All posts in category Auction Finds

Things that I’ve found at the auctions

The First Auction of 2013

It’s been a quiet few weeks on the auction front, as all the local auction houses close down for the Christmas/New Year break. I can completely understand this, but I miss the excitement of hunting for that next great thing even though I know that I am not missing out, just deferring the finds.

So it was great to go to the first auction of 2013 this week. “Yay!” for Bennicks for starting earlier than everyone else.

There was a treat in store for anyone who liked vintage toys:

Like this lovely tinplate car:

Tin PlateCar

Or, for the more military minded, a tin plate tank:

Tinplate Tank

And some other tinplate toys

Smaller Tinplate Toys

A classic vintage train set:

Train set

For more active kids, how about this pedal car:

Pedal car

What about this lovely Mobo safety bike, such fantastic 1950s styling:

1950s Mobo Safety Bike

Or howabout the classic 1970s styling of this Chopper for a bigger kid?

Chopper Bike

Or, for the more domestically inclined (and notice that I’m avoiding stereotypes here) a 1950s doll’s house:

Dolls House

It will be a couple of weeks before the auctions settle down to their normal schedule. Until then, I will be trying to find forgotten gems in my piles of boxes and sharing them with you when I can.

1 Comment

by Beth on January 7, 2013 • Permalink

Posted in Auction Finds

Tagged Auction, bike, chopper, dolls house, pedal car, tank, tinplate, trainset

Posted by Beth on January 7, 2013

https://adventuresinvintage.org/2013/01/07/the-first-auction-of-2013/

Another Wool Stash Surprise!

I blogged a while ago about buying a vintage wool stash at auction. Given that there was so much it filled the back of a Mini, it has taken some time to work through the boxes to find out what I had actually got.

I’ve already been surprised by an unworn mink and velvet hat tucked into the wool, this week it was the turn of a grubby little bag to yield a surprise:

A Strange Little Bag

Inside were two pairs of stockings, beautifully knitted in complex patterns and very fine wool:

Two Pairs of Knitted Stockings

They have been very well worn, darned and then worn through to holes in places, so there’s no monetary value to them, just their significance as part of domestic/fashion history.

The brown stockings have a leaf like pattern

The Top of the Brown Stockings

The (much darned) foot of the stocking

The grey stockings have a more geometric pattern

The Top of the Grey Stockings

I think that they date from the forties, when nylons were in short supply, silk stockings would have been the norm for ‘smart’ wear, and ladies would have knitted their own stockings to keep their legs warm, tights not being part of the regular wardrobe at that time:

I can only imagine how much time it would have taken to knit a pair of this complexity, the patterns I have been able to find certainly look time consuming, which may explain why darning rather than replacement was so important.

Lace Stocking Pattern

If you’re interested in trying, you can find knitting patterns at: http://www.vintagepurls.co.nz/womenspatterns.html and http://knitting.craftgossip.com/free-pattern-vintage-hand-knitted-stockings/2010/11/12/

You can imagine how they would have looked with a smart forties suit like this one, modelled on the Mariposa Chronicles:

Lovely Vintage Forties Suit

The back of the suit

This suit is currently for sale on etsy, but I couldn’t find any stockings to go with it – you will have to knit your own!

As for my stockings, I’m not sure what to do with them. I feel that they should be preserved as a part of fashion history but have no idea where they would be appreciated. Does anyone have any suggestions?

A Nice Surprise

It’s been a busy few weeks auction-wise. Instead of leaving my other half to do the weekday sales, a gap between jobs means that I’ve been able to attend all of them. Unfortunately, I haven’t quite got the dispassionate approach off pat yet and I still buy with my heart as well as my head.

This was probably not a good idea last week when I got carried away at a sale of the contents of a house in St Ives. By the time I’d finished, it was a struggle to fit everything I’d bought into the car:

Looking through the car window

You can see my haul of vintage shoes – still in their original boxes!

The boot (trunk) was jammed full – this is with the seats down!

The eagle eyed among you will spot rugs, clothes, shoe boxes, material, and lots and lots of knitting wool.

I have to confess that I have always been a crafter, and I’m particularly fond of knitting and sewing. So when I found some of the auction lots were vintage wool and fabrics I went a bit over the top.

