Show us your Thrift and/or yard sale finds

[Shangas]

Gosh, AETom. You sound like my dad. We went into a junk shop once and he saw all these old rotary telephones from the 50s-70s, and he told me:

"You know, mum and I used to have phones like that in our house. Now I'd wished we'd kept them. They seem to be really collectable nowadays..."

TonyB,

You can display/use antiques/vintages so long as you're careful and know how to store them. Yes, these things survived because they weren't touched much, but don't forget also that these things were DESIGNED to be used all the time - so using them as they were intended (albeit, with a bit more care) is hardly going to hurt them. EMBRACE!!

 

[AtomicEraTom]

I collect rotary phones. I love them. We had them in my house as a kid, too and they vanished off the face of the earth from everywhere for a few years. Now quite a few of them can bring big money.

Gosh, AETom. You sound like my dad. We went into a junk shop once and he saw all these old rotary telephones from the 50s-70s, and he told me:

"You know, mum and I used to have phones like that in our house. Now I'd wished we'd kept them. They seem to be really collectable nowadays..."

TonyB,

You can display/use antiques/vintages so long as you're careful and know how to store them. Yes, these things survived because they weren't touched much, but don't forget also that these things were DESIGNED to be used all the time - so using them as they were intended (albeit, with a bit more care) is hardly going to hurt them. EMBRACE!!

 

[tonyb]

Gosh, AETom. You sound like my dad. We went into a junk shop once and he saw all these old rotary telephones from the 50s-70s, and he told me:

"You know, mum and I used to have phones like that in our house. Now I'd wished we'd kept them. They seem to be really collectable nowadays..."

TonyB,

You can display/use antiques/vintages so long as you're careful and know how to store them. Yes, these things survived because they weren't touched much, but don't forget also that these things were DESIGNED to be used all the time - so using them as they were intended (albeit, with a bit more care) is hardly going to hurt them. EMBRACE!!

It kinda depends on the particular "antiques/vintages" you're talking about. Clothing, say, or printed matter is obviously more perishable than furniture. And I just expect that tableware, drinking glasses in particular, will get broken sooner or later. And those that don't get broken get cloudy looking from scratches after lots of use. That's why some folks save the "good" china and crystal and silver for special occasions only.

But of course you're right about the more durable stuff. It'll be little the worse for use by reasonably cautious people. Still, accidents happen, especially in homes with children and pets. C'est la vie.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

I have all vintage dishes and I bumped a glass and it tipped over and broke, it didn't crash, it just fell and broke. I was so furious! It's not like you can just go to the store and buy the stuff anymore. I didn't throw it out, but ask myself why every time I see it in the cabinet.

It kinda depends on the particular "antiques/vintages" you're talking about. Clothing, say, or printed matter is obviously more perishable than furniture. And I just expect that tableware, drinking glasses in particular, will get broken sooner or later. And those that don't get broken get cloudy looking from scratches after lots of use. That's why some folks save the "good" china and crystal and silver for special occasions only.

But of course you're right about the more durable stuff. It'll be little the worse for use by reasonably cautious people. Still, accidents happen, especially in homes with children and pets. C'est la vie.

 

[Loweboy461]

I learned the hard way. i was using (like a idoit) a union pacific dinning car coffee mug as a shaving mug and my dad knocked it off the counter and broke it. i was so DANG mad i could have bit a nail in two. but i guess its my fault for not taking precaution with these items. bye bye beautiful Desert Eagle mug with hand painted flowers on it. RIP

 

[Shangas]

I learnt from experience how to prevent things being broken.

The new scuttle I bought. This one:

I put that inside a white cereal bowl so that it looks a bit like a miniature version of a jug and basin on one of those antique wash-stands a bit like this...

It's not just there to make it look cutesy, it serves the double purpose of preventing excess water from splashing onto the counter when I use the scuttle and it provides a more solid base so that I don't knock the scuttle over when I use it.

