Leftovers Day 27 -- Home is Where the Heart Is

I found this set of Libby bar glasses earlier this year.  I loved the motif. They're entitled "Home is Where the Heart Is" and is a look at homes through the ages.  From African native...

NFC Gag Tumblers

I bought these black and gold insulated tumblers made by NFC (makers of Thermo Serv) at an estate sale this past weekend.  Aimed at the '60's basement bar crowd, each comes with a humorous (at least intended to be) verse.

Toast Coasters

Say you're at a swanky party and it's the 1960's.  Someone cries, "A toast!" and everyone looks at you. You're half blitzed, so you know you couldn't possibly assemble your own toast beyond "Over the lips and through the gums..." So.  Who you gonna call?

A Toast

Ever wish to be the perfect host?  Ever find yourself looking for the right thing to say as you raise your glass?  Want to impress the ladies?  This brochure has all the answers.

Pour Votre Bouche Immonde

I found these slightly bawdy cocktail napkins at an estate sale a few weeks ago.  They're similar to the Chuckle Naps I blogged about here.  

They are called "Fractured French" and are actually reprints from a book of the same name written by Fred Pearson 2nd and illustrated by New Yorker magazine artist Richard Taylor.  They are from 1950.

Each gag is a silly re-interpretation of a French phrase.  You have to sound them out phonetically to get the joke.

Stir Crazy

The most read Garage Sale Finds post as of this writing is this one I wrote a couple years ago about a large collection of swizzle sticks I bought for $5 at an estate sale.  I'm not sure why it's so popular, but I've picked up quite a few more since then and thought I'd show some of the more interesting ones.  Once again, I've tried to link to the location when possible or show a picture or two.

The Boulevard Room, Stevens Hotel, Chicago

Today's Garage Sale Finds

Today I'm going to forgo my usual posting of individual finds and give a complete picture of one sale I attended this morning. It will give you an idea of the diversity of things you can find at a single sale and a reminder that vintage items can still be found out there.

The phone rang at 7:00 a.m. this morning.  It was my mother-in-law.  Usually the combination of those two things would mean something bad happened.  But in this case, she had news of a garage sale across from her house in Lemay.  It's an older neighborhood and the family had been in the house for many years, so it sounded promising.

My wife and I headed over and while she visited with her parents, I crossed the street to the sale.

The first thing I spotted was a Mego Farrah Fawcett doll.

High 'n' Dry

I found this diver cocktail glass/swizzle stick set at a garage sale this weekend for 50 cents.  I've never seen them before, but I'm guessing they date from the 1950's.  The divers are made of porcelain.

The thick bottom of the glass along with the blue of the plate give the illusion of water.

Bottoms up!

The Smart Hostess and The Discriminating Host

Summer has arrived here in St. Louis and the temperatures are creeping into the 90's. Just the weather for a tall, iced drink.

  

Dating from 1954, this brochure for Rival features their various Ice-O-Mat ice crusher models along with some food and drink recipes which just happen to require crushed ice.  Enjoy, and let me know if you try any of these.

Wipe Away that Chuckle

I have found estate sales can provide a better glimpse into past cultural and societal viewpoints than any history book can hope to offer.  I found these "Chuckle-Naps" in the basement bar of a sale recently. Full of sexism, stereotypes, semi-bawdy limericks, puns and downright awful rhymes, I'm sure they weren't meant to be taken too seriously.  The fact that they were preserved unused is probably a good indication they were given as a gag gift rather than bought to be used with company.  These probably date from the early to mid 1960's. Enjoy, and if you find your mirth provoked and yourself chuckling, it's okay -- I did too.

Cool Drink Recipes

Sure, Summer's over, but drinks can be cool anytime of the year!

I found this in the basement bar of a house in Marlborough today.  The cover is what caught my eye.  Would you accept a drink from this woman?

She looks like she thinking in her best Jack Nicholson voice, "Wait'll he gets a load of these..."

I found this tucked inside.

They had me until the Chow Mein Noodles.

Anyway, enjoy these recipes and let me know if anyone tries them!

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.

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.

Two of Every Kind

I bought these plastic animals at an estate sale about a month ago for $1.  I'm fairly certain they're from the old Noah's Ark restaurant and bar that used to stand in St. Charles, Missouri.  I say this because my parents and grandparents frequented there and would often bring one of these home.  The bonus was the little box they came in from Stix, Baer and Fuller, a defunct St. Louis department store.

With their long necks, the giraffes are clearly drink stirrers, but I can't imagine the others were actually placed in a drink as that would certainly pose a choking hazzard.  Perhaps some bar afficienado out there can help me identify how they were used.

I'm not sure the mermaids were from Noah's Ark.  I'm pretty sure Noah missed those along with the Unicorns when he chose his cargo.

There's an article over on Neatocoolville detailing Noah's Ark's demolition some years back.

All Mixed Up

About a month ago, there was an estate sale close enough to work that I was able to go over lunch. What drew me to it intially was a slightly off camera shot of a huge lot of swizzle sticks adverstised on EstateSales.net. I have a friend (and follower of this blog) that collects these, so I'm always on the lookout.

The swizzle sticks were still there when I arrived and I quickly grabbed those and another glass full that hadn't been shown in the picture. It was the largest collection I've ever come across (221 as it turns out).  They were $5.  One batch is in what might be an ice bucket, the others in a western-themed mug.

Here's How -- Dewey's Triangle Liquor

Is it me, or does it seem like people don't throw parties like they used to? Sure, there's birthday parties, but none of those "Hey, let's get together, have some drinks and eat some dip and chips" parties TV lead me to believe adults partook in. You know, the ones where the kids would hover in the shadows watching undetected. Maybe they do and I'm just not invited.

Anyway, here's a relic of those days courtesy of Dewey's Triangle Liquor in El Dorado, Arkansas. "Here's How, The How-To Book of Home Entertainment". Dewey's is no longer at that address -- it's now Tony's Fashions:


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The only Dewey's Liquor I could find was in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Maybe they moved:

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I don't imbibe, other than a little wine during the holidays, so let me know if you try any of the recipes in the book. And if there are any other sections you'd like to see scanned (see index), let me know.



Cheers!