Last weekend antique collectors flocked to Portland’s Expo buildings for the spring Palmer-Wirf Antique Show to look at over 1000 booths hunting for that special thing.  Sometimes when I’m around my friends who don’t collect, I begin to feel alone, but at these shows, I am reminded that I’m very far from alone.  This year, I observed and met loads of interesting people.  I met a man who has been on a 12 year hunt to collect photographs which were done by his great grandfather, and when sitting down for lunch I sat next to a woman dressed in early 20-century attire eating nachos. “I love your dress,” I commented, “Did you make it?” She nodded yes, and began to tell me how her and her husband are historical re -enactors who portray Teddy Roosevelt and his wife.  Such interesting people and such wonderful things to buy! What could be better?

As for the finds, it was a day of really good deals…

Rose Hat with Veil

This little number I just adore.  With its small cap, faux rose and veil, it screams I Love Lucy.  Also, I’m half tempted to wear it for my wedding, or at least my going away hat.  There are some condition issues, like the rose is a little flattened, and there are some rips in the netting, but overall, not too bad.  There is not label.  Cost: $3.00

Marche Exclusive Hat

Another classic 50s hat, one that says “Wear me on Easter Sunday”.  Like the other one, this one has some rips in the netting, but nothing too horrifying.  There are some remnants of fake leaves in the netting, which leads me to believe this too had some flowers of some sort.  The label here reads “Marche Exclusive” with “Finlan” (yes, “Finlan” not Finland) on the side. And this hat was an even better deal, $1.00!  Especially since my research is digging up an average of about $40.00 for this brand.

Beresford Fur Hat

This certainly was a day for hats, and white ones at that.  This one I couldn’t resist, especially since it was just fun and reminded me of some of the hats that a few Elvgren girls wear.  The top part is bunny fur, and soft as ever to the touch, and the label reads “Beresford”, but I’ve had little luck trying to dig up any info on it.  Cost: $8.00

1955 Montgomery Ward Catalog

I just love old catalogs.  They are wonderful portals into the past.  And this one provides so much insight! Clothes, BBQs, cameras, furniture, shoes, appliances, it’s fabulous!  It’s also interesting to see the cost of things.  $7.98 for dresses!  While that may seem like very little, you have to remember what minimum wages was a heck of a lot less!  But the quality of things made then was a million times better that what comes out of department stores today. Cost: $5.00

Starburst Platter

As you know, I collect Franciscan Starburst. I usually don’t anticipate buying any at Expo because it tends to be very expensive.  Condition is a particular issue with dishes, and especially with Starburst, and often can drastically bring down the price, which is all the better for me! I got this platter for $25.00 due to three small chips on the side.

In case you missed out on this March show, mark your calendars for the July show on the 10th and 11th! It’s bigger and better too!

This weekend brought the third and final of the Palmer-Wirf antique shows at Portland’s Expo Center.  This one is always a good one since it’s the last show before the holidays (ever since they got rid of the show at the Portland Convention Center), so dealers have great vintage Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas items.  I headed up to get there when doors opened at nine, and what a crowded show! Seriously, there’s a recession on? Those in the antique world don’t seem to notice…With over 1000 booths full of postcards, vintage clothing, oak bookcases, books, and other goodies, Expo is an orgy of things gone by. Quite literally at times, you’re often pressed up against others to peek into booths.  As for myself, I purchased 36 glass Christmas ornaments, all of them at a dollar a piece.  I need loads more since purchasing the six additional aluminum trees.  Speaking of those, there were at least nine at the show.  The cheapest was $32.00, and the most expensive one, $165.00.  I also bought three vintage skinny ties for Patrick and the following…

Vintage 1960s Grey Wool Dress

This dress sadly bears no tag, but I think it may be handmade based upon the cutting of the fabric as well as the stitching.  However, there are thread loops for a belt, which I find interesting for a handmade dress.  It has interesting pleats in the skirt portion and tapers up nicely in the strap area.  I love the simplistic lines of it, which make it elegant, but the fabric gives it a more casual feel.  I’m guessing it’s early 1960s based on the cut of the skirt.  It’s a fuller skirt, not as pencil like as seen in the later 60s pieces.

A bargain at $10.00 – I couldn’t pass it up.

Reissued Hamilton Electric Ventura

So here’s where all my money went…I spent $300.00 on this baby.  And, yes, it is gold plated.  Introduced in 1957, Hamilton Venturas were the first electric (battery powered, not wind-up) watch, as well as the first asymmetrical watch, plus, they were the premier watch to have.  I’ve had the desire to own one of these for sometime, and checked out Amazon where they cost around $650.00, and Ebay, where they can fetch the same price.  I chose a reissue because the old ones cost over a grand, additionally, they are a pain to maintain.  Only one guy is known to work on them.  The new ones are quartz movements, so they are more reliable and easier to fix.  It should be noted that some big names wear and wore this watch, including Twilight Zone host, Rod Serling, Elvis, and Brian Setzer, and Tommy Lee Jones wore one in the film Men in Black.

