We Went To An Auction Last Friday Night

Just after the deals I get while thrifting, I love auctions best. I especially love the auctions where hardly anyone shows up and I buy a bunch of stuff for not very much money.

We've been to this auction company a couple of times. I bought these tables there a couple of months ago. I wasn't even going to go then I looked at the auction preview photos. Needless to say I saw some things that interested me.

Tables from the auction a couple of months ago.

So I invite you to come inside and see what was available that night. I didn't buy all of this stuff, but in a couple of days I'll show you what I did get.

Warning: There are a LOT of pictures in here!

Hmmm! Is there some Heywood Wakefield peeking through?

We Interrupt Collector's Corner With a SPECIAL BULLETIN

From Dave's MidCentury Stuff Headquarters in Southwest Florida we bring you a SPECIAL BULLETIN.

Tuesday is usually Collector's Corner day. And Friday is usually Let's Identify, but I found something yesterday so unique, so interesting, so evil looking that I have to put it out today to see if any of you have ever seen these. I think I want them, but I don't know why.

So even though it's a couple of days out of order . . .

Let's Identify: These Evil Looking Lamps

I don't know, maybe Gene Simmons?

The Latest Thrift Store Haul

It's Monday so that must mean it's show and tell time from the weekend's activities.

What a diverse mix. Let's see . . . we have books, grapes, luggage, recording tape, and extra stuff. The best stuff is inside.

Psst! Wanna see a naked man?

An Update To The Ceramic Dish Post of 2/21/12

It's Sunday, and I don't work too hard on Sunday. However, a day or so after the Ceramic Dish post ran we found ourselves in possession of a couple more ceramic dishes. One looks to be Atlantic Mold pottery, and the other is extra heavy in the kitsch department.

Come on inside and have a look.

Cool Custom TV and Movie Cars of the 60s

I'm not just about pinch pleat curtains and ceramic kitties. I can be a car guy when I need to be. This post is about the cars you saw on TV and in the movies in the swinging 60s.

Here's today's high octane post.

C'mon does this car even need an introduction?

Let's Identify: This Contour Chair-Lounge

Yeah, this is how I relax. In my jacket and tie with shoes on.

I've been seeing these on ebay for a few years now. I thought I needed one, but the prices seemed a little high to me. By the time you figure in shipping, or driving to pick it up and the cost of the chair-lounge it was just a bit outside of my budget.

But a week or two ago the MidCentury Stuff Force was with me. I saw this baby on ebay and its location was just a few miles from me. It had a Make Offer tab on it so I made an offer, it was accepted, and POOF! contour chair-lounge at my house.

It was my second purchase from this ebay seller. I bought a pair of pod chairs from him about a year ago that are still in the stack of things to be recovered.



Come inside and see mine.

Frank Sinatra's First House in Palm Springs

May 1947. The war is over. Frank has made his first million dollars. He's still married to his first wife, and decides he needs a place off the beaten path.

Palm Springs. My dream town. If you read my piece on Lucy & Desi's Palm Springs home you know there is no cooler lifestyle than being filthy rich and living in a mid mod masterpiece in Palm Springs.

In case you wondered why it was called Twin Palms.

Here's Franks place in the desert. I believe it has three bedrooms, six baths, a one bed/one bath guest house, and cost Frank one hundred fifty thousand. That's about a million four in today's money.

The Modern Guide To Interior Decoration

Do you ever just sit back and say "If money were no object I'd . . . "

If money were no object I'd have many of the rooms shown below in my custom built, brand new MidCentury modern house.

There isn't much I can add to this coolness. Enjoy the show.

 

There are eight more wish book photos inside.

Collector's Corner - The Ceramic Dish

Hey, I got your ceramic dish right here.

Oops, wrong blog.


The ceramic dishes that we're supposed to be looking at are these.

Examples of what I think they call California Pottery.

You know the rule. I mentioned it last week. If you have 3 or more of something it ceases being clutter and becomes . . . ta da - a collection.

In Praise of Older Lamps

Hello. My name is Dave, and I'm a lampoholic.

I'm not sure why it is, but somewhere along the line I unknowingly became a collector of old lamps. Oh sure, it started off unknowingly, but after a while I started knowingly seeking out older lamps. Then I learned some advanced search features on C's List and started scouring the entire state of Florida for old lamps. It's out of control, but I'll run out of money someday and then it'll come to an end.

Maybe.

An Update To The Ceramic Animals Post of 2/14/12

It's Sunday, and I don't work too hard on Sunday. However, something interesting happened last night. Wonder Woman brought home something she found for two bucks.

It's the creepy eyed, Siamese twin Siamese cats.

Before and After Danish Modern Table Lamp Shades

Sometimes I'll buy something I've never seen before just to find out how how it's made. When I saw these danish modern style lamp shades I had to have them because I'd never seen two layer shades. It seemed interesting and I wondered if I could reproduce them.

There is an inner off white shade and a woven cane outer shade. Cool.

Let's Identify: These Tulip Style Chairs

If it's Friday it must be time to look at some more of Dave's stuff and tell him what he has. It's a Friday thing. And today it's a Joe Friday thing.

My most popular post so far is the one about the Sears, Roebuck & Co. tulip chairs and tables I discovered by accident. Seems a lot of people like this stuff. So come on in and read about what I found at a no-name thrift store in Cape Coral, FL. Dragnet style.

