Chandelier's

Chandelier's hold a certain fascination for many of us. They are beautiful to looks at, I have found the more expensive they are the more beautiful they are. I went to a inventory reduction sale at a lighting store and there were many beautiful and unusual chandelier's at marked down prices. While I thought they were all beautiful they would have been out of place in my home but I sure enjoyed looking at them!

The first Chandelier is from the Versailles Collection has 100% Crystal, it captures and reflect the light of the candle bulbs. The frame is all hand-forged wrought iron.






The Cherub chandelier has 6 arms with a 3 sided cherub in the center. The lead crystal pendants are absolutely beautiful!



This blue themed chandelier has 8 Lights with bule crystals. This Chandelier has shiny reflective blue Swarovski Crystals. Very pretty!

The last chandelier is a two-tier version from the Maria Theresa collection. It is decorated with various hand-cut and polished crystal, it reflects and captures the light of candle bulbs resting in a scalloped bobeche. Absolutely gorgeous!

Collecting Antique Fishing Lures

Antique & Vintage Fishing Lures seem to hold a fascination among anybody who loves to fish. Many of the early lures were handmade from wood and wire from fishermen around the world. Most of these of course are unmarked but a collector will know the age of an old lure just by looking at it.

Collectors look for these old lures at flea markets, yard sales, along fishing banks and in family tackle boxes. If the condition and paint is still good many collectors will pay top dollar.

Early companies that manufactured lures include Heddon, Shakespeare, Eger, Creek Chub, South Bend and Wilson.

I use to get quite a bit of money out of the lures with the glass eyes and those made of wood but like everything else eBay has put an end to those kind of values, so if you want to collect a certain brand or a certain kind try looking there first.

I always try to take a magnifying glass and see if I can find a manufacturer's name on these old lures, from there I can research the Internet for type and age. The boxes above are a collection of lures that I have picked up from swap meets, flea markets and yard sales.

Their value has gone down considerably but I do like to have a little of everything to offer in my flea market booths.

Watt Pottery

I recently went to an auction that featured vintage pottery. There was quite a few pieces of Watt Pottery which is quite collectible among country antique lovers.

Watt Pottery produced pottery from 1922 - 1935 in Crooksville, Ohio. This simply decorated yellow-ware pottery looks great in a country kitchen. I had few Watt Collectors in my Flea Market that would pay top dollar for any piece that I came across.

Patterns include Apple, Autumn Foliage, Cherry, Dutch Tulip, Morning-Glory, Pansy, Rooster, Tear Drop, Starflower, and Tulip.

Many of the pieces still bring top dollar, the mixing bowl brought $85, the little creamer brought $100 and the cookie jar (not pictured) brought $300 at the auction. Watt Pottery is a great example of vintage quality pottery

Antique Koch Barber Chair

Look at this wonderful antique Koch Barber Chair from the late 1800's. It is upholstered with red velvet and trimmed in oak and brass. The chair swivels when the pedal in the back is pressed. The headrest also moves to tilt the customer for shaving. The foot rest pulls out for customer comfort.

This chair appears to have been re-upholstered, the material is in to good of shape to be original but I do believe the chair is in great shape for it's age.

This chair is comfy and looks great. I can see it in a Barber Shop amid a collection of antique barber equipment or perhaps a themed family room. Very cool find.

Collecting Political Buttons

Political buttons are a relatively inexpensive collectible. Most candidates give out free political buttons during the length of their campaigns. These are free for the asking at any Republican, Democratic or Candidate Headquarters.

You can collect many of the older buttons without shelling out a lot of money. There are a country full of political and history junkies out there that both buy and sell this campaign memorabilia so they are pretty easy to find.

William McKinley was the first US President to give Campaign Buttons out in 1896. The pictured button is one of the first of what now is considered a traditional political give-a-way. McKinley became our 25th President, Garrett Hobart was his running mate and became McKinley's Vice President during his first term.

William Jennings Bryan ran for President in 1896, 1900 and 1908, he never did win a presidental election but eventually became secretary of state. I’m not sure which year this button was from but that makes this button a least a hundred years old.

I like the Kennedy button the best. It flickers between two pictures, one that says “The Man For The 60’s” and John F. Kennedy’s profile and name.

Richard Nixon has assorted political buttons which are very collectible.

