Show us your Thrift and/or yard sale finds

[tonyb]

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...

Yup, I'm confident you'd get twice that amount for it in a blink, should you ever wish to part with it.

Love that photo of you and the person I assume to be your "good lady." But do tell, how common a sight is the cowboy hat and Western shirt look over on your side of the pond?

 

[DNO]

Found a very nice 9" bowl made by Royal Winton today at the thrift shop. It has the stamp used by Royal Winton from 1951. Judging by the grime I had to remove, it probably dates from the '50's.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

The militaria show was unbelievably dead this month. Here's today's haul. :eusa_doh:

back of the boonie hat

 

[Mr Badger]

Yup, I'm confident you'd get twice that amount for it in a blink, should you ever wish to part with it.

Love that photo of you and the person I assume to be your "good lady." But do tell, how common a sight is the cowboy hat and Western shirt look over on your side of the pond?

Hey Tony, it's not common at all! That's actually our wedding photo – we were the first couple to ever get married inside Sun Studios in Memphis, thanks to a whole heap of friends from TN... the hat came from Mr Alvin Lansky, one of the famous brothers who clothed all of the Memphis area musicians in the 1950s – he still has an excellent shop in Memphis called Mister Hats...

That's Mr Lansky on the left in the pic below:

 

[ThesFlishThngs]

A fun pile of little treats, mostly $1 each.

1928 magazines and a handbag pattern book filled with dramatic, elegant photos. $2 and $3 each.

 

[DNO]

Nice looking haul, ThesFlishThngs. Yard sale finds?

 

[ThesFlishThngs]

No, a monthly antiques market at the fairgrounds. Some sellers are professional dealers, but many are locals just looking to ditch their old stuff. One woman was selling her mother's and grandmother's treasures (with a smile even! I can't imagine...), including one of those embossed leather 1910s purses. There were several at the market, but this one was only $15, and I didn't get it. Still kicking myself....

 

[jamespowers]

No, a monthly antiques market at the fairgrounds. Some sellers are professional dealers, but many are locals just looking to ditch their old stuff. One woman was selling her mother's and grandmother's treasures (with a smile even! I can't imagine...), including one of those embossed leather 1910s purses. There were several at the market, but this one was only $15, and I didn't get it. Still kicking myself....

Wow! That was a serious pass there. I think I would have bought it for my wife if I saw it.

 

[LocktownDog]

3 days ago, I passed up a lamp that was made from an antique weather vane. A huge rooster with a beautiful patina. This thing was huge, and I thought my little house would be overpowered by it. But I regretted it since. Ran back into the Goodwill tonight to get it ($14), but it was already gone. Ugh.

So I went through the ties, suits, and then the little picture frames. I collect old postcards and found a lovely one. I can only hope I'm half as sophisticated as this gentleman when I have a few more years on me. Undated. Looks to be out of a dutch or french print house. Labeled with the name Charles Vincent Payne. I know nothing about this man.

 

[jamespowers]

3 days ago, I passed up a lamp that was made from an antique weather vane. A huge rooster with a beautiful patina. This thing was huge, and I thought my little house would be overpowered by it. But I regretted it since. Ran back into the Goodwill tonight to get it ($14), but it was already gone. Ugh.

So I went through the ties, suits, and then the little picture frames. I collect old postcards and found a lovely one. I can only hope I'm half as sophisticated as this gentleman when I have a few more years on me. Undated. Looks to be out of a dutch or french print house. Labeled with the name Charles Vincent Payne. I know nothing about this man.

A pictorial definiton of debonaire.

 

[ThesFlishThngs]

Wow! That was a serious pass there. I think I would have bought it for my wife if I saw it.

I know. And I'd even been telling my companion about past items I still regretted not buying. All I can do is go next month in case she's there again, offering the same goods. I'll not pass it up again!

 

[W-D Forties]

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...

That lamp has a very 1930's look to me Mr Badger, it's the cut of her dress. My grandma had a similar figure years ago. What's the cable and plug like?

 

[Dinerman]

Picked these up yesterday. Out of the Washington DC chain of Hamburger shops, Little Tavern. Half are from a location built in 1932, the other half, from a location built in 1936.

Here's what one looks like after some clean-up

 

[AtomicEraTom]

Very cool! We had some from out old Soda Fountain. They make great furniture pieces!

 

[jamespowers]

Picked these up yesterday. Out of the Washington DC chain of Hamburger shops, Little Tavern. Half are from a location built in 1932, the other half, from a location built in 1936.

Here's what one looks like after some clean-up

Nice find! I bet some Wenol and a good polishing would fix them all right up.

 

[Dinerman]

The "after" shot is as good as they're going to get without complete refinishing. The rust that's left is rust that's all the way down through the chrome, from decades of feet swinging and rubbing the finish off.

Two do still have the original '30s leather on them. The rest, reupholstered in vinyl either in the company's big re-do in the late '50s or the one in the early '80s are all hardened and cracked, so I'll need to re-upholster those.

 

[jamespowers]

The "after" shot is as good as they're going to get without complete refinishing. The rust that's left is rust that's all the way down through the chrome, from decades of feet swinging and rubbing the finish off.

Two do still have the original '30s leather on them. The rest, reupholstered in vinyl either in the company's big re-do in the late '50s or the one in the early '80s are all hardened and cracked, so I'll need to re-upholster those.

Well, they still look decent for being that old. We'll call the wear patina and call it good.

 

[Stearmen]

Try soaking the base in apple cider vinegar. It should take of the rust, with out hurting the pot metal! Old motorcycle restoration trick.

 

[jamespowers]

Try soaking the base in apple cider vinegar. It should take of the rust, with out hurting the pot metal! Old motorcycle restoration trick.

Good tip! I had forgotten about that.

 

[Shangas]

Went for a walk today. Ambled into my local antiques center in the next suburb, and went for a general wanderoo.

I was seeking out something rather specific, and against all odds, I found it...sitting on top of a bookcase. It was dirty, rusty, dusty and $20.

It needed a jolly good clean, but was otherwise perfect!

The doctor is in! With his new...antique...gladstone bag.

Bag Closed:

Bag Opened:

I rubbed some leather-conditioner on it, to soften up the leather a bit to stop it cracking and splitting. I scrubed off all the dust and gunk and crap on the metalwork, and I cleaned out the interior. I also dabbled a bit of oil around the catches and locks. Other than that, I haven't done anything. I didn't sand off any of the rust or tarnish, because I wanted it to look a little old-fashioned, but still be functional.

I wonder how easy it is to find keys for these old bags?