Next to old advertising, vintage kitchen is my most sought items. Whether it’s the old red and green wooden handled utensils or old Hoosier style cabinets or atomic era appliances when opportunity presents itself I’m in.
I’m not sure where the interest comes from… maybe my affinity for good food. Maybe it’s nostalgia for childhood visits to an aunt’s home. She used a very similar cabinet as the one pictured above to store her flour.
As 2016 comes to a close I have decided to try to move a few things that have been part of my collection for a while.
I picked up this coal oil drum with pump at a local auction. It has drawn a lot of attention over the time I’ve owned it, but time has come to move it making room for something new. The only piece that I’ve had in my collection that may have gotten more attention was this great street sign.
I finally parted with it a couple of months ago. Someone visiting Kentucky from California decided to take it home with them.
I’ve also debated what to do with this old tire sign for a while now.
I really like it a lot, but it doesn’t really fit my space. I’ve decided to see if I can move it.
What fun is letting things go if you can’t buy new things? I have found a few things that I have added. I like old bottles and boxes with vintage advertising. I found these buried in a garage at an estate sale.
I especially like the nail box. The fact that a paper box has managed to survive in this condition over the years while being shoved in a small space with other forgotten boxes and bottles is really cool. The turpentine bottle cleaned up really nicely.
I also found this seltzer water bottle at a good price in an antique mall.
My best recent find was three trencher style dough bowls. These are large examples with the largest being about five feet long and the smallest around four feet.
Are you finding or letting go of any cool pieces?
It’s been a while since I have posted (5 months to be exact). It’s not that I haven’t had good finds or that I haven’t thought about it. It seems I either don’t have time or I don’t have good pictures and I hate to throw up a post with no pics. Sometimes downloading pictures is more time consuming than writing a post.
I have pics of some of my recent finds so I decided to get back in the saddle again and share.
I’ve picked up several industrial pieces. I really like the old mail cart and the patina on the file really spoke to me. I’ve had a similar medical cabinet once before and did well with it. I always do well with industrial stools and even though I prefer pairs I snapped this one up at a great price.
I picked up these duck decoys on a whim. Don’t know much about them but the price seemed good and it appears I have sold them so I guess following my gut was a good decision.
Fisher Price always is a good choice and I especially enjoy the Little People collections. Not sure if it’s a bit of nostalgia for my own childhood or because my youngest daughter has accumulated quite a collection of vintage Little People. Whatever the reason I picked up a whole tote of mostly vintage Little People items at a recent tag sale.
Toys have been a theme of late it would seem. I bought these old toys at a swap meet.
Old steel trucks usually bring more than I am willing to pay, but these seemed reasonable and when I was able to bundle some other items with them I couldn’t help myself.
This cool wooden Coke carrier was part of the bundle. Soda stuff is my favorite!
My final items are among my most recent finds and are season appropriate.
I found these vintage Christmas ornaments at a garage sale. Once again I suspect some nostalgic tie to my childhood, but these are really cool. The lot includes some nice West German ones.
I spent the past couple of days traveling one of Kentucky’s designated “Scenic Byways”. Highway 68 runs from Maysville through central Kentucky and across the western part of the state.
The “400 mile sale” is held annually along the 68 corridor and while it may not be as famous as the 127 sale it has gained some national attention. I decided that I was going to tackle as much of it as I could this year so I set out with my thirteen year old daughter early Thursday morning. We concentrated on the area between Lexington and Harrodsburg.
Our first stop gave us some of our best finds of the day.
My first purchase was a bundle of the three pieces pictured above. The two gallon oil can is a Gulf product.
I also found this Happy Days lunch box at this location. Thermos included.
Other finds on Thursday included a really cool birdcage
and a great wooden reversible game board among other things
I had decided to “divide and conquer”. Living 45 minutes from Highway 68 allowed us to make short day trips rather than traveling and staying overnight in a hotel. Day two found us traveling to Paris Kentucky and heading northeast.
I bought my second birdcage in Millersburg.
It always amazes me when people try to sell filthy items, but my daughter pointed out what may have been the most gross thing I’ve seen while picking. A large trailer was loaded with varies items including a stove and refrigerator. The fridge was turned on its side with food spilling out the partially open door. In 80 degree temps how long do you think it took for that to really smell. I did manage to hang around long enough to buy a turquoise Pyrex baking dish for $1.
While I have not yet photographed all items here are a few other pics of other purchases.
