Move over the rest of the world: the third week in January belongs to New York. Yes, the weather was nasty, the skies were gray, but inside the elegant Fifth Ave building that housed the New York Ceramics Fair it was Paradise. To see so many fabulous figures under one roof was a rare treat. The dealers were braced for the worst, in light of the current economy....but surprise: sales held up well, by all accounts.

From Elinor Penna's stand

From Elinor Penna's stand

From John Howard's stand

From the stand of Sampson Horne.

From the stand of Sampson Horne.

John Howard's stand.
As you can see, the show was busy and it was hard to get pictures of the cases. Never try to stand between a collector and a figure he covets! Highlights for me included two fantastic lectures: Rob Hunter talked on early Southern ceramics, and Miranda Goodby revealed new information gleaned from Enoch Wood's diary, acquired by Hanley Musuem in 2005. And what did Myrna buy? More on that later. But the impressively large jug visible on the table on John Howard's stand reportedly sold--and not to me!