Why I like estate sales

[eleneariel]

Friday I found the best kind of estate sale of all - an elderly lady with great taste, artistic talent, and a lot of traveling under her belt who is moving from a large house into a small apartment. For $16 I got a tablecloth with handmade battenburg lace, one of those really old fashioned sturdy wooden spoons (extra-long handle all the better for stirring bread with), a large framed print of Young Girl Reading (the frame was worth ten times the price I paid, at least) and an assortment of vintage pins and necklaces. And a box that contained Spanish Toilet Soap back in the 1930s, but now had three sticks of chalk, a keyring, some pencil lead, and a thumbtack. (Discarded everything, kept the box in all its gorgeous red-and-black art deco glory.)

What I wanted and did not buy was the set of three stained glass window rubbings. Back when she lived in England, some churches would allow people to come in and make rubbings of the windows. These were beautiful - charcoal on art paper, very lovely and medieval. But not lovely enough for me to drop $150 on the set ... alas.

But I'm very happy with my Young Girl Reading, which is destined for my library one day.

Comments

[mrsm2010.livejournal.com]

Wow! You should post some pictures of your finds, I would love to see them!

[butterbobbin.livejournal.com]

I concur.

[franciscanorder.livejournal.com]

Neat!!!

[beccabug33.livejournal.com]

I have temple rubbings from Thailand. The fam got them when my mom lived in the Philippines.

[eattheolives.livejournal.com]

That's really neat. :) How old was your mom when she lived there?

[beccabug33.livejournal.com]

She was there from 12-13 (or younger?) until high school graduation. She missed the sixties!

[chestnutcurls.livejournal.com]

Exciting! Good finds! :)

[jkgeroo.livejournal.com]

Sounds like you and this lady need to meet!

[eattheolives.livejournal.com]

I did! She sat like a queen in her living room, directing traffic through the house and telling people stories about the items they were buying. :D Very charming lady.

[jkgeroo.livejournal.com]

Awww :) You two sound like peas in a pod. A very chronologically altered pod, but still.

[radiantlove.livejournal.com]

I love this :)