 

[Dan'l]

^^^ That's a nice looking scuttle you found Shangas.

I found these two shirts at a antique shop over the weekend. I'm guessing from the 70s based on the size of the collar and as you can see, they've never been opened. The blue one is from JC Penney and the yellow form Montgomery Ward's. I'll be wearing both.

 

[Forgotten Man]

First day of garage sailing this spring - scored this Automatic Electric Model 40 telephone for five bucks. Aside from needing a good clean-up, it's in great condition.

Great telephone! I used mother's polish on my AE34. It came out great! Also, if you desire a period correct receiver cord, Phoneco has them in brown or black and may even have the "flex-cord" they originally came with.

Good score!

 

[tonyb]

Here's that lamp I alluded to a page or two back. A label says it was made by the Bauer Lamp Co. Inc. in 1993. A quick 'net search indicates that Bauer made some pricey stuff -- a lot more than I'd pay, for sure.

The lamp cost me five bucks. I'd rather not say what I forked over for the shade.

 

[Widebrim]

^^Great lamp, Tony!

Got these at a "vintage" shop for $2 each. Two of them are pillow shems, or covers. Like the fact that the third one came from Hollywood!

 

[tonyb]

Great find, 'brim. I'd have snapped those up in a heartbeat.

These days such sentiments would likely be thought more than a bit treacly. But not back then, apparently. I recall the Old Man coming back from a long voyage to the Far East (he was working aboard a freighter) with souvenirs, including a pair of necklaces. Dangling from each necklace was half a valentine which, when joined with its mate, spelled out a poem quite similar to the ones on your recent finds. Sex education, Dad style, I suppose. Gotta give him credit for trying.

Thanks for the comments regarding my lamp. That isn't a universally held opinion, as it turns out. The dewy-eyed bride doesn't care for it one little bit. So, maybe the next visitor who expresses a (sincerely) favorable opinion of it will find him- or herself taking it home.

 

[Widebrim]

^^Yeah, I couldn't pass them up, and you're right about times changing...

 

[Vintage Betty]

This was given to me for free, by a neighbor moving out of the next door business unit.

I got the Deco Toaster and the two tables stacked up against the wall too from the same person (brand new tables). :eusa_clap

 

[Loweboy461]

Oh how nice free stuff is.......

 

[Warbaby]

Wow VB... Lotsa good junk to dig through! Might be some nifty tool treasures in there. I spotted a bag of Bull Durham in one of the toolboxes - nice touch.

 

[Loweboy461]

Got these awhile back too. i love the old GE Bakelite clock.

 

[PoohBang]

that clock is great! How big is it? It looks like it's an old school/office clock size.... If you push up on the thin knob at the bottom that red dot will change to white... It's so you know the power went out and the time might be wrong...

 

[tonyb]

Both the picture and the little three-legged stand I found at my favorite little off-the-beaten-path thrift shop. The picture is "period," I believe, judging from the framing and the credits at the bottom. I'm thinking it was probably distributed as a freebie during the war.

 

[Widebrim]

^^That is great, Tony! I would have snatched it up, too. You see similar ones in '40s films, hanging in offices. What I found interesting, though (and this is off-topic), is that common folk also put up pictures of FDR in their homes; I just saw two examples today in a book on vintage photography...

 

[tonyb]

It wasn't from a thrift store or a yard sale, but I did score it cheap. I spent nearly as much for gasoline and ferry fare retrieving the darned thing (the sellers live on an island in Puget Sound) as I paid for it. I've been on the lookout for something along these lines for quite some time now, so I'm tickled to have it.

The sellers, who moved out here from Florida, are in the midst of a major remodel on a '60s-built A-frame cabin they bought 2 1/2 years ago. They produced the original sales brochure and price list for this fireplace, dated May 1, 1969.

I'm aiming to convert it to a gas-log unit and put it where this one currently is. I'm hoping that can be done at reasonable expense, and I believe it can, seeing how the gas line and electrical circuit is already there.