You live you learn. That’s how life is, and that’s definitely how being a vintage seller is. Every item you list is an opportunity to learn something new. Example from this week’s fresh to market vintage: Pam learned there was once a company local to her that made plastic wares. Who knew?
We’ve written innumerable posts about researching, how to research, why to research, research on research…you get the idea. But one of the nicest ways to do research is when you don’t have to dig for the knowledge, instead the knowledge comes to you. Recently, we heard from two people who knew more about two things we were selling than we did. One told us a knife we identified as original was actually a 1970s reproduction. The other explained that the thing we were calling a pomander was actually a turn of the century tea ball. Both those people were enormously helpful and we updated our listings with no small amount of gratitude.
If you ever have knowledge to share about something we list here in the weekly fresh to market vintage or in any of our posts, don’t hesitate to post a comment. Share what you know so we can all know it.
Antique Gath Brand Cigar Tin c. 1910
I’m not a fan of tobacco but I definitely appreciate good old tobacciana. This antique “Gath” brand cigar store tin dates to the 1910s and features interesting graphics on all four sides and the top. The slogan on both sides reads “THE PEN IS MIGHTIER THAN THE SWORD”. I have no clue what the advocacy for a non-violent approach has to do with cigars but I agree wholeheartedly with the sentiment.
Green Gath Cigar Tin, $95
-Linda, Selective Salvage
Santa Claus Figurine
At one time, this nifty figurine held a music box and no doubt played “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.” Unfortunately, the musical part of him was broken. I gave him a gentle up-cycle by putting some green felt on the bottom. He’s 7 inches tall, so he will still make an impact. Perhaps you can sing the song to him to cheer him up! Ho ho ho!
Santa, $48.99
-Mary Ellen, AuntHattiesAttic
Raku Pottery Sun Box
This vintage artisan raku pottery box is a pretty thing. The sculpting gives the sun’s face a friendly look that is sweet without being twee. How nice this would be on a dresser or vanity to hold hair ties, just the right size.
Raku Pottery Box with Sun, $60.
-Laurie, NextStage Vintage
Carvanite Salt & Pepper Set
These 1940s plastic push-button salt and pepper shakers were part of a collection found at a recent estate sale. The shape and color immediately caught my interest. The black and white buttons on top are set on springs. When pressed the salt and pepper is released from the bottom of the dispenser. They originally came in a matching box and were made in loads of colors. Marked on the base Carvanite, Los Angeles. Being locally made makes them even more intriguing to me as I had never before run across a set.
Burgundy Carvanite Salt & Pepper Set, $13.95
-Pam, Vintage Renude
Sharing what we learned is one of the purposes behind Vintage Unscripted. We’re forever learning while we write posts. We learn from each other in the fresh to market vintage. We learn from shops whose items we feature. There are a lot of awesome vintage sellers out there and we like to think we’re giving them a platform. Admittedly, we don’t have the subscription base of the New York Times, but we have a lot of regular readers, for whom we are thankful.
If you’d like to boost our subscription base by one, feel free to subscribe to our email newsletter. You get one email a week with links to all our posts from the previous week. You’ll never miss out and we’ll be chuffed we have another bean in our jar.
Read more about our thoughts on researching, we take it mighty seriously and we bet you do too.
If you’ve never commented on Vintage Unscripted and want to dip your toes in the water, this post on shampoos we miss has the most comments of any post on the blog. Add your favorite long-lost shampoo to the list. (We really should do a shampoos, vol 2.)
