Another Great Thrift Store Find: Hopalong Cassidy Books

     Yesterday I got some great deals at my local thrift store, a wonderful pipe holder / match holder / match striker.  They were promoting a upcoming book sale so I went this morning to check out the first day offerings.  I came across these old Hopalong Cassidy Books for children.  These were published in 1950 and were quite popular back then as well as today among collectors.
     Hopalong Cassidy was a fictional cowboy character in a book originally written by Clarence Mulford in 1904.  Over the years the original character which was a rude and rough talking cowboy took on a major image change to become a lovable cowboy in the movies and radio shows and was also re-invented in many of the books.   Many of the kids of the 30's, 40's, and 50's grew up with Hopalong Cassidy.
     This great  find was also a great bargain as the prices for all hardbacks were 50 cents and you got one free so they were a quarter each - not to bad for a couple of vintage collectible children's books.  

Thrift Store Find: Bulldog Pipe Holder, Match Holder, Match Striker

    I got a very cool thrift store find today!  This bulldog is a very old piece of Austrian majolica.  This particular pipe holder or cigar holder is 7" tall and the bulldog smoking the pipe is a very rare piece.  The hole in the back holds the pipe or cigar, the pitcher has a striker which is a ribbed area and the bowl holds the matches.  There are stamps on the bottom Austria and the number "8133".  This piece is probably early 1900's.  Great bargain at $2 worth about $150.