritime historian Arthur
Samuel “Sam” Davidson, M.D.
passed away on December 24,
2016, at the age of 97. Davidson
was a renowned ear, nose, and
MADA
Here is an update on the Maine
Antiques Dealers Association
(MADA) board meeting on Janu-
ary 11. The board wishes to wel-
come new member Scott Wilbur
of Wilbur’s Antiques, Greene,
Maine, to the organization.
Economic trends are look-
ing up for the antiques business
in Maine this year. Dealers are
reporting increased sales in their
shops and at shows. Cabot Mill
Antiques, Brunswick, reported
over $1 million in sales for 2016!
Congratulations!
We are still looking for deal-
ers to participate in the Portland
Flower Show from March 30 to
April 1. If you are interested,
please contact Elizabeth De-
Simone at (207) 646-0505 or
information.
In addition to our Coastal
Maine Antiques Show in Dam-
ariscotta, we are planning two
other events. MADA hopes to
make 2017 an exciting, edu-
cational, and prosperous year.
MADA is in the planning stages
of a new show! Please stay tuned
for more details. Check back in
next month’s column or go to
they develop.
MADA, as always, would like
to encourage anyone, member or
not, to make use of the Bulletin
Board page of our website. This
is an amazing free tool to adver-
tise any antiques business-related
event you are planning to do in
Maine. If you would like to utilize
this tool, please contact Samantha
tion on instructions and help.
If you are a member, why not
take advantage of MADA’s free
online Dealer Gallery? You may
post items for sale, and the cus-
tomer will contact you directly
to purchase or ask any questions
about the merchandise. You may
post an unlimited number of
pictures! We will be sponsoring
tutorials in the near future for all
members, new and old, or ones
needing a refresher on how to uti-
lize this incredible sales gallery.
Coming soon will be free
seminars for MADA members
on how to use and navigate the
MADA website, how to use our
gallery for buying and selling
antiques, and any other trouble-
shooting Q&A that members
may have. Our second vice pres-
ident, Samantha Stufflebeam,
will be heading up these semi-
nars. If you have any questions
regarding the website at any
time, please feel free to con-
tact her for help. See our Board
Members page at the website for
her contact information.
Stay tuned for updates after our
next board meeting, to be held on
Wednesday, February 15.
tion about the organization, and
like us on Facebook!
In the meantime, stay warm
and remember that winter is
almost half over!
Thank you!
VADA
January is a quiet month—a
time to recuperate from all the
excesses of the holiday season
and to take stock, not only of the
past year but of what we have
as inventory for sale! The 2017
show season is beginning, and
we are always out looking for
new inventory by attending auc-
tions, antiques shows, and flea
markets; visiting antiques shops
and antiques centers; and going
on house calls and to yard and
house sales. One never knows
what may turn up, and the best
part of it is the thrill of the hunt!
Show managers are also busy
getting ready for the year’s
upcoming shows. The first
show of the season in Vermont
is the 40th annual Cabin Fever
Antiques Show on Saturday,
February 18, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.,
at the Mid Vermont Christian
School in Quechee, Vermont. It’s
sure to be a great show, so mark
your calendars!
Other upcoming shows are the
LebanonAntiques Show and Sale
to be held on Sunday, March 19,
10 a.m. to 3 p.m., in West Leba-
non, New Hampshire, at the Fire-
side Inn and Suites; and Antiques
in Schoharie, with over 100 deal-
ers, will be on Saturday, March
18, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday,
March 19, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., at
the Schoharie Central School in
Schoharie, New York. Both of
these shows include a number of
Vermont Antiques Dealers’Asso-
ciation (VADA) members in their
dealer lists.
The Montpelier Antiques Mar-
ket runs two Sundays a month
through April 9 from 8 a.m. to
1 p.m. It is held at the Canadian
Club, 414 East Montpelier Road,
Route 14, Barre, Vermont. Visit
The VADA show committee
met on January 10, and accord-
ing to show manager Greg Ham-
ilton, the 42nd annual VADA
show will have a new venue and
new dates. VADA is looking for-
ward to the show moving from
Woodstock to Stratton Moun-
tain Base Lodge. The show will
open at noon on Friday, July 21,
and continue on Saturday, July
22, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. This
year’s show will be better than
ever, with more than 50 deal-
ers bringing a wide variety of
antiques. The new venue will
allow for more variety in booth
space and rentals. For more
information, contact Greg Ham-
ilton at (802) 989-1158 or (802)
877-3359, or you can e-mail him
at >.
