February 1, 2012
In real life Big Bird is an “eight-foot two-inch (249 cm) tall bright primrose-yellow bird.”
Really, he is.
He’s known for being both easily confused and for being surprisingly talented. Among his many talents are skating, dancing drawing and riding a unicycle. This is a little incongruous since he is described as a six year old in the TV show’s writer’s guide. Luckily slight inconsistencies like this haven’t undermined his career.
He’s also know for saying wise phrases as “I guess it’s better to be who you are. Turns out people like you best that way, anyway” which seems equivocal and subject to revision at a later date. Maybe he’ll decide that people will like him more if he’s a cookie jar? Obviously, if this really were Big Bird’s favorite cookie jar it would be more than just a touch narcissistic.
What Big Bird is here, for us, now is a cookie jar.
He’s 12 1/2 inches tall. Although he looks like he is from about the same era as the E.T. lamp we just had the text along the edge of the base shows the design was copyrighted by the Muppets in 1971.
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Posted in $16-$20, 20th century, Artistic wonder, AVAILABLE!, Ceramic, Eclectic, Kitchenware, Otherwise useful, Vintage |
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January 29, 2012
This is a nice pair of bowls in the ever popular Burple pattern by Anchor Hocking Glass. I believe it’s real name was actually Inspiration, but almost no one calls it that now. The pattern was introduced in the 1940′s and these are the so-called Large Dessert Bowl (as opposed to the “I’m on a diet” size small bowl).
They are 8 1/2 inches in diameter and are in perfect condition.
We’re selling them as a pair for $20.
Posted in $16-$20, 20th century, AVAILABLE!, Dishes, Glass, Vintage |
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January 22, 2012
Old King Coal was a merry old soul
And a merry old soul was he;
He called for his pipe, and he called for his bowl
And he called for his miners three.
But Omni Exploration
Breathed hell fire and damnation;
And drilled a well straight to hell;
With a steely goad struck the mother lode,
Drilling for dollars in the land of the free.
Every driller he had a drill,
And a very fine drill had he;
Oh there’s none cooked so well, burnt in hell
As Old King Coal and Omni’s miners three.
Set of six tumblers featuring the corporate logo and landscape vision of Omni Exploration. The perfect gift for the petro-capitalist in your life, your rich uncle or a gag gift for your favorite tree hugger.
They’re still in the original shipping box from November 1977 and include a Seasons Greetings card indicating that these were probably stockholder gifts.
Not surprisingly they appear unused.
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Posted in $16-$20, 20th century, AVAILABLE!, Dishes, Eclectic, Glass, Glassware / barware, Vintage, White elephant, WTF? |
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January 6, 2012
This vintage two drawer cigar box originally contained cigars made by the J.T. Swann & Co of Tampa Florida. They were “manufactured to retail at more than Five Cents each and not more than Eight cents each and are so tax paid.”
Which I take to mean it is fairly old. It’s hard to say exactly, but a five to eight cent cigar seems like a good price for one in the late 1940′s.
Swann cigars were made by a company named after James T. Swann. Swann was a realtor, investor and general bigwig who happened to own a cigar factory and citrus groves. He died in 1953 and was succeeded by his son James Jr. who died in 1955. Much of their business was conducted via mail order, leading to some strenuous complaining when the postal service increased rates.
The box is 9 1/4 inches wide, 5 1/2 inches tall and 6 1/4 inches deep. It is in excellent condition and has classic box or finger joints on the back two corners. It is stamped on the bottom with the maker’s mark, the seal of the City of Tampa Florida and pertinent tax info.
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Posted in $16-$20, 20th century, Eclectic, GONE! SOLD!, Otherwise useful, Storage, Tools, Wood |
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December 30, 2011
Duh, like totally 1980′s dude.
Problems? As if!
This gnarly, killer, rad ‘fone works sweet, you know what-ever. . .
