We Find the Most Unusual Things...But what is it?

Ross and I share an interest in all things old, yes including each other.  :)

We were Estate Auction Junkies.

Before there was AuctionZip, we would scour Thursday’s local newspapers looking for the week’s up coming auctions.

We would attend several auctions a week.  There was the Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday night auctions and then a choice between all day Saturday or Sunday auctions.

We started out as collectors.  Ross found old postcards from his hometown interesting and I was drawn to old sparkly costume jewelry.

We discovered that the more auctions we attended, the more our interests expanded.

Our collections grew to include Depression glass juice reamers, old photographs, buttons, books, hats, artwork, salt & pepper shakers, etc, etc, etc.   As I said all things old.

One of my favorite finds was a group of diaries written by a young housewife during the late 1920’s.   It was a wonderful glimpse into how different life was during that time.

After we filled up a spare room closet and an attic storage space, we knew we needed an outlet to be able to “share” our findings.

The Hummel figurine that I bought for $20, and sold for $3,500 and the post card that Ross bought for $1.00 and sold for $60.00 got us both hooked on eBay.

We had enough stuff by this time to also rent a small space in an antique mall in Cape May, NJ.  We would even do one or two flea markets a year.

We began doing this 13 years ago.  We have cut down on the amount of auctions we attend and maybe go to only three or four a year now. 

We have since moved to a closer Antique Mall, in Point Pleasant Beach NJ.  Our room is on the second floor.

Our stuff and we have gotten even older.  Time doesn’t matter to the stuff; in fact it probably gets better with age and may even increase its value.

We have also gotten better in some ways, but time has definitely taken its toll on our ability to schlep and carry our stuff, especially up the steps to the second floor.

Every year, normally during the long winter months, we talk about getting rid of all of our stuff and giving up our room in PPB.   But the nice weather brings the tourists to the Jersey Shore and business picks up.  This somehow justifies our sometimes out of control buying and the desire to hold on to our stuff.

Here is a sampling of stuff we have in our space in Point Pleasant Beach

Thousands of Post Cards

Hand Made Puppet Theater With Puppets and McCall's Sewing Pattern

Ceramics

Jewelry, Salt & Pepper Shakers, Doll House Furniture

Sheet Music, More Jewelry, Pictures of Hens, etc, etc, etc...

One of our recent finds was this mystery item

What is it?

Still Can't Figure It Out

We thought maybe a hat box, but it's so padded that a hat would not fit.  Or could it be a Hatpin Pin Cushion?  A carrier for fragile or breakable things? 

That is part of the fun of our hobby.  We find the most unusual things, even though sometimes they are unidentifiable.  And sooner or later we know that someone will walk into our space and decide they just have to have it!