February 3, 2012
We’re having a little get together on Saturday February 4th, 4:00 in the Estate Store. We’d like to introduce anyone interested in volunteering to some of our new volunteers, give a chance for volunteers who never meet each other to do so, let everyone meet our new Garage Sale manager (Jess) and generally have a good time.
Light snacks and drinks will be served. This is a great chance come by and even bring a friend that you want to rope (introduce) to the Warehouse and volunteering.
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Unless they get sold or snapped up by a big bad wolf these two little piggies will be there. They’re circa 1950′s vintage and were imported from Japan by Lefton. They used to be part of a set of three, but one of them has gone off his rocker and is busily building a brick house.
Posted in $6-$10, 20th century, AVAILABLE!, Ceramic, knickknack, Vintage |
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January 23, 2012
I know it feel like no one knows how it is, but we’ve been there Wally, we have. The first step though is to recognize you have a problem . . .
Eight inches in diameter, by Wallyware.
Posted in $6-$10, 20th century, Ceramic, Dishes, Drawing / Illustration, Eclectic, GONE! SOLD!, knickknack |
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January 18, 2012
That’s one of the great things about having a banker that doesn’t, that can’t talk, absolute secrecy is guaranteed. There is some risk in ensuring the security of deposits though; your money might be exchanged for even a small piece of steak or for a hearty Good- Boy!
Not to mention the perils of unexpected “laundering”.
But hey, risk is part of investing and even seemingly stable financial instruments sometimes turn out to be junk. The question to ask is who’s move deserving of your trust, some nameless faceless cog in the international banking machine, or this guy with his big eyes and innocent yet noble looks. . .
Good-Boy!
Now where’d I leave that steak?
8 inches tall. He has a slot in his back for deposits and a plug on the bottom for withdrawals.
Posted in $6-$10, 20th century, AVAILABLE!, Ceramic, knickknack, Vintage |
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January 14, 2012
Low miles.
Sanctity not guaranteed, also suitable for secular use.
6 1/2 inches tall and 6 1/2 inches in diameter, made in Israel.
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Posted in $6-$10, 20th century, Ceramic, Dishes, GONE! SOLD!, Otherwise useful, Vintage |
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January 12, 2012
A nice thing about chopping onions with food choppers like this is that they keep all the sulfur compounds released by cutting contained and out of your eyes and thereby make onion chopping a less teary experience.
Or at least until you crack the seal.
They’re handy for chopping other foodstuffs too, like nuts or peppers or whole sides of beef.
This vintage chopper is 9 1/4 inches tall and at least the glass part was made by Pamco (probably the rest too). Pamco was a maker of kitchenware in the 1950′s and is related to neither the Punjab Agrimarketing Company nor the Punjab Agriculture and Meat Company.
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Posted in $6-$10, 20th century, Farmhouse/Country, Glass, GONE! SOLD!, Kitchenware, Metal, Mid-Century Modern, Tools, Vintage |
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January 10, 2012
By the 1970′s the little yellow pill wasn’t mother’s only little helper thanks to Bisquick. It seems to me that it must be hard to make pancakes while tripping, but maybe with the help of the recipes on the side it was easier than I’d guess.
Regardless it would be a more colorful experience.
The tin is 6 1/ 4 inches tall and 7 1/2 inches in diameter.
Posted in $6-$10, 20th century, AVAILABLE!, Kitchenware, Metal, Mid-Century Modern, Otherwise useful, Vintage |
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January 6, 2012
Seven piece flatware set emblazoned with the logo of Portland’s prestigious* University Club.
I initially hoped that wondered if these were stolen by disaffected working underclass fifth columnists but it is more likely that they were sold or given away when the club changed flatware patterns.
This is an International Silver Company pattern with baroque styling. All the pieces have a fair amount of use, consistent with institutional service.
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*To paraphrase J.P.Morgan, If you wonder if you could become a member, you can’t.
