An Auction Junkie in the 1930s

Have you been to auctions? If you're into vintage, I suspect you have. It's the best place to find things you've never seen before. Now I'm being shown an entirely new perspective on auctions: the view of an auction junkie from the 30's and 40's.

She was the mother of the estate heir I'm helping. She had quite an eye. She loved attending auctions held and would often drive for miles to find them. Walking through the long ranch style home in the California hills, I can pick out immediately which pieces were hers.

The large Mexican metal bird swaying in the foyer is signed by famed artist Sergio Bustamante. Inside the main living room, I spot gorgeous antique lamps, cranberry pink couches and a large inlaid coffee table from the 19th century.

Books overflow the shelves, pile on the floor and sit on every table. Rare limited edition publications so popular in the 1940s, all bound in fine leather and gilt pages. Oil paintings hung across the fronts of the bookcases, giving it a Victorian air. English Sterling pieces were tucked around here and there.

The bedroom jewelry boxes were amazing. An early 19th century handpainted Madonna and China pin, an antique solid sterling belt from Thailand, a timeless Zuni Sterling & Turquoise squash blossom necklace, and hundreds of more pieces.

I cherish the brief glimpses my job affords me. I get to walk back in time and enter another persons life. What an experience.

Where You'd Least Expect It

A good sign that Vintage is near!

Being that I'm an Estate Liquidator I get calls all the time. I've learned that the standard perceptions of nice neighborhood and not so nice neighborhood don't apply to Vintage. 

See that house in the back? That's it!

Take for example this house I was called to earlier this week. Built as a farmers staff cabin with two small rooms, it was enlarged in the 1930's to be a full size house. The exterior is very practical for fire country: it's build of cinder blocks. The yard is filled with junk, trash and overgrown plants. I hesitated for a few minutes before going in-I just wasn't confident about what I'd find.

The front entryway. I was a little nervous...

Wrong! I walked into a vintage home stuffed to the gills. Amidst all the clutter I found Victorian jewelry, gold pocket watches, 1930's enamel soda advertising signs, 1930's deco statues, a 19th century quartersawn oak & bevelled glass phone booth, mid century art by well listed artists and a delightful 75 year old woman who lived amongst it all, Beverly. 

A corner: note the steamer trunk being used as a file cabinet! 

Hard to spot, next to the fireplace.

One corner of the dimly lit living room

I'm going back in 2 weeks to gather all that up and see what else she's unearthed. Apparently she has a full basement filled with her treasures AND a huge barn. Woo hoo! It is so much fun to explore, dig & unearth treasure. I get to be like a vintage Indiana Jones!

Entering the World of Live Estate Auctions

It's been a long time since I've been to a live auction. For 12 years I attended them weekly and often more than one a week. I was part of the gang that hung out at the back, trying to bid undetected.

That changed when I had my first daughter. I learned that auctions are great for newborns that sleep all the time but a disaster for wiggly toddlers. I soon stopped attending and just got used to having my weekends to myself again.

These Raggedy Ann & Andy dolls sold for $1300.

This past Sunday I reentered that world I'd once held so dear. (My husband was hanging out with the kids for the day) My uncle & I drove 2 1/2 hours to an antique estate auction being held by one of my favorite auction houses. The auction was due to start at 1, so we arrived at 12:15 to have time to preview what was being offered.

Very old Georgian Period doll sold for $3500

The auction contained a toy collectors estate. Dolls of all kinds, dating back to the Georgian Era of the 19th century. Black Americana toys, Victorian mechanical toys, & lots of old teddy bears.

Folk Art doll that went for over $5k

The doll collectors came out in force. I watched as folk art dolls made around 1910 went for $5000. (note to self: pay attention to old folk art toys!) I saw the Black Americana toys get skipped over for lack of interest. (which illustrates how subjective value is-with the right audience these toys should have gone for thousands)

Black Americana folk art dolls didn't sell

I was surprised to see a Victorian mechanical rocking chair toy not getting bids. The auctioneer kept offering it lower and lower. Just as they were about to pass it I raised my paddle. I won! I wasn't planning on buying her, but I'm sure glad I did. She has the sweetest hand painted porcelain face. Her body has the original clothing, all her arms & legs and she sits in a wooden rocking chair. When gently wound she rocks back and forth with a loud tick tock sound.

