Show us your Thrift and/or yard sale finds

[Shangas]

This "MODERN" sewing machine was a gift from my aunt:

Originally, it was a treadle-machine. The treadle was toast, so she just gave me the machine-body. I'm gonna build a base & case for it, eventually.

I don't know how old it is. I suspect either 1930s, or 1950s-60s.

As you can see, it is in nearly PERFECT condition.

Once I've built the housing for it, I'm gonna buy a hand-crank for it and stick it on the end.

 

[O2BSwank]

I would date it as 20's to early thirties, but it may be earlier. My wife found a gutted White 1913 sewing machine cabinet, four drawer, that was missing the treadle. It had been sitting in the rain for years.

 

[Shangas]

What makes you think it's as old as the '20s?

The "SINGAPORE" badge did make me wonder, though.

The machine comes with a dog-height adjuster (photograph No. 2), stitch-length regulator (at least I think that's what it is), and a forwards-backwards lever.

Some of that techology existed as far back as the 1910s, so I guess it may be possible.

If anyone can date this thing accurately, I'd appreciate it.

EDIT ---

I'll continue this discussion in the sewing-machines thread. Hopefully someone will chime in.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

1937 American Legion Convention Medal
Picked this up for $5.00 from a friend who owns a used book store/antique shop.

Brigadier General Chauncey B. Baker, USA
West Point 1886
(1860-1936)

 

[Miss Golightly]

Here's our new clock that we bought at the markets in Nice, France at the weekend for the princely sum of €40.00:

In the middle of trying to set the time - it's in working order and chimes on the hour but its a little off - it chimes just before hitting the hour - hopefully a bit more fiddling will get it sorted.

 

[Giftmacher]

Neat! Clock like these are basis of every vintage home! Other models of this brand are also nice.

 

[Miss Golightly]

Neat! Clock like these are basis of every vintage home! Other models of this brand are also nice.

Thank you! We managed to lug it back to our apartment in the pram (thank goodness my daughter prefers to be out of the pram rather than in it these days!) and then were wondering if we'd be allowed to bring it on the plane on the way home - luckily security in Nice only wanted to have a quick look at it and we managed to store it in the overhead bin on the plane - if it had to be put in oversized luggage we would have had to kiss it goodbye. It'll look great hanging in our hallway - something very comforting in hearing an old clock tick and chiming on the hour....

 

[DNO]

Lovely clock, Miss. I admire your commitment in hauling it back from Nice to Dublin! I must admit I would have passed on it for that very reason. I enjoy the sound of a ticking clock as well but it drives my wife and son crazy. I even stopped using my pocket watch because it ticked too loud!

 

[Miss Golightly]

Lovely clock, Miss. I admire your commitment in hauling it back from Nice to Dublin! I must admit I would have passed on it for that very reason. I enjoy the sound of a ticking clock as well but it drives my wife and son crazy. I even stopped using my pocket watch because it ticked too loud!

Thank you very much! I'm very determined when I set my sights on something and there was no way I was passing the clock up! Firstly something similar would be very hard to find in Ireland and if I did find one they would charge me an arm and a leg for it so I was just hoping and remaining positive that we'd get it home in one piece. Now that we've done one successful run I'll be on the lookout for more treasures in Nice next time I'm there!

I can see how ticking would drive some people demented - not sure I could stick it in my bedroom for fear I would tune into it but it's in the kitchen at the moment and the radio is muting it ever so slightly so it's perfect!

 

[tonyb]

Lovely clock, Miss. I admire your commitment in hauling it back from Nice to Dublin! I must admit I would have passed on it for that very reason. I enjoy the sound of a ticking clock as well but it drives my wife and son crazy. I even stopped using my pocket watch because it ticked too loud!

Before picking up a couple of 'em here and there in recent years, it had been so long since I had a windup alarm clock that I had forgotten how loud the ticking is. I mean, everybody kept one of those things next to the bed as recently as my early years, before electric alarm clocks and clock/radios became ubiquitous, and we slept right through that ticking. The ones I have now rarely get wound, as I (and everyone else who attempts to sleep here) find the noise so distracting that it keeps me from falling off. I suspect I'd grow accustomed to it and pay it no mind after a while, just as I slept through the sound of jet aircraft landing and taking off when I lived near a major airport, once I got used to it.

 

[Giftmacher]

Lovely clock, Miss. I admire your commitment in hauling it back from Nice to Dublin! I must admit I would have passed on it for that very reason. I enjoy the sound of a ticking clock as well but it drives my wife and son crazy. I even stopped using my pocket watch because it ticked too loud!

It's all about to get used to it

 

[tonyb]

A knockoff of a Mart Stam S34 cantilever chair, found at my favorite charity thrift store yesterday for $35 ...

