This Week’s Vintage Finds #32

Hi friends! I only made it out to “shop” one day this week-end–Saturday morning my sweet husband and I drove around the community and stumbled on some great sales. Here are a few of the vintage items we purchased.

I thought I’d try my hand at selling a piece of hammered aluminum in my Etsy shop, and this highly functional ice bucket seemed like a good piece to start with, especially given the resurgence of bar related items. I’ll price it at about $18.00. Behind the bucket stands a great, vintage atlas with maps of each state in the union. They fit perfectly in 9″ x 12″ frames, so I am going to sell them individually, for framing, perhaps for $4-5 each.

Next to the bucket is a small sugar dispenser, embossed “Gemco” on the bottom. I might stick a small roll of string or twine in it and sell it as a string holder for about $7.99. The embossing on the old aqua bottle reads: “Florida Water, Murrany & Lanman, Druggists, New York.” NOTE: For more info about hammered aluminum, try “Collectible Aluminum Hammers Out a Niche,” at About.com.

Furniture

At one sale we ran into a pair of somewhat unfriendly sellers, but we did our best win them over with smiles and friendly conversation. They ended up having some terrific prices! For example, they charged us just $6.00 for all three of the pieces above: the brass and glass table, the stool (yes, another one!), and the darling vanity chair. I’m about to start listing items like these on Craigslist to avoid the trouble of shipping such large items. I’ll report back on my progress.

I paid “top dollar” for the galvanized bucket ($8) because it’s for my personal use. I want to grow some zucchini in it on my deck. I plan to paint the wicker planter in the back, and I will list the c.1970s wrought iron magazine rack on Etsy (together they cost just $4). I’ll price the rack at about $40 or so.

Jewelry

Here’s a portion of the jewelry that I ferreted out from a large box at one of the sales. In the upper left corner: an Asian pendant, next a pair of rhinestone earrings, then a small, sterling silver heart pendant, followed by a pink glass beads. On the bottom: a vintage glass bead necklace and a strand of faux pearls. I incorporate vintage beads into my jewelry making, some of which will be on sale in my new Etsy store (Grand Opening TBA). One money for all of the above–$1.50.

Ladies Dresser

I had some trouble getting a good photograph of this mirrored tray–isn’t it interesting? I think the glass cylinders in the center were intended to hold lipstick? Any thoughts out there? It’s heavy as all get-out. The mirror in front is made of beautifully smooth ebony. The stoppered perfume bottle is encased in French Ivory, a fancy term for “celluloid,” one of the earliest forms of plastic that looked a bit like genuine ivory. To learn how to tell the difference between ivory and celluloid, check out Robert Eisenstadt’s article.

Vintage Finds #11

Bye for now,