Now, some of you may ask, “How can you spend $300.00 on a watch!?” Well, I justify it by saying I spend so little on everything else…I mean hell, that top I’m wearing in the photo, I bought for five bucks! I buy a big chunk of my stuff at Goodwill, and I know what a good deal is, and even though $300.00 is a lot, it was a good deal for what it is.

Tomorrow, Eugene Picc-a-Dilly! Like I need to spend anymore money!

Today was the annual Coburg Antique Fair where dealers from all over Oregon come to the small town of Coburg to sell their vintage goods to those of us silly enough to buy ‘em.  I, of course, am one of them.   This show is always fun because of the atmosphere of Coburg, it has a nice small town feel.  The show itself is great because there are loads of dealers, fun people to interact with, good food (I recommend skipping the food vendors and popping into the local Dari Mart for their fried chicken) as well as live music.  Admission is free, and so is parking – well, if you don’t mind a walk.  Many residents and property owners take it upon themselves to charge for parking that is close by, usually $5.00.  Plus, many residents take this as an opportunity to hold garage sales, so you can hit those up after you walk through the show, as well as the many antique shops Coburg has to offer all year round!

This year was a fairly good year loot wise, and was fun, as always.  I found quite a few goodies which I purchased as well as wished I could purchase, such as an amazing lamp that was $175.00, as well as some amusing items, such as the Relax-Aciser as seen in the episode 1.11 of Mad Men:

That’s right, for a mere $35.00 you can own this “weight loss solution” which, in “Indian Summer” proved to be providing a rather different type of solution.

The woman selling the item provided a write up saying she didn’t know what would need to be relaxed in the regions which the diaper shaped belt covered, and did not understand its purpose, so obviously this woman did not see that episode.

The Finds

Studio Girl Stockings

This stocking box caught my eye immediately, because of its fantastic image! A photograph of a young woman trying to get a stocking away from her (stuffed) dog is a very iconic pin-up image.  The box is in fair condition, but the stockings were never worn! Paid: $4.00

Pin Wheel Pill Box Hat

This adorable little number reminded me a lot of the 1960s show The Prisoner, because of its pinwheel design.  There is no tag to really indicate the brand, just one which reads “ADJ. M.S.C.” – a close up is available on my Flickr account. Paid: $8.00

Sloat Wool Skirt

I used to hate pink, but now I find myself buying more and more of it.  I know it appears more orange in the picture, but trust me, it’s pink.  This skirt I am sure was never worn outside of the store, because it still bears what I believe to be the original store tags. Made entirely out of wool, the skirt is terribly itchy, and must be worn with a slip – like many other vintage skirts. The tag reads “100% Wool tailored by Sloat Sloat & Co. New York”. I found a few other skirts by Sloat on-line, ranging in price from $14.00-$24.00. Paid: $4.00

Tomorrow brings the annual Coburg Antique Fair.  Going hand-in-hand with that is the First Annual Bee’s Barn Antique Show about nine miles north of Eugene.  Running three days, my dad and I checked it out today and we purchased six aluminum Christmas trees.  One seven footer, one six and a half foot, two six footers, and two four footers, all bright, all in good to excellent condition.  For about five years now, we’ve been buying up reasonably priced aluminum trees, and prior to this purchase, we already owned six, never paying more than $65 for one.  All being sold from the same person, each was priced from $25 to $65, and totaled $230 if we bought all at their tagged price, the result of the deal: $150! It took us 45 minutes to take them down and pack them all away ourselves, but was well worth it.

The show itself was relatively small, with only 20 or so dealers, free admission and parking.  I also found this charm bracelet:

You read that tag right, a mere $6.00! Each charm is a different telephone, and they go in order (although a little backwards); on the right is the “modern” pushbutton Princess style phone, and it moves down the line until it ends with Bell’s original telephone design.

So, if you swing into Coburg tomorrow for their big show, make the extra drive to check out this little show, I’m sure it’ll be worth your while! Check back tomorrow for finds from the show!

This morning my dad and I drove out to Brownsville to go to their annual antique show.  Previously, the show has been held on the town’s streets around its antique shops, however, since the show has grown to include more dealers, they moved the show into the park area, which provided a lot of shade.   There were a few familiar faces, as well as many new ones, plus loads of great deals!

The Finds

Bowling Charm Bracelet

There’s a guy who sells purely jewelry, and I’ve bought some stuff from him in the past, this year I found this wonderful bowling charm bracelet with a girl bowling and ten pins.  It is unmarked.  A wonderful $7.00 find.

Stockings Lot

At every antique show and flea market there is that one person who is continuously unpacking, and you end up digging through boxes.  Well, at that particular booth, I found several pairs of fully-fashioned seamed (FFS) stockings. First is a pair by Florice Hosiery in a wonderful art deco box.  I love the three lines in the shadow welt.  Next is a pair of Foto Fan stockings, still sealed in their plastic. I find the box for these most interesting since the image is of the Houdon statue of George Washington in Richmond Virginia.  What George Washington and stockings have to do with each other, I’ll never know! And last, but not least, a box-less pair that read “Full Fashioned Knit of Dupont Nylon, that also have a nametag of Eden Grace stitched in them.  So, Eden, if you’re out there, I have your stockings!  I paid $12.00 for the lot (equating to $4.00 a pair), a little more than I wanted to spend, but not out of line.