Real shame that the Royal Crown sign had been cut. Still I like what is left.
Overall I’d say it was a successful two days and I enjoyed the time with my girl.
I spent much of my day searching for that hidden treasure amongst the piles of stuff offered at the typical estate sale. Some of my favorite Memorial Day Weekend finds were fittingly from the WW2 era.
As I shuffled through the stacks it got to me a bit realizing that just over a half century ago these items represented the sacrifice made by someone whether it was the sacrifice of the soldier, sailor, mother, sweetheart, or the individual who supported the war effort.
What a timely reminder this stop turned out to be. Sometimes we take for granted what others have sacrificed for us. I got some cool stuff, but more importantly I was reminded to be thankful for what others have done to preserve our freedoms.
I didn’t snap a picture but the stationary has a calendar for 1945 on the back. I couldn’t help but wonder what could have been the messages intended to be written on it’s pages.
I love the image on the glass.
Thank you veterans and families for the sacrifice that you have so willingly made over the years. May God bless you all.
When I’m junking I always look for the odd and unusual. Today I think I was successful.
This set of denture molds caught my eye and I had to have them. Now depending on who you ask they are either really cool or really gross. They appear to be made of brass.
I also got these old wooden boxes. Two of the small square ones are from a jewelry store.
I really like this thermometer and think it’s pretty cool that it has survived.
If you’ve never been to the St. Louis City Museum and you find yourself in the area by all means go. Especially if you have children. There are tons of interactive things to do.
As much as I enjoy junk I could wander through their displays for hours. Much of the displays are recycled architectural pieces or repurposed steel and iron.
Even the functional stairways are works of art.
The casing of these elevator doors with engine heads caught my eye.
I don’t know that I’ve ever seen so many different things used together to form such an incredible exhibit.
There were also displays of items that have been dug from privies, wells, and cisterns of St. Louis. 
I have only scratched the surface of what is there to see. It is certainly a mix of funky and different.
The ticket prices aren’t bad at $12 for our group rates. Not sure what single tickets are. There are gift shops and concessions but I wasn’t overwhelmed by a feeling of someone trying to separate me from my money. There is even very affordable parking close by.
Although I didn’t find a buyer at the weekend flea it amazed me how much happiness this old Mockingbird Lane sign brought to those who passed through my space. How many time did I hear someone mention the TV show The Munsters? I even heard a little boy ask his dad if it had been his favorite show.
A couple of old croquet sets also were met with equally bright smiles as adults explained to children how they had played when they were growing up. I even heard someone say they had played well after dark using a light mounted on an outbuilding.
Lots of people buy vintage and antique because they are trying to achieve a certain look with their décor and I am always happy to help. My favorite sales; however, are the ones that are made because of memories of days gone by.
It’s been a busy few weeks. My efforts of sharing my recent finds have suffered somewhat because of it. I recently made a change in my work schedule in hopes of allowing myself more time to pursue my passion for buying and selling vintage and antique finds.
Most of my posts have been dedicated to the buying. This one details one of my favorite venues for selling.
I believe the proper method for flea marketing is row after row of outdoor vendors with stacks of vintage and antique merchandise. Don’t talk to me about flea markets with largely new or gently used discount store merchandise that has no soul. I want see items that have built in character. That is how I prefer to sell my wares.
Swap days provides a venue that doesn’t perfectly fill my idea of an ideal flea market, but it’s close. You will find a mix of goods and even an occasional chicken or two.
I braved the weather which was mostly very windy and cold to participate in my first sale of the season and have the wind burned face to prove it. Despite the weather sales were pretty good.
I didn’t get much of a chance to buy, but did purchase a rather odd shoe last from a neighboring vendor. I like the odd and unusual pieces and had never seen this particular style before. The price wasn’t bad so now I own it.
A quick estate sale stop didn’t yield a lot today, but I did pick up three wrenches. Two were old Ford wrenches which will go with a couple I already have.
The third is a particularly nice pick up. It is a L&N wrench.
The town where I live is an old L&N town. The tracks aren’t nearly so busy these days but the sound of coal cars bumping one another will occasionally wake me at night. Gone are the railroad buildings, the turntable, and even the L&N name. CSX operates the track now and with coal’s decline you wonder if there will come a time when the tracks will lay empty.
While not a huge haul I’m pretty happy with my purchases. These pieces represent two iconic companies who have been a big part in the history of transportation.
Junkin' With Jeff 