Posted in $6-$10, 20th century, AVAILABLE!, Dishes, Metal, Silverware / silverplate, Vintage |
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December 31, 2011
This set of six mugs were made by Hazel Atlas glass and feature Tom and Jerry on one side and a bar from Auld Lang Syne on the reverse.
I’ve seen a fair number of Tom and Jerry cups over the years. I knew they were meant for serving the Tom and Jerry drink but I didn’t know that the drink was originally invented as a way of promoting a book, Life in London: Or, the Day and Night Scenes of Jerry Hawthorn, Esq., and His Elegant Friend Corinthian Tom, Accompanied by Bob Logic, the Oxonian, in Their Rambles and Sprees Through the Metropolis by Pierce Egan.
The book has largely been forgotten, but Egan’s singular invention of a way to make eggnog nearly palatable has endured.
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Posted in $6-$10, 20th century, Dishes, Glass, Glassware / barware, GONE! SOLD!, Mid-Century Modern, Vintage |
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December 28, 2011
Nothing freshens up a boring cup of coffee in the morning like dog’s milk! Especially when it is from a Scottish Terrier*.
This little clear glass creamer is 5 3/4 inches long, 3 1/4 inches tall and 2 inches wide and is in excellent condition.
These were made by L. E. Smith Glass Company and were a promotional premium for Grape Nuts Flakes cereal circa 1935 (free with the purchase of two 19 cent packages!).
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*Or so I’ve been told be several reputable Scotsmen. They also said that West Highland White Terrier was a suitable substitute, if a bit thin. Mind you these are the folks that think stuffing an animal inside its own stomach with some onion, oatmeal, suet and spices is a good idea.
Posted in $6-$10, 20th century, Dishes, Eclectic, Glass, GONE! SOLD!, Kitchenware, Vintage |
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December 25, 2011
Well, not THE Mona Lisa, but A Mona Lisa.
It’s an easy mistake to make.
In the early 16th century Lisa was a very popular name. All the cool parents would name their daughters that and it grew to be quite confusing. It was so bad that eventually all the Lisa’s had to have nicknames so you could tell them apart (kind of like Jennifer in the 70′s, 80′s and 90′s).
It was inevitable that there would be some overlap and repetition and hence a second Mona Lisa. This one is smaller than the original at only 9 by 12 inches.
The original is considered the most famous painting in the world (even though the average visitor to the Louvre spends only 15 seconds looking at it) and has been the subject of all sorts of notoriety and speculation. So much that it seems that every few weeks someone is coming up with another crazed explanation for what is really going on.
Sure it’s an iconic painting, but who has memorized all the details? Now you don’t have too, you can have your own copy to look at whenever the next discovery comes along, whatever it may be.
Posted in $6-$10, 20th century, Artistic wonder, GONE! SOLD!, Otherwise useful, Paper, Print, Seemed like a good idea . . ., Vintage |
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December 12, 2011
I used to look at little tea pots and ask “Why bother?”
I figured it out the winter I couldn’t stand domesticity anymore and I moved into a houseful of bachelors (a questionable choice in retrospect).
The rule of the house was that the first person to get up when things got cold had to go down into the basement to stoke the wood stove. As a result, we spent lots of energy avoiding spending the energy to fill the stove.
One of my fellow denizens was the unchallenged master of staying put. I soon realized that it was because of his teapot. When thing got really cold he’d reach over, fill his cup, pick up his acoustic guitar, the 5/8ths inch socket he’d nicked out of my tool box, smile, and play a little Hawaiian/slide guitar riff.
It was darn frustrating especially as when I was in the basement filling the stove he’d be boiling another kettle.
Basically, little tea pots are nice when you’re drinking tea for one and you only want another cup, or a warm up, and not an acre-foot of beverage.