These may be the absolute best deal ever .

Route 66 - Probably Not What You're Thinking

 

They call it the mother road. Songs have been written about it. Books have been written about it. Just like sharks, it probably has its own week on the history channel.


Yeah, I know what you're thinking. Holy smokes, Batman - not another midcentury blogger writing the umpteen thousandth post on that old stretch of highway. No. No way. It's been done. To death.

This is much better (even though it's probably been done to death too) It's . . .

When Thrifting You Don't Always Buy Everything You Find

I've gotten my share of good deals when out looking for them. I have my favorite locations. And then there are the places that I'll go knowing that everything is going to be overpriced. But you go anyway, hoping against hope that there might be a deal this time.

Collector's Corner - Ceramic Animals

I've heard it said that if you have at least three of something it ceases being clutter and becomes a collection.

This is my collection (barely, there are only six items) of ceramic animals. It's not a small collection by choice, it's just that I don't collect just for the sake of collecting.

Something in this category has to speak to me. These six items spoke to me, and I knew exactly what they were saying. They were saying "Buy me!"

Lucille Ball & Desi Arnaz's House in Palm Springs

I can not imagine any cooler lifestyle than being filthy rich and living in Palm Springs in the late 50s early 60s. Nothing. There is not a thing cooler. Not even Beverly Hills, with its "swimmin' pools" and "movie stars" can top living out in the desert with Frank, Dina Shore, Bing & Bob, Liberace, etc.

Lucy & Desi's House in Palm Springs - late 1950s.

Ladies and Gentlemen, The Beatles

Hey, it's Sunday.

I don't work too hard on Sundays so here is an On This Date In History for you.

February 12th 1964:

The Beatles perform two concerts at Carnegie Hall in NYC.

Beatles at Carnegie Hall. More pictures inside.

Before and After Danish Modern Floor Lamp

So it's last December (2011) and I'm carousing around ebay. There in the twenty eight day listings I find this 4 foot tall danish modern floor lamp. As is.

As luck would have it, it was in Palm Beach.

Florida may be terribly long, but it's not very wide. I was able to make it to Palm Beach from Ft Myers in about an hour and a half.

This was the image on the ebay ad.

This is the before picture as seen by me on ebay.

Let's Identify: This Side Table

Last Friday I started what will become a regular Friday feature. I called it - Let's Identify: Fill In The Blank. Last week I had a couple of blonde wood end tables that I believe came from the early 50s. So following my own lead from last Friday, let's have another look at an end table. This one:

Look, it's a danish modern chair.

So I'm out thrifting and decide to check out some places that I'd not been to before. I found out there was a Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Fort Myers (the Ft Myers in FL, which is pretty close to where I live) so I stopped in. Having never been to a ReStore before I went in with no expectations but came out with this:

Saarien Style Tulip Tables and Chairs

Full Disclosure: I'm only a medium sized fan of Saarien Tulip style stuff.

But I know a lot of you guys love it. Heck, Roger Sterling has his new office decorated with some of it. I also know that some of you get that icky feeling when someone says Ikea. So imagine my surprise when I found that some Saarien reproductions were being sold by . . .

So You Want To Make A Lamp

Here is a quick photo tutorial on how to make a lamp.

Maybe you don't actually want to make a lamp, maybe you'd like to rewire an existing lamp. Many of the same steps apply.

You're dealing with an object that will ultimately use electricity. If you have any doubts please consult a professional.

Smoking Accessories as a Decorating Tool: Yes or No

Disclaimer - I don't smoke. Never did. I think it's a costly and unhealthy habit, and if you do it you should give serious consideration to quitting.

Now on to the fun stuff.

The imagery of smoking is cool. At least that's how Hollywood and Madison Avenue have portrayed it over the years. Smoking is cool and cool people do it. Here Look.

DON'T WALK

Hey, it's Sunday.

No - it's Super Bowl Sunday. I don't work too hard on Sundays so here is an On This Date In History for you.

February 5th 1952:

The first “Don’t Walk” sign was installed in New York City.

Seems pedestrians couldn't figure out that those big shiny metal monsters heading towards them at crosswalks could kill them. Don't Walk signs were installed to regulate foot traffic across intersections.

Of course that doesn't mean that all pedestrians obeyed the signs.

 We'll be back later with . . . more stuff.

Before and After Sofa Reupholster

Did you ever go to a thrift store and see a terribly ugly sofa that just called your name and said "recover me"? We did. Here's what we did about it.

This sofa was someone's pride and joy when they bought it in the 1970's.

Let's Identify: These end tables

A recurring theme around here is: cool unidentified stuff.

There were thousands of companies making things in the mid century era some of whom have come and gone leaving behind only highly desirable artifacts about which no information exists. How's that for a run on sentence?

The First Post: Sunbeam Mixmaster, Model 11

Everyone has a favorite thrift store, don't they? I do. It's a service club thrift store down here in southwest Florida. I've gotten more than a great big handful of stuff out of there.

Today I noticed this Mid 1950s Sunbeam Mixmaster, Model 11. The model 11's production run ran from approximately December 1954 until October 1957. This one cost me ten bucks. What's more - it works.