Issues → May/June 2010 → Features →
Brimfield, MA: Ultimate Antique Treasure Hunt
Antique show and flea market in May, July, and September
by Annie Graves
VIDEO: Brimfield Antique Show
The Brimfield Antique Show dates for 2011 are: May 10-15, July 12-17, and September 6-11. brimfieldshow.com
Mist curls off the foothills of the Berkshires, rising like hope. Calm and peaceful, it's the ultimate in serenity, a world of winding roads curving through lush green fields and blooming apple orchards.
Deep in its midst, surrounded by the remnants of old farms and quiet ponds, a hush descends. Nature holds its breath. And then, 9 a.m. the whistle blows at the edge of a stubbly old field, and all hell breaks loose. Antiques dealers fly out from every direction, yanking treasures from the backs of pickup trucks and the tops of cars.
Flinging open the doors to vans on their last legs or fancy lettered vehicles that shelter upscale merchandise, they hear, "How much for the harpoon?" "Got any gold watches?" "What's your best price?" Civil War swords, typewriters, rare instruments, legless chairs, topless mannequins, bits of Buddhas, shabby chic, Sheraton...all tumble out. It's a dizzying assortment, an unimaginable collection of everything on earth.
Frenzy grips the field. Buy it or lose it, as sellers toss goods onto the ground, onto folding tables, into the arms of eager buyers. There's no time for chitchat, and oh, by the way, welcome to the Brimfield Antique Show, a three-ring circus of a fair that descends on this quiet Massachusetts town three times a year. During that handful of allotted days in May, July, and September, the population of little Brimfield swells from 3,500 to a mind-blowing 130,000, each person intent on the object(s) of his or her desire.
"That came out of a cool estate in Buffalo!" a lanky dude says about an iron wall sculpture that starts off at $450, but quickly drops to $350 as the buyer walks away. In the booth next door, the words "World War II" emerge from a string of Yiddish, the harpoon sells for $160, and everyone runs a hand over the ancient, battered, but gorgeous mirror frame--until they hear it's $4,000.
Brimfield is the rock star of antiques markets. Martha Stewart marks it on her calendar, and customers come from the four corners to ogle and buy. Roughly 6,000 dealers pack more than 20 fields along both sides of Route 20 in south-central Massachusetts for nearly a mile, making this show the ultimate flirt when it comes to temptation: Happiness at every price. Or half price. Or make me an offer.
A siren wails in the distance. "Someone must have had a heart attack about the prices," says a dark-haired woman with an Oriental rug rolled up under her arm. She makes a beeline for a beautiful textiles booth. "How much?" she asks, fingering a delicate, silky scarf.
"So low you won't believe it."
It all started simply enough, in the 1950s, in one big field. Today that area, now known as J&J Promotions, is but one of a number of privately owned fields, the individual names rife with a certain carnival mystique: Crystal Brook, Heart-O-the-Mart, Hertan's, The Meadows, New England Motel, Quaker Acres. Technically, Brimfield runs from Tuesday through Sunday. But opening days for the main fields are staggered, to give each an advantage. Some open at sunrise; others charge admission for that first crack at fresh goods. But no one does it quite as spectacularly as May's Antique Market, the chaotic scene we witnessed at the beginning of the story.
Reader Comments
Comment from Ginger Brousseau on September 2, 2010
Having grown up near Brimfield, MA, I was eager to read \"The Ultimate Treasure Hunt,\" which brought back many memories of treasure hunting at the shows with my mother over 40 years ago. The article is enjoyable and informative, but a slight rap on the knucles to Ms. Graves, who begins by placing Brimfield in the Berkshires. As a Massachusetts native, I can tell you that Brimfield is no where near there, being in Hampden county, not Berkshire county, where the true \"Berkshire Hills\" are located. Where is Annie Graves from? (New York maybe?) To non-New Englanders, Brimfield may seem like the Berkshires (close, but no cigar). And where are your fact checkers (or do you rely on spell check?) Any New Englander worth their salt should have caught this basic error.
Comment from Lorraine A Velardi on May 3, 2011
Knuckles????
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