Having two little teapots means that two can drink the tea you like (like mint or oolong) without compromise and you can delay the fisticuffs over who has to stoke the stove this time. On particularly cold nights it also means you only have to get out from under the blankets on the couch half as often.
We have two of these Hall teapots, one is a lovely turquoise, the other is burgundy with a white interior. $7 ea.
Posted in $6-$10, 20th century, Ceramic, GONE! SOLD!, Kitchenware, Vintage |
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December 11, 2011
Set of five vaguely holiday themed matryoshka dolls. They are labeled in Russian on the bottom, and are probably post Soviet era since they’re vaguely holiday themed and show an Orthodox church. They’re in excellent condition and the tallest one is about 5 inches tall.
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Posted in $6-$10, 20th century, 21st century, GONE! SOLD!, knickknack, Wood |
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December 8, 2011
These were made in the 1980′s to celebrate Portland and rain, which is kind of like issuing limited edition igloos and ice floes to the residents of Pt. Barrow.
Regardless, they seem to have had some popularity as we had another one nearly two years ago.
The one we had then played Singing In The Rain and was issued by Nordstrom’s. One of this pair also plays that song but it was sold by Meier & Frank.
The other one plays Rain Drops Keep Fallin’ On My Head (at double time speed) and it was sold at Saks.
Both of them are 6 inches tall.
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Posted in $6-$10, 20th century, Eclectic, Glass, GONE! SOLD!, knickknack, Other Unnatural Materials, White elephant, WTF? |
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December 7, 2011
The third one is a sociopath.
It’s the result of long hours toiling in anonymity, the oppressive working conditions, mandatory overtime during the holiday season and repetitive tasks in an industry that’s slowly being sent off-shore.
Once upon a time the manufacture of holiday gifts was a skilled craft, with good wages and benefits. However, as the population has gotten bigger and foreign competition has driven down profits at SantaCorp®, this changed into hectic production line work.
Middle management and highly skilled trades fared OK. In our example you can see this in the healthy, happy glow of the unionized boat-builder elf and the subtle but contented corpulence of the middle management good vs. bad kid assessor.
Doll carvers, reindeer herders and other semi-skilled workers took the brunt of austerity measures at SantaCorp® which has had unintended social consequences.
The third elf is about to snap.
The tallest elf is about 4 1/2 inches tall.
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Posted in $6-$10, 20th century, Ceramic, GONE! SOLD!, Kitsch, knickknack, Vintage, WTF? |
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December 6, 2011
This is either an assembled art project using found materials or an engineering prototype based on alien technology.
While I suspect the former is more likely I’m really, really hoping it’s the latter.
Whatever it is it appears to be a construction consisting of a clock (an old face with battery operated works), a couple of door handles/drawer pulls, a key, a hinge and one chair or bed frame caster.
I’d guess that would make it a hand-held time machine wouldn’t it?
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Posted in $6-$10, 20th century, 21st century, Clock, Eclectic, GONE! SOLD!, Metal, Otherwise useful, Sculpture, Vintage, White elephant, WTF? |
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December 2, 2011
Do you remember the early days of Ebay? That era where you could sell dime store manure at Park Avenue prices? When no one had built up immunological resistance to the vast array of stuff offered for sale?
The donor of these candlesticks does . . .
Until last Wednesday she kept them around as a visual lesson in the perils of runaway bidding and a warning of the pheromone-like allure of ‘lovely drab colored’ candlesticks.
She thinks that the lesson has been learned and the time of regret and penance is over. She’s moved on.
As such, we’d like to dangle these as bait for you at Ed’s House-Of-Ugly. Nothing brightens up the holiday season like ‘lovely drab colored’ ugly.
Now in candlestick form.
These are probably 1950′s vintage and are 6 3/4 inches tall. They were made or imported by Arcadia and feature a lute player and a harpist.
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Posted in $6-$10, 20th century, Ceramic, Eclectic, Ed's "House of Ugly", GONE! SOLD!, knickknack, Otherwise useful, Seemed like a good idea . . ., Vintage |
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December 2, 2011
Ginny!
