Some Days…

Some days I have to force myself to get some work done for my vintage store. Listing is a drudge. Sorting and storing inventory no better. Tracking expenses a complete bore. Still these tasks need to be done. But you never have to encourage me to do a little hunting! These days though I’m not willing to travel too far for it. I know some folks who will venture an hour or two from their homes to hit up an estate sale or flea market but generally I just don’t want to do that anymore. Thankfully I find a few bits and bobs closer to home and don’t need to.

Last Saturday was supposed to be our little local flea market, but it was rained out so I headed to the bargain rooms of monthly library book sale instead. It’s a melee at opening time with a scrum of bodies but I did gather a small collection of books for my store and myself for $9.50.

Here are a few of the quirky vintage books that attracted my attention.

I usually sell about 4-6 books a month, so it’s not a huge part of my business, but I get them cheaply or for free and they are easy to store and ship. Plus I love books!

Here’s a few I bought for myself. I just started Pearl Buck’s classic “The Good Earth” and it’s a strangely fascinating read. And Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery.” I remember reading it in high school but only as a short story. I didn’t even know it was a whole book! I’ve never read a Mickey Spillane and bought this for the lurid cover!

On Tuesday I dropped into my neighborhood thrift store with some excitement because I hadn’t been in days. I found a few things and carried them around and then put them back on the shelves. But in the end I did buy two things and this candlestick was my favorite. I wasn’t 100% sure about all its particulars, but I was 100% sure it was good. Tingly good!

Here’s why: It was tarnished but when I picked it up but wasn’t heavy like some silver-plated items. The engine-turned engraving was finely done. It had all the signs of serious age (more on that later). But it was the tiny marks on the base, one likely a European hallmark, that drew my attention. I knew this was one to buy.

In the store I couldn’t make out what the marks were. Back at home, I saw one mark was “FD” and the other rubbed mark was a flowery outline with a head in it.

Definitely not English, but I thought it might be French. After 30 minutes of research I found it was an Austrian-Hungarian mark. A Diana head circa 1867-1922 in .800 (coin) silver.

Frankly it shows its age. It has a wobble, a slight lean forward, tarnish and a bash (and who among us wouldn’t after 100 years?!). It’s not tall or impressive and I can see why many folks just passed it by. And yet there it was–a true antique amongst the thrift store flotsam and jetsam.

I know it may be too wabi sabi for some antique connoisseurs and some may think it only has melt value ($85+), but I think someone else might appreciate this.

It was so exciting to find a piece of antique silver out in the wild. Doesn’t happen very often!

Two days later and I decided to go back to the thrift store in the hopes that more silver might have hit the shelves. No such luck. Lots of overpriced, worn silverplate instead. (Darn!)

BUT, I did find one piece of jewelry marked “MFA” which I knew stood for Museum of Fine Art and pieces made for museums can have value and collectibility. This one was a quirky enameled hot air balloon with a movable basket. Not my kind of thing but cute. And I decided to buy it.

Turns out that was a good move! Here are some recent solds and most current listings are $75 to $125.

So I’m not buying much these days, but I am happy with what I am choosing. I almost bought this “About Face” 1980s clay wallhanging mask for $8, but in the end decided against it. It was kinda cute, but felt outdated to me and I could imagine it sitting in my store for years! What do you think?

Wishing you happy hunting,

Karen