Saturday, July 2, 2011

Some of today's flea market finds

I had a pretty good day at the monthly Civitan flea market in Arlington today. This time I didn't find any chairs, but I did find a couple more items for the screened tiki porch, a couple of radios, and one or two other goodies.  I won't bore ya with everything I picked up (I need some fodder for future posts!), but here's some of what came home in the Volvo:


Since I usually get there early, when some vendors are still unloading, I thought I'd give you a little taste of what I enjoy so much about an early start - peeking into the car- and truck-loads and trying to be the first to spot something too good not to wait for.  So, here's a shot of my car - see anything in there besides my drycleaning?

How about this:

Maybe this is a little easier:

Any guesses?  It's pretty easy to see that I fed my wrought iron fix a bit more today.


I've seen these planter stands before and always liked them, but this was the first one that wasn't over priced or in rotten shape ($10).


And this is another record storage stand ($15).  I like the details on this.


One of the legs is bent a little so it wobbles, but I think I can fix that, and then I'll give it some paint to freshen it up.


 Too bad it's just a little too tall and not quite wide enough or sturdy enough for our record player.


So, what else was in the back of the wagon?


Well, there was this very cool spherical, space-age Weltron AM/FM 8-track player, and it works! At least, the AM/FM works, and the seller said the 8-track player works, I just haven't tested it yet.





It's dusty, it has a few scuffs and one missing slider knob, but the radio really cranks the tunes, and it looks awesome.  Not a bad buy for $10.

That's only one of two radios I picked up.  This other one was a must have when I spotted it.


It was right on the edge of being too expensive, but for $25, I figured it was still a good buy, especially in this great color.


So, what was lurking in those bags?


Well, the canvas bag was holding about 20 of these U.S. Camera magazines from the early 1950s.  For $10, I got the whole lot, and no extra charge for the musty old magazine smell!  Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca would call this a spectacular deal.



And here's a first - who ever heard of a photography magazine with fiction stories inside?  This one seems to be about a photographer's adventure.




Now if you're mid century eyesight is good, you probably spotted a lamp fixture in that one plastic bag.  You did, right?


Yep, you sure did.  Pretty cool, huh?  Oh, you'd like to see the front too?  OK.


With this purchase, I know that I am on the verge - or precipice - of becoming a TV lamp collector.  I simply could not pass up this zebra for $20.  She Who Must Be Obeyed was not as thrilled as I was with this, so I will have to keep it somewhere eight feet below the first floor of this house.

But wait, there was something black in that plastic bag.  Indeed there was.

Any guesses?

If you said a vintage plastic kid's Zorro hat for $7, you nailed it!


Just one small crease in this, and that's not bad for something I'm guessing is about 50 years old.  I'm not sure, but I may have had one of these as a youngster.  Before I became a Batman fan and then an aspiring Secret Agent, I was a western adventure fan, and the top dude when I was 4 or 5 was Zorro!  


Swish swish swish!!! If you were a bad guy, you knew you were darn lucky to have a Z carved into your shirt but not your chest.

OK, so I mentioned a couple of pickups for the tiki-themed screen porch...


Last year I picked up a small toucan that looks great inside our cat birdcage, and today I picked up his mama.  So far she's pretty ambivalent about her boy's predicament.


I actually got this birdie on my second trip to the flea later in the morning.  I was at home here working on a brick paver project (nope, still no gas tank for the Comet project - darn you ebay seller!) and I needed a break from the heat.  I thought why not go back and see if I missed anything.  And what do you know, I did miss some stuff, including the toucan. I guess it was fate that led me back.

Another second trip pickup was this native mask.  Got a bit of a snarl, doesn't he?


Overall, it was a pretty good day.  Anyone else pick up anything good?

10 comments:

  1. I think you hit the jackpot!!!
    The plant stand and record holder are great!
    I love the radios!
    And I am CRAZYYYYYYYYYYY about that zebra lamp!! I loveee zebra stuff!

    I think you did well!

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  2. I posted this on your Facebook page, but thought I would add it here on your site. I've owned one of the 1957 GE pink clock radios for years. It was one of my first antique purchases as a teenager and I love it! Also, I have to share that I thought about you today! I was at a local thrift store and wandered to the back furniture area. Spotted something...looked it over for about 15 minutes...walked away. Don't need it, don't have room for it, shouldn't spend the money. Hmmm, wonder if it works. Go back, plug it in, try all the features out, my heart starts pounding...sold! I now own a beautiful Philco Phonorama V (model G1907S) stereo console with AM/FM radio! It was part of Philco's 1959 line that came out summer of 1958. It's gorgeous,sounds great (including the record player) and I only paid $40 for it!

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  3. Thanks VC, I will have to get a bulb in it and find a good place to set that lamp up

    momloves - thanks for your comment, that's a great find, I need to see photos of that console, pretty please!!

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  4. The record stand is great! I love the guitar on the side. The pink radio is really cool. What a haul. TV lamp....WOW!

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  5. MCM, I think they all are keepers, thanks!

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  6. I dream lo-tech said: "Love the spherical 8-track player/radio!. And for $10, that's quite a steal!"

    Apologies, the moderation button for Publish is very close to the Delete button on my iPhone, and I accidentally bumped delete. And blogger won't let me resurrect your comment, very sorry, but thanks for the input, I was shocked when I heard the seller only wanted $10.

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  7. That Zebra light almost knocked me offa my seat! I really LOVE it! It would look great against a turquoise backdrop. Maybe somehow you can sneak it upstairs! I think maybe a jungle room theme? I love the 8 track too its really cool. The mags are a good find too. I could pour over old magazines for hours! Good job at the Flea Market!

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  8. 1950's - I did a little research on the Weltron, I guess I did score! Now I just need to find one square knob for it. That should be a good challenge. BTW, I tried the 8-track with the Kenny Rogers tape the seller gave me (oh boy) and it worked great.

    Amber - I kinda like that jungle room theme idea. I'm with you on the magazines - I stuck them in a bag with a clothes dryer sheet to try and destinkify the mags, going to give it a week or two and then I'll dig them out. I'll try to scan some good stuff I find.

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  9. Dude.. the watch repairman I know has that Weltron 8 track and still uses it!! Also.. I love that Zorro Hat!! I've been looking for a Zorro Pez Dispenser in flea markets and the like for a steal. I just can't spend 80.00 on a PEZ dispenser on eBay. Love the Tiki mask too!!

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