It's always fun when you get a Friday the 13th in October. It's like an extra day of Halloween: 13, 31? A coincidence?
For this Friday the 13th, I give you a couple black cats to add to your luck (or misfortune). These particular cats are salt and pepper shakers and they were made in Japan, likely pre-war.
These pine cone elves I found at one sale look right at home with this log cabin I found at another. The cabin needs a few repairs. It's a good thing elves are handy with hammers.
I found this caffeinated elf at a garage sale this summer. At $5, he was a little more than I normally would spend on something like this, but it was larger that usual and the subject matter won me over. Marked simply "Japan" on the bottom, I'm not sure who the manufacturer was.
Odds are, after that coffee, this is one elf who won't be sitting on a shelf.
I found this Ho Ho Hobo laying on the basement floor of the estate sale where I bought the box of arrowheads I blogged about last Spring. People were stepping over him, but I could see he was an early Japanese battery-operated toy. I looked beyond his filth and brought him home for $1.
I found this Polynesian cutie at a yard sale in the Lakeshire subdivision off of Tesson Ferry last Saturday. She was priced at 5 cents. That's possibly a new record for the least I've paid for something at a garage sale, outside of free. She's unmarked, but probably made in Japan in the 1950's. I like her ankle lei.
As I thought about this post, it occurred to me that "Aloha" is the perfect word for garage sale items. Someone is saying "Goodbye" to something while someone else is saying "Hello".
Aloha!
Status: Sold on eBay for $43 to someone in Honomu, Hawaii. She's going home. Aloha!
I went to an estate sale in South St. Louis City during my lunch hour on Friday and found these in a box of ornaments marked 50 cents. They're all marked Japan and probably date from the '60's. There were a few I wasn't particularly fond of, but I felt I couldn't leave them behind. It would have been like banishing them to the Island of Misfit Toys.
The bases for these are made from a styrofoam bell halve
In this post, I'm featuring some of the foreign-made Santa Clauses I've collected over the years.
These date from the '50's into the 70's. I recall disliking the cheap plastic displays when I was young, but they now hold a certain charm.
First up is Santa arriving on the rooftop, reindeer slightly overshooting and clinging for dear (or is that deer... bah dah bomp!) life.
Safely inside, without a care for his reindeer, Santa sits on the mantle waving presents. I found this one still in the package and committed the collector's unthinkable: I opened it.
I recognized this ornament from Christmas Vacation in the scene where Uncle Lewis burns down the Griswold Family tree. This Santa drops from the tree melted and singed:
This one kind of creeped me out, but I couldn't resist:
I think this Santa pre-dates the others. I believe it's Japanese (To me he even looks Oriental). He's decked out in an unusual gold suit. I thought something about the sleigh didn't look right. It was clearly much newer. When I got him home, I found out why: he was missing a foot and someone had salvaged him by placing him in this wicker sleigh and covering his legs in holly and tinsel.
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.
Welcome to the first installment of "Great Moments in Garage Sale History History History!" wherein I take time to profile a favorite or odd piece from a past garage sale adventure.
First up is the Philco Nine Transistor Radio.
When I think of Philco's, I tend to think of large 30's and 40's console tube radios. That's why I was surprised when I saw this transistor version for $1 at a garage sale. The owner, who was close to 60 said it was his when he was a kid. It's not the transistor radio I've come to expect, ie: small. This thing is relatively huge. 7 inches tall, 3 1/2 inches wide, 2 inches deep. I've been unable to identify this radio on the internet, but I would put it at late 40's/early 50's based on it's size.
It's made in Japan and takes 4 AA batteries that fit into a battery pack connected to a 9V battery connector. Works great.