This Week’s Vintage Finds #124
Hi everyone! I have some fun vintage finds to share with you today. I stopped by a couple of estate sales on Friday afternoon and then a couple more on Saturday with my sweet husband. We spent the early part of the day in Albany’s Washington Park flower peeping–it’s tulip time in Albany. This year I wanted to enjoy them and take some photos as far from the maddening crowd as possible. So we decided to avoid Tulip Fest this year (next week-end, May 7th and 8th), and we had a lovely morning with far less people and no loud rock bands. I’ll write a pretty tulip post soon, but you can take a look at my previous tulip post right now, if you’d like. Meanwhile, let’s take a look at my vintage and antique buys.
Sometimes arriving at a sale late in the day has it’s advantages–smaller crowds and frequently the opportunity to haggle for lower prices. I arrived at an estate sale on Friday at about 1 pm and the place was still loaded with merchandise. The owners had been real pack rats, saving broken or imperfect items that should have been tossed out. I guess the mess overwhelmed the people holding the sale because they left all the dirty and broken items in place and priced very few items that had actual value (annoying), but I decided to poke around anyway. At least it wasn’t crowded.
I spotted a small pile of appliqued butterflies (first photo above) as soon as I walked in the house. I asked for a price and they told me $8.00. The pile contained sixteen squares, along with five partials and many fabric butterfly cut outs (above). My attempt at haggling failed, but I decided to take themany way, even though I thought the price a bit high (cost: 50¢ each, value: $3-4.00 each).
This celluloid (early plastic, also called French Ivory) pin cushion came from the same sale (cost: $2.00, value: $12-15.00). I need to remove all the pins and clean the dust from the surface of the velvet before selling. (SOLD)
These three pins seem more like hat pins to me. The clear and white ones are glass. I’m going to try to clean them up as well.
Looking to buy sewing-related items?
I have several available in my Vintage Shop.
Scissors make a interesting collectible since they come in so many different shapes and sizes and have been produced in a number of countries around the world, like the US, England, and Germany. I’ve finally admitted that I have a scissor collection, and this tiny pair, marked “Germany” is my smallest (cost: $1.00, value: $8-10.00). I keep them “collected” in a flower frog on my desk.
The Western Shear Co. manufactured them. I have not located any information about them yet.
Speaking of scissors, this little framed bit of Christmas cheer is a vintage print of a Scherenschnitte, a Pennsylvania Dutch (German) art form. The artist would cut out the design from a single sheet of paper using very sharp scissors (cost: 50¢, value: $8-10.00).
Cindy Bean blogs at Scherenschnitte
and shares her exquisite paper cuts with her readers.
These small reverse paintings on glass tend to be quite popular, especially silhouettes like this one (cost: 50¢, value: $10-12.00). [How do they keep their hair in place while pushing and swinging?!!]
I do like a nicely made whisk broom, and aren’t these a lovely pair? The blue velvet trim with the blue stitching is a nice touch (cost: $1.50 each, value: $8-10.00 each). (SOLD)
I find it almost as hard to pass up a well-made basket, like this small, ash splint fellow, even though he’s missing his lid (cost: $1.00, value: $6-8.00 w/o lid).
Get some help pricing your baskets
with my Vintage Basket Price Guide.
This long slice of wood with a towel rack is an older souvenir from Long Beach, NY, a town on Long Island. It’s an example of pyrography (wood burning), a hobby popular in the late 1800’s through to the 1920’s (cost: $1.00, value: $12-15.00).
Another well-made piece, this Arts & Crafts style book holder, made of oak, was a nice find. The medium brown stain and pyramid-shaped decoration are typical of this style (cost: $2.00, value: $35-40.00?) I’ve never sold a piece like it, so I’ll do some more research before selling it. [Available in my Vintage Blog Shop.]
Are you as in love with this Victorian autograph book as I am? The intricately tooled leather cover is a small piece of art, and its pages are filled with numerous salutations and signatures in the loveliest hand-writing you’ve ever seen (cost: $2.00, value: $40-45.00). [Available in my Vintage Blog Shop.]
As are the pages of this second autograph book that I bought at the same sale (cost: $2.00, value: $25-30.00). Watch out for a post about these two fascinating books coming soon. [You can read A Cool Collectible: Autograph Books here.]
Final Find: [What I think is] the leaf from a vintage formica table (cost: $3.00), which I plan to stencil and turn into a sign. But what word(s) should I choose? Family? Market? What would you suggest?
Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed seeing some of my vintage finds and learning a bit more about them. I love learning about antiques and vintage and passing that info on when ever I can!
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What an interesting and varied lot of finds. I’m looking forward to those future posts, especially for the autograph books. Will it be hard to get the stencil paint to stick to the formica?
Hi Eddie! I will give it a couple of coats of polyurethane after the stenciling dries and that should protect it pretty well. That’s what I do when I stencil on ironstone platters, which have a similar surface, and it works pretty well.
Love the whisk brooms and autograph books!
