Happy 1913! er...2013

One of the things I enjoy most finding at garage and estate sales is ephemera. If you aren't familar with the term, it refers to any transitory printed matter which wasn't intended to be kept.  Postcards, tickets, matchbooks etc. fall into this category. They generally aren't worth a lot of money, but I find them very interesting, particularly when they've been written upon by the previous owner.

While doing some inventory and clearance recently, I came across a small notebook/calendar I picked up somewhere, some time ago, to be less than specific. It spans the 1913/1914 year from July to June (I'm not sure why the odd range) and was sponsored by Bromo-Seltzer, an antacid that dates back to 1888.

The first pages were left blank and intended to be used as a notepad. Someone took advantage of that and wrote their Christmas list. The note is old, but I don't think it is comtemporary to the calendar's issuance based on the items requested.

 The best part of the book is the list of measures to take when an accident occurs.  I'm not sure what's worse: actually drowning or it's proposed remedy.

It also lists popular antidotes for poisons.  The cure for Opium overdose sounds a lot like the cure for a hangover.

 Apparently, you could order sheet music from the Bromo-Seltzer Pharmacy as well for the cost of postage.  Aside from "The Star Spangled Banner", "My Old Kentucky Home" and "Nearer My God to Thee", allegedly sung as the Titanic sunk only a year earlier.  "Flee as a Bird" is not to be confused with the John Lennon/Beatles release of the 1990's.

 The back of the cover features the Bromo-Seltzer clock tower in Baltimore, Maryland.

It still stands.

The hours are marked by the letters in Bromo-Seltzer:

Take it easy tonight, and if you do overindulge, remember Bromo-Seltzer.

Happy 2013!

A Christmas Light

With the downswing in smoking over the past couple decades, I've noticed there's also been a downswing in advertising matches given away by businesses.  These days, you're lucky if you see a bar giving them away.  Time was, it was the perfect advertising medium; your customer was reminded of you everytime he lit up a smoke. 

I found these Christmas-themed matchbooks among several lots I've picked up over the past year.  Most came from banks.

Red, Gold and Green...and Blue

A while back I wrote about going to an estate sale with a specific item in mind where I ended up with a lot more than what brought me there.  I didn't finish the story, but now the season is right, so I will.  I saw a vintage aluminum Christmas tree color wheel in the pictures for the sale.  Mind you I already had one for my tree, but can you have too many?  Plus, the one I have can be stubborn at times and is a little noisy.

 

Despite being 2nd in line and a friend being first, I couldn't find the color wheel.  Normally, something like that would be placed up front as these are typically high demand items.  I came across many other items which distracted me momentarily and having swept the house and garage twice was about to give up when my friend motioned me to the rear of the basement.  He had found a tiny walk-in closet and inside was the color wheel.  Priced at $22, it wasn't a steal, but I decided to get it.

 

It had the original box, but it was a bit moldy so I had to toss it.  The rest of it cleaned up nicely and it works great.  Here it is in all of its colorful variations:

Scroll up and down to simulate actual color wheel action.

Keeping the Faux Fires Burning

The home I grew up in had a wood burning fireplace and we took advantage of it on many Winter nights, adding glow and warmth to the holiday season and the long cold months that follow in St. Louis.  It also provided a place to hang our stockings in hopes that St. Nicholas would soon be there.  I always wondered what kids without fireplaces or chimneys did about Santa.  While looking through some of my wife's childhood photos, I found how some people resolved that dilemma.

My wife never had a fireplace and for Christmas, her family would assemble a cardboard replica.  It can be seen in the background in this picture from approximately 1972.  She's in the middle between her older brother and their dog.  Her younger sister is on the left.

What Kind of Putz Are You?

I went to an estate sale in Affton a while back that boasted a large vintage train collection.  I figured the trains would be priced out of my budget, but I figured it was worth a look.  I met a friend there who came with the goal of buying a turntable.  We were both met by lots of train enthusiasts, further dimming my hope of getting any trains.  We weren't too far back in line, so we made it in the house with the first wave.  We were told the trains were in the basement and the mass of people moved in that direction.  The group, mostly older men, swarmed the trains like piranha devouring a fallen cow.  The group was complely ignoring what had caught my eye -- cardboard houses used as decoration for the train set. 

As far back as I can remember (and I'm sure a long time before that), my grandparents displayed little pasteboard houses under their Christmas tree.  Over the years I've collected a few of them myself.  These houses are commonly known as "glitter houses" or my favorite term "Putz" houses.  In this case, "putz" isn't meant to imply a stupid person, but rather the German-American vernacular for "puttering around".  The assignment of this term to these houses comes from playing with and rearranging or "putzing around" with the houses under your Christmas tree or with your Nativity display.  The earliest examples dating from the 1910's were German-made while Japan entered the market some time in the 1920's or 30's.  A good example of a typical putz house is this church I found at the same sale:

Merry Kitschmas

I found this load of Christmas kitsch in the same bag at the same estate sale where I bought the Motorola television.  In fact they're assembed on that same television in my living room now.  I find comfort in supposing they're being displayed on the same piece of furniture they originally were.