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Posted in $16-$20, 20th century, Appliances, GONE! SOLD!, Otherwise useful, Plastic, Seemed like a good idea . . ., Tools, Vintage |
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December 26, 2011
Vintage brown plastic wall phone that’s a lot like the one we had in my house when I was a kid, except ours was black. It was made by ITT, it works well and has adjustable ringer volume. and imported from area code 218, the northern part of Minnesota.
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Posted in $16-$20, 20th century, Electronics, GONE! SOLD!, Metal, Plastic, Tools, Vintage |
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December 22, 2011
An interesting little table top tree which is made out of ceramic and was decorated by Margie. It is 12 1/2 inches tall and lit from the inside by a single night-light bulb. The light is transmitted through little holes with plastic bulb shaped pieces. It is in good shape except for one chipped branch (see picture below).
This tree is carbon neutral (mostly) and you don’t have to pick up errant needles for the next six months.
Even the Grinch would be proud of you. Then he’d steal it just because.
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Posted in $16-$20, 20th century, Artistic wonder, Ceramic, Crafter's delight, Eclectic, GONE! SOLD!, Kitsch, knickknack, Lighting, Plastic, Vintage |
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December 21, 2011
Rudolph was designed in 1939 by Robert L. May so that Montgomery Ward could sell coloring books with a greater profit margin. He was a great success.
This bake set capitalized on this success after the Second World War. We have the complete eight piece set consisting of two 9-inch cake pans and six 4 1/2 inch diameter cake or gelatin molds. All of the pans are in good condition, but the box has seen better days.
The set was made for Bake King the ‘King of Bakeware’, by Chicago Metallic Mfg. Co.
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Posted in $16-$20, 20th century, Eclectic, GONE! SOLD!, Kitchenware, Metal, Vintage |
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December 13, 2011
Apparently amongst collectors, learned scholars and other gate-keepers of rarefied knowledge the Westmoreland Glass rooster covered candy dish is best distinguished from the hen candy dish, not by checking under the hood, but by noting the presence or absence of a nest.
In our case, a standing bird without a nest means that it is a rooster. It seems hens aren’t allowed to get up and walk around every once in a while.
As a skeptic I don’t know that I believe ‘them’ but belief isn’t necessarily necessary (although it may be sufficient) for our purposes here.
Anyway . . . this ‘creature descended from Jungle Fowl’ dish will hold a variety of candied goodies including by not necessarily limited to cream eggs, peeps and other lovely confections made from everything but chicken sphincters.
It is 8 1/2 inches tall and in excellent condition. Even the red and yellow paint is in good shape.
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Posted in $16-$20, 20th century, Dishes, Farmhouse/Country, Glass, GONE! SOLD!, Kitchenware, knickknack, Vintage |
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December 11, 2011
Thank goodness the yule season only happens once a year. Otherwise we’d have to look at stuff like this all year long and I know I couldn’t take it without becoming a sociopathic elf.
This sweater is medium-sized and even has shoulder pads for that extra horrific boxy look that goes so well with the holidays.
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Posted in $16-$20, 20th century, Clothing (of a sort), Fabric / Fiber, GONE! SOLD!, Seemed like a good idea . . ., White elephant |
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December 1, 2011
After the end of the Addams Family series Thing tried to become a hand model. For whatever reason he didn’t fare well in the focus groups so instead he concentrated on being a model hand.
After years of intense concentration and study he got a PhD. and started teaching Palmistry at a local junior college. Like so many lecturers before him he slowly ossified until one day he stopped moving entirely.
Unfortunately being unable to teach even a meager class load AND failing to publish anything at all brought his career in higher education to an end. He plummeted from his ivy-covered summit and soon wound up in a late night fortune-tellers gallery. Unexpectedly the future wasn’t what it used to be (even Miss Cleo didn’t see the recession coming) and Dr. Thing was tossed into a donation box when they could no longer pay the rent.
Here he is today, a stoic stony shell of divination technology in the digital age.
