Maine Antique Digest, April 2017

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Maine Antique Digest, April 2017 9-A
Help Needed
An orientation session, “Intro-
duction to Pewter,” presented by
Mel Wolf, will introduce begin-
ning collectors, new members,
first-time attendees, spouses, and
friends to the world of antique
pewter. This session is open to
the public at no charge at 2 p.m.
on Friday, May 5.
The Friday evening program
will begin with a welcome
and opening remarks by pres-
ident Bette Wolf. Laura Simo,
museum specialist, division
of home and community life,
will give us an overview of the
National Museum of American
History. Sylvia Sillers will show
us her favorites in “Collector’s
Choice.” Bill Snow will lead the
always popular “Show-and-Tell”
session where members may
bring pewter for identification
and/or discussion. Sales tables
will be present.
On Saturday, the group will
visit the special exhibit and
museum galleries at the National
Museum of American History.
David Kilroy and Tom Madsen
have selected 170 pieces of pew-
ter from the museum’s collection
to view and discuss. After lunch,
attendees will be free to visit
the museum and other sites and
places of interest in the area, such
as the Daughters of the Amer-
ican Revolution Museum and
the National Museum of African
American History & Culture.
Sales tables will be present at
the evening reception. Don Fen-
nimore will share his favorites in
“Collector’s Choice. ” David Kil-
roy will present and lead a dis-
cussion of 19th-century sparking
lamps. Members are encouraged
to bring lamps for the discussion.
The PCCA is composed of
individuals and institutions.
Membership offers the opportu-
nity to learn about pewter and
its manufacture, makers, and
marks. American, British, and
Continental pewter are included.
For membership information,
contact John and Fran Latch,
membership chairpersons,
PCCA, PO Box 536, Intervale,
NH 03845-0536. Dues are $60
annually and include the Bul-
letin, a semiannual, scholarly,
well-illustrated publication, and
newsletters that include infor-
mation about regional meetings,
auction prices, and current news
here and abroad.
For more information, check
CAPE COD ANTIQUE
DEALERS ASSOCIATION’S
ANNUAL SPRING
SEMINAR
The Cape Cod Antique Deal-
ers Association (CCADA) will
host a day-long seminar featur-
ing three outstanding presenta-
tions by noted experts covering
a number of fascinating topics in
the field of antiques.
The eighth annual spring sem-
inar will be held at the Cultural
Center of Cape Cod, 307 Old
Main Street, South Yarmouth,
Massachusetts, on Tuesday,
April 25, from 8:30 a.m. to 3
p.m. Although primarily held as
an educational opportunity for
CCADA members, the seminar
is also open to other members
of the antiques community and
the public at large who wish to
gain additional knowledge on
selected topics of interest.
This year the three topics, and
the experts presenting them, are
“The Art of Restoring Antique
Paintings and Frames” by Ron
Lindholm and Tracy Nee of
Cape Cod Picture Framing and
Restoration, Dennis, Massachu-
setts (Ron has 38 years’ experi-
ence in custom framing and res-
toration, and his daughter Tracy
has 17 years’ experience); “The
Decades of New England Glass-
making” by Jay Rogers, a well-
known glass dealer who owns
Rose Colored Glass, Ogunquit,
Maine; and “Mysteries of the
Pirate Ship Whydah” by Chris-
topher Macort, director of the
Whydah Pirate Museum in Yar-
mouth, Massachusetts, who will
talk about the mysteries sur-
rounding this 19th-century pirate
ship that sank off Wellfleet.
The cost for the seminar is $25
and will include morning coffee
and lunch, to be provided by the
Cultural Center of Cape Cod.
Advance registration is required
by April 21. Call the cultural
center at (508) 394-7100 or mail
a check payable to CCADA to
Barbara Adams, 289 Old Main
Street, South Yarmouth, MA
02664. For additional informa-
tion, contact Barbara Adams at
(508) 760-3290.
SAVING WOMEN’S
HISTORY THROUGH
HISTORIC PRESERVATION
The Philadelphia History
Museum will present a pro-
gram, “Saving Women’s History
through Historic Preservation in
Greater Philadelphia: Opportu-
nities & Challenges” on Thurs-
day, March 30, at 6 p.m.
The program will explore
why and how area women have
taken the lead in historic pres-
ervation and interpretation from
house museums to Independence
Hall and in the process saved
women’s history. The panelists
will discuss the challenges and
opportunities they and other
women have and continue to
face as they work to save places
that tell women’s stories. Pan-
elists will include Hilary Iris
Lowe, Ph.D., director, Center for
Public History, assistant profes-
sor, history, Temple University;
Sandra Mackenzie Lloyd, histo-
rian, Historic Philadelphia, Inc.;
Kimberly Staub, collections and
exhibitions manager, Betsy Ross
House; and Kris Myers, program
director, Alice Paul Institute.
