W. Palm Beach Antiques Festival at capacity for May event
This elaborately carved wall box with drawers, circa 1930s, 18 inches tall by 12 inches wide, was offered by Florida dealer Larry Roberts. Image courtesy of the West Palm Beach Antiques Festival.
Len Bartkowiak of Fort Meyers, a dealer in specialty smalls, reported selling over $100,000 worth of ivory on Friday to get the weekend off to good start with other dealers following the lead.
Greg Biaggi takes a minimalist approach to the festival, bringing only a small number of artfully restored pieces to each event. This time he sold a 1948 5-cent Coca-Cola machine for $6,800 and two slot machines, leaving him with only a 1953 10-cent Coke vending machine left in his inventory. Larry Roberts, a Micanopy, Fla. dealer, offered a hanging wall box with drawers acquired over 30 years ago at Brimfield for $875. James Holmes of Wellington, Fla., had a child-size period Hepplewhite chest with an old refinish and and a good price of $795, and he had good movement on many of his Modernism pieces.
Other Florida dealers reporting good outings included Elizabeth Bartholomew of Juno Beach, who was selected Dealer of the Month for her inventory of hand-woven Oriental clothing and accessories; Pete Hahn of Wilton Manors, who always has a great selection of books and decorator items at every show; and Deborah Gentile of Boca Raton with her stacks of vintage suitcases along with a fine display of linens and fabrics.
The summer season kicks off the two-day summer shows with the July 2-3 event. The format for the entire summer season will be the two-day affair, Saturday and Sunday, instead of the normal three-day event during the regular season. Summer show dates will be July 2-3, Aug. 6-7, Sept. 3-4 and Oct. 1-2. The summer shows have with a full day of setup for dealers on Fridays, 8 a.m.-7 p.m.
The Puchsteins have lowered booth rent for the summer season. The popular early buyers admission feature will be continued in the summer. Early admission starts at 9 a.m. on Saturday before the regular show opening time of 10 a.m.
West Palm Beach Antiques Festival is held the first full weekend of every month at the South Florida Fairgrounds located off Southern Boulevard in West Palm Beach, FL, 1 1/2 miles west of the Florida Turnpike and 1 mile east of U.S. 441/SR7.
The next show is June 3-5 with over 300 dealers in attendance. Festival hours are Friday noon-5 p.m. Saturday 9 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Early buyer admission is Friday 9 a.m.-noon, and the early admission fee of $25 is good for all three days. Adult daily admission is $7, seniors $6, children 12 and under are admitted free. There is no charge for parking at the fairgrounds.
ADDITIONAL IMAGES OF NOTE
This elaborately carved wall box with drawers, circa 1930s, 18 inches tall by 12 inches wide, was offered by Florida dealer Larry Roberts. Image courtesy of the West Palm Beach Antiques Festival.
Bob Franks of Delray Beach, Fla., shows off an outstanding pair of French side chairs, priced $1,900 for both, among his other decorator pieces and accessories. Image courtesy of the West Palm Beach Antiques Festival.
Greg Biaggi of Jupiter, Fla., sold the 1949 5-cent Coca-Cola vending machine (right) priced at $6,800. All he had left on Sunday afternoon was the 10-cent Coke machine from 1953 priced at $5,800. Image courtesy of the West Palm Beach Antiques Festival.
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