There are other things aside from nature's natural beauty that attract us to New Hampshire for a one-week yearly visit.  Although nature is the main attraction, fulfilling our desire to immerse ourselves fully into a fabulous natural landscape, we also succumb to a curiosity about what is available from year to year in the acquisition department of antiques of which that area appears to have an abundance.

Junk too, of course, but the discerning collector has no difficulty separating the wheat from the chaff, so to speak.  We are most definitely not interested in 'collectibles', 'memorabilia', 'vintage' or any other such items.  But we do have a deep and abiding interest in 19th Century paintings, porcelains, clocks and other items of creative and lasting beauty.

Over the years we've seen many shops open, only to close again for lack of clientele.  Whenever the economy does a nose dive, so do places as financially precarious as antique shops, hugely dependent on peoples' ability to spend beyond the necessities of life.

So, we drove down to Antique Alley to have a look at what a variety of group shops had on offer.  Found a lot of the usual junk and a smattering of items of interest to us.  In some places anything remotely decent is vastly over-priced beyond its actual value, and we see such items gathering dust in various shops, year after year.

We discovered a new place had opened in an old barn that had been wonderfully well restored to its original condition and beyond.  In it, a friendly proprietor to welcome all who passed through that portal.  Not a group shop, but a discriminating collector who had on hand handsome pieces of furniture dating back to the early 19th Century, from Britain, from America.  Highboys and lovely chairs and desks, some interesting paintings and Japanese porcelains.

It was not there, however, where we discovered a few paintings that were of interest to us and affordable, as well.  The two group shops operated by Parker-French offer a huge assortment of items from junk to uniquely antique treasures, and this time was no different for us roaming through it, to discover two paintings that were destined to return home with us.