Doors will open at 5:30 p.m.,
and the program will begin at 6
p.m. Admission for Philadelphia
History Museum members and
PhilaLandmarks members will
be free; the fee is $8 for non-
members. A light reception will
follow.
Please register in advance.
For more information, check the
FOUR CENTURIES OF
PORTSMOUTH FURNTURE
Four Centuries of Furniture
in Portsmouth will kick off the
2017 spring season (April 7-June
18) at Discover Portsmouth in
Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
On the first floor of Discover
Portsmouth’s galleries, a loan
exhibition of about 50 objects
will interpret furniture made and
used in Portsmouth as art and
history, starting with the joined
furniture of the 17th century,
through the Colonial and Fed-
eral periods of Portsmouth’s
heyday of cabinetmaking, and
finishing with the revival styles
of the 19th century. The exhibi-
tion will conclude with exam-
ples from the Arts and Crafts and
studio movements, including
an important rocker from Rock
Rest, furniture used at the Ports-
mouth Peace Treaty in 1905,
and a few modern examples
of locally owned and retailed
works of the 20th and 21st cen-
turies. Changes in how furniture
has been regarded over time will
be explored, including the transi-
tion from its role as a symbol of
status and wealth, as well as the
evolution of Portsmouth from a
furniture-making center to a pri-
marily retail market.
According to curator Ger-
ald W.R. Ward, “We’re excited
about the broad, diverse audi-
ence this two-part show will
bring—the first-floor exhibition
may more likely draw the tradi-
tional decorative arts crowd of
collectors, dealers, and scholars,
while the contemporary crafts-
manship and woodworking fea-
tured in the balcony would draw
craftsmen, decorators, and inte-
rior designers.”
There will be a free lecture
series, beginning with “From
Joiner to Cabinetmaker: Early
Furniture from the Seacoast” by
Gerald W.R. Ward and Hollis
Brodrick on Thursday, April 20,
5:30 to 6:30 p.m.; doors open
at 5 p.m. Ward, curator of the
exhibition, and Brodrick, a noted
Portsmouth antiques dealer, will
present an overview of the show
in a brief lecture followed by an
informal gallery tour. The eve-
ning will offer an opportunity for
close and in-depth study of sev-
eral key pieces in the exhibition,
particularly those from the late
17th and early 18th centuries,
from several perspectives.
“Perspectives on Contempo-
rary Studio Furniture: An After-
noon with the New Hampshire
Furniture Masters” will be held
on Sunday, May 7, from 2 to 4
p.m. The New Hampshire Fur-
niture Masters Association is a
select group of artists devoted to
fine design and craftsmanship.
In this event, several of the mas-
ters will explore the inspiration
and process behind their works
in a fast-paced and concise for-
mat of 20 images presented at 20
seconds each. It will be an event
not to be missed by furniture
makers and enthusiasts, amateur
and professional alike.
“Collecting Portsmouth Fur-
niture within a Changing Mar-
ketplace” will be presented by
Brock Jobe, professor of Amer-
ican decorative arts emeritus,
Winterthur Museum, Garden,
and Library, Winterthur, Del-
aware, on Thursday, May 18,
from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Since
the recession of 2008 and even
before, the market value of much
antique furniture has plummeted.
What happened? Why did it hap-
pen? What does the future hold?
Jobe will bring his unparalleled
knowledge of the field to bear on
a review of the antiques scene of
the past two decades and to offer
hope to those who collect or are
simply interested in early Amer-
ican furniture, especially from
the Portsmouth area.
“Master and Apprentice: The
Mystery of Who Trained Ports-
mouth Cabinetmaker Langley
Boardman” will be presented
by Johanna McBrien, founding
editor-in-chief, Antiques & Fine
Art magazine, on Sunday, June
4, at 2 p.m. Johanna McBrien
has served as a contributing
author on several books and as
an authority on American dec-
orative arts for major auction
houses, antiques dealers, and
Antiques Roadshow. She is a
regular lecturer at major muse-
ums across the country, and her
discoveries about Portsmouth’s
cabinetmakers have changed our
understanding about the transfer
of style and skill from one crafts-
man to another.
“Sixty Years of Antiquing in
the Piscataqua Area” by Ron
Bourgeault, Northeast Auctions,
will be offered on Thursday,
June 15, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.
Bourgeault, the legendary figure
and principal of Northeast Auc-
tions in Portsmouth, will offer a
look at the collecting and con-
noisseurship of seacoast-area
furniture and other works of art,
based on his unique perspective
and unparalleled experience in
the New England and national
marketplace.
An accompanying exhibition
catalog has been generously
underwritten by Craig and Alison
Jewett, and the Jewett family.
All lectures will take place at
Discover Portsmouth, 10 Middle
Street, Portsmouth, New Hamp-
shire. For more information, call
(603) 436-8433.
WHAT IS IT?
Does anyone know
what this is? Please
contact Terry Hamrick
at <tryham69@yahoo.
com> or call (817) 905-
8564. It has square nails,
and looks like salt brine,
perhaps from ocean water.