Jesse Jackson ran for President in 1984 and again in 1988, the featured button is of course from the 1984 election.

Political buttons are given away in almost every political election. Future presidents, governors and mayors give these away in hopes of getting your vote. Many times there are more than one style and size per candidate. Who can forget the last election, the Obama button pictured is only one of several different styles made.

If prominently displayed in your home Political Buttons can be a good conversation piece or more than likely a good argument starter. Regardless they are a piece of US history that can be handed down from generation to generation. Happy Collecting!!!

Hall Jewel Tea Autum Leaf

In 1933 The Jewel Company contracted with the Hall Company to produce a set of dishes to be used as a premium. Salesmen would entice housewives on their routes to buy these dishes for everyday use. The Jewel Tea Autumn Leaf Pattern was a instant hit with many of the housewives who bought their wares from these travelling sales men during the early years of its production.

Everyday dishes, bowls, canisters, salt & pepper sets, tea sets, coffee pots, water jars, candy dishes, every imaginable piece produced was very popular in many kitchens throughout the United States.

It's run from 1933 to 1976 sold millions of pieces and although it tried unsuccessfully to make a comeback in the late 70's the early pieces have never lost their popularity.

Today Jewel Tea pieces are quite collectible. I recently went to an auction that featured several pieces of this Jewel Tea Autumn Leaf pattern and every piece offered went quite high.

If you are a collector you can find it in many antique stores and flea markets throughout the country. There are also several online antique stores and of course eBay has several pieces for sale.

This pattern makes a great display in a country themed kitchen. If you are willing to pay the price there are many sources and opportunities to add to your collection.

Nintendo System

Back in the 80's Nintendo was a big thing and one year we bought our kids a Nintendo NES console system as a reward. It was the beginning of summer and they had earned good grades throughout the year. Back in those days we were always strapped for cash so this was a real treat and a surprise as well. I had put it on Lay-a-way and on the last day of school we took them out to dinner and then went and picked it up.

They were ecstatic, it was really cool back then and they conquered Mario Bros and Frogger, and on to the more complicated Zelda and many others. They loved playing it and took turns playing it and fighting over who's turn it actually was.

They would blow the dust out on a daily basis and play for hours. Life was good. Nowadays, kids seem to have several versions of electronic games. X-Box, Play Station and Wii to name a few. This past summer I found a Nintendo NES at a yard sale for $10 and for old times sake bought it. Every time I come across Nintendo games at yard sales I buy them up, we are building a library of old games.

We hooked the system up for the grandkids who by the way love it, especially the 5 year old, he has a blast playing the games. My 30 something son even suggested we have a Nintendo game marathon which sounds like fun but he was always the best player and his turn never seems to end so I don't know if it will be that fun or not. What I do know is it was well worth the ten bucks I gave for it! It is a special memory to us. It must be special to many others as well. I see tons of these games on eBay and they all seem to get bids.

If you do run across any Nintendo games or the console units in your travels you might want to pick them up. They do seem to sell well both on eBay and in my flea market booth. If you are not a player you could make a little extra cash selling it to the people who are either nostalgic or addicted, either way it would be a win-win situation!

Collecting Aprons

Most households have at least one apron in the kitchen if not several. Over the years the styles of aprons have changed. They have gone from full length to short mid-waist style to full dress style and even fancy party aprons were very stylish back in the 1960's.

There are antique apron show's/siminars periodically around the country that are fun to attend. It's always fun to see how the styles evolved and changed over the years.

Kansas State’s Historic Costume and Textile Museum in Manhattan, KS has a very a impressive display of the earlier Handy Dandy Aprons which were patented in 1925. If you are into Aprons and in the area you'll want to check it out.

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There are also many collectible events in the United States, many featuring vintage aprons.
I know of one show this year in Pocahontas, Arkansas in August. The dates are August 11 - 16, 2009. The Vintage Apron Show is at the Pocahontas Randolph County Heritage Museum. They will have a large variety of vintage aprons to view and this event is free so if you are in the area check it out.

There are ton's of vintage apron collectors in the world and many of them have blogs. Just Google in vintage or antique aprons and you'll have several to pick from. These blogs are fun to read, informative and cute but be careful they can become addictive.

Thanksgiving Collectibles

Happy Thanksgiving!

