Philadelphia Antique Show Made for an Exciting Weekend

Whether you are a pro “picker” or simply love rummaging through estate sales and brocante markets looking for that one perfect treasure, then you must love the excitement and sporting atmosphere of an antique show. This past weekend brought a big one to the City of Brotherly Love: the Philadelphia Antique Show, which returned after a one-year hiatus. The Philadelphia Antique Show is one of the most respected of its kind on a national level, and this year’s focus was on fine art (amidst dozens of other types of treasures). This was the 54th time that the Antique Show has been staged.

This weather-battered weathervane is worth more than the average Philadelphia home.

Mentioned on a Philly.com recap of the antique show was a copper weathervane of a fireman’s helmet that bore a price tag of $595,000 and a “painting of an oversized bull that’s become “priceless” to its antiques-dealer owner.” There were fine porcelains, decorative arts, and “uncommon furnishings spanning three centuries.”

The show was set in the Navy Yard and ran all weekend. There was a “mobbed” Preview Night on Friday, according to exhibitor Patrick Bell of Olde Hope Antiques in New Hope. Bell was joined by some 60 other exhibitors, not just those with home bases in the Delaware Valley, but from all around the country as well.

It was a great turnout for an event that was a long time in the works being planned. Co-chair Anne Hamilton and others spent 16 months reorganizing the event. There was an attempt to bring it to the Convention Center, but the committee was apparently daunted by “inflexible rules” and “cavernous space.” The show has been held on the Navy Yard armory before, but that space is now occupied by an Urban Outfitters. So it was decided that the show would be held in a 38,000-square-foot tent on the Navy Yard’s Marine Parade Grounds.

According to Hamilton, the show was enjoyed by all, including younger antiques enthusiasts who are just getting started in the hobby.