Approximately 11 inches tall and in handsome shape.
Posted in $16-$20, 20th century, 21st century, Ceramic, GONE! SOLD!, knickknack, Otherwise useful |
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November 20, 2011
The two dimensional blue bodied bobby was the rarest of all, but Lisette felt that some depth, however shallow, was an attractive dimension.
This mid-century modern styled Scandinavian bird stands 11 inches tall.
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Posted in $16-$20, 20th century, GONE! SOLD!, knickknack, Mid-century, Mid-Century Modern, Sculpture, Vintage, Wood |
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November 20, 2011
Vintage hand painted nut bowl with a scalloped or wavy cupped rim. Inside it is painted with several leaves and nuts, one of which has been cracked to reveal the inside. On the bottom it has the green ‘M in Wreath’ mark which is the symbol of the Morimura Brothers (later to become Noritake) and dates from 1911 to 1921.
The bowl is in fair condition. The painting is all perfect but there is a crack in the side where it was once struck by, or against something (see detail picture below). It is approximately 7 1/4 inches in diameter.
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Posted in $16-$20, 20th century, Ceramic, Dishes, GONE! SOLD!, Kitchenware, Painting, Vintage |
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November 15, 2011
This is one of the oddest three-ring binders I’ve seen since Igor dropped his Trapper Keeper leaving Dr. Frankenstein’s lecture class back in the dreary summer of ’16.
The binder contains 8 inch by 10 inch black and white photographs. Each photo shows a graduating ‘class’ of what I presume are sales persons for Swift’s meat products.
The photo’s are dated from April 1946 to April 1950 and there are 46 altogether (spanning 50 classes but 1-4 are missing). The common theme throughout all of them are the advertisements in the background for Swift meat products. I especially like the Its the meat that makes the meal slogan.
Not surprisingly considering the time these were taken almost all the people photographed are male, except for three women in class # 15. Interestingly class 15 was a class for department heads (according to the pen notation) and the three women are named on the back of the picture.
Unfortunately the photos don’t consistently record who is pictured in them. There is also a good array of awkwardness on display and I’m especially fond of the fellow in class #50 who blinked just as the photo was taken. The album is well worth flipping through, if for nothing else than to see the variety of ties and how many of the gent pictured look like petty gangsters. Besides, someone hung onto it for the last 60+ years . . .
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Posted in $16-$20, 20th century, AVAILABLE!, Eclectic, Paper, Photo, Seemed like a good idea . . ., Vintage, White elephant |
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November 14, 2011
Thanks to one of our regular volunteers and sometime estate sales service provider Peggy for getting these to us.
There are four antique studio portrait photographs. Three of them are set in a protective case but the covers are gone (except for one loose one).
One of the pictures does not have a case. Unfortunately this one is a photo of one of the gentlemen, it is on glass and some damage has happened. I don’t know much about antique photos, but I believe this is an Ambrotype.
The others are probably tintype photos. They all have protective glass panes over the image and I’m not even slightly tempted to try an extract them to find out.
There are two pictures of women and two of men. Both of the photos of the women have been ‘enhanced’ with retouched or added gold jewelry (earrings and necklace). On one of these the gilding has decayed to a sort of brown color, on the other is still in good shape.
At this distant time we don’t know the relationships, if any, between the persons pictured. It seems that the smaller photos are contemporary and bear enough similarities in mounting* that there is a good possibility that they are supposed to be together. They measure 2 3/8 inches by 3 inches in the cases. The woman of this pair has been sold.
The bigger ones are significantly different from each other and from the smaller ones. The larger picture of a woman measures 3 1/4 inches by 3 3/4 inches in the case. The possible Ambrotype, without case, measures 2 7/8 inches by 3 1/4 inches.
Although I suspect there is some sort of group relationship among the people pictured I can’t prove it so they are for sale individually. I would consider making a deal for the lot however.