We all associate turkeys with Thanksgiving Day, however, it has gone from the edible to the collectible.

I’ve found turkeys everywhere this year. Here are a cute pair of turkey earrings, some cupcakes picks, a postcard, a figurine and a collector plate.

Of course I’ve also found turkey salt & pepper sets, candle sets, centerpieces, blow-ups, placemats, tablecloths, the list just keeps growing and growing.

Personally I think the edible turkey is the best but for all you turkey collectors out there the sky is the limit! Happy collecting and to all of you happy Thanksgiving Day!

Collecting Letter Openers

When we owned our Flea Market & Antique Store we had a dealer that came fresh from an auction with a box of letter openers. All of these letter openers had a religious theme. Like Jesus on top, or Mary, or the three Wise men. There were several of Jesus on a cross that decorated the top of these letter openers, each a little different from the next.

I remember thinking who in the world would collect something like that and who would buy them. She had dozens of them. She priced them between $3 and $5 dollars and it just amazed me that within a few weeks she had sold most of them.

Letter openers come in a huge variety of subjects usually sitting on the tip-top of the opener. Some letter openers are made by fine crystal companies like Waterford and there are probably thousands that were given as incentives with company advertising on them. They come in assorted designs, textures, color and sizes. Collector's like letter openers that are both old and new and there does seem to be a market for them.

Collecting letter openers is a relatively inexpensive hobby. They are pretty easy to display or store. You can find them in most flea markets and eBay has a slew of them. Ever since that religious letter opener incident I buy them whenever I find them at yard sales or thrift shops. I'm not into collecting them but I do like to have variety in my flea market booths.

To sum things up, letter openers are made of many different types of materials and the variety of subjects are limitless. The letter opener pictured above is pewter, it is unusual, unique and interesting! Now where are those letter opener collectors?

Post Cards

Post cards are a window to our past, especially picture post cards. Many depict real life scenes, historical buildings, social issues, people, fashion, roads, entertainers, entertainment and life in general.

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John P. Charlton patented Post Cards back in the early 1860’s. He sold his patent rights to H.L. Lipman and the very first mass produced cards were called Lipman's Postal Cards. It wasn't long before other countries started producing post cards.

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The USPS had a monopoly on pre-stamped post cards and if you wanted to write a quick note, it had to be written and sent on an USPS approved postcard. It actually took an act of Congress to pass a special act called the Private Mailing Card Act to release the monopoly in 1898. However, the USPS refused to give up the name post card so publishers had to call their cards souvenir cards.

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In 1901 USPS decided to give up the monopoly on the word post card and let private publishers call their cards post cards too. Up until 1908 USPS rules on sending a postcard only allowed a person to write on the front side of a post card. The backside of the post card was for the address. By 1908 that particular restriction was lifted.

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Here are some tips to date your vintage postcards: The earliest souvenir postcards date back to 1893, they had a small picture on the front with a large L-shaped border or a small space within the picture for people to write their message on. In 1901 the postcards with the large written “Post Card” on the reverse side was introduced and was used for address only. In 1907 the divided back post cards were introduced to the United States, and the restricted writing on the back was lifted. Real Photo Post Cards (RPPC) were introduced in 1908 and was popular through the 1950's. In 1916 white border post cards were introduced and were popular until 1930. The Linen post cards were introduced in 1931 and were popular until 1939. In 1939 the Chrome Cards or colored photo cards were introduced but it wasn't until 1950 that these were used predominately, this type of postcard is still used today.

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Collectors can find many vintage and antique post cards on eBay, in flea markets, antique stores, and estate auctions. Some of these postcards are quite valuable. Many people that collect postcards have a passion for their local history. I find that, as a seller, I have good luck selling vintage postcards of town or city scenes. Another highly collectible type of postcard is antique holiday post cards. Valentine, St. Patrick Day, New Years, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas post cards are also very popular.

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Regardless if you are a collector or a seller, you can’t help but look through them, the sorting and reading the history is very addictive. I bought about two hundred post cards the other day at an estate sale and once I got them home I spent hours looking them over. The two pictures at the top are some of the post cards I bought. The first group are linen post cards from the 1930's and the second group are Black and White RPPC picture postcards from the 1930's and 40's.

Check out my eBay Store: http://stores.ebay.com/Madison-Place-Flea-Market