The Baltimore Summer Antiques Fair ended the summer show season. The fall season will begin with the AVENUE show at the Park Avenue Armory on Thursday, September 22nd. Since I have less time to write about the interesting things happening in the antiques world, I am posting new blog entries once or twice a week — Mondays and Thursdays. If you don’t see a new post on Thursday, it’s because I was too busy, so please look for a new one the following Monday.

My new booth at the Baltimore Show

We exhibit at so many shows that most of them blend together. Every once in a while, one becomes memorable. This Baltimore show was that one. Allow me to explain. I can’t name a show that began with an earthquake, ended with a hurricane, and had plenty of business in the middle.

My booth

We started setting up the show on Tuesday. In the middle of a telephone call regarding the purchase of a Tiffany lamp, the ground started shaking. I knew immediately it was an earthquake and told the person on the phone. He couldn’t believe it. Most East Coasters are not familiar with earthquakes, but having experienced two of them in California, I knew what was happening. It was fairly gentle and didn’t seem to last more than 10-15 seconds, so I continued doing my business as if nothing had happened. Ten minutes later, they evacuated the entire building. Thirty minutes later, we were permitted back into the building and continued working.

Saturday afternoon at the show

Attendance at the show seemed lighter than usual, but that’s not what counts. Who shows up is much more important than how many people show up. For us, the right people showed up. Interest and sales were excellent, with most of it coming in, guess what? — Tiffany lamps and French glass. If you follow my blog, that will come as no surprise.

The hurricane hit Baltimore in the middle of the night — great timing. We slept through most of it. I thought no one would show up on Saturday because the hurricane was bearing down on Baltimore. But I was wrong. There were lots of people at the show and sales were best on Saturday. Never would have guessed that. What made it even better was that the sales were all to new clients. In asking around, most dealers had very good shows. I did hear a few complaints, but that was expected. There’s never a show where 100% of the dealers do well.

Sunday afternoon at the show

Didn’t think anyone would show up on Sunday, but as the weather cleared, quite a few people showed up. No sales on Sunday, but you won’t hear any complaints from me. That’s two fabulous shows in a row.

Fantastic Burgun & Schverer internally decorated vase

Check out my new acquisitions. I recently listed quite a few Tiffany, Handel and Pairpoint lamps. I also listed some very rare Louis Icart etchings including Melody Hour and Mardi Gras; several fine Daum vases; a Daum lamp; several Galle vases; and several more Tiffany Favrile vases. Also coming soon will be several wonderful European ceramic items by Clement Massier, Zsolnay and Amphora. Here’s the link. chasenantiques.com