OH those autograph books are wonderful! And the table leaf would make a fun sign…how about “DINER” or “CAFE”?
I’m kind of in love with those autograph books, myself 🙂 Excellent ideas, Linda–love the “Diner” idea especially–thanks!!
Sucg GREAT stuff! I would have jumped on that rustic towel holder. And the table top? Reminds me of a table we had in our house growing up, only our top was white. Wish I had that table now! I think I would put EAT on it!
xoKathleen Charm Bracelet Diva {At Home}
Thanks for the great idea Kathleen 🙂
Diana,
I’m impressed that you went later & still scored nice finds! I have such a hard time dragging up to be the “early bird”…you have inspired me to just wait. I’m not an early bird at heart….I’m a “late bird.”
Love the flour sack butterflies, even though they are a bit pricey. Sometimes we just have to go for it, don’t we? I know I do. Those paper cut outs…can you imagine the tedious act of cutting all those out?
You have such lovely finds….I can’t wait to read your future posts.
Oh and the autograph books!! I have one from my grandmother, that is as exactly as you describe with the beautiful handwriting. I treasure it and have it on display, but have never known what it was worth. I appreciate that you tell us that as you are going along.
I hear you Florence–I’m a pretty late bird myself! It’s so wonderful that you have your grandmother’s autograph book–what a special family heirloom. It’s a pleasure to have you following along on my blog!
Great finds, Diana. That Arts & Crafts bookholder is fascinating. I collect poetry books and love beautiful bookends/holders – can’t wait to see what you find out.
I love the autograph book. I have 2 of my grandmother’s, with entries going back to 1934. They aren’t as pretty as yours, but they are amazing little insights into family history.
5I love the formica table leaf. I have two tops from 1960’s tv trays (the ones we used to eat dinner fro m in front of the tv). I want the legs for something else, and have stuck the tops (brown with big orange flowers) away to become signs. I rescued them from a bush in an empty lot.
Thanks for sharing – you are an unfailing source of inspiration!
I’ll be sure to pass on any additional info I gather on the book holder, Donna. I think it’s so special to have family heirlooms like autograph books to connect us to our grandparents. What a blessing for you. Your rescued TV tray tops sound like just the thing to turn into signs–I bet they’ll look terrific. Love that you found them in a bush–LOL. Thanks for the chat and your very kind words 🙂
About the vintage Formica piece: If it were a leaf from a table, I would think that the corners would not be rounded, unless it was a drop-down leaf. I can’t tell the size of this item. Does anything on the reverse help to identify how it was attached or used? My grandparents had a yellow table and chairs. Your piece looks like it’s in great condition.
I love the Arts & Crafts style book holder. I wish I would have found it. I have the perfect desk to go with it (once I remove off the olive green and gold “antiquing” my mother did back in the 60s to the desk I got from the grandparents above).
The back has a few screw holes in it, but that’s it. Otherwise, it looks just like the front. It’s a bit of a mystery, isn’t it? My grandmother had a yellow table and chairs, too! It sat out on the back porch and we played cards at it for hours. What a blessing to have a piece of your grandmother’s furniture; I bet it will be beautiful when you’ve stripped and refinished it. Thanks for dropping by!
A suggestion for the formica sign you plan on making: Retro Kitchen! Love the stuff you got!
Those butterflies are wonderful, Diana! Great finds as usual!
I love those kinds of sales that are so packed you can still find great things in the afternoon. You found a lot of treasures!
Great finds ! Love the scissors and the brooms, and that reverse painting is fabulous. The butterflies are so sweet and lovely. The Victorian autograph book is so unusual and what a great price!
There are some very interesting finds this week. I like the bookends.
What great finds and such a nice variety, too! I think the butterflies were worth the price. Sometimes you just have to spend a little more to get the unique stuff. I also would like to take a minute to give you a heartfelt thanks for hosting the Vintage Charm party and for selecting my phonograph as April’s feature. I was stunned speechless when Cecilia told me it had been selected. I’ve enjoyed linking up with the party, but more importantly, I’ve enjoyed seeing all of the great posts each week. I’m always impressed with how creative these folks are. Hope you have a great day!
Such interesting finds: The word that came to mind (for me) for the Formica—Was ‘Kitschy’ in the wonderful curvy script with the balls on the end of it. OR you could…Paint a chalkboard area…..and let the new owner…come up with the phrase. Cool items! Thanks for sharing, Sandi.
Diana, Love the butterflies. Those will make a great project. The pink formica I would choose Enjoy or Smile.
Sylvia D.
I’m in awe of your knowledge about collectibles and their value.
Now I’m wondering what ever happened to my mother’s hats and hat pins.
Thanks for sharing with SYC.
Very interesting finds Donna. Thanks for sharing your knowledge about history and value of each item. Love the butterfly cut-outs. One would be very pretty on a pillow. Also thanks for hosting the fun and inspiring Vintage Charm party. Hope to get back on the blogging wagon soon and share a post on Vintage Charm.