A Crushing Find

Although I have absolutely no use for this 1960's Rival Ice-O-Mat Ice Crusher, I couldn't leave it behind for $2. It's in remarkable condition.

Mid Century Home Builders Calendar, 1954

This is the other calendar I found at the same sale as this calendar I blogged way back in April.  This one dates 10 years prior to that one but features some great looking homes.  I'm partial to September with March a close second.  The way the days line up, I could have used this calendar for 2016 if not for that pesky Leap Year we're observing this coming year.

Mid Century Home Builders Calendar, 1964

I came across this and another calendar with a similar theme from the same building supply company (Monroe Building Supply Inc. in Columbia, Illinios) at a sale recently (in Columbia, Illinois of course).  Each month of the calendar features a home with building plans on the back along with some interior decorating ideas.  Some beautiful designs and excellent execution by the artist (intials QA or OA).

Howelling Good Curbside Find

Back in October while driving home from work, I spotted three chairs put to the curb for trash.  The seats were an awful orange and brown, but I liked the backs and legs, so I threw them in my car and brought them home (my wife is very supportive, or at least tolerant).  As you can see, they were fairly worse for wear.  Someone had even spray-painted a nice purple splotch on the back of this one.

Zorina

I found this wall hanger figurine last weekend for $1. 

Her name is "Zorina" and she was made by the Ceramic Art Studios of Madison, Wisconsin -- in 1951, according to the year pencilled on her back.  She is typically accompanied by "Zor".

The Ceramic Arts Studio of Madison, Wisconsin began in 1940, originally selling hand-thrown pots. A chance meeting with a secretary and amateur artist named Betty Harrington who stopped by to have an incense burner she had modeled fired lead to her employment with the company for the next 13 years.  Until the studio closed in 1955, Betty was the chief designer and even created the molds for the 500,000 figurines annually produced.  Cheaper Japanese imports eventually put the company out of business.

Sunburst Clock

I have a habit of rotating things out of my collection when I find the next version of the object.  For example, coffee pots come and go as do toasters.  

A while back I found this mid century sunburst clock at an estate sale. It was pretty dirty and I made my best effort to restore it.

Last week, I came across another mid century starburst clock.  This one was labeled $5 "as is".

Mix and Match

I've been looking for a mid century desk to host the family pc for a while now.  I kind of knew what I wanted, but just wasn't finding it.  I finally found it in the basement of an estate sale I went to last weekend.  It was the second day of the sale, so it was half price.  I paid $4.  I can't believe no one snatched it up.

Mico Tele-Vue

I found this Mico Tele-vue 35mm slide viewer at an estate sale about a month ago.  It's not like I needed yet another slide viewer, but I loved the look of this one.  It reminded me of a 1950's portable television.

Aluminum! It's Not Just for Christmas Trees Anymore!

I consider it fortunate that the items I seek out at estate sales are generally not the focus of the majority that attend them.  I find vintage ephemera to be fascinating and luckily it remains affordable at most sales.

I found this brochure for Alcoa Aluminum at a garage sale years ago.  It dates from 1959 and touts the many uses of aluminum.  Alcoa is still in business today.  I wonder if they still manufacture the "fish finder"...

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree, How Aluminum are your Branches

I assembled this little mid century Christmas package from pieces I've picked up over the past few years. 

Yet Another Coffee Table

I know what you're thinking.  How many coffee tables does this guy need?  Let's just say I drink a lot of coffee.  Plus I can't pass up a steal on a midcentury piece like this.  I found this table at an estate sale about a month ago.  I paid $4 for it.  Unlike most of my finds, it didn't require a full restoration. 

The feet were fairly corroded.

Midcentury Coffee Table

Earlier this Summer, my wife and I attended the garage sale of a friend of hers.  One of her sisters was selling yet another Mid-century coffee table in less than ideal condition.  It was topped by a matching glass top that was cracked.  We ended up buying the piece for $7.  I brought it home and began restoration.

The first to go was the glass top.  There was nothing I could do with it and I think even if hadn't been cracked, I would have gotten rid of it since I liked the look of the table better without it.

After disassembling the piece, I taped off the white tile inlays (sorry, apparently, I failed to get a picture of the top prior to disassembly!)

A Very Cool Midcentury Estate Sale

Today was the annual Canterbury Place Subdivision sale in Affton.  It's been a tradition to attend it for at least the past 10 years.  While it isn't a grandiose as it once once, it still delivers great finds and today was no exception.  Now to be fair, this estate sale was actually in the subdivision next to Canterbury Place, Saxon Manor.  At one time, Saxon Manor also held it's subdivision-wide sale on the same day and you could spend the entire day roaming the joined neighborhoods.

