Fair deal: Topsfield Antiques Market to be held at fairgrounds

America's Oldest Fair grounds will get a little older this weekend, when the New England Antique Shows presents the Topsfield Antiques Market on Saturday and Sunday.

More than 150 dealers will display antiques, including everything from children's books to antique clocks and scientific instruments. Items will be on display indoors and outdoors, under tents.

This is the first time New England Antique Shows has come to the fairgrounds; the event is being billed as "a fun show in a country setting with a city flair." A majority of the antiques dealers at the show will be from Massachusetts; however, dealers from around the Northeast will make the trek to Topsfield, too.

This year's show is being produced by Marvin Getman, owner of New England Antique Shows, who said he runs shows across eastern Massachusetts.

"Some of my dealers recommended that I look at the Topsfield Fair grounds," said Getman. "It's a really good spot for tents and a great country atmosphere."

Getman said the fairgrounds are a great setting for an antiques show because of the flexibility to set up indoors as well as under tents outdoors, which allows a variety of settings for dealers to show their work.

After this year's show, Getman said, he hopes to continue the Topsfield Antiques Show in upcoming years.

"A lot of antiques come from this area," said Getman, who added that expanding to this area will keep the antiques dealers happy.

One local collector, Anne Russell of Newburyport, said the show is a personal homecoming, since she grew up in Topsfield.

Russell specializes in American country antiques, including old-country furniture and home furnishings. Her collection includes a wide variety of furnishings and boxes.

Because Russell specializes in mostly furniture, her booth at the event will showcase a variety of items of all sizes.

Russell said she will also be bringing stone fruit. Stone fruit is commonly used as table decor and includes pears, apples, cherries, peaches, plums and bananas.

Of all the dealers, John Kuenzig of Kuenzig Books has the shortest commute: Kuenzig is located in Topsfield.

Besides books, Kuenzig collects ephemera — paper products like posted notices and pamphlets — and scientific instruments, such as a binocular microscope, a slide rule and a telegraph pen register.

"The neat thing about scientific instruments is that you can effectively duplicate things scientists in that time completed," said Kuenzig.

He said his collection also includes original photographs of students, buildings and professors from the Williams College Class of 1870, as well as various photographic portfolios and pictures.

Kuenzig also specializes in science-fiction books. His collection includes books by Issac Newton and Francis Crick.

Another book collector, Jean McKenna of Beverly, will have a booth at the market. McKenna specializes in antiquarian, juvenile and out-of-print books.

"I'd say I'm bringing around 300 books to the show," said McKenna, who added that she's done antiques shows at the fairgrounds for 25 years every summer. Shows such as The Great Indoor-Outdoor Antiques Show have also come to the fairgrounds in past years.

McKenna's collection includes many books with colored illustrations and hand-colored lithographs, as well as a signed copy of "Lighthouses of New England" and "Snipp Snapp Snurr," which was published in the 1950s.

"I have all kinds of books, covering most areas of collecting," said McKenna. "(But) I specialize in children's books."

When: Saturday, May 24, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, May 25, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Photos

John Kuenzig of Boxford poses with antique scientific equipment and science fiction books. Staff photo