Listen up if your VCR is programmed to all the “Antiques Roadshows,” if a choice pair of pewter candlesticks, a primitive painting or the like would round out a cherished collection or if a really amazing Persian rug or 18th Century desk is be just what you need for a newly decorated room. Some prime antique events — where you can whet the collector instinct and finally satisfy questions about Grandpa’s watch and Grandma’s tea set — are going on in the Chicago area this weekend and next.
“Important” pieces ranging from Shaker artifacts, 19th Century clocks, Oriental rugs and antique jewelry to old pewter, formal and country furniture, old books, prints, paintings and folk art are among the highly collectible items that visitors will see at the Winnetka Community House’s 32nd Annual Winnetka Antiques Show, Friday through Sunday.
It’s considered by some dealers and antiques publications, including Maine Antique Digest, to be the best show in the Midwest, and quality, diversity and education are its hallmarks, according to the Winnetka Community House Woman’s Board, which organizes the show. A volunteer operation that annually raises $100,000 for the Community House, it features the wares and knowledge of 55 dealers from 17 states.
Organizers have a back list of already vetted dealers who would like to get in when a space opens in their category of antiques. Turnover is rare, however. Many of this year’s dealers, such as nationally known Wayne, Pa., antique clock specialist Gordon Converse, have been returning to Winnetka for nearly a decade.
If Converse’s name sounds familiar, think “Antiques Roadshow.” He has been telling people about their garage-sale finds and family heirlooms on the popular PBS television show for the past five years. Converse will not be doing appraisals at the Winnetka show, but he will be happy to talk about the old clocks and watches he will have on hand, including a hand-painted 1764 mantel clock that plays “God Save the King” and an 1800 Redding (Pa.) grandfather clock.
Converse typically is asked about an item’s ownership history, how it might fit into a room and if it will run well. “I address those [questions], but I also try to weave in more information than people know to ask,” he says. “My personal take [on questions and collecting] is that what people buy is not just an object. It’s almost a form of entertainment.”
Visitors often use the show to learn more about antiques or to seek help in finding the right piece for a room, according to co-chairwoman Joan Evanich.
“Come out whether you are already a collector or just thinking about collecting,” Evanich says. “The dealers are knowledgeable. They like to talk to people. They enjoy sharing their information. You can feel confident that they know what they are talking about. And we have lectures each morning that can be very helpful.”
The lectures ($10 each) include two seminars at 9 a.m. Friday (“One great thing can make the room” and “Smalls: What are they and what to look for in collecting them”), a seminar at 9 a.m. Saturday on miniature rugs and two seminars at 10 a.m. Sunday (“So you want to collect pewter” and “Gifts for good children”).
The 32nd Annual Winnetka Antiques Show is 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday in the Winnetka Community House, 620 Lincoln Ave., Winnetka, tickets: $10 (covers repeat entry); for information and tickets, call 847-446-0537 or visit www.winnetkacommunityhouse.org.
Antiques lovers can turn the trip into two-for-one by stopping by the Winnetka Woman’s Club 3rd Annual Antique Show, which is 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday; admission is $8 (covers repeat entry). Appraisal clinic is 1-3 p.m. Sunday; fee is $10 per item plus show ticket, limit three items. Winnetka Woman’s Club, 485 Maple Street at Oak Street, Winnetka; 847-446-1830 or www.winnetkawomansclub.org.
If you’re already overbooked for this weekend, there’s still the 44th Annual Fox Valley Antique Show to look forward to. Sponsored by the Chicago Suburban Antique Dealers Association (CSADA), the show will be at the Kane County Fairgrounds in St. Charles on March 9 and 10.
Nearly the same size as the Winnetka Antiques Show, Fox Valley features 54 dealers from 14 states. Although several categories of antiques will be present, the show is known as a good place to see early-Americana.
“For early-American things its probably the best in the Chicago area,” says Janesville, Wis., antique dealer Lee Foster. “The quality, overall, is superior to most shows. CSADA has only 30 members, but we invite dealers from other states to come in and do the show, which is carefully screened.” The 44th Annual Fox Valley Antique Show, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. March 9, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. March 10, Kane County Fairgrounds, Randall Road between Illinois Highways 38 and 64, St. Charles; tickets $6; 608-752-5188, 630-858-2277 and www.csada.com.
Just as with Winnetka, Kane County will have two shows going on. The 28th Antique Show at Pheasant Run is 11 a.m.-9 p.m. March 9, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. March 10 and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. March 11, Pheasant Run Mega Center, 4051 E. Main St. (Illinois Highway 64), St. Charles; admission $7 (single day). 630-515-1160 and www.kennedyproductions.com.
To learn if a possession is a valuable antique, the place to be this weekend is the “Appraisal Fair” at Navy Pier.
Hosted by prominent auctioneer, columnist, and TV personality Leslie Hindman, the “Appraisal Fair” is part of a Home & Garden Network Television series that periodically tapes at the Pier. Appraisals are free, but there is a two-item limit.
Even though people traipse in lugging everything imaginable, from tables to train sets, and even though some people will hear about their “treasure” while cameras are rolling, “Appraisal Fair” is not meant to be Chicago’s answer to the “Antiques Roadshow,” according to its producer, Thea Flaum. “It’s an outgrowth of a segment of “At the Auction,” which I have been doing with Leslie Hindman for HGTV way before the “Roadshow” was on the air,” Flaum says. (“Appraisal Fair” airs weekdays at 11 a.m., 7:30 and 10:30 p.m. CST Wednesday and Friday and 5 p.m. Saturday. “At the Auction” airs at noon CST weekdays, 7 and 10 p.m. Monday and 1 a.m. Sunday.)
“Our show’s focus,” Flaum says, “is on people discovering the background and stories behind the objects they own. It’s not strongly focused on how much something is worth.” But show appraisers regularly uncover treasures, she says.
“A young woman brought in a signed Grant Wood lithograph she had bought for $1 at a church rummage sale. She said she liked that it was signed by Grant Wood in pencil. She almost cried when she found out it was worth between $3,000 to $4,000. We have a lot of those,” Flaum says.
But she thinks people come to the Appraisal Fair for what they can learn about an object.
“What I love about the show is the enthusiasm that people have for discovering something about their family heirlooms or about something they purchased that they thought was interesting. Mostly I hear, over and over again, someone say after hearing that something is valuable, `Oh, but I would never sell it,'” she says.
The Appraisal Fair, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Terrace A West at Navy Pier, 600 E. Grand Ave., free appraisals, two-item limit (no weapons, blades, stamps or coins), reservations strongly suggested; reservations or information: 877-THE-FAIR (877-843-3247). Other 2001 Appraisal Fair dates: April 21-22, July 28-29, Aug. 18-19 and Sept. 29-30.
Another choice for checking an object’s treasure status is the Antiques Appraisal Days at Gorton Community Center in Lake Forest on the second Thursday of the month. Next held on March 8, Appraisal Days doesn’t offer a chance at national television coverage or an opportunity to rub elbows with a famous auctioneer. But the crowds are smaller, and the appraisers are some of the same people who do the Appraisal Fair and “Antiques Roadshow.” Cost is $20 to appraise three or fewer items.
“We do this because people are interested in knowing about their possessions — whether they inherited them, discovered them when cleaning out the attic or picked them up at a garage sale,” Gorton program director Susan Banks says. “It’s nice to have this information, which you can then pass along to your children.”
Antiques Appraisal Day, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. (afternoons are less crowded) March 8 and most second Thursdays of the month, Gorton Community Center, 400 W. Illinois Rd., Lake Forest; fee $20, no reservations; 847-234-6060.
