My Cheap Vintage Finds [& What They’re Worth] #169

Hi everyone! Hope your week is going well. A couple of months ago, my sweet husband had to drive to Pittsburgh for work, which enabled him to stay with his family who live nearby. Our sister-in-law’s grandpap happened to be holding a living estate sale at the time, and knowing my love for “old” things, they dragged him over to take a look.

Though we’ve been married for over twenty years, he still has not developed much of an eye for antiques, so he decided to facetime me while at the sale and show me some of the items via his phone. He’d walk into a room and tell me what he saw and then hold the phone up to the item for me to see.  

I do not recommend this method of shopping! After about ten minutes, I became severely motion sick and had to hang up (LOL). But not before he had selected a couple of items to bring home with him, including a box filled with vintage recipes torn out of magazines, cooking booklets, and recipe pamphlets.

I thought I’d share an assortment with you today. All were free and most are worth no more than a dollar or two, but they are fun to look at(!).

Much of the material dates to the 1970’s, with the exception of this booklet, published by the American Spice Trade Association in 1950. Interestingly, its spice-filled recipes are ordered alphabetically, so you will find “apple pie” right next to “ginger beans.”

This colorfully decorated booklet (one of my favorites) dates to 1977 and contains suggestions for using vinegar throughout the house.

Another spice booklet from the American Spice Trade Association, this one from 1964. Despite its bizarre cover (ahem, the stuffed rabbit), it contains loads of ideas for using spices in your cooking.

Gosh, this one just makes me laugh out loud. That bathing suit, oh my goodness, what were they thinking. Inside you will find many more groovy outfits, along with the best drink mix recipes that Southern Comfort had to offer in 1971.

More drink mix recipes–hot and cold–as well as a few desserts, sponsored by CocoRibe, a white rum and Wild Island coconut milk beverage.

This Veg-o-matic booklet does not contain recipes per se, but the television commercials from the 1970’s for this product are part of my childhood. Seeing it made me smile to remember the “Ronco Veg-o-matic” ads and the compulsion I felt at the time, though only a child, to own one.

My very first infomercial. Inside the booklet it claims, “there has never been [a device] like it in the History of Food Preparation Appliances.” Anyone else remember these commercials?

I suspect this is one of those booklets that you would find inserted in a magazine, no date but looking very much like the 1970’s. It contains several recipes involving Pillsbury crescent roll dough.

Another Pillsbury recipe booklet–28 pages filled with low calorie dessert recipes. Dating to 1970, it calls for a sugar substitute product that is no longer on the market.

I like the simple, graphic illustration on this pamphlet, published by the American Mushroom Institute (located in PA, if you’re wondering). It contains several recipes, along with tips on how to buy, clean, and store mushrooms.

This older booklet, published by Heinz, contains an assortment of salad-related recipes. The illustrations suggest that it dates to the 1940’s.

This makes the third Heinz booklet, so I should mention that Heinz is headquartered in Pittsburgh (and the Steeler’s stadium is named Heinz Field). As the cover says, it focuses on pickling recipes using white vinegar.

I saved my very favorite for last, a die-cut fish pamphlet, made of card stock and published by Nordic [Group] a Norwegian fish collective company. Love the slogan, too: The Dish is Fish. Clever!

I think that some of these paper goods, the pamphlets especially, which are prone to being thrown away, hold promise as future collectibles, if not antiques. Already 50 years old, they have beat the odds and survived. At 100, who knows how much they’ll be worth?

Thanks so much for stopping by today!
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Bye for now,

Always adding new merchandise.