I definately like old stuff

There is nothing like finding old stuff at a thrift store or yard sale. I guess I got the bug at a young age from my father. He was always bringing gems home, some from yard sales and a good amount from the curb. My dad was a picker even before it was chic.

I recently discovered a show on History channel called American Pickers. for those who haven't seen it, it basically is these two guys from Iowa who drive around the country looking for junk to buy. They stick to private collections but also love to go through people's garages and attics. They have an eye for antiques and memorabilia. When they see something they're interested in, they make an offer. Since watching them, I've felt the fever.

Truth be told I've always liked old stuff. I get it from both my parents. My dad with his trash picking and my mom's rat packing. When I started going out on my own my eye gravitated toward old toys. Especially anything from the 70's and 80's. In other words, anything I may have played with. Luckily around the same time I met my wife and she also has a thing for old toys. We're a team, she finds them, and I do the examination. I look for dates or any other markings the show age or authenticity. As of late she's been finding some great old bar tools. She knows like most guys I dream of having my own bar. I usually don't buy tools, I mostly collect shot glasses and cool bottles. My other major collection is Simpson's memorabilia. I started it with a few pieces, but over the years people have given me items for presents.Some people just noticed I had a collection, and they would give a related item they may have had lying around..

Gong back a bit, like I mentioned earlier my father was the king of the rummage. Growing up I remember he would keep some coins and other odd ball items in a Vietnam War era ammo box. It was a good sized metal box with a pressure clamped swing top lid. I used to be scared when opening and closing it. He also had this fabulous old time camera. It was a cube. You would hold down in front of you and look at the view finder from the top. It also had a big metal flash cone (kind of like a work light) He also loved old stereos and radios. I remember he bought a 8-track player that was square and had a cool plunger on the top. It had a speaker in the front with a window for the track number, and a slot on the side to insert the tape. His was blue and the coolest thing I'd ever seen.

In the late 80's people were throwing away all of their old 70s era console stereos. He came home with several of those. If they didn't work, he would fix them. They were the type with the smoked plastic lid for the record player. They also seemed to all have a lit radios station display. The more intricate it was the prouder he felt about finding it. They all basically came with a record player, AM/FM receiver and a tape deck. Some of them had a shortwave receiver, or an 8 track player. His favorite had a special center post on the record player that was tall. It had another arm that would swing towards the post. It was made for continuous play. You would place a stack of records on the post, when one would finish playing the next one would automatically fall and play. I learned about rpm's from these players. You could play 33 which was the standard speed. For the smaller disks (usually singles) you had 48 rpm's which was bit faster. One day he came home with a player that played disks that were between sized records that seemed to be made of glass. These played on 78 rpm's.

If you've been reading this blog for a while you may had read when I wrote about my father's obsession with radios. All my life he had a shortwave radio. He loved them because he could pick up foreign radio stations. He still comes home every once in a while with another shortwave radio. Other then that he loves walkmen and portable radios with just AM/FM. He loves belt clips or a nice pouch or fanny pack. Of course if does have a belt clip that means that he will clip it onto the back of his hat. He once found a bayonet. Like everything else I don't know what he did with all the nice stuff. I'm hoping he sent to our house in Nicaragua, instead of just giving it away.

He inadvertently began my collection. About 15 years ago he was doing a side job for a lady at her house. It was a Saturday and we were going to demolish her old tool shed then built her a nice modern aluminum one. After we took the old shed down, and took everything to the dump, we had to prep the ground where the cement slab had to go as a foundation for the new shed. He's got me taking debris out of the dirt. Then I was going to pat it down for the frame to go down level. I was poking the grown with a stick to loosen it before patting it down. I felt something hard. I decide to dig it up with the stick and I find a bottle. It was a very old bottle of Pepsi. It was all glass with the logo etched into the glass. Since then I've seen many like it at yard sales. Mine was special. I've never been able to get an exact date or appraisal. The reason mines was special is because it is still sealed. It still has the Pepsi inside and the cap is rusted on. I still hope to get it appraised some day.

My father always finds stuff just lying on the ground. One day we were walking through a parking lot. I noticed he picks something up and quickly ties it into a handkerchief and sticks it in his pocket. When we get home he pulls out the handkerchief and unties it. There was 24k gold bracelet. He did that so no one could say they saw him pick the bracelet. Recently he stumbled upon a pile of booklets on the street that turned out to be copies of the Constitution. One day he came home and said he found something. He handed me a small brown booklet. It turned out to be a very old pamphlet about Denver tourism. It doesn't specify a date, but judging by the pictures and the printing I would say it's from the 30's. I only found one similar to it online, but not this particular one. I've sent pictures of it to an expert and hopefully it's as old as I think it is.

I think bar tools and bar ware will be my main focus for the time being. My first two pieces seem to be pretty common. I've seen both online for a pretty low value. I would make a couple of dollars taking into account what I spent on them. My wife found both of these at a thrift store recently. The first one is your run of the mill corkscrew with arms and turning handle on top. This one features a bottle opening in the handle. Inside the bottle opener it is engraved with the name Brevettata. It was made in Italy sometime in the 70's. The other one although pretty common was a style I hadn't seen before. At first glance it looks like a pipe or a mallet. At the end of the shaft it feature a bottle opener. The mallet part serves two functions. It's hollowed out to be used as a jigger or measure. The bottom of the measure is heavy and would be used as a ice crusher. The fourth function is cool. You unscrew the shaft to discover a corkscrew. Now I'm determined to find some more cool corkscrews.

I will continue to scour thrift store and flea markets for cool gadgets and conversation pieces. I'm not necessarily looking for something that can bring in money. I recently bought a shoe shine box. It features a handle that it shaped like the imprint of a foot. It's wooden with a hinged lid. It has Shoe Shine 5 cents printed on the side. I knew when I saw it that it wasn't vintage, but I liked it. It reminded me of one my father had when I was a kid. However I did some research to find out where it came from. It had Triangle Products with an address burned into the bottom of the box. I looked the name up. I found out that Triangle Products is a non profit organization. They specialize in teaching mentally and physically challenged adults basic skills. They make different kinds of wood products. It was inspiring to see the pictures of the men and women happily being productive. I also learned that this particular box was made in the 70's. I was proud to learn that although the box I bought wasn't that old it was produced with love and care and it gave someone the opportunity to better themselves.