Members
of the New Hampshire Antique Dealers Association (NHADA), the
Vermont Antique Dealers Association (VADA) and the Antique Dealers
Association of America (ADA).
Although Holly and I each had
some exposure to antiques in our youth, it was not until the late
80s and early 90s that we began buying and collecting antiques
in earnest. Having met at Middlebury College in the Winter of
1989, Holly and I quickly learned that we shared an interest in
American History and the material culture of the 18th and 19th
centuries. We began attending tag sales and estate auctions with
some regularity, buying inexpensive antiques as decoration for
our dorm rooms. During the Summer of 1990 I was employed by a
Middlebury grad who specialized in the acquisition and sale of
Antique Building Materials. In disassembling 18th and 19th century
structures across Vermont and New York I gained an appreciation
of Vernacular Architecture and learned much about the lives of
the previous homeowners through the objects I discovered. My interest
in antiques was further piqued through the tales of my employer,
who had been an active bottle digger in the early 70s. It was
at this time I saw my first antique bottle of significant merit
(a colored, open pontiled "Covert's Balm of Life") and
a journey was begun. Holly and I quickly began an active search
for bottles and her first love, decorated stoneware.
After graduating from Middlebury
in 1991, Holly spent a year at Shelburne Museum inventorying the
Toy Collection, further enhancing our interest in all things "good
and early" and expanding our knowledge base. After my own
graduation in 1992 Holly and I settled in Vermont and we continued
pursuing antiques both personally and professionally. Holly's
work at both the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum and the Sheldon
Museum furthered our awareness and appreciation of the decorative
arts, as did my continued toils in the building material salvage
business. Soon our Ripton corn crib was filled with early objects
and as our tastes matured, we began to sell many of our earlier
purchases as a means of funding our now pricier desires.
We set up at our first show in
1993 and found that we were able to sell bottles, stoneware and
general antiques with some success. Although we maintained our
"real" jobs while buying and selling at every opportunity,
we dreamed of making antiques a full-time pursuit. By the Fall
of 1997, our inventory and client base had expanded to the point
where I was able to leave my job and enter the business full-time.
We were fortunate that this decision coincided with the emergence
of the internet and we were soon shipping dozens of objects each
week to clients across the country, making sales and contacts
through eBay and our personal websites, www.jeffnholantiquebottles.com
and www.noordsyantiques.com. Our business quickly grew to a point
where Holly could also leave her job and we have been working
as a team since the Summer of 1998. Although we are best known
for our collections of earthenware and early glass, we buy and
sell all kinds of period objects with an eye towards painted surfaces
and individual craftsmanship.
