Shining Light on the Mid Century

I've made mention numerous times on this blog about my quest for Mid Century Modern furniture.  And I've also been asked to explain what "Mid Century" means.  By definition, Mid Century refers to the middle of the Twentienth century, ie: 1950 (or 1951 if you want to argue about when a century begins). When it comes to Mid Century stylings, whether in architecture, furniture, design, etc., it typically refers to the span of years just post World War II to about 1965, although officially the design concepts date back to the 1930's.  I'm no expert by any means and you can read more here, but it's a style I've come to embrace in the past 10 years or so.  Unfortunately, so has a large portion of the public thanks to shows like Mad Men.  I watch and enjoy Mad Men myself, but I was a fan of the era before it made it chique and tuned in because of my interest in the 1960's.  To be honest, when I was younger, I hated Mid Century design.  I thought blonde wood was hideous, maybe because our house was full of it and I considered it outdated by the time I was living with it in the 1970's.  And I was baffled, not unlike Charlie Brown, why anyone would want an aluminum Christmas tree when a real tree could be had.  But after a fascination with the 1880's, a brief stop in Victorian times, and a layover in the 40's, I've currently settled in the early 1960's.  How long the stay will be is anyone's guess.

But back to my quest.  There have been a number of misses at estate sales the past couple of years, some of which I've detailed in this blog.  But this past Friday, I finally made a score at a home in Lemay on Buckley Meadows Drive.  I initially saw this lamp on estatesales.net:

The Prodigal Tom-boy Returns Home

At the sale I went to a couple weeks back where I bought the Amana Radarange Popcorn Popper, I saw a sight that while common to estate sales has always puzzled me -- grocery items for sale.  I'm not sure who buys perishable and typically outdated items at estate sales, but they must sell.  This time, however, something caught my eye.

Uncanny

Why did I buy the topic of today's post?  I don't have to explain myself to you or anybody else!  I don't know what makes me buy empty vintage grocery cans.  Maybe their throwback design.  Maybe their reminder of the days of my youth.  Maybe their 25 cent price tag?

At any rate, when I saw these sitting in the basement of an estate sale home, I grabbed them.

When I saw this can, I thought the same thing a friend shouted when I showed it to him: "Don't open that can!"

Popcorn of the Future

As mentioned in this post, I consider myself a popcorn connoisseur.  I find it hard to pass up popcorn poppers in whatever form they may take.  I bought this Amana Radarange MWP-1 microwave popcorn popper at an estate sale in Lemay, Missouri last Saturday for $1.  It reminds me of an inverted Gemini space capsule.

Bugs Bunny Sticker Fun

A couple months back I went to an estate sale in Webster Groves.  I didn't find much there, but as I was leaving, I saw this on top of a wardrobe, only visible as I was coming down the steps to the basement.