In some of our earlier posts about things Janie and I have gotten via avenues other than retail, there may have been a few antiques, but this post is dedicated to items that would qualify as antiques and did not appear previously. Let's take a look!
First, I suppose I'd have to mention our crocks. Here is our first crock, a perfect-condition Redwing 15-gallon. It cost us $50 and is worth maybe 20 times that. All in all we have about 20 crocks. Most are Redwing and about half of them have damage. It doesn't matter. They are very useful; we love them all; if we find others at bargain prices we'll keep buying. The large soup bowl is thrown in to give you a sense of scale.
Elephants. A mechanical bank and a door stop. Both are gifts from Janie's parents.
Black steamer trunk. I bought this at a Kenwood estate sale. It's nice to know the name of the old money lady who owned it, and the sticker showing Buenos Aires to New York adds some nice charm too. It cost me $20.
We've picked up three old soda pop boxes over the years, and I particularly like the writing on this one. It probably ran us $8.
A little gold locket, just big enough to hold an aspirin. From Janie's grandmother.
Dad's toolbox. The bottom had come loose and it was covered with alkalai and adobe mud, but I put it back together anyway. I couldn't buy a toolbox with this much class.
Brass bed from Janie's Aunt Em's house. We had a king size mattress specially made so it would fit lengthwise, and then off to the side it goes onto some boxes for support. We keep the mattress covered during the day, because the cats are dyspepsic. Drives me nuts.
California fruit boxes. I think they cost us $3 each. They make excellent shelves.
Somewhere I have the fork that goes with this old carving knife. It has "Byerly" on it, the name of an upscale grocery chain here in Minneapolis and St. Paul. I like to think it was used by the Byerly family. The pair cost us a buck.
Mechanical sewing machine toy. It works. We're not sure where we got it from. It says "Made in Germany".
Lazy Ike fishing lure. $2 at an estate sale.
My maternal grandfather's pocket watch.
Imprints inside the cover say, among other things, "Eclipse".
Grandma Duerre's vaseline-glass cake stand. Both pictures are enhanced for contrast so you can see the detail. Vaseline glass was made by adding uranium to get this color.
Everyone should have some coins from the years they were born. I was '58; Janie was ,66. Yes, I married my trophy bride the first time around. Coins were remarkably cheap before the price of silver went up. I'm guessing we paid less than $4 for the pair.
Crockery vase I bought Janie for her birthday. It probably ran $20. I thought it was unique.
Coffee can. I got it from under someone's floor when I was cleaning out their basement. I know it's from before WWII, because they stopped making things with green paint so that color could be diverted for military purposes.
A sewing box carved for my mother. Her father was head of the furniture guild in Wurzburg, Germany, and they knew a lot of craftspeople. The art on the front is the seal of the city of Wurzburg.
Cobbler's bench Janie's mom found at a sale. We don't know how much it cost her, but it was free to us. I keep sewing things in it, along with some leather tools that appear to have been used for horse tack. The cat is also a hand me down from Janie's brother.
Tin fire brigade bucket. It cost us $25. All we know is it was from a small town in Southern Minnesota.
Working console radio. Probably from the late 40s. I paid $40 at an Lake of the Isles sale, and it was in exquisite condition. I've only dinged it up a little.
A collection plate (or something like it) carved for my mom by a friend during the war. The date is 1943. Clearly they didn't know she was Jewish. Good thing too.
Broad axe I found in the river bank near the old townsite of Dallas, Colorado. The town disappeared around 1890, so this is old, and it will find its way to the county museum some day.
People always comment on my scale I use to weigh scrap metal. I found it in the dumpster of our building.
My desk. It was bought at a yard sale for probably $25. What I like about these old desks is you can turn the middle drawer over, and it's a ready-made keyboard tray. The chair is a from a set of four working class wood chairs I paid $20 each for. I couldn't want anything else for the dining room table.
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So, that's pretty much it for antiques. Next week we'll look at some rocks we've acquired over the years.
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Comments: 24
Vicky, even my mom didn't know she was Jewish. They kept it a secret from her as long as possible, and then they explained that she had Jewish relatives but that didn't make here Jewish, and it was very important for her not to discuss it at school. Her mother was also married to an influential German craftsman, and I think the authorities were allowed themselves to look away from some Jews while doing in the others (they weren't even true to their own principles). Wurzburg burnt from one end to the other during the war. It was really awful for the Germans as well. And yes, my mom was a war bride.
Cat, it's a good question whether this obsession with collecting goes way back into history. I hadn't thought about that.
We've become attached to the kitties, Roxanne. Not for sale : )
My mom had no interest in the sewing box at all, Sue, so I asked for it and snapped it up when she said yes.
Incorporating things into your world in a functional way is the key to making room for them, Marianne. It's the things that aren't used that I have trouble hanging on to.
Nana, I too remember things that would never fly today. They used to herd all the sheep they grazed in the high country through town every fall and spring. They'd always lose a half dozen too. Sometimes people would keep them as pets or dinner (both highly illegal but it was like wild west times back then). Other times, they'd drive up the pass and hand the wooly thing off.
Lloyd, I too shave more than cobble, and console radios have their limitations, mostly as regards portability.