I buy and sell searching garage sales, auctions, estate sales, etc....Here I bring you my finds to share in the experience. Thanks for following along!
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Late 19th Century Tintype Photograph 2 Men with Stuffed Dogs
Monday, March 26, 2012
1983 Cabbage Patch Doll
Today's favorite thing is a 1983 Cabbage Patch Doll. This one was an African American Preemie doll. I'm not very old (31), but I'd completely forgotten about these dolls until I came upon this!
See this excerpt from Wikipedia:
"The Cabbage Patch Kids brand of products originally started as dolls called Little People, created by Xavier Roberts with the help of four women, and inspired by Tennessee artisan Martha Nelson.
The name change to Cabbage Patch Kids was instigated by Roger Schlaifer before he secured the worldwide licensing rights to "Little People", and was the basis of the story co-authored in 1982 by Roger and his wife, Susanne Nance Schlaifer. An abbreviated version of the story was reproduced on every Cabbage"
So this doll being from 1983 was from the beginning of the craze. I was only 3 in 1983, but I still remember them being just as popular in the nineties. Holding this doll, I also remembered being excited to get one doll in particular. I can't for the life of me remember what it was called, but it came with a birth certificate and you had to put it in some warm water for the wrapper to dissolve and reveal the name and birthdate of the doll. I just thought that was the coolest thing!
Now if I could just come across some Garbage Pail Kids cards...that might be something I'd want to keep - a little more my style lol
No box for this doll, but still in fantastic shape with original clothes, diaper, and tag.
See this excerpt from Wikipedia:
"The Cabbage Patch Kids brand of products originally started as dolls called Little People, created by Xavier Roberts with the help of four women, and inspired by Tennessee artisan Martha Nelson.
The name change to Cabbage Patch Kids was instigated by Roger Schlaifer before he secured the worldwide licensing rights to "Little People", and was the basis of the story co-authored in 1982 by Roger and his wife, Susanne Nance Schlaifer. An abbreviated version of the story was reproduced on every Cabbage"
So this doll being from 1983 was from the beginning of the craze. I was only 3 in 1983, but I still remember them being just as popular in the nineties. Holding this doll, I also remembered being excited to get one doll in particular. I can't for the life of me remember what it was called, but it came with a birth certificate and you had to put it in some warm water for the wrapper to dissolve and reveal the name and birthdate of the doll. I just thought that was the coolest thing!
Now if I could just come across some Garbage Pail Kids cards...that might be something I'd want to keep - a little more my style lol
Thursday, March 22, 2012
World Map for the Radio Amateur
Tonight's post is about a map I got at auction. It was entitled 'World Map for the Radio Amateur'. It was a world map showing all the call letters for different countries used with HAM radio operators. I'd forgotten that I even knew what amateur radio was until I saw this. Made me flashback to a relative's house who had a big scanner setup in the back room. So I looked in to amateur radio and it's quite the popular hobby. You don't hear much about it (well at least I don't) but it dates all the way back to the early 1900's. What I liked most about this map was being able to date it. Just looking at the countries shown in Africa, Europe, and Asia, I could narrow it down to the late 70's based on what countries were and weren't there. And the awesome Kenwood Corp. logo on it. The map itself was in great condition - never been folded! A neat piece that appealed to radio, map, and history enthusiasts.
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Marx Play Set 1963 Flintstones
Flintstones... Meet the Flintstones,
They're a modern stone age family.
From the town of Bedrock,
They're a page right out of history.
They're a modern stone age family.
From the town of Bedrock,
They're a page right out of history.
Let's ride with the family down the street.
Through the courtesy of Fred's two feet.
When you're with the Flintstones,Through the courtesy of Fred's two feet.
have a yabba dabba doo time,
a dabba doo time,
we'll have a gay old time!!!
Now that you have that stuck in your head...I was thrilled to find this play set. Made by Marx, very collectible toy maker, in the sixties. Appears to be complete from what I can tell from the instructions and box. This was one of my favorite cartoons growing up. Never knew they had play sets like these in the sixties either...I'd seen a bunch of military and cowboy and indian stuff before but not this one. Selling on ebay...auction ending 3/27.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Early 19th Century Photo Album
The cover art of this album is the subject of my banner. This album was filled with about 40 cabinet card and tintype photos. Bought at auction and there were no names in the album so I have no idea what family owned this but a lot of the cabinet cards had the studio name printed on them. By researching the studios (most of which were located in Cincinnati) I was able to date them all to around 1895-1890. The tintypes may have been older since tintype photos have been around since the mid 1800's.
Most were typical studio pics, headshots, backdrops. It included women, men, and children. Most interesting photo I thought, was one of a couple men outside a barber shop. Check out the giant barber pole with the address on the base.
