There are a few things you can count on seeing while driving up Route 1 through the midcoast. Of course, there are lobster shacks, beaches and signs directing drivers down one peninsula after another.
But for those who are less interested in the region’s go-to coastal attractions, there are plenty of antique stores along the corridor that boast sundry treasures, including many that aren’t nautical or beachy at all.
Antiquing is popular in the Northeast for several reasons, including an abundance of old houses whose owners prefer decor of a similar vintage. However, with younger people showing less interest, combined with the business challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of antique dealers in the midcoast appears to have shrunken in the past few years, according to some in the industry.
To make up for this, the antique mall model has become more popular, in which dealers can rent space in a larger shop that’s watched over by someone else. That frees up more time for the dealers to hunt for old wares.
Given how much time they spent chasing down those antiques, it’s no wonder that dealers favor some finds more than others, whether it’s a functional piece of furniture, or a more antiquated decoration.
The BDN asked several midcoast antique dealers to identify the coolest or most interesting things in their collection.
Wiscasset Antiques Mall, Wiscasset
In operation for more than 20 years, this mall boasts three floors with antiques from about 100 vendors, including lamps, rowing oars, snow shoes, art and furniture. There’s enough local demand that it stays open year round, according to owner Danny Lester.
“We have about everything that you could actually think of,” Lester said.
The mall is dog-friendly, too, with water and treats available and the shop’s pitbull-Dalmation mix, Dani, helping man the counter.
Lester said he’ll often have holiday-related items depending on the year. This winter, his favorite current offerings are sets of genuine sleigh bells that traditionally would have been attached to horses or sleds, so that they’d jingle as people rode around Maine’s snowy landscape.
Hobby Horse Antiques, Searsport
Open for a quarter century, this shop offers a wide range of items, including nautical antiques, jewelry and rarities that are mostly from the “primitive” era, which current owner Cindy Gallant said can include anything made before 1900.
How Gallant came to own Hobby Horse is an interesting story in itself: She needed a job one summer, so she began selling items at the flea market associated with the shop. After five years, she bought the market and has been the owner ever since.
“I’ve always loved old things and history,” Gallant said.
One of her favorite items she currently has for sale is a huge Coca-Cola sign from 1940. Another favorite of hers (and of children who visit the store) is the 1910 cash register she still uses for cash transactions. She has an iPad for credit card transactions, but said people love the nostalgia of the “ding” sound made by the register.
Trifles, Wiscasset
Trifles is actually two different antique shops: one on Main Street and another on Water Street, both owned and operated by Helen Robinson.
The one on Main Street, which was operated by Robinson’s husband Matthew before his death in 2021, sells period antiques from the 18th and 19th century. The one on Water Street has more mid-century modern antiques that Robinson calls “fun and funky.”
The couple previously ran a combination tea room and antique shop, where customers could purchase the table, chairs or dishes they were eating from. But the couple shifted to just selling antiques given the challenges of managing a restaurant and raising kids.
Robinson’s husband loved carved angel wings, which could be found in old churches that closed down. One of her favorite current items is a set of them from 1700. Another is a Renaissance-era Italian table made of walnut from 1540. She said she loves to run her hands along the 500-year-old wood.
“After [my husband] died, everybody was calling up and saying, ‘Oh, do you have any wings left?’” Robinson said. “They all wanted to have the wings because it was something that we always had, and it would remind them of him.”
Cabot Mills Antique Mall, Brunswick
In the restored Fort Andross mill on the Androscoggin River in Brunswick is an expansive antique mall that one could get lost in. With over 100 vendors and 160 spaces, it sees 600 to 700 visitors per week, according to Deborah Stufflebeam, a manager.
It offers a variety of items, including jewelry, pottery, clothes and even some cast iron skillets in good condition.
Stufflebeam couldn’t think of one item that could be labeled her favorite or most interesting, but she said the stall filled with clocks, including several grandfather clocks, is amazing.
(Personally, my favorite item was a functioning Royal typewriter from around 1940 that I did, in fact, come back to purchase.)
Antiques at 10 Mechanic, Camden
Located in the movie house that first showed “Peyton Place,” a film shot in the Camden area, this shop has 20 vendors that sell Persian rugs, vintage clothing, art, mid-century modern furniture, old postcards, tools, jewelry and more.
The owner, Bonnie Durant, said it has enough popularity with locals to be open every day except for Christmas and Thanksgiving. With more people moving into Camden, she said, she’s been busy selling furniture and decor for new homeowners.
Durant said clippings of advertisements in vintage magazines are popular with the younger crowds, but her favorite item for sale right now is a portrait of the Mona Lisa smoking a cigar.
“I don’t know how many times I’ve seen somebody drag something in, and I’m going, ‘That’s never gonna sell.’ And within a week, somebody comes in and goes, ‘Oh my god!’ and it’s gone,” Durant said.
