Yard Sale, Thrift Store, Junk Heap Shopping (Part 2)

[Beth Wilson]

I don't have a photo of it, but I scored a really nice AllClad fry pan for $1.50. I scored it at the local Salvation Army when I was actually looking for a little hand mixer to make icing for a cake I was baking.

Now, how do I tell DH that I needed that awesome pan and could not leave it on the shelf!

[Porthos]

I rarely post about my finds. Be that as it may be I have been involved with something that has kept me from my weeky rounds of the thrift stores. Thursday the 23rd I will celebrate being back to making my rounds.

[judiu]

Beth, for a buck and a half, you have to explain? Oy! :-)

[Beth Wilson]

Beth, for a buck and a half, you have to explain? Oy! :-)

Thank YOU! That is what I said...so I may not need another pan but I couldn't leave it on the shelf like that :-) It would be a crime :-)

[thock]

Look what my honey brought home for me, today.

It is about 12 inches tall, give or take, and about 8 inches in diameter, and appears to be made from terracotta.

[judiu]

Tracy, SCORE! And aren't you lucky to have a discerning honey to find this!

[Zachary]

I found this on Sunday at a little thrift store in north Portland. We think it's from the 50's. It's a Fire King Peach Luster Tom and Jerry set: 10 mugs, bowl and stand, in great condition, for $30. Needless to say, it came home with us.

Thanks,

Zachary

Edited May 16, 2013 by Zachary (log)

[gfweb]

Tom and Jerry the cartoon?

No. According to google...

http://etsyvintageelite.blogspot.com/2012/06/fire-king-king-of-vintage-premium.html

"Tom and Jerry History

I was intrigued by the Tom and Jerry line which actually wasn't from the cartoon series; but rather taken from a British stage play called Tom and Jerry or Life in London. According to one article the author came up with the idea of adding brandy to eggnog and calling it a 'Tom and Jerry' to promote the play. Tom and Jerry punch bowl sets can be found for sale around the holidays"

[andiesenji]

Your set is from the late 1940s. One of my aunts had that same set and I remember it from about 1949. The mugs from the '50s and 60s were more tapered. The set included 12 mugs.

The bowl and cups were first introduced in the 1930s - but the cups were different - shaped like teacups, rounded and the bowl was plain at first and then designs were added, floral and fruit - suggesting punch and then a Christmas design, for eggnog. You are lucky to have the base because it was often damaged from mishandling. When I was collecting, I would see many of the sets but only rarely a base.

The drink was very popular in the late '40s - after the rationing and shortages during the war, people wanted to entertain with rich food and rich beverages - impossible during the war years.

[Zachary]

Ok, so that's interesting. I was basing the 50's date from the markings on the bottom, which read Oven "Fire King" (in script) Ware, Made in U.S.A., which a couple of websites date as post 1951 but before 1960.

And you're right about the base. I went home and started looking online for the set - I had no idea Fire King made one - and saw lots of them without the base, or with 4 or 5 mugs.

Thank you for the history.

Zachary

[KD1191]

The drink was very popular in the late '40s - after the rationing and shortages during the war, people wanted to entertain with rich food and rich beverages - impossible during the war years.

Tom & Jerry is experiencing something of a renaissance. It's become a holiday staple at my house in the past 5 years or so.

[thock]

Tracy, SCORE! And aren't you lucky to have a discerning honey to find this!

Yes. He was quite the find, too, although not at a yard sale.

I got lucky that he likes yard sales and thrift shops, too. Most recently, he forwarded me an e-mail that he got telling him about an estate sale pre-sale, which contained an ad for a Bernina 930 with cabinet. He knows I like Berninas, and my 830 needs motor work, so he told me about the sale. Long story short, I am now the proud new owner of a Bernina 930, with all the accessories, a wonderful sewing cabinet, and a bunch of thread that came with it. I also bought a little box of silk mending thread on little wooden spools made by Belding Corticelli. Apparently, they shut down in the '30's. I didn't realize it was silk until I got home and looked more carefully. I was mostly interested in the box and spools to make a mending kit for my travel bag, but I changed my mind about that, upon discovering the thread is silk.

As much as he can drive me nuts, and vice-versa, he is a wonderful guy.

[andiesenji]

Tracy, SCORE! And aren't you lucky to have a discerning honey to find this!

Yes. He was quite the find, too, although not at a yard sale.

