J & R Ferris Antiques, LLC About Us
J & R Ferris Antiques, LLC of Boonville, New York, has been in business since the early 1970s. Janette (Jan) and Richard (Dick) set out as purveyors of 18th and 19th century militaria and Americana. Though the inventory has evolved, one will find a representative sampling of militaria and weaponry, scientific and medical instruments, artwork and Americana. In 1984 Dick's son, Scott, became a full time employee of the business. Following Jan's retirement, Scott's business responsibilities have increased. He brings his knowledge of the fine arts to J & R Ferris Antiques, LLC (scottrferris.com).
Dick's interest in historic militaria may have been inspired by his gun wielding great uncle (Western film actor) Gabby Hayes. While Dick was stationed at F. E. Warren Air Force Base, in Cheyenne, Wyoming (during the early 1950s) he was asked to catalogue the gun collection at the State historical museum. By the early 1960s he served as consultant to Francis Lord on his book, Civil War Collector's Encyclopedia. And throughout the 1960s he and a cohort of artillery enthusiasts, bought a 12-pound Howitzer, uniforms, and formed a cannon crew that demonstrated live firing at “shoots.” Dick's early involvement with antiques also included writing articles for the trade magazine, Antique Talk. He opened a home-based antiques shop with his first wife, Faye, –F & R Antiques –where Scott made his debut as a “dealer.” And he schlepped his children off to weekend flea markets and antiques shows such as Shupp's Grove, PA. With tongue in cheek, one could say that as Dick began raising a family, his ability to collect diminished, forcing him to become a dealer.
J & R Ferris Antiques, LLC is primarily a show-based business, displaying at antiques and Civil War shows from New York to Texas, and Georgia to Colorado.