Those Auction Finds

This week at the auction I was shopping differently. You know my love of glass; I can hardly resist it. But I have plenty at the moment. What I need is more furniture, those small items that can fit the bill for the shopper without a lot of bucks but needing to fill a space in their home. The pickings were a little slim, and most of what I ended up with will need at little TLC before going into a booth. But I met my goal of adding some smaller pieces to our stock.

If these pictures make it look like the auction moved right into my house, you're right! It rained today and that makes a lot of mud by the garage where we store things, so everything came inside. It makes me squirm, but hopefully it will all be where it belongs tomorrow. I wonder if other resellers deal with this constant explosion after a big sale? It seems like I no sooner get the house to rights than we come dragging in more stuff to be sorted and dealt with. I dream of a building just for this purpose but I know that for the next few years at least, that will remain a dream. We've got other projects to finish first.

Here's a few things we brought home:

I liked these two old chairs for the detailed woodworking on their backs which unfortunately didn't show well in this photo. They are a matched pair except for the paint. The seat on the natural finish one needs to be replaced. I debated whether to strip the white one but I believe I'll leave them as they are. The little smoking stand needs some work on its top, mostly cleaning and some good oil, I think.

Here's another photo of the chairs, but the woodwork still doesn't show.

I liked this small telephone stand for its simple lines. It needs nothing beyond some cleaning and polishing, although I've played with the idea of painting it. The CD player/radio on top was in a box lot and actually worked so it will end up in the garage, I think.

This simple little primitive bench will remain exactly as it is. On top of it is a stack of antiques reference books that were another lot I bought--even though they're older, they have a lot of photos and information about glass that I can use--they only thing out of date really is the price listings, and that's not nearly as important to me as the photos and other information.

We didn't just get furniture this trip. There's this old cast iron saw part will go into the booth as "industrial art." I hope someone will see some way to use this old thing. It was in a box lot too, one of those what-do-I-do-with-this items. I think it looks kinda cool, though.

 A reproduction mammy cast iron bank that I probably paid too much for. Still learning! The neat kettle was a gift from my sister Liz and is a firestarter. Works quite well too. The stove these pieces are sitting on is no longer in use since we got free gas, and it will go to my son's house sometime this Spring. We kept it as a backup source of heat but after two years we've only used it once, and I'd just as soon have the space and buy some small electric heaters for backup. We still have the wood cookstove in the kitchen and I'm lobbying to get it put back in service again.

Nice little all-tin spice box that's missing one knob. I'll be on the lookout for a replacement--thought about buying some porcelain ones and replacing all the knobs. What do you think?

I really have no idea how silverplate flatware sells. I know I like it and use mine daily, but will it sell? I took a chance on this set (not all matching, either) because it was going cheap, so I guess I'll find out. There are some nice old pieces in here, and some that I might keep.

 These tins aren't new but I liked the bottom one that's shaped like a pop machine.

 I've been picking up little "treasure chests" for this summer's storytelling programs and grabbed this one to add to the collection. That makes 4, and I think with one more I'll have enough for my buried treasure storytelling program. The chair was a freebie--no one bid on it so it was headed to the dumpster. It's a future paint project, one I might experiment with to try out some of the techniques I've seen on blogs. I almost hate to replace that sturdy vinyl seat cover, though--it's that old 1940's or 50's vinyl that's so durable and it's as tight as a drum. So the green seat might stay; I don't know yet.

I didn't get photos of the bunch of garden tools, the wood apple crate, and a few other things that Larry put in the shed. It was a good haul, a lot of useful items--and a lot of work ahead to get some of it ready to sell.

Copyright 2012 Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.