ABOUT JEFF BRIDGMAN – AND FLAGS
Spotlights on key exhibitors, the Pennsylvania Fall Antique Show, York, PA

I grew up in the small town of Mansfield, Pennsylvania (population 2,500) which is located along the northern border of the state and just east of center, in rural Tioga County. It’s a part of Pennsylvania that people simply don’t think about. When they ask, I say that it’s about 25 miles south of Corning, New York. When they don’t know where Corning is, I say, well, it’s about an hour west of Binghampton. And when they don’t know where Binghampton is, I can’t help them.

Much of my pre-antiques life was spent around universities. Mansfield is the home of Mansfield University, a school in the Pennsylvania State system. My father taught Mathematics there for more than 30 years, and I started taking classes there when I was 16 and a high school junior. I took as many classes at the university as the high school would allow, which was about 3 per semester. After graduation I completed a B.A. in Economics, then moved to Boston to pursue a M.S. in Economic Policy and Planning at Northeastern University (located about a block east of the Museum of Fine Arts, which I visited often). While there I became very interested in Medical Economics and health care administration, and chose to transfer to a degree program that was more focused. I took a year off while examining other schools, moved back to Pennsylvania, and started a small business dealing antiques. That was fifteen years ago.

A year after leaving Boston I moved to State College to begin work on a Master of Health Administration at Penn State, which I finished in August of 1994. I was married and divorced during this time period, doing a much better job of being a graduate student and a small business owner than at being a husband.

In 1994 I went to work for a large orthopedic group practice in State College, acting as assistant administrator. Then after about a year I took a research job at Penn State, designing, building, and managing a database for a breast cancer research project. During all of this time, however, I had been exhibiting at antique shows in the Northeast, and my business was finally showing signs of being able to become more than just a small additional income and a hobby.

I think I did my first shows in 1992. My first was Carlisle, followed by Rennigers, Brimfield, Farmington, and a show at the Meadowlands that no longer exists. I exhibited at about 12 shows annually in the years that followed, but it was not until the middle of 1997 that things really started to change. It was at this time that I left Penn State to aggressively focus all of my efforts on antiques. Today I spend almost every waking hour buying and selling on the phone or on the road, exhibiting at shows from Massachusetts to Texas to Minnesota, although I spend most of my time in the Northeast and New England. The closer I can get to New York City or its inhabitants, the better. So I tend to exhibit where New Yorkers live or vacation. I love New Yorkers not only because they tend to be educated buyers and because their wallets allow them to live up to their tastes, but also because of the lack of rigidity in their style and collections. In general, they don’t care if it’s New England or Pennsylvania. As a group they have no rigid prejudices. They just want it to be great, whatever it is. They want to be blown away and dazzled. They have such passion for antiques and great design. They know what they like, and they know what they don’t like.

My personal passions are early surface, bold folk style, and great color, in that order. And I love all things Pennsylvania. I don’t restrict myself to Pennsylvania items by any means, but when I find myself buying a Southern or a New England item, I often find myself buying something that looks Pennsylvania in some capacity. The love of our Pennsylvania forefathers for bright color and eye-catching form simply make Pennsylvania items more interesting in my opinion. From the late 18th to the late 19th century, I would argue that no state produced higher quality folk art than did Pennsylvania in its frakturs, quilts, furniture, painted woodenware and stoneware.

That aside, about six years ago I found myself getting very interested in something that has a bearing on all states, which is the American Flag. I must admit that I had never thought much about early American flags, and it was mostly because I so rarely saw them. I was in the business a couple of years before I saw my first 45 star flag, and it made me think about just how rare earlier star counts must be. But as soon as I saw my first great one, I was blown away and I knew I was hooked for life.

When you stop and think about it, there’s nothing more American than the flag, and I was drawn both by this notion, as well as because such intriguing folk qualities could be found in the designs of early flag makers. Being quite patriotic, when I found how little respect the flag has gotten in the antique community, I was actually embarrassed on behalf of my profession. I was also in awe of Americana dealers who had been in the business for many years, but who did not give the flag any more than passing attention. This fueled me to forge a seldom trodden path in Americana and to specialize in flags. This is going to sound like a sales pitch, but today I have come to think that no collection of early Americana is really complete without one. Be it formal or country, funky folk art or modernism, the flag simply fits in everywhere if displayed appropriately. The incremental changes in star counts, as well as the patriotic and even heroic uses, contain such great stories and are such important parts of our nation’s history as to intrigue practically everyone.

In October of 2000 I moved to a rural area near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania with my then-fiancée, Kim, who is now my wife. Kim is a therapist by trade, and we have been together for 8 years, over which time she has completed a Master of Social Work at Smith College. Today she serves as Director of Counseling at Wilson College in Chambersburg. I am happy to say that we are expecting our first child, a girl, and that life for me will change quite drastically sometime around December 12th. Textile dealers beware. Give Noel Siena Bridgman about 15 years, then you can throw in the towel!