NH Dealer Displays Vintage Ornaments

   A glimpse of Christmas past will be on display at New Hampshire Antique Co-op this holiday season with a magical "Christmas Morning" exhibit presented by collector and antique dealer Beverly Weir Longacre. Vintage glass ornaments will adorn a decorated Christmas tree surrounded with toys, antique furniture, a nutcracker, and a glass of milk and plate of cookies for Santa Claus.
   Longacre's collection includes a dazzling array of examples of early 1900s blown glass ornaments from Germany, where they were handmade by cottage industry. Multigenerational families would all take part in the home business, from making carved molds and heating the glass tubes to decorating the ornaments with glazes and glitter and packaging them for sale. These exquisite and fragile ornaments were created in a myriad of whimsical forms:  baskets, bicycles, Santas, swans, watering cans, walnuts, pinecones, teapots, angels, animals, hearts, and even a baby in a buggy. Since all were individually handmade, each ornament has unique and one-of-a-kind qualities.
   Longacre, who hails from Marlborough, NH and is an officer of the New Hampshire Antique Dealers Association, also lectures at antique shows on the subject of vintage ornaments (The Christmas Ornament - Folk Art in Miniature). She has amassed this rare collection over the past two decades.
  "These glass ornaments are miniature works of folk art," notes Longacre. "The detailed handwork - hand-blown into hand-carved molds, then hand-painted and hand-decorated - is what qualifies them as folk art." Made by the hundreds of thousands for the US markets in the early 1900s, and chiefly imported by F. W. Woolworth, these ornaments still remained all handmade by German villagers.
   This special holiday exhibit will be on view in the Focus Gallery at New Hampshire Antique Co-op now through January 31, 2009. New Hampshire Antique Co-op is pleased to offer to the community this exhibition space featuring historical societies, museums, and other antique and art-related nonprofit organizations and individuals. A common goal is shared by both New Hampshire Antique Co-op and these exhibitors: a commitment to preserving the past and enriching the future of the diverse history of antiques and fine art in New Hampshire.
   New Hampshire Antique Co-op, now celebrating 25 years of business, is one of the largest and finest group antique shops in the state. The shop features more than 200 dealers showcasing fine art, period furniture, vintage wares and collectibles. Named "Best of New Hampshire 2006 & 2007" by New Hampshire Magazine. New Hampshire Antique Co-op is located 1.5 miles west of the Milford Oval at 323 Elm Street/Rte. 101A, Milford, NH. For more information, call (603) 673-8499 or visit online at www.nhantiquecoop.com  Open daily 10 am. to 5 pm.