Art News

Antiques Aficionados Swarm to New Hampshire for 54th Edition of Highly Esteemed Show

MANCHESTER, NH. (AP).- A tall-case clock crafted in 1810 was the heart-stopping piece Peter Sawyer of Exeter proudly brought to his booth this week at the 54th New Hampshire Antiques Show. Made of mahogany by Boston clockmaker Aaron Willard Jr. — and marked inside the door with a label made from a plate engraved by Paul Revere — the timepiece was priced at $85,000. “This is the first time it’s been on the market since it was made,” said Sawyer. Antiques aficionados began packing the lobby of Manchester’s Radisson Hotel before dawn Thursday, anxious to be among the first shoppers at a show many proclaim to be tops in the country. What awaited them was a dizzying array of antiques, some — like the Willard clock — in circulation for the first time since they were crafted many years ago. Dealers hoped that antiques buyers, as they so often do in down economic times, would spring for special, pricey items as investments. Samplers stitched by school girls in the e