Estate Sale Special - February 11, 2023

For lack of gardening news, here's what I did on Thursday. 

I went to an estate sale with a friend.  It was HUGE!  Think of the biggest garage sale you've been to, and times it by probably fifty.  And even that doesn't come near to how big it was. There were hundreds of photos with the online posting for it.  More stuff than a hoarder would have had, but not a hoarder situation.  Collections of things.  Themed walls of displayed items.  What kind of items?  Glass doorknobs.  Fishing lures.  Kitchen sifters.  Wrenches.  You name it and there was probably a display of it.  Old food tins?  Had them.  Hornet's nest on a branch?  Of course!  Antique valentines and calling cards?  Yes!  Belt buckles.  Brass hose nozzles, records, license plates, sports team bobble heads...  

A room of plush animals and vintage stuffed characters (like Smokey the Bear, Flip Wilson, and Captain Kangaroo).  A room of dolls.  Hundreds of dolls.  Baby dolls with creepy eyes.  Old dolls.  New dolls.  Mary Kate and Ashley dolls.  Action figures included still-in-the-boxes of O. J. Simpson in football days, and Kristy McNichol.  Window ledges lined with porcelain figurines.  Not hundreds, thousands, throughout the house.  Antique, vintage, and new.  More than one could collect in one lifetime.

Western "Cowboys and Indians" themed items.  These included figurines, artwork, animal pelts and antlers... oh, anything you could imagine.  

Elvis memorabilia.  Books, posters, records, coloring books and paper dolls (all unused).  

Santas.  Santas.  More Santas.  Some blow molds in good condition, some age faded and with holes.

So much colored glass, heavy on the greens and cobalt blues.  There was an entire area of just green glass (I resisted the dark emerald glass ashtrays at $4 and $5 each). Boxes of glassware (but not the kind you'd drink from) under most of the tables.  And no room to pull them out to look! 

The sale was run by a professional estate sale company, and large items were priced, or there were signs showing the price range.  It was really up to the employees at the table taking payments though.  

My friend and I were excited to take a look at all the outdoor garden decor first thing.  Neither of us had ever seen so much stuff.  Neither of us had ever seen such high prices.  So high it accounted for why most of the "good stuff" was still sitting unsold a few hours after the sale opened.  Broken pots, cracked ceramic rabbits, plastic squirrels...  old and new of everything under the sun.  Bathtubs.  Birdbaths. Wire animal cages.  Rotting out buildings which may have been chicken coops and barns decades earlier, were filled with rotting junk for sale.  Walls inside and out were covered with more stuff, old and new mixed. We found plenty we wanted, but nothing we bought for those prices.

Inside was a mixed bag.  Many very, very collectible items were going unsold.  Think Jadite bowls and Fenton glass.  Even the blow molds weren't selling.  Too expensive for even the collectors.  Of course, Friday might have been another story, it was 50% that day.

Did I end up with anything?

Yes!  I put back an insulator ($5, a fair price) and a red glass Fenton cat's head shoe for $8 (again, fair price), because I had no idea how much my little items (ceramic dogs, two metal pin flower frogs, and a salt and pepper shaker set) were going to be, and I found an antique print on a wall for $10 (a great bargain!).  I had promised myself I was not going to spend much.  I feel quite proud of myself putting back those two items since I collect them both, but the additional $13 would have put me over the budget I had in my head. 

The items on walls, the art, items on nails to display, hanging on rafters, etc. were greasy and dirty and full of spider webs.  This print had a chunk of glass missing as well.  A bit too high to reach (and not much room to move around, it was literally not only crowded with potential customers, but tiny rooms and a dark narrow hallway only one could get through at a time, and throw rugs to trip over), until my friend noticed a tall man and asked for help, and he kindly got it down for me!

So, here's what I bought for a total of $20 (the print being $10, some of the rest with price tags that would have added up to more)

* metal dome flower frog, pin inside a cage - from the '40s

* metal oval pin flower frog, #62 - from the '40s

* rooster and pecking hen salt and pepper shakers - from the '50s

* seven ceramic dogs and a chalkware collie head plaque

   Dogs in no particular order, sorry... 

     1 - blue eared terrier (these are usually described as Airedales)

     2 - chalkware collie head (there was another, but it had a broken ear and they were asking the same price for it)

     3 - salt or pepper shaker with green begging eyes - I can get the other on eBay, but it's $16 + $6 shipping, and this guy just looks like he'd rather be an only.  I saw him online and his eyes got to me then too!  

     4 - schnauzer with pup

     5 - blue hound eating - made in Occupied Japan (1945-1952)

     6 - French bulldog

     7 - another French bulldog, a bit bigger and in blue and white - made in Germany

     8 - a little hound type from the $1 box on the check-out table 

The aforementioned print is antique, or at the latest 1930's.  It's called Found or Shepherd's Call.  The artist is up for debate.  It's been attributed to several men, and suggested it could even be a commercial artist working for the publishing company, similar to today's greeting card artists. 

The tri-color Border collie has located the lost lamb and is alerting the shepherd.  Three crows or ravens await in case things take a turn for the worst.

Border collies are my favorite breed of dog, so I might not have bought this if it had been any other kind!  I've not had a pure Border collie, however Mickey is my third mixed one.

The print was published by Goes Lithographing Company.  It was Giant Photos catalog number 1248 (printed as G.P. 1248), which indicated this was the 12" x 16" version.  These prints were offered to school children to order (like today's Scholastic Book Club?).  An 8" x 10" was 25¢ and 35¢ for the 16" x 20".  The largest size would have cost 60¢, and there are few of those around.  

However, while mine does carry the publisher mark, and the catalog number, mine was not originally purchased through a school catalog order.  The original backing and frame were done by Radio Picture Frames, who framed prints that were sold at Woolworth's, Ben Franklin, and the other five and dime stores of the time.  

The lamb was found just in time.  We see the hoof prints he left before he collapsed in the snow.  

Unfortunately, I can't put it back in the original frame, as it really needs a mat to protect it, therefore it needs a larger frame to accommodate that.  Too much of the image would be lost if I matted it to the 12" x 16".

So, I'm glad we went.  I'm even a bit glad things were priced out of my range, so I saved money!  A few hours after returning home I went to the grocery store, where the young man checker and I were discussing our day.  I mentioned attending an estate sale, and he had been to the same one.  Didn't buy a thing.  He was shocked to see how much everything was priced!