Beautiful Things

While originality of structure and surface are always qualities we look for, alone they are not enough. We look for pieces that in some way are exceptional…that display qualities of the imagination, not only of craftsmanship. What moves us most are pieces that attest to a single maker's imaginative interpretation of prevailing forms. We look for pieces that have that little bit extra--where craftsman becomes artist, not only solving technical problems, and understanding the potential of form, but also applying his or her own creative insights to create a work that is in some sense unique. We seek pieces that are evocative, that open a door into another era and speak to us of history and art in a human and personal way.

Our Story

While studying for his Ph.D at the University of Connecticut, Elliott lucked upon an early 19th c. house to rent. Setting out to furnish it on a student’s budget, he fell under the spell of both early American antiques and colonial architecture. Upon graduating, he and Grace began careers teaching at the State University of New York at Albany, but the antiques life beckoned. They moved quickly from being full-time teachers and part-time collectors, to full-time dealers.

While dealing in a wide variety of 17th, 18th, and early 19th c. material, they specialize in 17th and 18th c. American vernacular furniture in old or original finish, textiles of the 17th and 18th c, and early metalwork, particularly candlesticks of the 15th-17th century. Both have taught courses on antiques, and have lectured extensively at museums, historical societies, and several colleges on a range of antiques-related topics, with Elliott focusing on American furniture, and addressing questions of authenticity, aesthetics, and comparative evaluation. He has taught courses in antiques appreciation at Simon's Rock College of Bard, has lectured at the American Folk Art Museum, Colby-Sawyer College, the Springfield Museum, and the University of New Hampshire. Grace has lectured on samplers at the Albany Institute of History and Art, on quilts and rugs at Simon's Rock, and at various historical societies in Connecticut and Massachusetts. They have helped organize and loaned material to various exhibitions on early American rugs, including to the "The Great Cover-Up" at the American Folk Art Museum in New York. In addition, Grace has co-authored an article with Jan Whitlock entitled "Wool Embroidered Blankets.”

Founding members of the Antiques Dealers' Association of America (ADA), they have served that organization in various capacities: Elliott as past president, member of the Board of Directors, head of vetting for the ADA show, and longtime member of the furniture and metalwork vetting committees. Grace has also served that organization as a current Board member, chair of the Membership Committee, and head of textile vetting for the show. In addition to having participated in the Winter Antiques Show and several of its vetting committees, they have also participated in the Philadelphia Antiques Show, the Connecticut Antiques Show, the ADA Show for Historic Deerfield, and the Collector’s Fair in Manchester NH. Elliott and Grace continue to participate in the Delaware Antiques Show, the new “Philadelphia” show for Historic Trappe, and now happily, in the New Hampshire Antiques Dealers Association (NHADA) show in Manchester. The antiques life still beckons.