Victorian Mechanical Toy that I won! 

Then they came to the teddy bears. I watched as the ones 12 inches and under in height sold. I waited. I checked out my competition. Two women were behind me bidding but they seemed more interested in the dolls. I listed and watched as they bid $11,000 between them on dolls. When the next bears came up, they were all spent and didn't even try to bid.

Small bears that sold for $300-400 each

I was waiting for the large bears. The largest was 38 inches high, giant for a bear. Perhaps he was a studio model for a store display? The others all ranged from 17 inches to 27 inches. When each one came up for bid, I waited for the British auctioneer to start. "Who will offer me $2000?" "Okay then, who will offer me $1000?" "$500?" "Come on now, no price for it!" "$250?" Okay then, who will give me $100?" Then the bids started to fly. I was able to win them for under $200 each. I couldn't believe it.

Here they are! For size I've included my 23 month old daughter. She's posing since I told her smile big.

Stocking the Shop: Estate Sale

Heidi and I hopped in the van and headed down Hwy 49 to Auburn, for a meeting with a collector. She had a hand-painted antique Chinese rice winnower for sale. We negotiated price but weren't able to find a common ground. We ended on a positive note, snagging a few smaller items for the shop, and promising to stay in touch.

19th Century Rice Winnower

On the way home we saw the small, handwritten sign: "ESTATE SALE." Weeds sprouted alongside the driveway of the luxurious yet unkempt home, and an untended spring garden overflowed the rock walls. The elderly lady had moved in with family, and her daughter (herself getting on in years) was running the show: "It all has to go! Mom was a collector. It always drove me crazy."

This is going to take a while to list! 

Our eyes popped as we scanned room after room of vintage & antique dishes, glassware, jewelry, clothing, uniforms, furs, games, collectibles, handbags, gadgets, tools, shoes and furniture. Within minutes our arms were full.

Small Collection of Steiff Handmade Animals

"Where can we put this?" She reserved an armchair for us, which quickly disappeared under a mountain of treasure. She had several elderly girlfriends helping her run the sale. After close to two hours of gaping, and trooping back and forth to our armchair, we were ready to check out.

Whole Set of Metlox Aztec Pottery!

One of the lady helpers was irritated and conflicted: she was annoyed by having to package so many items! At the same time, she was happy that we were buying so many items. It was funny to watch her face as she struggled with her feelings.

Treasures we kept for ourselves! 

On the way home the van had an air of celebration. Of course we picked up a few things for ourselves: an antique ivory bangle for Suuzi, a ceramic Venus de Milo for Heidi, an antique fountain pen ink case for Heidi's husband, a cast iron enamel pot for the kitchen and a hand-painted serving platter for Kelly, who cheerfully stayed behind with Heidi's kids at home! Sorry Kelly. We'll take you next time!

Celebrate Success!

Antique Book, Lavishly Illustrated on Every Page

I'm happy, thrilled & excited. Spring is here! People who love vintage have found me on Facebook-over 2000 of them! The shop has hundreds of fans and we are always featured in treasuries. For a little shop that is still less than 1 year old, this is fantastic! (I started really selling on Etsy instead of just buying late last June, 2010)

Vintage Cut Crystal Necklace & Bracelet Set

So I'm having a celebration sale. 20% off in the shop & 1/2 price shipping anywhere in the world.

Vintage Enameled Butterfly Pin Set

This does require a coupon code: FacebookCelebration. For the 1/2 price shipping, I'll refund you the 1/2. (Can't use 2 coupons at once yet)

Vintage California Pottery Dish

I really appreciate all the support we've had these past 11 months! We love vintage, we can't wait for new estates and we enjoy offering it all to you.

Thanks for making Nachokitty a success!

Vintage & Antique Dolls: What To Do?