It also included an early real picture post card and an early hand-colored color photo. The finish of the post card was almost metallic looking as you tilted it in the light. The early hand-colored color photo I'm guessing was a little later, the woman was dressed in what appeared to be more 1920's style fashions. Check it out:
Most were typical studio pics, headshots, backdrops. It included women, men, and children. Most interesting photo I thought, was one of a couple men outside a barber shop. Check out the giant barber pole with the address on the base.
It also included an early real picture post card and an early hand-colored color photo. The finish of the post card was almost metallic looking as you tilted it in the light. The early hand-colored color photo I'm guessing was a little later, the woman was dressed in what appeared to be more 1920's style fashions. Check it out:
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Notes to His Sweetheart
Today's find is a lot of sweetheart letters from the 1920's. Dated between Dec. 1926 and spring 1928. These are letters that were kept by a Miss Olinda (Lindy) Wessling from a Herman Anderson. She lived in Cincinnati (near Cheviot), he moved between Dayton, OH, Kalamazoo, MI, and spent a short time in Alabama as well.
Before you even start to read the letters, there's a lot to see just by looking at them. 1st of all, 2 cent postage, what a bargain! Most of the letters are written in fountain pen except for a few in pencil (which he apologizes for every time, lol). He has pretty nice script too. I love his 'W''s. For awhile though, I thought his name was Sherman, as his 'H', looked like 'sh' to me. The quality of the paper varies, but it's generally thicker than today's typical letter paper, unlined, smaller than a std. 8.5x11 sheet, more like a 6"x10". Almost always folded in half (so it opens like a book). Some of the nicer stationary has a ruffled edge with a silver or gold trim. Some of the paper is pink, some white, some blue. He usually matches the envelope to the paper color. One of the envelopes was almost like linen rather than paper.
He starts out the letters as 'Hello old pal' in the beginning but then progresses to 'sweetheart' rather quickly. He signs them 'with oceans of love', 'loving you till the golden gates turn brass', etc. Most are S.W.A.K. (sealed with a kiss - lol I had to look that up, thought I knew all the texting type lingo). He talks about general day to day things, work, a few times he's looking for work, the things they'll need to start their life together. One thing I found funny was he did own a car, but never called it a 'car'. He always said Lizzy or just 'the machine'. Took me a little bit to catch on to what he was talking about. I guess Lindy was a moonshiner as well because he talks about her 'home brew' a few times (this was during prohibition). In one letter, he'd come down to visit her a couple days before and took back a bottle but somehow it broke and spilled all over this other guy on the bumpy ride home, he was really disappointed! Mentions a car wreck in another. Talks about getting sick with 'the gripe' a few times. A few of them he tells her to destroy after reading (obviously, she didn't listen :)). In one letter he mentions he'll be turning 22 that year, I'm not sure of Lindy's age but from what I could gather, she did still live with her parents. Another tidbit, he's always reminding her to 'keep her prize for him' (you know, wink, wink). In one letter he warns that if any other guy ever tried to be with her, he'd kill them both.
In the last letter he says it will be the last letter because he'll be coming to get her so they can be married. I assume he kept that promise because the very last piece of mail postmarked Nov. 1928 is addressed to Mrs. H. Anderson (no return address) and includes a "Baby's Lucky Penny" card with a 1927 penny included. The card is from a bank in Kalamazoo (letter is also addressed to Kalamazoo, so I assume they started their home there rather than in Cincinnati) and it suggests adding 99 more pennies to that penny in an account for the baby and making a deposit of pennies equal to the child's age every year. It says 'this will amount to $250 by age 21' !!!
The house in Dayton, OH where he penned the earlier letters from still stands. You can see it on either google street view or the Montgomery Co. Auditor's website (can't remember which I pulled it from). It was built in 1906 or '07. The houses at the other addresses are long gone. I considered signing up for an Ancestry.com membership just to research the records to see how their story continued (there's enough information included to do so), but I don't want to get too attached to these, need to let them go...lol
These letters were really neat. A realistic window into the times. Sure, people do mind what they're writing and don't tell all their secrets, but just the stories about the mundane things...what they ate, the cost to ride the train, the doctor's prescription for their ailments...is interesting...just to see how different things are.
When was the last time you got a letter from your sweetheart? I bet never, he'd just send a text now, or email, or call...A long distance relationship like what existed back then, doesn't exist today (unless one of you is living out in the back woods somewhere lol).
Also in this bunch was a postcard from Kalamazoo of the lake at sunset, a Christmas postcard, an old Christmas card, and a western union telegraph receipt showing charges of .43 cents.
Before you even start to read the letters, there's a lot to see just by looking at them. 1st of all, 2 cent postage, what a bargain! Most of the letters are written in fountain pen except for a few in pencil (which he apologizes for every time, lol). He has pretty nice script too. I love his 'W''s. For awhile though, I thought his name was Sherman, as his 'H', looked like 'sh' to me. The quality of the paper varies, but it's generally thicker than today's typical letter paper, unlined, smaller than a std. 8.5x11 sheet, more like a 6"x10". Almost always folded in half (so it opens like a book). Some of the nicer stationary has a ruffled edge with a silver or gold trim. Some of the paper is pink, some white, some blue. He usually matches the envelope to the paper color. One of the envelopes was almost like linen rather than paper.