I’ll post more on my finds from the auction later, but I wanted to share what was sitting in the bottom of the box of knitting wool:

A ‘brand new’, vintage, never been worn velvet and mink hat!

I was so excited to find this hat, wrapped carefully in tissue paper amongst the packets of wool.

Front view, the fur is mink

The label is sewn in, so it clearly hasn’t been worn.

Side view – look at the lovely sweeping curve of the mink

Why would someone buy such (for the time) a lovely hat and then never wear it? I can’t help wondering if its original owner smuggled it home and hid it in her wool stash meaning to bring it out as ‘This old thing, I’ve had it for ages’.

I’ll never know, but at least now it’s out of hiding and will go to a new home where it will be seen and appreciated.

1 Comment

by Beth on November 19, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in Auction Finds

Tagged Auction, auction finds, fur and velvet hat, vintage hat, vintage shoes

Posted by Beth on November 19, 2012

https://adventuresinvintage.org/2012/11/19/a-nice-surprise/

Box of Delights

I was a little sceptical when my beloved came back from the auctions with this box:

He told me that it was extra to the auction catalogue and he’d been the only bidder. “Well”, I thought, “There’s probably a reason for that”, there’s a good market in jewellry down in Cornwall, whether costume, quality or vintage, and although he has a great taste in jewellery when it comes to buying for me (although I have been known to plant the odd seed of an idea of what might be appreciated) I wasn’t sure his ‘bargain’ would yield anything saleable.

A first look under the lid was promising! Certainly the volume was there, maybe there would be some value.

And then I spotted these:

And these:

Two of this unusual brooch (in black and brown) which I think is made of bakelite

These fun floral earrings

A paste ‘diamond’ bracelet

This lovely sparkling ‘jewelled’ brroch

And more costume jewellery that I haven’t cleaned up yet.

So, I think I owe him a huge apology! His bargain is a real treasure trove, and the bits I can’t sell I’ll be happy to wear, so a win win situation all round.

4 Comments

by Beth on August 7, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in Auction Finds

Tagged Auction, bracelet, brooch, costume, earrings, Jewellery, treasure, vintage

Posted by Beth on August 7, 2012

https://adventuresinvintage.org/2012/08/07/box-of-delights/

Time for Tin

Down to the auctions again this week, and this time what a treasure trove! The sale included some private collectors’ collections, always better than a general sale, but of course it does attract serious buyers.

Here’s what I wanted to take home:

The wings on this cute tin plate hen flap as it is pushed along:

Fancy a job in the Navy? I am assuming that this lovely enamel sign would have hung in a coastal town:

I love a cup of tea, and I can imagine this sign sitting in a tea rooms (then again, I can imagine it sitting in my kitchen as well!).

Or if you fancy something stronger, what about some pale ale?

This rather tired tin cake is actually a display stand for Tala icing nozzles and shows the effects each nozzle would produce:

And when you’ve iced your cakes, how about displaying the in this fantastic antique cabinet?

Sadly, my budget didn’t stretch to all the things I coveted, but I could have spent a fortune on the things I loved. Of course, the problem is that it is easy to buy the things you want for yourself, but if you’re trying to turn this into a business, you have to look at things in terms of saleability and profit margins. I have to admit it is something I’m still trying to master and I do find that my heart rules my head more than my bank manager would like, but I am getting there!

Auction Finds

This past weekend revolved around viewings for auctions. There are four being held in the local area this week, so getting a clear idea of where to go and what to bid for (and how much) is crucial, especially as I have to rely on my beloved to bid for me while I’m doing the day job.

Here’s a few items that I picked out:

These enamel Butlin’s badges were mementos of someone’s 60s holidays:

This child’s garden roller has seen a lot of love, imagine the pleasure that it must have given a child back in the 50s:

Mickey Mouse Garden Roller

This unusual green and white enamel kitchen scale uses weights sliding along bars to measure what’s in the tray:

Vintage Enamel Scales

This wonderfully retro radio in red and cream was once some teenagers pride and joy!

Fun Retro portable radio

And finally, this fabulous fifties fridge has a snazzy red enamel top, just the thing for a retro kitchen.

adventuresinvintage

All posts in category Auction Finds

The First Auction of 2013

Another Wool Stash Surprise!

A Nice Surprise

Box of Delights

Time for Tin

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