Huge 1930's Madame Alexander Doll

One of the areas that I enjoy but know little about is dolls. As a girl I tended to play with my older brothers Matchbox cars and build fairy houses in the woods. Dolls just wouldn't have survived outdoors on the 350 acres my parents were caretakers of.

Hard Plastic Baby Doll

I think dolls know this and thus gravitate towards me. They turn up in most estates and while I'm thrilled to see them lurking in trunks all wrapped up in quilts, I never can say "oh look, it's such & such." Pulling a doll up out of that steamer trunk means hours on the web and reading in books trying to identify her.

1930's Shirley Temple Composition Doll

Add to that the emotional ties owners have to the dolls and the pressure ratchets up. I hear sweet stories about the doll being a favorite given by Daddy that is rare, one of a kind, and very valuable. When I hear these stories I get so nervous. I want the dolls current value to live up to the high emotional price the owner has put on it.

1920's Frozen Charlotte Doll

I don't like to have things restored, because I know most collectors would rather be in charge supervising that task themselves. So I end up with old dolls in gently played with condition, old dolls in horrid condition and old dolls that were never played with and just admired. I offer them in as found condition.

Antique Ideal Doll, Metal Eyes

When it comes to vintage & antique toys, I am in heaven. I just need to take the time to learn more about dolls so I can smile when I see them instead of worrying. It feels like a massive task, but I'm going to try!

1970's Madame Alexander Doll

Where is Everyone?

I've been working round the clock lately to get things up and listed. Estates have been coming in like hotcakes and the wonderful women that help me list have been in hyper drive. Great items too-some hard to find antiques, some cool mid century & and of course, our foray into vintage fashion.

With all this work I was expecting results. I mean, it feels good to list items, get the shop organized and have business coming out of my ears. Those are great results. But I was expecting customers.

What's happened? Is it Spring? Is everyone outside all of a sudden, Etsy long forgotten? Is it the sad reality facing people around the world with wars and disasters? Are we not blogging enough? Not Facebooking enough? Or is it something I haven't really considered, like pricing or quality of items?

Are you buying vintage now? If you're not, why not? I have to admit, I'm not really buying much now. I'm more into purging and cleaning up than adding things. Plus I've just been spending my time finding items, working with estates and growing the business. Add in caring for the Baby, keeping up with my 6 & 8 year old daughters & trying to find time to sleep and you'll see why I'm not lounging around browsing the web.

Friday I took the day off and went out hunting for treasure. Found a bunch of great items. Tonight I'm working on getting them online.

While it's tough not to see business booming, it's still a great job. I love being surrounded by all these beautiful things.

A Rare Estate Part 2

The best laid plans of mice and men-ah, we know how that goes! My day has gone awry again. Awry seems to be my vocabulary word of the month. First that estate up North that is the best ever, then the snowstorm, power outage and sick baby. Today I was heading up there again! But the Uhaul I rented died in my driveway. (I won't go into the quality rant I have building up inside me)

So instead of gathering up items, I'm back here at long last with some of the fabulous items from that magical estate, as well as some interior shots of their home. If you've looked at my shop you may have seen some of the items.

A view of a kitchen corner-look closely!

1920's Coffee Grinder & Brewer

Back side of same grinder

First of all, I've seen small coffee grinders. But I've never seen the huge ones that this estate has. The coolest one is in the shape of a coffee pot and is red & chrome. Wow!! I plugged it and it started grinding away. I wish I drank coffee.

Antique Hobart Coffee Grinder

This couple has all sorts of coffee grinders. Big ones. Found this little Hobart beauty sitting in the garage. FYI, each of these grinders are cast iron and weigh around 90 pounds. Handy to have that 300 pound postal scale on hand! I'm glad my hubby was here to help me lift. Thanks hon.

Random assortment of amazing antiques

Coming up next from this overflowing estate, dozens and dozens of 19th century flow blue china, all different patterns, more headlights, bicycle lights, railroad lights, military antiques, jewelry to die for, and more and more and more. I'm letting them set the pace. This estate could keep one seller busy for years. Here's a photo of just a bit of the flow blue china in one of the two dining rooms. 

Small portion of the massive 19th century Flow Blue China collection