From Historic to Antique

Having a historic listing in Dickeyville made me want to visit the Baltimore Summer Antique show that at the Baltimore Convention Center this weekend.  The show started on Thursday and ran through Sunday. So after my first showing on 2300 Tucker Lane we took a short drive downtown to the Baltimore Convention Center.

Somehow "antiques" makes me think of chairs with delicate legs and fragile porcelain vases. The Baltimore Summer Antiques Show had those, of course, but so much more.  Fine furniture, jewelry, sculpture, and books were only part of the story.

This ax sculpture doesn't seem like an antique, but the two owners of Wells and Company deal in 20th century furniture and art. "Antique" covers a lot! I saw this wonderful Paul Evans table, too – I have a Paul Evans piece in my dining room and I love it. And these hand carved Chinese musicians caught my eye among the Asian antiques from the Chinese Art Gallery.

Jean and Harold Ballew own Ballew's Olde Books & Collectibles in Stone Mountain, GA. We were lucky enough to sit and have lunch with this very interesting couple. Jean is also a portrait artist, and Harold also appraises contents of homes. Wish they were in Baltimore - so many time I have an elderly person selling their home and the kids don't want to be bothered with their "stuff" so they then just have it hauled away. What a great service to have someone like Harold to visit the home before this happens.

I love this little car – it is a hand made model of a 1930 Bentley Blower by someone who worked at Bentley, and is battery driven. It shared the Daniels Antiques booth with all these wonderful old slot machines. Some of them date to the early 20^th century like the yellow Jack Pot machine circa 1936.

There was more to see at the show than we could take in, but it was a delightful few hours. Even if you're not an "antiques person," you can learn a lot wandering around a good show.