The Santanator

I found this Ho Ho Hobo laying on the basement floor of the estate sale where I bought the box of arrowheads I blogged about last Spring.  People were stepping over him, but I could see he was an early Japanese battery-operated toy.  I looked beyond his filth and brought him home for $1.

Do You Wanna Dance?

I bought a large lot of slides at an estate sale in South St. Louis County this past summer.  A lot of pictures were of a family's trip to Nicaragua, but also featured some pictures from home.  I'm not sure who's family and who's friends in this pictures, but these people knew how to party.  Lots of eating, drinking, smoking and dancing.  I'm featuring the dancing in this selection -- the eating, smoking and drinking are merely incidental!  These slides date from Spring of 1969 and feature a couple different parties.  One in the home basement and another possibly a church basement.  Enjoy!

Giving lessons

The Polariod Land Camera -- Results Are In

I've shot all of the film I bought for the Polaroid Land Camera I bought this past summer.  The first batch was taken in October on the Great River Road in Illinois.  We drove the road up to Grafton and Pere Marquette State Park, took the Brussels' Ferry to Brussels, Illinois (imagine that) and stopped (but didn't eat) at the Whittmond Hotel.

Some pictures developed better than others.  Temperature and duration of development are key, I think.  Also, sun positioning, as I learned later on.  Another thing I will note about developing Polaroid Land Camera pictures -- it's messy.  You'll get the develoment chemicals on your hands.  They're not dangerous, but bring a rag or paper towel to wipe you hands off.  Also, I don't recommend stacking the pictures, even days after they've been taken.  They have a tendency to stick together.

This first picture was taken by my son at the Piasa Bird painted on the bluffs of the Great River Road.  I'll add that framing with a Land Camera can be a challenge.  What you see in the viewfinder is definitely not necessarily what will appear in the photo.

Pere Marquette State Park

Just Coasting Along

If I were asked what the most common feature I see at estate sale homes, it would have to be the basement bar.  A home bar was a status symbol of the 1960's and it seems like everyone had one.  I've seen some pretty elaborate bars, but many are little more than a 2 x 4 frame covered in paneling, a formica counter and a few stools set in front.   Even these, I'm sure, were the pride of the owner.  A place for the boys to have a few drinks and maybe even a cigar while the ladies chatted upstairs.

Common items I find along with the bar are swizzle sticks (previously blogged), matchbooks (coming soon), and coasters.  I found these coasters at the sale in Webster Groves where I found the Magik can.

 I love how fun these are.  Featuring anthromorphic renditions of various drinks, my favorite has to be the wolf hanging out on the corner whistling at the Pink Lady.

We never had a bar at my house, but I remember the mixed drinks coming out at get togethers.  My mom was a Highball drinker which I just learned is not a specific drink but  a family of drinks.  My grandfather liked spiking the egg nog at Christmas time, often offering me a cup to my mother's horror.  My dad was mostly a no-nonsense beer drinker, although I do recall him hitting the bottle of Scotch at Christmas.  Amazingly, I grew up to be a non-drinker.

What happened to the home bar?  For that matter, what happened to get togethers?  It seems people have drawn inward more and more, isolating themselves from social interaction.  As I type this, I find it ironic that by posting this to the internet I'm interacting with more people than previous generations could have imagined, yet here I sit alone.

I think I'll go have a drink.

"T" is for "Table"

I took my 5-year-old daughter to an estate sale a couple weeks ago.  It was her idea, I swear.  She was mad because I had gone to another estate sale the day before without her.  The garage sale force is strong in this one. 

She found this and had to have it.  It was only $8 and to be honest, I was already eyeing it when she spotted it.  I love the drawings.  It's a "Babee-Tenda" Feed-and-Play Table.  Based on the drawings and the model of C for "Car", I would place it from the '50's.

The incorporation of Halloween was a plus for me

S for Santa...

...and X for Xmas.  Two Christmas references.

The table top insert is reversable and removable.  I wasn't sure what the trap door was for and thought it might  be to convert the chalkboard into an easel.  I was wrong.  More on that later.

I found a reference to a later model over on a similarily-themed blog.  According to that blog, the trap door is removed and becomes a seat for the baby.  I guess I'm missing the seat assembly the baby would sit in.  I found this ad on Retrosnark:

Apparently, they're still in business, but get very poor reviews from BBB and customers.

