Sunburst Clock

I have a habit of rotating things out of my collection when I find the next version of the object.  For example, coffee pots come and go as do toasters.  

A while back I found this mid century sunburst clock at an estate sale. It was pretty dirty and I made my best effort to restore it.

Last week, I came across another mid century starburst clock.  This one was labeled $5 "as is".

Midcentury Star

I went to an estate sale in Maplewood, Missouri early Friday morning with a friend.  The sale started at 7:00 a.m. and there was a fairly good-sized crowd, but fortunately my friend had gone to the house the night before and grabbed us line tickets, numbers 1 & 2.

If you've ever been to the first day of an estate sale when it opened, you are familiar with the crowding, pushing and rush to be the first to the bounty that lies within.  It's what I like least about estate sales.

From the pictures of the sale on estatesales.net, I wasn't sure where the item I was looking for was located.  It was either the basement or the large garage in back.  I had bet on the garage and that was my intended target, however after gaining access to the house, we found we couldn't exit the house from the back door and would actually have to go back out the front to get to the garage.  My friend found what he was looking for, records, but I hadn't found my item.  By the way, this post isn't about finding what I was looking for, it was something I saw after going back in the house.  As I was descending the stairs to the basement, I saw hanging on the other side of the handrail a Mid-century starburst clock.  I've been looking for one for quite a while (having given a couple away years ago before I was interested in Mid-century).  Now, I could have stopped on the steps, grabbed the clock and attempted to feed it through the narrow opening  between the ceiling and the handrail, but I thought that would be rude.  Apparently, the person immediately behind me had no such qualms.  She grabbed the clock and without letting go, lifted it off it's hook and carried on the outside of the rail the remainder of the way down the steps.  I was kicking myself.  I followed her for a few minutes around the basement as she examined the clock with the hope she would change her mind, but she wasn't letting go.  Resolved, I continued on looking through other items and trying to find the one I had actually come for.  After not finding anything in the basement, I headed back upstairs to get another look.  Finishing up there, I did my usual second pass and headed back down into the basement.  There in closet, I discovered the young lady who had the clock earlier had set it down.  I snatched it up and took a look at it.  It was pretty rough looking and certainly the reason she had put it back.  But I saw some potential in it and bought it for $12.

At home, I began the cleaning.

As you can see, the face was pretty dirty including some mold.  There is also a spot where the brass finish had worn off.  But with some baking soda, Mr. Clean scrubbing pads, and some brass polish, I plodded on.

The rays detach, so it made for easy cleaning.

The end result

This thing is *huge*.  It measures 38 inches from spire tip to spire tip.  The other nice thing about the clock is it's spring driven, so no wire hanging down the wall detracting from the look.  The clock is made by Forestville in Connecticut, but the movement is marked France.  Inside, I found the manufacture date of October 21st, 1962.

The gears were suprisingly clean considering the exterior's shape.  The clock didn't come with a key, but fortunately, my mantle clock key fit it perfectly.  After winding it, it began ticking away like it hadn't missed a beat.

Oh, and what about the item I had actually come to the sale for?  Well, that's a story for another day.

One Man's Trash...

Let me begin this post by explaining that I'm a curb watcher.  My eyes are always scanning the streets for discarded treasures.  I have been known to stop and pick up items from the street when I was by myself, with my wife, with my kids and even with my co-workers.  Not all at the same time, of course.

On my way home from work yesterday, driving my usual route through Webster Groves on Oakwood Avenue, I noticed a large pile of objects set out to the curb for the trash man.  A woman walking by paused momentarily to scan the objects, but upon seeing my car approaching kept walking.  Clearly, she was too proud to pick through someone else's garbage; I on the other hand have no qualms.  I did a quick scan as I drove by and was intrigued enough to turn at the next block and loop back around.

Pulling to a stop, I hopped out of my car and began the assessment.  The house had a for sale sign in the yard and it appeared the seller had emptied the contents that had been left behind.  The first thing I saw was a large homemade easel painted red with the words "Leigh Ann and Kris, 1962" painted in white.  It was too large and nothing I needed, so I looked further.  That's when I saw a Motorola portable radio on the ground.  I threw that in the car and then spotted a clock with a glass face.  Another smaller mantle style clock lay next to it.  Just beyond that were two vintage tennis raquets.  The last thing I noticed was a box of very old stuffed animals.  I looked through them with dreams of finding a Steiff, but most appeared to be homemade and were very worn.  Thoughts of Toy Story 3 and Woody and the gang headed for the incinerator passed through my head, but so did thoughts of what critters might live on their filthy furry bodies.  They stayed.  Sorry guys.

At home, I cleaned everything up and began some researching.  First up is a Mastercrafters Starlight No. 146 clock from 1958.

What a Dish!

I bought this mosaic tiled mid-century dish at a garage sale this weekend for $1.  It measures 7" by 12". 

Somebody, presumably a child, had colored in some of the grout lines with a blue, ball-point pen.  I used some Goof Off and a 3M scrubbing pad and it came off nicely.  The dish reminds me of a clock I picked up at a thrift store a few months ago:

This same clock hung in our kitchen growing up.

The dish has found a home on one of our side tables, but I have yet to find a home for the clock.  The problem with vintage electric clocks, particularly wall clocks, is you need to find an outlet to plug them in.  Unless I run another outlet higher on the wall, this clock will remain homeless.

All Wound Up

Continuing my unveiling of objects obtained at last weekend's subdivision garage sale, I present the following. These both came from the same house. When I caught sight of the first, there was a person in front of me eyeing it, so I kind of crowded a little (okay, maybe a dirty technique, but it works, he moved on). At $2, I snatched it up. That's the after shot. When I got it, it was filthy and only worked with a little coaxing. I took it completely apart and cleaned and oiled it. I did the best I could straightening the bent bars. It's made in Japan. I'm not sure of the era. Those online I've found say "Occupied Japan". Mine is simply marked "Japan". It's entirely tin. Here it is in action (sorry for the poor quality video).


The other item from that sale is a bee hive mantle clock priced at $10. There's no manufacturer's marks anywhere (inside or out), but it closely resembles a cathedral mantle I have from my grandparents that was made by Ingraham in the 1920's.


It also needed a deep cleaning. The pendulum wouldn't stay running either. I took the clockwork out of the case and oiled everything. The case itself was covered in grease or wax and was black. Cleaning with Murphy's oil soap revealed the wood grain beneath.

I really enjoyed bringing these wind-up objects back to life. I was just reading in the weekend paper how clock repair is becoming a dying art as everyone has clocks on their computers, microwaves, iPhones, etc. Maybe something to pursue in my retirement years.