They had three others, which I was tempted to buy, but I really have no place to put them, although I am confident I could sell them for more than that. (If they were "real," and especially if they were vintage ones [the design dates from 1920-something] and not of more recent manufacture, they'd be worth many, many times that much.)

I dunno, maybe I will go back and pick up at least another, to have a pair. That's assuming they're still there. Chances are good they will be, though. The store is one of those volunteer-run, off-the-beaten-path kinda places.

 

[Miss Golightly]

I got this 1930's oak book shelf on Etsy the other day - had been on the lookout for one for ages:

 

[DNO]

Rummage sale season is in full swing. Found this lovely Inuit stone (argillite) carving of a cormorant today. Created by Johnassie Mannuk of Sanikiluaq before 1972. A nice little artwork for mere pocket change (literally)!

 

[esteban68]

Rummage sale season is in full swing. Found this lovely Inuit stone (argillite) carving of a comorant today. Created by Johnassie Mannuk of Sanikiluaq before 1972. A nice little artwork for mere pocket change (literally)!

That IS nice DNO, a great find fit IMHO for an exhibition...sculptural!

 

[tonyb]

Really, really nice, DNO. You got the eye, man. Not that it matters all that much, but what do you figure it would fetch in a gallery setting?

By the way, I went back for another of those Stam S34 chair knockoffs, figuring that it would be good to have a pair. Should I ever wish to part with them, they'd be easier to sell as a pair, and I do indeed have a spot in another room for the second one.

 

[DNO]

Thanks, all. Glad I was able to rescue it before the dealers found it!

As far as value, that's a bit tough. It's a small piece, only about 8 inches long but it's in good shape (a couple of minor dings in the tail). In addition it's definitely "vintage"...meaning prior to 1972 or so. By '72 the Inuit had ceased using 'disc numbers' for identification (this one has only a disc number, that being E924, which was Johnassie Mannuk). Being from that period, it's more desirable. It really predates the commercialization of Inuit sculpture. Mannuk was an old timer, born in 1929, and he is nicely represented in some Canadian collections.

On the other hand, collectors love big pieces and this isn't one. So, at auction, I'd guess in the $80 to $120 range.

Personally, I love these small Inuit sculptures. I think they are much more legitimate products of the culture, rather than the large, highly polished professional works that have been produced since the mid-70's.

Sorry...I do go on.

And Tony...I love that chair. Good idea to grab another one.

 

[Mr Badger]

My good lady spotted this really rather lovely lamp at our local 'house clearance'/antiques place today and we bagged it for £20 (approx $30), which was a steal! Guess it dates from the 50s, judging by the fittings and quality – the figure is glazed pottery and has 'Made In Britain' on the bottom...

 

[tonyb]

Thanks, all. Glad I was able to rescue it before the dealers found it!

As far as value, that's a bit tough. It's a small piece, only about 8 inches long but it's in good shape (a couple of minor dings in the tail). In addition it's definitely "vintage"...meaning prior to 1972 or so. By '72 the Inuit had ceased using 'disc numbers' for identification (this one has only a disc number, that being E924, which was Johnassie Mannuk). Being from that period, it's more desirable. It really predates the commercialization of Inuit sculpture. Mannuk was an old timer, born in 1929, and he is nicely represented in some Canadian collections.

On the other hand, collectors love big pieces and this isn't one. So, at auction, I'd guess in the $80 to $120 range.

Personally, I love these small Inuit sculptures. I think they are much more legitimate products of the culture, rather than the large, highly polished professional works that have been produced since the mid-70's.

Sorry...I do go on.

And Tony...I love that chair. Good idea to grab another one.

I'm with you as to feelings about valuation, DNO. I sometimes like to think that the stuff I get on the cheap might be worth a whole lotta dough, but in reality very little of it is, and in some ways that's to the better. I have two dogs and a cat. Friends with small children come to visit. I wouldn't wish to leave any of those guests (or pets) with the impression that I'm more concerned about my furnishings than their comfort and happiness. So a knockoff Stam S34 chair is much more in keeping with my sensibilities, and conducive to my good mental health, than a real one worth some ridiculous amount of money. I mean, it's just a chair, and only an expert would know it from a "real" one from more than a couple of feet away.

 

[tonyb]

I don't know enough about pottery to know if this vase is worth even the $15 I paid for it at a thrift store that calls itself "The Estate Sale." (It's a not-for-profit that benefits a local senior services agency, and they don't sell anything but "nice" merchandise. So it's a good place to find good stuff, but not at killer prices.)

It doesn't show up so well in the photos, but there's a lot of (deliberate) crazing in the glaze. I assume that it was indeed hand thrown and glazed, but by someone working for barely more than slave wages in some factory-like setting somewhere a long, long ways away from here. Here's to you, Mr. or Ms. Worker in some "emerging" economy somewhere. I like what you do.