This Week’s Vintage Finds #84

Hi everyone! I garage saled for a few hours this past Friday morning and made some great vintage deals. One sale in particular resulted in some terrific bargains. The son of the couple holding the sale had left for California the day before and had given permission to sell his belongings, including boxes he had inherited from his father. The sale hadn’t even been advertised; only a “Garage sale” sign with an arrow let you know that the sale was in progress. I stumbled upon it shortly after they opened and was the first to dip into a couple of the boxes. I love these kind of sales! (Usually my sweet husband is with me and I call him my “lucky charm” whenever we find a really, really good sale like this one.)

These three, quite aged, pieces of ironstone were the first items I found. No chips or cracks, but plenty of crazing (fine cracks in the surface glaze) and browning (cost: $1.00 for all three).

I thought they displayed quite nicely against the vintage-y flag (cost: $1.00, value: $15.00).

The smallest piece, manufactured by Livesley & Davis, dates to 1867-1871, the year Mr. Livesley retired (value: $8.00-10.00).

The middle-sized platter, with the scalloped edges, dates to about 1883-1913. Johnson Bros. opened in 1883 and continues business to this day, as part of the Wedgwood group.

The largest platter, manufactured by Cartwright Bros. of Liverpool, Ohio, dates to 1880-1887 (value: $15.00-20.00). After 1887, the name changed to “Cartwright Bros. Company.” Prior to 1880, they had manufactured only yellow ware and Rockingham. For more info about ironstone, check out my Antique Ironstone Price Guide.

I love finding unique and interesting items, like the metal Audi logo on top, the set of verdigrised brass bells, and the golden angel wings (cost: $1.00 for all three).

If the price is right, I always pick up crackle glass. While I’ve never sold any via my Etsy shop, it has sold at my “bricks and mortar” shop, The Gristmill (in Troy), quite well (cost: $1.00 each, value: $10-12.00 each). Red and amethyst are both popular colors, prized by collectors.

Here’s a shot of their hand-blown, applied handles.

Here you see the pontil mark on the bottom of each piece where the glass blower would have broken the finished pitcher off the blowpipe. For more info, check out my article, A Cool Collectible: Crackle Glass.

I continue to pick up cheap Pyrex. This piece, in the “Butterfly Gold” pattern, holds just one pint (cost: 50 cents, value: $6.00). Check out Pyrex Love to identify your Pyrex.

Stumbling upon this nice “P” made me so happy; I can’t wait to find a spot for it. I picked up the two “E’s” and the “C” to sell (cost: $1.00 each, value: $4.00 each).

Each small canning jar bears a different name, this one, “Atlas” (value: $8-10.00).

This well-loved enamelware lunch bucket has certainly seen better days, but I enjoy its quiet simplicity.

I always pick up chess/checker/backgammon boards when I run across them. This one is nice because it can hold the pieces inside (cost: $1.00, value: $25-30.00). Though quite dried out, the wood will benefit from a nice rubdown with some Howard’s Feed-N-Wax.

Scientific items from the 50s and 60s tend to sell well, and this microscope could serve double duty as a funky decoration, in a library or man-cave (cost: $1.00, value: $15.00).

Final Find: This handsome woodcut print caught my eye right away, and for a buck, I didn’t give it too much thought. The linen matte is a nice touch, and I don’t hate the frame. It’s not signed, so research will be difficult (cost: $1.00, value: $35.00+). I think it depicts South Americans on a carousel, kind of quirky subject matter.

The condition of the back gives some indication of the artwork’s age, likely dating to the 1930s or 40s.

Bye for now,