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Jan and John Maggs Antiques Newsletter
June 2009
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Dear Newsletter Subscriber,
This month we are publishing our Newsletter in a new format.
Many of our colleagues have extolled the virtues of the
service offered by ConstantContact, and we've been
experimenting for about a month to learn how best to adapt
our traditional Newsletter to this more inviting
and accessible design.
All of the things you've come to expect in our monthly
newsletter are still here: feature stories, tales of the
trade, new inventory, Pippin, and the Back Page. You'll
find them in pretty much the same place, though we've
spruced them up with pictures. Links to other pages on our
website, which have been scattered all over the place, are
now easily found in our Quick Links boxes, just below. In
addition to its improved appearance, we believe that this
new format will make it easier for you to find the things
that interest you most.
As we inaugurate this new newsletter format, we're
also beginning a concerted effort to add content to the
inventory sections of our website. Our goal is to list a
far greater proportion of our stock online, so that more
is available to our Internet shoppers.
To that end, we also hope to send a second mailing
each month that will update our stock listings. Our
monthly newsletter - the one with stories, opinion,
and fun - will continue as usual. We hope you'll spend
a few minutes with us today.
John and Jan
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Quick Links
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J&J Maggs Antiques Website
Our Shop and Shows
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Quick Links
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Current Stock
Newsletter Indexes
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Since last
month's newsletter . . . .
It's been more than a year since we last
sold at Brimfield, but this Spring we considered taking a
space at Dealer's Choice, a four-hour show on opening day.
Since the May show has always been the best attended, we
hoped that several "old friends" might appeal to buyers
from other parts of the country, if we offered them for
about half of what we paid. We waited until good weather
seemed imminent, then called to inquire about space.
Unfortunately, by the time we called, all spaces had been
sold, so we decided to attend as buyers only.
We found shopping quite frustrating. The
crowds were large, and we spent the day being bumped
and stomped by pedestrians and being run over by many of
the plethora of flimsy carts that proliferate and make
shopping Brimfield more painful every year. (Or are we
just getting old?) After covering about half of
Brimfield's twenty-odd separate fields, we had written
only two checks, although we'd seen several other pieces
that would have been attractive additions to our
inventory, had they been far less costly. Frustrated and
exhausted, we returned to Conway, deciding to forego the
remainder of the week.
While reports from Brimfield would
suggest that the recession is still suppressing
business, our perception from our shop is far more
optimistic. Last month's Newsletter generated several
good sales, and we've had a healthy number of buyers in
the shop, as well.
The Rhinebeck floor plan was
different in several ways, due in part to the presence of more
than 30 new dealers. We've spoken with a few of the former
Rhinebeck dealers whose spaces have been taken by these
newcomers, and they tell the same story: expenses are high,
while receipts have fallen steadily over the past few years.
We enjoy the ambience of the show and the beauty of the
Valley, so we're happy to say that our sales were strong
enough to enable us to return in July and next Spring. But
many dealers had disappointing shows, and we expect to see
more changes next year. (See this month's Tale of the Trade,
below, for more Rhinebeck news.) |
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Recently listed stock
Good things often come in threes. This month's
newsletter contains a group of three impressionist
paintings of Yorkshire, England, three exceptional
19th-century glass items, and three pairs of Georgian
earrings. In addition, we have several horn beakers, and
an expressively carved Gothic panel. Click
here for pictures and details.
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This Month's Feature
Several years ago, at Brimfield, we found
this large scale model of a Tudor house. Although we sold
it soon afterward, we still return often to the pictures
we took and delight in the extraordinary detail of its
interior and the whimsy of its design. This month, we're
happy to share a few of these pictures with our readers.
Click
here for more.
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 Tale
of the Trade
Evolving with a Changing Rhinebeck
We were very excited when, more than a decade
ago, we received a call from Jimi Barton, offering us a
booth at the Rhinebeck show, one of the finest antiques
venues in the Northeast. For years we'd heard about
Rhinebeck, what a great show it was, and how many dealers
were on the waiting list for a space. Now we would get to
find out for ourselves. More
. . . .
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Pippin's Page
This month, an empty case of fine ale makes Pippin as happy
as the contents will make his parents. Click
here for Pippin's Page
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The Back Page
Click
here for this month's salute to serendipity.
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