Day 298/365 A Place For Everything....

I've been going to estate sales since I was 14 years old. Over the years, the sales themselves tend to exhibit generational tendencies. When I was 14, the sales were from people who came of age in the 1920s and 1930s -my grandparents generation. The lifelong accumulation of "stuff" tended to fit into economic groups - you could tell who had been hit hard by the Depression, and who had managed to survive or, occasionally, done really well.

Present day sales are at the end of the World War II generation. I can tell their homes a mile away - the little houses, bought by returning GI's who served at Normandy, or in the South Pacific. They survived the war, came home, married the girl they left behind, and all they wanted was a safe haven - a little home to call their own, where they could have 2.5 kids and a good home cooked meal at night. These homes invariably have some sort of workshop in the basement (because this is the generation that grew up in the Depression and fixes before they throw away).

This week's sale fit this description perfectly. The workshop filled approximately a 10 x 15' corner of the basement, with the usual wall of neatly hung saws and extension cords.


After that, this basement workshop entered the realm of fantasy and legend. Hundreds of bungee cords, arranged by length.


Several wooden bins built and carefully labeled, in excruciating detail (not just tool handles, but "small" asst sizes, in wood,plastic and steel)

Excruciating detail (curved pieces of metal and steel)

A bin for every kind and size of nail you can imagine, and some I've never heard of.

Walls of neatly labeled tins (I'm thinking these were lard tins originally-the wife must have cooked a lot of fried chicken). All of these bins were full.

And stacks of bins with little plastic drawers - all labeled and clearly separated.

More bins stuck up next to the ceiling (right next to the wood scraps, stacked and labeled on the ends with their length)

Another wall of bins...

And more bins (not just labeled, but the categorization even extends to the color coding).

And the piece de resistance....first each metal bin is labeled, within their individual metal drawer...

Then the exterior of each metal drawer is labeled....

And then each row of metal drawers (approximately 200 total in this unit) was labeled. This complete unit was priced at $200, included all contents, but the buyer had to disassemble
it from the brick chimney and ceiling joist, then remove it themselves. The liquidators couldn't figure out quite how to do it.

They don't make guys like this anymore. And these guys were the reason we won the war.

Day 279/365 Winning Streak

Another weekend, another estate sale, another anonymous car with tinted windows.

Until the doors are opened.

Every inch crammed full.

And an awesome trunk that is as magical as Mrs. Weasley's tent....capable of holding an amazing number of things.

A Turkish rug (a real one)...

A turn of the century carpenter's trunk, complete with four sliding wooden trays and a tricky lock and key...

And a Windsor chair, a small pedestal table, a heavy duty handmade oak curio shelf....

A handmade tray (I'm planning on putting postcards in it)...

A handmade full size quilt top in Sunflower pattern, plus a twin size floral chenille spread...

An antique military souvenir scarf from Czechoslovakia, right next to the embroidered dresser runner...

1920's souvenir plates - one from Saratoga Springs, New York (during its heyday as a resort community)....

More linens...this time crocheted tablecloths and doilies....

The weirdest pair of lamps I've ever seen, and these will end up with their own blog post, because they have attachments that give them their name: spider lamps. More to come on that.

An unusual oil lamp, with a heavy brass base, sporting an odd blend of art nouveau and late 1800s European painted glass. Probably the sleeper of the day.

It's not old, but it's a beautiful print by an artist my daughter loves. And a great frame.

So, all in all, we're still batting 1000. Now I get to research and tag all this stuff, and move it over to the booth. Just in time for next weekend's sale.

Day 278/365 Gambling Pays Off

Sunday I decided to flirt with disaster and take the van to estate sales. For once Murphy's law took a vacation and we found one sale at 50% and the second at 70% off. Meaning this beautiful chest of drawers, cica 1920, is now in the booth. The doors open to reveal two drawers, and the mirror on top tilts.

The 70% off sale yielded this gorgeous 1900 Art Nouveau dresser - intricately carved details, massive, heavy - this one almost ended up at home in the permanent collection.

Both of these dressers literally went in the van, and straight to the booth, with only a loving coat of orange oil applied to freshen them up.

We also took this little half moon table from last weekend's sale - also from the 1920s, it came from a sale where the most prized possession of the owner was an autographed campaign poster of G.W. Bush, Jr. Displayed prominently on opening day, it was still there at lock-up on closing day. Didn't even move at 50% off. And we're in Republican country.

Sometimes though, the treasure comes in pieces and needs a little more than orange oil.

Even when it has feet with golden claws.

Sometimes the pieces need to be put back together. And there's a possibility that the missing piece needs to be cut out of completely new wood, so that the top and legs can be reunited and make a happy table once again.

Of course, because we took the van, we had plenty of room for the 40" framed collection of early 1900's photos of twins.... but that's another post.

Day 277/365 Puzzle

Every Friday and/or Saturday morning, we start out for a round of estate sales and yard sales. The eternal question is "do we take the van or the car?" Translation: Do we want to take out a loan to fill the tank (as of today $120.75 for one tankful) or do we want to gamble on being able to fit whatever we buy into the four door sedan?

Last weekend we took the car (currently costing $62.10 to fill). It is an impressive little vehicle.

The trunk holds all the safety flares, tire inflators, jumper cables, took kits and emergency equipment this mother requires her daughter to carry *PLUS* a cooler bag, 2 -40 lb bags of cat litter (still early spring here, with possibility of glare ice), a 1930's bedside lamp, large retro lamp shade, a vintage brass night light with small shade, a 1940's pie plate, a white 1930's iris ceramic vase, cookbook (for me) called Le Bouche Creole, a small chalkware planter, and a folding mahogany table with drawer on four carved legs.

Meanwhile the back seat holds a full-size repro coffee table and an electrified hurricane lamp (wrapped in my sweater).

Floor of back seat holds four commemorative plates, stuck in between books because (once again) I forgot to put newspaper and bubble wrap back in the car for transporting, as well as a large heavy lamp (the one that goes with the shade in the trunk).

All made it home safely.

Even the white iris vase.

Oh - forgot the framed woodland print, circa 1930's. Can't remember where it ended up - probably behind the kitty litter.

And after estate sales, we even had room to stop and pick up a treat for Sherlock the grandsnake......Frozen Fuzzies!

Murphy's Law for estate sales: If you take the van, you'll find nothing worthwhile. If you take the car, the estate sales will be loaded with antiques worth millions, each priced at $1.00.