A number of VADA members
have booth space at the Antiques
Market Place in Lake George,
New York. It is celebrating its
fifth anniversary with an open
house and sale on February 18
and 19, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. I’m
told that refreshments will be
bountiful.
Many Vermont antiques cen-
ters have dealer or special sale
days or open houses throughout
the year. Stone House Antique
Center in Chester has a dealer
day on the first Tuesday of every
month with special discounts
throughout the shop. Middlebury
Antique Center has a special sale
day on the second Tuesday of
every month with 10% to 30%
discounts throughout the shop.
Five Corners Antiques in Essex
Junction holds an open house
at various times throughout the
year. For more information, call
the shops; phone numbers may
be found on the VADA website
).
Barb Johnson is back in Ari-
zona for the winter and busy pre-
paring for the 11th annual Alzhei-
mer’s Benefit Silent Auction at
Cave Creek, Arizona, on Satur-
day, March 18. For those unable
to attend, information and auction
items are posted on her website
(www.pewterandwoodantiques.
com) in the Alzheimer’s Auction
Catalogue beginning March 10.
Last year the auction brought
in $10,075; this year’s goal is
$12,000! All items for auction are
donated, and donations and pur-
chases are tax deductible, so not
only can you find a great antique,
but you can also benefit a very
worthy cause! So take a look at
her website and bid!
VADA always welcomes new
members, so perhaps now is the
time to consider joining. Formore
information, go to VADA’s web-
site ) or
contact Jeff Noordsy, vice pres-
Dues notices were sent out to
VADA members on December
14, 2016. If you haven’t received
a notice from Brian Bittner,
sure to add him to your e-mail
contact list. If you haven’t filled
out the online form as requested
in the dues notice, please do so
for the website listings in the
online VADA directory and the
upcoming new flyer. If you have
questions about the form, con-
tact Brian.
The newsletter is for all VADA
members, so if you have news
that you would like to share
about something happening in
your area, shop, or center, please
contact me. I look forward to
hearing from you.
Vesta Urband
>
Check out my new Web site at
throat surgeon, having served in
the Royal Army Medical Corps
during World War II. He pio-
neered a new method of access-
ing the jaw joint via the ear and
was dean of postgraduate medi-
cine at the University of Liver-
pool, England.
After retiring frommedicine in
1981, Davidson devoted his full
attention to studying and writing
about ship paintings. He wrote
five books about marine painters
of the 19th and early 20th cen-
turies. These books not only tell
the stories of the marine paint-
ers, but tell maritime historians
how to look at ship pictures and
fully understand all the “subtext”
in the paintings. Chief amongst
these is the discussion of flags
and flag codes. From signal flags
you can determine the name of a
specific vessel and thus start to
determine her history.
Davidson’s Marine Art &
Liverpool: Painters, Places &
Flag Codes, 1760-1960 was his
first book (published in 1986) to
deal with this important subject.
Out of print now, the flag code
chapter was updated in Marine
Art & Ulster: A Chronicle of
Sail, Steam & Flag Codes (2005,
available from Jones-Sands Pub-
lishing). Both contain a listing
of vessel names by their flag
codes. He was also coauthor of
Black with a Gold Strake: An
Exercise in Ship Identification in
the October 2012 issue of Maine
Antique Digest, page 29-B.
Davidson’s descriptions, or
reference to his books, are often
seen in the top auction house
catalogs on both sides of the
Atlantic and in numerous British
and American museum publica-
tions. He was also a keen ama-
teur cruising sailor and actively
participated in Scottish country
dancing until the age of 93.
He is survived by his three
sons.
NHADA
New Hampshire Antiques
Dealers Association member
Barbara Johnson of Pewter &
Wood Antiques asked that I help
get the word out about Pewter &
Wood’s 11th annual Alzheimer’s
Benefit Silent Auction to be held
at her Cave Creek, Arizona,
shop on Saturday, March 18. All
items are donated to the auction
by collectors, antiques dealers,
and friends of Pewter & Wood
from around the country. All
donations are tax deductible, and
One of the nest
Japanese ceramic and
teaware collections
in private hands.
Over 100 museum
quality pieces.
Call (313) 418-5686