*If you own a copy of Nineteenth Century Photographic Cases & Wall Frames by Paul Berg and care to look these up for us send me an email and I’d be happy to add your info, with acknowledgement, to this post.
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Posted in $16-$20, 19th century, Antique, AVAILABLE!, Glass, Metal, Other Natural Materials, Other Unnatural Materials, Paper, Photo |
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November 13, 2011
This old pitcher has four decorative landscape painted panels on each side as shown in the slide show below. They’re pretty well done and the effect is a slightly European flavored take on Asian ceramic painting.
It stands about 9 1/2 inches tall and has a mark (RILTI) that I’m not familiar with. It looks like late 19th century ironstone and has some flaws that suggest this is best used as a decorative item (two cracks originating on the rim and glaze crazing).
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Posted in $16-$20, 19th century, Antique, AVAILABLE!, Ceramic, Dishes, knickknack, Painting |
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November 4, 2011
We’ve just survived Halloween and the dark day of Thanksgiving gluttony is barely looming on the horizon. However, we all know that the office holiday party is coming shortly after that.
Once again you’ll probably draw the name of the office weasel in the gift swap. Every workplace has one, that person who solely exists to appease the boss, who seemingly does no work, but fully reaps the rewards of everyone else’s work.
This year give them a gift that says we recognize what you are.
This Havahart trap is also suitable for squirrels and rats. With a bit of luck and careful placement in the company lunchroom you could really shake things up in the office political hierarchy.
I hear it’s quite satisfying to catch a corporate weasel in a humane trap and then drown them in the dregs of their ineptitude.
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November 3, 2011
I recently saw a DeLorean up on blocks in my neighborhood but the big Rottweiler chained to the bumper kept me from bringing it into the store.
Instead we have four Fujimori Alpha 3 footed coffee cups which afford a different sort of opportunity to look back on the long lost days when the 1980′s were the future.
The cups are about 4 1/4 inches tall and all of them have some degree of glaze crazing. We recommend pairing them with Nagels, denim and fluorescent jackets, stretch-jeans, big hair and bloated missile defense systems.
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Posted in $16-$20, 20th century, Ceramic, Dishes, Eclectic, GONE! SOLD!, Modern, Seemed like a good idea . . ., Vintage |
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October 26, 2011
An icon of St. George in the style of Byzantine religious icons. Unfortunately St. George never got the love and peace message advocated by Hugo the Abominable Snowman (in the Abominable Snow Rabbit) and so he went directly to spearing.
While perhaps a bit indelicate, the decision to spear dragons shows that St. George wasn’t just some over muscled testosterone driven killing freak. It’s actually pretty clever (and relatively safe) to make ones reputation killing fearsome monsters that don’t exist.
This icon has a craved wood panel and is modeled after an icon in the Byzantine Museum of Athens. Our piece is 9 1/2 inches wide and 12 1/4 inches tall.
Posted in $16-$20, 20th century, Drawing / Illustration, Eclectic, GONE! SOLD!, Other Natural Materials, Other Unnatural Materials, Otherwise useful, Wood |
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October 20, 2011
Once upon a time people thought it clever to have rocks as pets. This was in the dark days after the end of the Hippie movement but before the bright light of the Reagan/Bush Era restored hope to the land. It was during that intervening period of desperate polyester clad gyrating darkness, the Disco Era.
We have two of these, with instruction book, carrying boxes and comfortable straw beds.
I suspect someone got two of them to keep them from becoming lonely. I’d advise making sure they are securely in their boxes at night, lest you wind up with an unexpected litter of pebbles.
Before the fad faded three tons of rocks were mined from Rosarita Beach in Baja, Mexico to fill the demand. Pet rocks have become collectible since then, especially the ones that have all their parts (like ours) and didn’t wind up tossed into the back yard.
We’ll sell them separately, but you’ll have to listen to them cry in the night-time.