Thanks for donating to the Community Warehouse via the Willamette Week Give!Guide. Out of the of the field of entries you were chosen at random as the winner of the $100 Give!Guide Gift Certificate.
With that $100 you can buy one cool thing or a bunch stuff. Things like this vintage container featuring Bush Warblers in a blossoming plum tree. This piece is in excellent condition and was made in occupied Japan between 1945 and 1952. It is about 5 inches long and 4 inches tall.
For everyone else, it’s not to late to give via the Give!Guide and get the incentive package and be eligible for other special offers.
To everyone who has given via the Give!Guide so far: Thank You. We appreciate that you’re supporting local non-profit organizations. We’re especially appreciative if you support us, but there are lots of great places out there too.
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Posted in $6-$10, 20th century, Announcement, AVAILABLE!, Ceramic, knickknack, Otherwise useful, Vintage |
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November 30, 2011
Once upon a time we were so poor that we couldn’t buy a shmata (שמאַטע), we were so poor we didn’t have a pot to . . .
Well, you know how that goes.
Times have gotten better.
This antique Dresden China chamber pot is about 9 inches in diameter and 5 1/4 inches tall.
Here at the Estate Store we try to test things to make sure they work before offering them to the public. We decided to forgo testing this time and leave that up to the end-user.
You’re welcome.
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Posted in $6-$10, 19th century, Antique, Ceramic, GONE! SOLD!, Otherwise useful, Tools |
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November 30, 2011
These should probably be purchased for a couple named Cordelia and Blaine or Henrietta and Chalmers (Chalmsy to his friends). Or perhaps for my friends’ upcoming wedding.
This set of ceramic mugs were made for The National Trust in Staffordshire, England. There is a crown and a fan detail inside each mug. His Lordship is slightly cracked.
Posted in $6-$10, Ceramic, Dishes, GONE! SOLD!, Kitchenware, White elephant |
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November 29, 2011
We have a set of Busig glass tumblers from Ikea. They are 7 oz. each – perfect for splitting a 40 oz. of Olde English between six friends.
Posted in $6-$10, Glassware / barware, GONE! SOLD! |
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November 27, 2011
This cream pitcher, sugar bowl with lid, two cups and saucers were all painted by the same person. Unfortunately I have no idea who that person was.
This is deeply aggravating. In my past life, when I did archaeology, it was really easy to forget that objects were just the instruments to get at human behavior. Most of them were anonymous, maybe sometimes you’d see a finger print in the clay of an ancient pot but generally the maker was unknown.
All of the pieces in this set are signed, by E. Hamiss-Taylor, which makes them very much non-anonymous. You’d think this is the sort of name that would spring immediately to the top of any internet search but I’ve had no luck.
However, even negative information is information and we can say a few things about these pieces.
The painting of ceramics was a popular late 19th and early 20th century activity. This fits with the mark on the bottom of the cups (see photo below) which dates to after 1902 but no later than 1937. Ceramic painting was an activity particularly undertaken by women and the lack of any mention whatsoever in the documentary record suggest that E. Hamiss-Taylor was probably a woman.
Since this collection remained together this long I suspect she was someone’s grandmother or great-aunt. This is only speculative, but the use of the hyphenated name is a bit unusual for the time so perhaps she was widowed and then remarried?
In any case the gold handled cups with little flowers are very nicely done if somewhat conventional for the day. The creamer and lidded sugar are a little bit less refined, but I think they’re the stronger pieces. They’re more abstract and draw on Celtic and Nordic asymmetric design. They presage the works of later ceramic artists like Clarice Cliff, while drawing on popular motifs of the day, like those undertaken on furniture (with a higher budget) by Queen Marie which can be seen at the Maryhill Museum.
Although I’d rather not, I’m willing to split this set up. The cups and saucer are available separately from the creamer and sugar.