I got lucky that he likes yard sales and thrift shops, too. Most recently, he forwarded me an e-mail that he got telling him about an estate sale pre-sale, which contained an ad for a Bernina 930 with cabinet. He knows I like Berninas, and my 830 needs motor work, so he told me about the sale. Long story short, I am now the proud new owner of a Bernina 930, with all the accessories, a wonderful sewing cabinet, and a bunch of thread that came with it. I also bought a little box of silk mending thread on little wooden spools made by Belding Corticelli. Apparently, they shut down in the '30's. I didn't realize it was silk until I got home and looked more carefully. I was mostly interested in the box and spools to make a mending kit for my travel bag, but I changed my mind about that, upon discovering the thread is silk.

As much as he can drive me nuts, and vice-versa, he is a wonderful guy.

That's an impressive find.

The finest silk thread by Belding Corticelli was often used to repair silk stockings. I have some TINY latch hooks that were made for repairing runs in silk stockings, which were often colored in every shade. My grandmother had them in pastel colors for spring and summer and darker colors for winter. (The fashion for "neutral-colored" stockings began about 1938.)

One of my great aunts worked for Belding Brothers and today's employers should take a page from their book. They wanted INTELLIGENT young women and paid them well and build nice, safe and modern (for the time) buildings to house them.

When I was a child my great grandmother still had a stash of Belding, Hemmingway, Corticelli silk embroidery floss that she had been hoarding since the company stopped production in 1932. The colors were much brighter and stable (non fading) compared to other brands.

It's a treasure.

[SylviaLovegren]

Tracy, SCORE! And aren't you lucky to have a discerning honey to find this!

I also bought a little box of silk mending thread on little wooden spools made by Belding Corticelli. Apparently, they shut down in the '30's. I didn't realize it was silk until I got home and looked more carefully. I was mostly interested in the box and spools to make a mending kit for my travel bag, but I changed my mind about that, upon discovering the thread is silk.

As much as he can drive me nuts, and vice-versa, he is a wonderful guy.

If you're planning to use the thread, be sure to test its strength first. Textiles do degrade, especially if stored near heat, light or acids (like cedar chests!). You don't want to stitch something up only to have the seams break inopportunely.

Fabulous finds, by the way. I'll pea green.

[thock]

Yes, I will. I'm not too worried about it, though. Most of what I will repair will be non-stress-bearing. I probably won't use any of the Belding stuff until I find more.

I ordered a cone of white silk thread about 10 years ago, that I can dye, if need be. Plus, JoAnn sells Guterman silk thread, although it's not as fine. It is REALLY hard to find different gauges of thread, anymore.

[Kerry Beal]

Not a great picture - but this is a nice little Sadler ginger jar I picked up at the Bibles for Missions Thrift store today.

[andiesenji]

That's adorable. Nifty find!

[Kerry Beal]

That's adorable. Nifty find!

Thought you might like it!

[Anna N]

This is especially for judiu as requested in The Ladies Who Lunch topic

Pen is for scale. I love the small brown bowls with the elliptical rims that serve as handles. Kerry spotted those. Some of the dishes will double as mise containers and serving dishes. The smaller square dishes are Air Canada dinnerware.

[judiu]

Anna, the white plate at 9 o'clock is beautiful, with the echoing curve in the china. I'd love to find that in black; I prefer it to white dinnerware. It just makes the food look better, IMHO. I can just see deviled eggs on the other white plate, too.

ETA: deviled eggs.

Edited June 7, 2013 by judiu (log)

[thock]

I scored big time, today. I got four 1/10 pint bottles, two with corks, a blue Ball Perfect Mason pint and a blue Atlas jar with a glass lid, a gallon milk jug and a glass washboard for $10 at one yard sale, another Perfect Mason (not blue, but with a zinc lid, no glass on the inside) and a Foley food mill for a quarter each at a rummage sale, and 6 cones of unused thread for free at another yard sale. Even if the thread is brittle, I paid nothing for it, and I got two cones of 12,000 yards, two of 6000 yards, and two of 3000 yards.

One of the little bottles is a Humphrey's Homeopathic Veterinary bottle.

I'll use the old Mason jars for dry food storage.

[Ashen]

my wife was given this from her work while they were doing a renovation and no longer had use for it. 3 head hamilton beach commercial milkshake machine

[Darienne]

Wow! Lucky you and wife.

[Toliver]

my wife was given this from her work while they were doing a renovation and no longer had use for it. 3 head hamilton beach commercial milkshake machine

Being a professional machine, can it be plugged into any home outlet, or does it have special electrical needs?

[andiesenji]

Looks like a regular 120 3-prong plug.

I have a "vintage" one made in 1947 and it operates on 120 and has only a two-prong plug...