At one time, garage sales were a good source for midcentury items, but as that generation ages, sadly the best source has become estate sales.  This sale was private, so the prices were reasonable and the crowd was low.  Here are a few of the finds I made (and a few I had to let go).

First up is this fun Danish Modern barware set. Labeled E60 St Park Ave, it features a mixing spoon, a garnish fork, bottle opener and ice tongs.  Oh, and a fine gentleman complete with top hat and cane dru...ahem...sleeping in a rubbish basket.  He was priced at $1.

A New Vista

I went to an estate sale in Affton with a specific piece in mind.  I've been looking for a Midcentury Modern piece which I could convert into an audio/video component cabinet.  I saw this picture on estatesales.net 

Rockin' the Mid Century

It's been a month since my last post.  Sometimes life is like that.  Sales have been very slow and what sales there have been just didn't work out with my schedule.  But that changed this past Friday.  I was actually off work and my wife and I made a morning of hitting some sales.  The first sale we hit was on Meramec in South City.  We arrived about an hour after opening and I was surprised to see there were very few people there.  Of course, I hit the basement first.  Remember, the good stuff is always in the basement.  I noticed a couple of outdoor rockers in the corner, but after giving a cursory glance, I went on to other things.   It was my wife who brought my attention back to them.  They were clearly mid century, but I was thinking we already had enough porch furniture plus they were marked at $16 each.  She really liked them so I relented and we came home with them.

On the way home, we stopped by TFA on Chippewa and I saw a nearly identical pair set out front.  I asked about them and they were priced at $112.50 each.

Once home, I commenced to cleaning them up.  That's when I noticed the label:

I of course recognized Heywood Wakefield as one of the largest manufacturers of Mid Century Modern furniture during the 1950's and 60's, but I was unfamiliar with the Lloyd branding. 

Marshall Lloyd invented the Lloyd Loom in 1917.  The loom created wicker sheets using kraft paper-wrapped wire which was then used to create furniture.  The furniture was very popular and was used in restaurants, cruise ships and even Zeppelins.  Lloyd Manufacturing was bought out by Hewyood Wakefield in 1921 who used that technology to create their line of wicker furniture.

The chairs are actually very comfortable, contoured just right.  I plan on spending quite a few summer evenings relaxing in them.

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.

Blown Away

I went to an estate sale on Morganford near Union Saturday morning.  I had specifically gone on a quest for a replacement turntable for my 1949 Philco Console Stereo.  It's turntable was dead on arrival and I had seen a model that appeared it would fit perfectly inside.  This post is not about finding that turntable.  Alas, after rushing to the basement (always my first objective) and finding the room in which I had seen the turntable on estatesales.net, I found it was already gone.  Only a reel to reel tape recorder was left behind.  Later while looking through the rest of the basement, I saw the person who had the turntable.  He was testing it out at the only outlet in the basement.  I watched, hoping the turntable wouldn't spin so that he might put it back and I could snatch it.  I could see it was priced at a mere $3.  But it worked and he was off with it.  Like I said, this post isn't about that turntable.

I found a few other small items at the sale.  One of them was this:

Groovy Baby or Brother, What a Stereo!

On my way home from work Friday while driving on Mueller Road in South County, I barely caught sight of a garage sale sign on a side road.  I almost dismissed it as an old sign until I saw the word "Today" on it.  Occasionally, people will have a Friday evening pre-sale, so I knew it was a possibility.  In the time it took to process all of that, I had already passed the street so I had to turn around and head back.

I found the address and saw the garage door was up, but saw no signs of life.  I walked up the driveway and into the garage, but still couldn't find anybody.  It was clearly being staged for a garage sale with items laid out on tables, but I began to wonder if I was a day early.  I saw a large white object and could see the label "Brother" on it.  Knowing Brother from the old days of dot matrix printers and word processors, I assumed that's what it was until I got a closer look.  Once I realized it was this, I wasn't leaving until I found someone.

What a Dish!

I bought this mosaic tiled mid-century dish at a garage sale this weekend for $1.  It measures 7" by 12". 

Somebody, presumably a child, had colored in some of the grout lines with a blue, ball-point pen.  I used some Goof Off and a 3M scrubbing pad and it came off nicely.  The dish reminds me of a clock I picked up at a thrift store a few months ago:

This same clock hung in our kitchen growing up.

The dish has found a home on one of our side tables, but I have yet to find a home for the clock.  The problem with vintage electric clocks, particularly wall clocks, is you need to find an outlet to plug them in.  Unless I run another outlet higher on the wall, this clock will remain homeless.