Uncanny Finds -- Beich Brittle Brilliants

This is a fresh find from this past weekend. It's not exactly Halloween, but it's orange and black and it once contained candy, so fair game.

Hello Nurse! Happy Halloween!

Well, that went quick.  The big day is here.  Welcome to Halloween all!  Here in the midwest, we've been experiencing an Indian Summer with temperatures in the low 80's.  Not very Halloween-like, but it's supposed to cool down with a thunderstorm in the early morning of Halloween.

This photo was among the lot I bought earlier this year from which I've posted a few photos.  I felt pretty fortunate to find a Halloween photo as they're not terribly common, especially in this size (8" x 10"). The original owner of the photos was a nurse beginning in the 1920's.  The back of this photo is labeled "Nurse's Halloween Party Chicago".

For Amber Waves of Grain

More photos from the lot.  These two young ladies appear to be embracing shocks of wheat.

Planes, Sleighs and Automobiles (Sorry, No Trains)

Well, the last time I posted, Summer was just about to begin, now it's already in its final 1/3.  Time gets away from me these days.  I thought I'd try to make up for the lack of posts with a deluge of photos from the same lot as my last post.  First up is this 1930s American Airlines DC-3 "Flagship".

Radioactive

My house cannot be attributed to any particular design aesthetic unless "Late Garage Sale Era" is a thing. 

For a while I focused on Mid-century modern pieces like this lamp, this 1950's Artcraft cabinet and this 1966 RCA Vistat stereo (converted to a media center).  

Of course, I had other era pieces as well such as this 1918 Æolian-Vocalion phonograph and this 1941 Trutone radio.  And I use appliances that span from the 1910's to the 1970's like these toasters and coffee pots. 

Wow, that paragraph was link heavy. But my point is, I'm all over the board when it comes to decorating.  The only common theme is I decorate with things I like.

So when I saw this 1920's Art Deco dining room furniture, combined with a price tag that couldn't be beat (it was 50% off day and I got them to come down even more), I caved. Excuse the askew pictures.  It was hard to photograph the full piece with the limited angle I had.

Star Toaster

It's been a while since I've shared a toaster find; I know everyone was on pins and needles.

If you've followed my blog for any length of time, you probably are aware of my toaster obsession.  I just love how many different styles and ways there are to perform the simple task of toasting bread.  That combined with the fact that vintage toasters were made to last and you can expect them to perform exactly as they did when they were new up to nearly 100 years ago makes them desirable to me.

This Star toaster by Fitzgerald Manufacturing dates from the 1920's. 

Hotpoint

For years, I have driven past a house on my way home from work that I have entertained (if only wishfully) I would some day own. It's located in an old neighborhood (turn of the last century) of homes called "Webster Park" in Webster Groves, one of the earliest suburbs in the St. Louis area. Despite being an upscale (read expensive) area, the amount of repair on the home gave me a glimmer of hope it would be affordable when it did come on the market.  Seeing this picture on the estatesales.net listing gave me hope that it would soon be for sale.

Revenge of the Owls

This book titled "Little Sunbeams" dates from 1921.

Radio News 1921

I picked up a small lot of vintage Radio News magazines from the 1920's and '30's and you know what that means. More scanning! The magazines are in pretty poor condition and leave little paper flakes everywhere and I'm afraid my scanning may be the death of them. First up is the August 1921 issue of "the 100% Wireless Magazine".

ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ANEΣΤH

I found this Greek (as it turns out) postcard at a sale a few months ago.  Given the iconography of the egg-shaped frame and bunnies, I assumed the words meant "Happy Easter".

Happy Flag Day

From 1924.

Dirty Books

I found these filthy, nasty books in the basement of a house at a recent estate sale.  No, the content wasn't filthy, the books themselves were.  The edges of the pages were covered in mold and other things I don't want to think about, but I liked the covers and they were cheap.

"The Hardy Boys, What Happened at Midnight"...stays at Midnight? Copyright 1931.