Happy Halloween 2012

Halloween snuck up on me again this year.  I did manage to get my annual outside display up and even a few decorations in the house.  Traditionally, Halloween usual spells the end of garage sale season.  Estate sales will continue of course.

Today's post features some Halloween-themed items I picked up throughout the past year at sales.

A few vintage Beistle die cut decorations

Uncanny Finds -- Oh Ohhh It's Magik!

Friday morning, after having hit the sale where I found the previously-blogged clock and can opener, and after having stopped at the Southwest Diner for a little breakfast (actually, it was a huge breakfast), my friend and I headed over to another estate sale in Webster Groves on Catalpa.  We parked about a block away (as it turned out, unneccessarily since there was an open spot across the street).  As I was approaching the house, still on the sidewalk, I stepped on its edge not realizing how high above the ground it was.  I twisted my ankle, attempted futilely to catch myself, and then took what we like to call in our family "a dirty fall".  I hit the sidewalk and rolled.  Surpisingly, I only hurt my pride, as they say.

The sale was for the estate of a dentist who actually operated (no pun intended) out of his basement.  My friend managed to score a $20 box lot of artificial teeth which as it turns out also held a jar of....ACTUAL HUMAN TEETH!!! (Queue Psycho music).   A little too much on the creepy side for me, I focused on some old cans on a shelf.  I had to have this one for $2.

I'm not sure they choose the right stereotype when they picked their mascot.  His turban and robe don't really strike me as Japanese.   In fact, he kind of reminds me of the Marvel villain The Mandarin, particularly with the rings and electric bolts eminating from his hands.  They couldn't spell "Magic" either, so I'll give them a little slack.  Perhaps too many paint fumes.  St. Louis Paint Manufacturing is still in business today.

Houston, The Can Opener has Landed

At the same sale I picked up the starburst clock from my previous post, I found another Mid-century piece.  Though this one was a little more utilitarian, you can't deny those space-age stylings.  It looks for all the world (or is that moon?) like a lunar lander.

Midcentury Star

I went to an estate sale in Maplewood, Missouri early Friday morning with a friend.  The sale started at 7:00 a.m. and there was a fairly good-sized crowd, but fortunately my friend had gone to the house the night before and grabbed us line tickets, numbers 1 & 2.

If you've ever been to the first day of an estate sale when it opened, you are familiar with the crowding, pushing and rush to be the first to the bounty that lies within.  It's what I like least about estate sales.

From the pictures of the sale on estatesales.net, I wasn't sure where the item I was looking for was located.  It was either the basement or the large garage in back.  I had bet on the garage and that was my intended target, however after gaining access to the house, we found we couldn't exit the house from the back door and would actually have to go back out the front to get to the garage.  My friend found what he was looking for, records, but I hadn't found my item.  By the way, this post isn't about finding what I was looking for, it was something I saw after going back in the house.  As I was descending the stairs to the basement, I saw hanging on the other side of the handrail a Mid-century starburst clock.  I've been looking for one for quite a while (having given a couple away years ago before I was interested in Mid-century).  Now, I could have stopped on the steps, grabbed the clock and attempted to feed it through the narrow opening  between the ceiling and the handrail, but I thought that would be rude.  Apparently, the person immediately behind me had no such qualms.  She grabbed the clock and without letting go, lifted it off it's hook and carried on the outside of the rail the remainder of the way down the steps.  I was kicking myself.  I followed her for a few minutes around the basement as she examined the clock with the hope she would change her mind, but she wasn't letting go.  Resolved, I continued on looking through other items and trying to find the one I had actually come for.  After not finding anything in the basement, I headed back upstairs to get another look.  Finishing up there, I did my usual second pass and headed back down into the basement.  There in closet, I discovered the young lady who had the clock earlier had set it down.  I snatched it up and took a look at it.  It was pretty rough looking and certainly the reason she had put it back.  But I saw some potential in it and bought it for $12.

At home, I began the cleaning.

As you can see, the face was pretty dirty including some mold.  There is also a spot where the brass finish had worn off.  But with some baking soda, Mr. Clean scrubbing pads, and some brass polish, I plodded on.

The rays detach, so it made for easy cleaning.

The end result

This thing is *huge*.  It measures 38 inches from spire tip to spire tip.  The other nice thing about the clock is it's spring driven, so no wire hanging down the wall detracting from the look.  The clock is made by Forestville in Connecticut, but the movement is marked France.  Inside, I found the manufacture date of October 21st, 1962.

The gears were suprisingly clean considering the exterior's shape.  The clock didn't come with a key, but fortunately, my mantle clock key fit it perfectly.  After winding it, it began ticking away like it hadn't missed a beat.

Oh, and what about the item I had actually come to the sale for?  Well, that's a story for another day.