Toni Tyler Dress

Lastly, we have the grand find of the day, a $3.00 2-piece dress.  Yes, you read right, THREE DOLLARS!  I couldn’t believe it either, especially after I misread a pricetag for $10, not $110.  It is navy blue and pale pink with faux buttons up the front and a tie collar and has a tag reading Toni Tyler (more photos available on Flickr).  I am unsure of the fabric, I think it may be silk.  It has a side zipper, which I find incredibly annoying, shoulder pads (which makes me think it’s from the ’40s) and pockets.  I haven’t found much on Toni Tyler dresses, just this dress, which has a price tag of $119.

Overall, Brownsville was well worth the drive, since it’s always a beautiful place to just go check out.  They also hold an annual Stand By Me cruise-in, since it is where they filmed the movie.  The town also offers up quaint architecture and good ice cream.

Summer for most college kids means taking off to Mexico or something like that.  Not for me.  I couldn’t possibly care less about going to Cancun and drinking my weight in Miller Lites.  Instead, summer means going to the big Portland antique show at the Expo Center as put on by the people at Palmer-Wirfs with my dad.  The summer show has, in addition to the buildings, the upper portion of the parking lot is also chalk full of booths, for about 1400 booths to check out.  This summer, like summers it the past, the antique show fell on the same weekend as the Baxter Historic Races at Portland International Raceway, and we attend both, so time spent at the antique show was fairly limited.  Gates opened at 9:00 AM, and we arrived around 8:20 and the line was already extremely long…as you can see the white topped tent is the entrance…after standing in line for forty minutes, I took a gander behind us to see how much the line had grown…as you can see, it had gotten even longer.

For those who have never been Expo is an overwhelming experience.  All kinds of people from all over (there was a couple from Hawaii was in line behind us) and they are all looking for different things.  If you’re into collecting and if you live on the west coast, Expo is the place to go.  Usually you’ll find just about anything and everything relating to what you’re into, and heck, you might even find something you didn’t think you were looking for!  For myself, since I collect a very wide range of items, I rarely go in with something in mind to find…and this show I came out with some wonderful items for fabulous prices!

The Finds

Fiberglass Lampshade

This was a steal at only $18.00!  I had seen several multi-tier fiberglass shades at the show for an average price of about $55.00 or so.  Currently, I have more shades than I have actual lamps, so I play a little game of musical lampshades every time I get a new one.  I put this one on the tri-pod lamp my boyfriend built from a $5.99 tri-pod and a $5.00 lamp – both from Goodwill.

Nardon Stockings

Pair of black Nardon Stockings, still in the box with tissue paper, for the wonderfully low price of $1.00!  Unfortunately, they are not seamed, but they are fantastic never the less.

Penny’s Gaymode Stockings

More stockings!  Here we have three pairs of Penny’s brand, Gaymode stockings.  All three pairs are in their original package still sealed!  These stockings are seamed!  Making them more desirable.  I purchased these at the same booth as I did the Nardon pair, same price – $1.00 per pair, for a total of $3.00!

More Cuties In Arms book

More Cuties In Arms is a book full of war-time cartoons dealing with women by E. Simms Campbell.  These cartoons were originally published in Esquire, and then put together for Cuties in Arms and the second installation seen here.  E. Simms Campbell was one of the first successful black cartoonists.  He did many other ads and cartoons.  The book is dated 1943, and was only $1.00.  The downside is that it is missing its dustjacket.

Ladies Black Hat

This little number was only $4.00!  Woven out of a plastic straw material, this hat is unmarked, and slightly damaged in the back.  It also requires from creative bobby pin work to keep it in place until I find a good, and reasonably priced, hat pin for it.

JohnnyE Juniors Dress

For myself, this dress was the find of the day!  At only $12.00 this dress as it all!  Wonderful pearl accents combined with a woven poka-dot pattern brings this three-piece outfit together (dress, jacket, and belt).  A label is sewn into the jacket portion, but not the dress.  It reads “JohnnyE Juniors”.  There are no tears or rips to speak of any any of the pieces, however there is a stain on the front portion of the skirt, which I have not yet tried to remove.  For detail images, please see my flickr account.

Well, that about sums it up.  Of course, there were many items I have much liked to purchase, but money was a limitation – as you can tell by the prices of the items I did purchase, I love a bargain!  Expo is a place where you may find a bargain, or you’ll pay through the nose to get your hands on something, but nevertheless, it is the place to go here in Oregon in terms of antique shows!  Next show is in October!

The rest of the weekend was spent at Portland International Raceway (just next door to the Expo center) for the Baxter Historic Races, which my dad and I have been going to for ten years or so.  It is a wonderful opportunity to see great show cars and watch old cars race.  Sunday was curtailed by rain, however it was fun regardless.  It also poses a great opportunity for photography.  Currently, Patrick is in the process of getting a gallery page up and running for me so I can post my photography portfolio.  So, look for that soon where I’ll have pictures from this year!