GLEN RIDGE, NJ — Twenty-eight antique dealers displayed collectables at the 71st annual Glen Ridge Antiques Show on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 3 and 4. The event was held at the Glen Ridge Congregational Church with proceeds going to local charities. Eleven of the dealers were new to the show, but three have been around since the 20th century. The most senior of these was Dave Cowell, of Loving Living Antiques, in Caldwell. He has been coming since 1984. Cowell said his sales were good. He had Irish sterling, from 1812.
“Not much has survived,” he said. “For Irish-Americans, it’s very collectable.”
There was not much, he said, because when England and Ireland combined in the early part of the 19th century to make the United Kingdom, the Irish silversmiths could not compete with their English counterparts. As a result, Irish silversmithing declined.
“Many people buy on impulse,” he said. “But others want to know what they are buying and the dealer has to guide them.”
Part of the show was that guidance, and even the most casual observer, without spending a penny, could come away with a renewed sense of history.
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