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Posted in $1 to $5, $6-$10, 20th century, Ceramic, Dishes, GONE! SOLD!, Painting, Vintage |
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November 21, 2011
I’ve never seen a pink elephant before.
I have a friend who saw an ethereal white horse one night while drinking heavily and listening to Mario Lanza. In this case it turned out to be a real horse, not a hallucination. This same friend is also a saint (long story, but true). We call him Saint Intemperate but even he has never seen a pink elephant before.
Luckily if one were on a safari in search of pink elephants there is this handy guide. It contains mixing instructions for 200 of the most popular drinks of the early 1950′s. Since 200 beverages would not only get you a rare pink elephant sighting, but would catapult you into the market for a new liver we recommend referring to this text in moderation.
The book is in fair condition with a notable stain on the front cover. This stain also extends four pages in.
This is the first volume, there was a second one published, also containing 200 drinks. This is a small but powerful book, only 4 1/8 by 4 1/4 inches.
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Posted in $6-$10, 20th century, Book(s) & bookends, Eclectic, Glassware / barware, GONE! SOLD!, Mid-Century Modern, Paper, Vintage, White elephant |
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November 19, 2011
1963 how-to manual for young men that explains (with illustrations) how to improve your bowling game. Written by David Cooke* this book explains how to hold the ball, how to swing, how to let go and how to throw straight, curved, or hook shots. There is additional information on scoring, spares, splits and basic rules.
Cooke wrote a fairly large number of books aimed at the youth market including such classics as Dirigibles that Made History, Let’s Go To India and the perennial childhood favorite Sleep With Nightmares.
Since no one ever wrote a corresponding book for young women they were out of luck. Perhaps bowling was seen as unladylike. I wonder if Mrs. Cooke ever considered writing Bowling For Better Boys?
Our copy is a typical ex-library copy. It still has the library check-out card which shows that Mike Dalby, Terry M., Chris and David were really trying to improve their games. The card spans at least 16 years (1970 to 1986 with some older but illegible dates) so this was not one of the more popular pastimes of the students at the Washington Elementary School in Vancouver. As a result the book is still in fairly good condition.
Fortunately the basic tenets of bowling haven’t changed substantially so this text would still be relevant to anyone interested in improving their game.
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Posted in $6-$10, 20th century, Book(s) & bookends, GONE! SOLD!, Mid-century, Paper, Vintage |
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November 14, 2011
There came a point in his career where he looked fondly back on the halcyon days of his youth, when he was just a line drawing in an artist’s sketchbook. He’d remember later in his youth, when he was just a simple, hard-working patrol officer. Then came the day of the foie gras massacre and his sudden promotion to inspector. Overtime his views hardened and he became more negative. Eventually he realized it was time to quit the force and spend his retirement reading newspapers.
He found the advertising supplements irresistible.
This quizzical anthropomorphic pipe smoking and cap wearing pseudo-Sherlock Holmes duck is just under 4 inches tall and 3 inches wide. It was likely used for printing newspaper advertisements. Unfortunately I don’t know what kind. If anyone recognizes this please send an email.
Posted in $6-$10, 20th century, Drawing / Illustration, Eclectic, GONE! SOLD!, knickknack, Metal, Vintage, Wood |
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November 10, 2011
As my uncle Frank used to say about his prize Shetland Pony: “He might seem small to you but he sure is fierce to the grass.”
This vintage figurine does a good job of demonstrating stylized muscularity and fierceness of a bull (especially if you’re a half-pint sized ceramic matador).
It is 11 1/2 inches long and 6 1/2 inches tall. The tail has been broken and re-glued and one of the horns has a small chip. We regret that we don’t know how many toreadors have succumbed to his fearsome might.
Posted in $6-$10, 20th century, Ceramic, GONE! SOLD!, knickknack, Mid-century, Sculpture, Vintage |
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