Ghettoblaster: Antiquing is my new best friend.

Today was thrift shop day for the Mrs and I. We got out early this morning. I knew about a thrift store and pawn shop in our neighborhood. Neither of us had been to either one. The first place was a thrift store on Hamilton Street in Hyattsville. It was totally disorganized. There was crap all over the place. Nothing was priced. The two persons in the shop never even acknowledged us. They did have a few cool things. What caught my eye the most was a very old sewing machine and some cast iron wall hangings. The hangings were shaped like a WWII plane and some golfers. Other then that I did see a cool lamp and the examination table. It was a butte. It had turquoise vinyl with drawers below. It had stirrups. I've sat on examination tables that weren't a nice as this one. Although I really liked it, I had to pass. First of all. Where would I keep it? Secondly. Who knows what this guy would've wanted for it.

We drove down Hamilton to Franks Pawn Shop. Next to it they had the store where they sold merchandise. They had everything from instruments to cameras and electronics to video game systems. The bulk of their inventory was tools and specialty equipment. We really didn't see anything we were interested in buying. We did notice that two girls working there were ditsy and young. We decided to move on.

I asked my wife to drive down Rhode Island Ave. (Rt 1) pass the courthouse into Mount Rainier to see if we saw anything on the warehouse strip. We noticed a sign that read Thrift Store. As we pulled into the lot I noticed some cool stuff by a different warehouse. It turns out that next to the thrift store there was an antique shop. I was stoked. The thrift store was actually a Habitat for Humanity resale store. They sold furniture, appliances, windows, fixtures and decor that was saved from houses that were set to be demolished and rebuilt. They had so much stuff crammed in there. It would be a good place to go if you need to remodel your home and save on materials or if you needed to replace your fridge or dishwasher and didn't want to spend to much money.

When we finished looking around we went to Cherry's Antiques. From the moment I stepped into the foyer, I knew I found what I was looking for. As it was a warehouse the place was crammed but well organized. The first thing I noticed was a cool old time diving helmet with a hinged window in the front. It didn't look adult sized. It was small, not sure if they made those kinds of suits for children. My wife assured me it wasn't authentic. For $20 bucks I was ready to buy it, but I held off. We made our way though the aisles. they had a lot of great furniture. I saw some chalk ware, which is very old inexpensive figures that resembled porcelain. I also saw quite a bit of glassware. I kept looking, but didn't see anything I was interested in. My wife handed me a book. It was a report written by the U,S, Government about the beef industry in 1905. The cover was in bad condition, but the pages were pristine for it's age. I started going through all the books that they kept on various shelving units. I found a handful of very old books. Most in the better condition then the beef industry book. I saw one item that caught my eye. It was a cabinet made to store ice cream. It was very old. It was wood. When you open the flip top lids it revealed two canisters. I assume you would remove the canisters and put ice inside. Then when you replaced the canisters filled with ice cream, they would stay cold. It needed a handle and a good cleaning. I think it would make a cool restoration project. I didn't get it, but did find something else that I had to have. As I brought my books to the front I looked at the helmet again. Right above the helmet on another shelf I noticed what looked like a small fire extinguisher wrapped in leather. It read The Thirst Extinguisher on the top of a list of instructions. I flipped it to look for further information. It had no date, but I noticed it had a music box mechanism. The top of the extinguisher had a round handle. I noticed when I held it by the handle, the top became loose. I realized it was a lid. I removed it to uncover a spout. This was liquor decanter/music box. It played a melody called "How dry I am"

After leaving the antique shop we went home. In the afternoon we had to pick the kid up from school. On the way back we stopped by our local Salvation Army. I usually stay away from that place. Most of their stuff is over priced. As we walked in we noticed all the furniture we passed was over priced. We made our way towards the rear where the nick knacks and small wares were located. I picked up a few cool things. My wife saw a classic style Coca Cola glass that was made with purple glass. I have the traditional green glass ones, but had never seen it in purple glass. She also showed me what appeared to be small books. It turns out that they were mock book covers that held playing cards. I got another cocktail shaker. The coolest thing I found there was a novelty beer bottle. It was made by the Paraguayan Glass Factory (Fabrica Paraguaya de Vidrios S.A.). The bottle is yellowish and flat. It still has the cap with the logo that reads Pilsen Dorada. On the front of the bottle it is embossed with PILSEN. The unique thing about the bottle is that where it is embossed it is sunken in with two dips on each side. I realized quickly that it was an ashtray.

Below are pictures of some of the items that I acquired today.

Report of the Commissioner of Corporations of The Beef Industry March 3, 1905

This the ice cream chest. The lids flip open to reveal two metal canisters.

The is the Thirst Extinguisher decanter with music box. After doing some research I discovered it's from the 60's and that decanter/music boxes were quite common then.