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Stella Brackets Americana Week with Pier Shows on Two Weekends

by Ed Pfeiffer

Stella Management's double-pier shows have been a part of Americana Week in Manhattan for many years. This year, for the first time, there were two of them, one over the weekend of January 18 and 19, as the Americana events got underway, and another on the following weekend.

Leanne Stella said there were 350 exhibitors at the first show and some 325 other dealers a week later. Those numbers included about 30 to 40 exhibitors who did both shows. Dealers were offered a choice as to which weekend they preferred, she explained, with some preference given to those who had done Stella's January shows in past years. Space rental charges were the same for both shows.

As in the past, each of the piers differed to a large degree in the type of merchandise being offered by the exhibitors. Much of what was shown on Pier 90 was 20th-century decorative objects, including chrome and stainless steel furniture and lighting, as well as a very diverse representation of European and Asian items. Displays on Pier 92, by contrast, focused primarily on more traditional Americana items from the 18th and 19th century, including ceramics, silver, and jewelry.

Of the four days, the first Saturday probably drew the largest crowds, especially in the afternoon. Steve German of Mad River Antiques, North Granby, Connecticut, said would-be buyers were still crowding the aisles late that day, and the show managers flashed the lights to suggest it was time for the crowd to go home. Overall traffic appeared to taper off somewhat the next day. There seemed to be still fewer visitors on the second weekend, with very light attendance on Sunday. Those impressions squared with the post-show numbers reported by Leanne Stella. She said there were about 10,000 visitors during the first weekend and about 9000 at the second one.

Although temperatures were well below freezing on both weekends, the weather did not seem to have been a significant influence on visitor turnout. Overall, dealers at both shows seemed generally satisfied with their sales, making the usual allowances for the current weak economy. Leanne Stella said she was amazed at how many goods were sold during the period. "I don't think you are seeing those kinds of sales numbers around the country right now. One interesting thing is that the exhibitors in the January twenty-five and twenty-six show that did the best were those who did not exhibit anywhere in town the weekend before."

Comments from a cross section of exhibitors suggested that the first Saturday produced the strongest sales results. Many of the exhibitors had done last year's Stella pier show in January, the first one following the terrorist attacks of September 11. They said sales at that time had been exceptional, largely due to buying by collectors and dealers after several months of cancellations or postponements of many New York area shows.

Among dealers reporting good sales on the first weekend was Paula Rubenstein of New York City, who called her results solid. Steve German, who with his wife, Lorraine, started Mad River Antiques about a year ago, felt the pier event was their best show. They sold an 18th-century tiger maple slant-lid desk for $3500, a game board for $850, an Oriental rug for $575, and a cherry one-drawer stand for $650. John Orban of Cadiz, Ohio, had buyers for a French papier-mâché dog priced at $2600, a $7000 bronze figure, and a French tambourine plate. Among other things, Joseph and Emily Ragazzi of Flushing, New York, sold a pair of 1940's Chippendale style mahogany end tables tagged $1200 and a Vernis Martin music cabinet, bombé with bronze ormolu feet, for $1800.

On the second weekend, most dealers seemed to have had a satisfactory sales experience. Howard Roberts of White Orchid Antiques, Malvern, Pennsylvania, reported selling period scrimshaw for $700, a floral watercolor for $350, and a 12-piece set of china for $300. Murray Bartky of Bartky Mineralogical Enterprises, Livingston, New Jersey, felt his sales had been very good. They included fossil items priced at $1000 each and several dinosaur eggs priced from $500 to $1000. By early Sunday afternoon, Mike Jacobs of Matrix Gallery Picture Postcards, Millbrook, New York, had written up 66 sales in his receipt book. Vintage radios seemed to be of interest to visitors, and Bill Arciprete of Huntington, New York, had buyers for two table models, a 1933 Emerson tagged $300 and a 1941 Zenith #65527 tagged $250, as well as a plastic 1951 Stromberg Carlson priced at $250.

Joyce Bassin of Short Hills, New Jersey, had sold four "really good" decoys priced between $1000 and $3000 and a mortised Pennsylvania bench for $300. A small three-drawer country worktable tagged $750, a lithographed circa 1960 "Room for Rent" sign tagged $850, and a stainless steel French stool tagged $195 were among the items that sold for David and Eleanor Billet of New York City.

In a post-show interview Leanne Stella said, "We were pleased with the shows considering the current economic trends. We will definitely be continuing with a January pier show. Over the past few years, because of circumstances, we have been pushed into making quick decisions. We want to take our time in arriving at what we do in the future. We will be evaluating over the next three months what is the best schedule for our January and March pier shows." She also noted that decisions on the pier shows had to be worked out based on the availability of the piers, which are also used for other events and as berths for major ocean liners such as the QE2.

Stella Show Management does about 18 shows a year, including three pier shows. For more information, call (212) 255-0020 or log on to the firm's Web site (www.stellashows.com).