He starts out the letters as 'Hello old pal' in the beginning but then progresses to 'sweetheart' rather quickly. He signs them 'with oceans of love', 'loving you till the golden gates turn brass', etc. Most are S.W.A.K. (sealed with a kiss - lol I had to look that up, thought I knew all the texting type lingo). He talks about general day to day things, work, a few times he's looking for work, the things they'll need to start their life together. One thing I found funny was he did own a car, but never called it a 'car'. He always said Lizzy or just 'the machine'. Took me a little bit to catch on to what he was talking about. I guess Lindy was a moonshiner as well because he talks about her 'home brew' a few times (this was during prohibition). In one letter, he'd come down to visit her a couple days before and took back a bottle but somehow it broke and spilled all over this other guy on the bumpy ride home, he was really disappointed! Mentions a car wreck in another. Talks about getting sick with 'the gripe' a few times. A few of them he tells her to destroy after reading (obviously, she didn't listen :)). In one letter he mentions he'll be turning 22 that year, I'm not sure of Lindy's age but from what I could gather, she did still live with her parents. Another tidbit, he's always reminding her to 'keep her prize for him' (you know, wink, wink). In one letter he warns that if any other guy ever tried to be with her, he'd kill them both.
In the last letter he says it will be the last letter because he'll be coming to get her so they can be married. I assume he kept that promise because the very last piece of mail postmarked Nov. 1928 is addressed to Mrs. H. Anderson (no return address) and includes a "Baby's Lucky Penny" card with a 1927 penny included. The card is from a bank in Kalamazoo (letter is also addressed to Kalamazoo, so I assume they started their home there rather than in Cincinnati) and it suggests adding 99 more pennies to that penny in an account for the baby and making a deposit of pennies equal to the child's age every year. It says 'this will amount to $250 by age 21' !!!
The house in Dayton, OH where he penned the earlier letters from still stands. You can see it on either google street view or the Montgomery Co. Auditor's website (can't remember which I pulled it from). It was built in 1906 or '07. The houses at the other addresses are long gone. I considered signing up for an Ancestry.com membership just to research the records to see how their story continued (there's enough information included to do so), but I don't want to get too attached to these, need to let them go...lol
These letters were really neat. A realistic window into the times. Sure, people do mind what they're writing and don't tell all their secrets, but just the stories about the mundane things...what they ate, the cost to ride the train, the doctor's prescription for their ailments...is interesting...just to see how different things are.
When was the last time you got a letter from your sweetheart? I bet never, he'd just send a text now, or email, or call...A long distance relationship like what existed back then, doesn't exist today (unless one of you is living out in the back woods somewhere lol).
Also in this bunch was a postcard from Kalamazoo of the lake at sunset, a Christmas postcard, an old Christmas card, and a western union telegraph receipt showing charges of .43 cents.
Friday, March 9, 2012
A California Town
So last week's auction led me to some real picture postcards from the sixties. The traveler found his way to Rough and Ready California. The postcard showing the bullet holes through the sign and the old cars are what caught my eye. Then I read the name...Rough and Ready...that's a statement! So I looked them up.
The town is small. It was setup by a mining company. The town was named after the mining company and the mining company was named after a General Zachary Taylor. It's a registered historic landmark. One interesting fact about them is that shortly after forming the town, they seceded from the Union (declared themselves independent from the United States) but 3 months thereafter, re-joined. Supposed reasons for the secession - to avoid taxes, to avoid the prohibition of alcohol, to allow them to prosecute a local hustler that the law otherwise wouldn't allow them to as no crime was legally committed. In 1859, a fire devastated the town. The 'Grange Hall' building was one of the few remaining intact.
Today, there are around 1000 residents. They hold an annual chili cook off at the end of September. There still are a few buildings standing from the late 1800's. Would be a neat place to check out!
Real photo postcards were introduced around 1900. Known by the acronym RPPC.
Until the next find.....I bid you well
The town is small. It was setup by a mining company. The town was named after the mining company and the mining company was named after a General Zachary Taylor. It's a registered historic landmark. One interesting fact about them is that shortly after forming the town, they seceded from the Union (declared themselves independent from the United States) but 3 months thereafter, re-joined. Supposed reasons for the secession - to avoid taxes, to avoid the prohibition of alcohol, to allow them to prosecute a local hustler that the law otherwise wouldn't allow them to as no crime was legally committed. In 1859, a fire devastated the town. The 'Grange Hall' building was one of the few remaining intact.
Today, there are around 1000 residents. They hold an annual chili cook off at the end of September. There still are a few buildings standing from the late 1800's. Would be a neat place to check out!
Real photo postcards were introduced around 1900. Known by the acronym RPPC.
Until the next find.....I bid you well
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