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Posted in $16-$20, 20th century, Eclectic, GONE! SOLD!, Other Natural Materials, Seemed like a good idea . . ., Vintage, White elephant |
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October 15, 2011
It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s able to illuminate the deepest darkness with a single match. Actually it’s not a plane but a vintage folding mid-century patterned candelabra in the shape of a bird. It holds five of the really skinny taper candles that were so popular back then.
It is 10 inches long and 7 3/8 inches tall.
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Posted in $16-$20, 20th century, Artistic wonder, GONE! SOLD!, Lighting, Mid-century, Mid-Century Modern, Sculpture, Wood |
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October 13, 2011
Signed and dated December 1968. These were made by someone named Schlatter who did a decent job, but never made the big time as a ceramicist.
The bowls are 6 3/4 inches diameter, about 2 inches high and they’re made of a deep rich red earthenware. The exterior is unglazed and they have a linear incised decoration. The interiors are glazed light blue or metal flake dark blue. Given both the age of these pieces and that they’re not commercial work I’d suspect the glaze may contain lead.
If you have much affection for your central nervous system, or have kids in the house I’d recommend using these for non-food uses.
Posted in $16-$20, 20th century, Ceramic, Dishes, GONE! SOLD!, Mid-century, Mid-Century Modern, Vintage |
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October 12, 2011
I guess they’re drinking horns. I’m not really sure, but if they are drinking horns they’re for something potent. The pointy end is covered by decoratibve metal work in the shape of a dragon’s head. The other end also has a metal cap, with a shallow bowl shaped interior that can’t hold more than a few ounces (hence the deduction that little of whatever is meant to be drunk from them is enough).
They have a fine chain so one can hang them off a nearby nail, hook or stoutly fastened earring.
Overall they’re about 6 1/2 inches long and 2 1/2 inches in diameter.
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6 1/2 inches long by 2 1/2 inches in diameter
Posted in $16-$20, Artistic wonder, Clothing (of a sort), Eclectic, Glassware / barware, GONE! SOLD!, knickknack, Metal, Other Natural Materials, Otherwise useful, Sculpture, Toy! |
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October 10, 2011
But in leather.
Vintage salesman’s grip. Perfect for carrying order books and samples of custom aluminum products. It is 16 inches wide, 6 inches deep and 12 inches tall (not including the handle). If selling custom metal products isn’t your thing one could use it books, notebooks and a laptop (or an ipad with room to spare).
Flexalum was notable for manufacturing an array of consumer products like venetian blinds and awnings. It was a brand name that grew out of the post World War Two surplus of aluminum, beginning in 1947. It seems to have dropped out of use in the United States during the 1980′s although the trademark is still used in other parts of the world.
I suspect that this particular piece probably dates to the first couple decades of the brand.
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Posted in $16-$20, 20th century, Clothing (of a sort), GONE! SOLD!, Leather, Otherwise useful, Vintage |
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October 8, 2011
Though not quite of the class that one would expect to give to a baby that will someday run for president this is still a pretty decent teething ring and rattle. As a vintage item this does not modern standards for teething rings (as summarized in CPSC Document # 202 The Safe Nursery, p.8) so it is a decorative item rather than a practical gift.
In any case it is much nicer than what we had where I grew up. In fact, we used to give the kids old car tires and stove length pieces of wood to chew on, except for the real tough babies who we’d set down along the abandoned rail road tracks. They didn’t have much of an impact on the old rails, but they were never anemic either.
Thankfully we didn’t live in the tough part of town.
This vintage Lunt sterling rattle with teething ring is about 3 1/2 inches from tip to tail (you decide which is which). The teething ring is commonly advertised as “mother-of-pearl” but a multitude of tiny trapped air bubbles indicates that this is actually opalescent plastic. . . which bears an uncanny resemblance to the current field of presidential candidates.
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Posted in $16-$20, 20th century, Eclectic, GONE! SOLD!, Metal, Plastic, Seemed like a good idea . . ., Tools, Toy!, Vintage |
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