If American Federal furniture is your taste, check out Thomas Schwenke Inc. at 50 Main Street North. This gallery has specialized in American furniture from 1785 to 1820 for more than three decades. Currently on the showroom: a rare Chippendale carved-cherrywood secretary desk ($45,000) created in Connecticut between 1780 to 1800; a set of 12 mahogany saber-leg dining chairs ($60,000) created in Boston around 1820 to 1825; and a rare matched pair of George III demilune game tables with cross-banding and satinwood stringing ($55,000). The firm also offers consultation services for collection development, custom furniture and Federal replicas.

G. Sergeant Antiques, No. 88, artfully presents 17th-, 18th- and 19th-century English, Continental and American furnishings and accessories from fine estates. On view are a pair of George III mahogany Chippendale torcheres on tripod bases with carved cabriole legs and scrolled feet ($12,500) and a fine George III walnut lowboy with a quarter paneled top, feather edge inlay and veneered facade with a very desirable surface that dates from the first quarter of the 18th century ($19,500). One Rococo carved pine gilt frame ($8,500) is related to others attributed to John Welsh of Boston. Gary Sergeant, a connoisseur of distinctive period furniture—particularly neoclassical furnishings—has provided the finest period pieces to museums, the trade and private collectors for 30 years.

Charles and Rebekah Clark, No. 35, display impeccable American furnishings from 1810 to 1840 in their grand, restored period home. Outstanding examples include a rare Philadelphia double-pedestal mahogany dining table that tilts when not in use ($60,000) and a circa-1830 mahogany piece with French patters, veneer panels and arches ($33,000).

In 1964, J. David Veselsky opened Mill House Antiques, No. 1068, in a former grist mill overlooking the Nonnewaug River at Woodbury’s northern edge. One of the first antiques shops in town, it boasts a beautiful sculpture garden plus 17 rooms of furnishings displayed in three buildings. Featured items include 18th- and 19th-century English and Scottish tall case clocks ($9,500 to $20,000), formal and country English antiques, and tasteful reproductions. For example, a circa 1790 mahogany and satinwood demilune table with boxwood and ebony inlay costs $10,000; the burled walnut reproduction is $3,250. Veselsky personally selects antiques on buying trips to Europe and works with the English woodworking shops that hand-craft custom reproductions. Most notable are the made-to-order yew wood, mahogany and fruitwood dining room tables ($2,400 to $12,000).

To make the most of your visit to the Connecticut antiques capital, time your excursion for one of the Woodbury Antiques Dealers Association’s tri-annual weekend workshops. The 2004 dates were not yet set at press time, but continue to check www.antiqueswoodbury.com for details.