Saturday night at the Eagles Lodge Twilight Rummage

[grasswire]

It's my favorite night of the month!

You have to sign in as a guest of the lodge and pay a buck to get in. The bar, with its keno and bar games and smoking oldsters is on one side. On the other side is the hall where the rummage tables are set up.

First one up is a woman who has a lot of really cool stuff, but overpriced. I looked at a copper tray from the 1960s that was enameled with California poppies -- signed by a California artist. Nope. Too much.

Then comes the tables where the little ladies are selling costume jewelry -- suitcases full of the stuff. I take a quick look to see if there are any enameled or jeweled flower brooches with good maker marks, and kick myself yet again for forgetting to bring a magnifying glass. I recently saw an article about the flowered brooches of the 60s bringing very good prices. Hundreds of dollars for stuff I wouldn't be caught dead in! Way too flowery and ornate, but apparently going up in value.

At the back of the hall are tables where little ladies will sell ya a grab bag or read your handwriting. Quirky! Odd stuff.

Lots more dealers, but one of the favorites is the book dealer who brings in box after box after box and every book is a buck. Last night I scored eleven books. Looking them up on abebooks.com, I added up the resale value at nearly $400. The man who grabs all the collectible historical books wasn't there! I was tickled to get a Maine shore cookbook from 1946 -- I collect New England cookbooks.

That was my evening's haul. $400 in eleven books at a buck each, less the price of the diet coke at the bar.

Vendors take turns being the DJ for the night. Some nights it's rockabilly, some nights it's very early recorded American song -- it's always vintage and nutty stuff.

That's my idea of fun.

[Whoa_Nelly]

1. Lucky you!

Good finds and a monthly rummage sale!!! :wow:

Lucky, lucky, lucky! :hi:

[Duer 157099]

2. Sounds like fun!

I never look at costume jewelry, wouldn't know the first thing to look for.

But books... now that's my weakness (one of many). I had to just stop bringing them home because I've run out of bookshelf space. Although, I will still occasionally get some if I just can't resist - and now that I'm thinking of it, this happened just a few days ago at the library - found some interior design books from the 50s/60s/70s which of course I had to have (for $1.50 each). Oh yeah, and a couple weeks ago, brought home a very thin little pamphlet from the thrift store (50 cents), because it was 1) small/thin and 2) subject matter looked interesting and looked it up on Amazon and wouldn't you know it, it's listed for $250!

Maybe just a new bookcase, that might solve the problem, for awhile :D

:thumbsup: on your book score!

[grasswire]

4. I have made a LOT of money on odd books and pamphlets...

...over the years. Catalogs are great, as I'm sure you know. The more obscure and old the better. I once found a tiny catalog of bakers' stuff from the 1880s that sold for more than $180. I've sold certain kinds of old travel guides for a lot of dough. A Nile River luxury cruise pamphlet from 1920? Yes! I once found a small book on early radio at a sale where the book dealers had already been through, and I sold it for $400 on eBay. So I love book sales.

I have observed one person at a particular annual book sale who goes quickly through the aisles and pulls out small, thin vintage books that were probably vanity press items. Poems and oddities. Those kinds of things often have lovely bindings and nice paper. She's very focused and snags a lot of real goodies.

And I've watched another couple who are obviously buying for resale. He grabs, and she guards the boxs behind him. He grabs and grabs and grabs very quickly, and hands off to her. After they have beaten everyone else to most shelves, then they go through the boxes and winnow out what they don't want after all. It's a good technique, but they make a lot of people mad.

[Duer 157099]

5. You know, I usually pass up this sort of thing (pamphlets)

I think I should take more notice, especially since they're so small and won't take up much space while I figure out what they are. There's one thrift store in particular that I go to that has lots of this sort of thing, seems like they are mostly food or travel related.

My library is having their annual sale in a couple weeks, I think I might just have to go. I'm on the prowl right now for books from the 50s-60s that show the actual designs of the time - not the modern books that look back (selectively). I have one set of books, a set that I picked up quite awhile ago and forgot about apparently (because I saw it on ebay and was tempted to bid, until I checked my bookcase and saw I already had it! okay yes, that's pathetic, I know -- but it's a great resource, very photo-rich, of the decorating styles of the period. It's funny to see how the actual compares with the current version -- the actual of the period was much more eclectic and varied, with lots of holdovers from prior era styles, which is how I remember it being too.

Oh here, it's this set:

http://cgi.ebay.com/THE-PRACTICAL-ENCYCLOPEDIA-OF-GOOD-DECORATING-18-VOL_W0QQitemZ320252507285QQihZ011QQcategoryZ378QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1638Q2em118Q2el1247

[Vinca]

3. That sounds like fun!

I thought I had made a great find over the weekend with 2 inverted hand chairs at $10 each. Turns out they're still made by a company in Idaho and are "retro." Very neat though and I couldn't stop laughing as I rode around to yard sales with the back of the Rav filled with 2 giant hands. I'll put $65 or $75 on them.