Monday, November 30, 2009

Weekend Finds

This turned out to be a successful weekend for mid-century estate auction finds.



First up is this lamp.  I am not sure how old it is, but after examining the switch style and the fact that the plug is the old style, I would date it to at least the late 1960s, maybe older.  The shade has a tear at the top in the back, but if you place it right, you can't see the tear.  I may try my hand at repairing the area some day.  I didn't think that this lamp was that old when I bought it.  I actually got this lamp with two other lamps, and placed a "mercy" bid on the three of them.  Nobody wanted them, so I bid just to keep the auction moving.  I got all three for the whopping sum of $1.  If anybody knows any more about this lamp or who might have made it, please let me know.  The flower pattern is painted on, from the looks of it I would say that it is hand painted.  The other two lamps were modern lamps, one a heavy brass lamp dated 1992 on the bottom and the other a small pink lamp that probably isn't more than 10 years old.  These last two should make good garage sale filler next spring.



I also found this great Better Homes & Gardens Cook Book.  This was in a box with a lot of other stuff, including another mid-century cook book that you will see next.  I would imagine that most everyone has seen a copy of the 1950's version of this cook book, I know that I see a lot of them at sales.  However, this is the first time that I have come across this version of this cook book.  This copy is the Third Printing of the De Luxe Edition, March, 1943.  This really borders on being too old for mid-century, but I would imagine that most mid-century housewives had a copy of this cook book from one edition or another.  "More than 2,400,000 Circulation" at the time that this edition had been printed.



Getting more into mid-century I got this Better Homes and Gardens Meat Cook Book, copyright 1960.  It came with the plaid cook book and a bunch of other stuff (most of which will go through one garage sale before meeting the trash can - don't worry - it isn't mid-century stuff).  I got it all for another "mercy" bid of $1.



This glass from the 1962 Seattle World's Fair was another great find for only $1.



I really liked these vintage wheat design dishes.  Looks like most of the set was lost over the years, all that there was at the sale were the above platter, serving bowl, and three cups.  These pieces don't really look like they have ever been used though.  I really wanted the platter and the bowl, I met a lady once that used old cups like these to fill with home made candles.  I think that would be a great idea for these saucerless cups.  I am guessing that this was probably a fairly inexpensive set when new, as there are no markings on the back of the pieces to identify the maker.  Maybe they were give-away dishes - that might explain the strange collection of pieces.  This was included in a lot with some modern dishes and some canning jars.  Another bidder wanted the modern dishes and the jars, so after I got what I wanted, she bought the rest from me.  I really like when things work out this way, then I don't have to bring home unwanted items to get priced for my next garage sale.  When it was all said and done, I had $2 in these dishes.

I also got a great old white metal pantry/cabinet with great chrome handles and a pair of mid-century bedside lamps.  I already have them put away - I'll try to get them out and take pics of them soon.  Have a great Monday!

5 comments:

  1. That's one of the oldest versions of the BH&G cookbook I've seen. Wonder what date the First Edition was?

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  2. are you serious? $1.00? That's great! The Estate sale I went to was asking $50+ for the same style lamps..

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  3. You always come away from these auctions with amazing deals! I just dug out my mother's mid-century Betty Crocker cookbook that she had FOREVER, so yes, yesterday's housewives held on to their Betty Crockers and BH&Gs much longer than today. Love that Wheat pattern, too, although getting one or two pieces of a new pattern always gets me looking for more!

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  4. Awesome cookbook! By all means, it belongs in your midcentury kitchen.

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  5. What a wonderful set of finds! I've love to see that Better Homes & Gardens Cook Book in person!

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