Well, we had SNOW on Halloween. There were big ol' flakes and at one point while driving home from dinner with friends, I could barely see to drive. It did stick to the ground, which was not what I was hoping for. So, when I went to bed that night I told myself that if it was still on the ground in the morning, that I wouldn't be attending the outdoor auction that was scheduled to start at 9am.
Well, I woke up around 7 and the snow was gone for the most part, but it was a blustery 31F outside. Brr. So I put on 3 pairs of socks before shoving them in my boots and 4 layers of clothes underneath my winter jacket. I also had a pair of knit gloves UNDER my think suede gloves. I also had a scarf and a hat that I wore under the hood of my jacket. Plus I was armed with a giant cup of coffee from Starbucks. I. was. prepared.
So, I got to the auction about 30 minutes before it started, which allowed me enough time to look through everything. There were 2 GIANT circus style tents absolutely jammed full. Plus tons of stuff on wagons, stuff piled in rows, and a tool shed with a tent outside of it. There were several outbuildings that had to be emptied.
View from my truck.
Loved these old farm wagons. They would look beautiful with flowers planted in them.
Wagons full of box lots and "junk."
One of the many outbuildings that was emptied.
Another wagon full of stuff parked alongside the tool shed and mini circus tent.
Some primitives outside one of the big tops.
A peek inside one of the "good" tents.
One of the many rows of junk.
Inside the other big top. I left the auction after having been there for 8 hours. They had just started this tent when I left. It was mostly new-in-box decorator stuff. There were a few antiques, but nothing worth waiting for.
A pile of galvanized watering cans. I somehow missed out on buying any.
The coolest primitive at the auction - a corn sheller. It went for a pretty penny.
After wandering around and taking the above pictures the auctioneer announced that they would be selling the box lots and "junk" first for an hour. They deemed the stuff under the tents the good stuff. I stayed for one little thing that was outside of the tents. I had to wait 30 minutes before they got to it. I won that item, brought it to my truck, turned on the heat, and watched from there as they sold the box lots and junk for another half an hour. The wind was blowing really hard. I'm not sure what the windchill was, but I guarantee it was colder than the 31F.
This is the little thing I waited for in the cold for an hour for. Thankfully I got to warm up for awhile after this. It needs a little cleaning up - yes, I believe that's mold on the keys - but it works wonderfully!
Once they got through the first hour of selling junk, there was still a lot of outdoor junk left, including all of the tools, the tool shed and tent, and all of the junk on the wagons. They were running 2 rings too! One ring continued on to the tools at 10, while the other went to the good tent. I was relieved because I wanted to stay out of the wind! I stayed under that tent the rest of the auction.
So, let me get on to my finds! I apologize in advance that these pictures kind of suck. I quickly unpacked everything on Sunday and put it away in my junk storage room.
As you could see from the pictures above, there were a lot of crocks and stoneware pieces at the auction. I sell quite a bit of this type of stuff, especially the smaller crocks and bowls. So I was very happy to pick up these pieces.
I have never seen this entire set of Libbey carousel glasses at once. They're in EXCELLENT condition. The prices on the big auction site are all over the place. Can some of you out there in blogland give me a good idea for a price to sell these at?
You know I can't pass up Pyrex and other vintage kitchen items. I decided to keep the green Hoosier cabinet spice shakers, since I believe they're reproductions. Either way, they look great on my Hoosier cabinet. In the back - I know you can't really tell - but I found my first Canadian canning jars! There is a Crown and 2 Queens. The other is a 1908 Ball jar.
More stoneware pieces for the booth. Plus these sweet vintage deer prancing over a pile of floral frogs.
Ah yes, what I believe to be my deal of the day - this huge collection of floral frogs! I was very happy to win this lot of THIRTY FIVE (35).
Now, these are a different story. Before I left, I was digging through some of the remaining box lots that didn't sell. This is an accepted, common practice at auctions here in Indiana, because the auctioneers have to load them up and either donate them or throw them away. I found a box that had some vintage children's costumes in it. I didn't bother digging further, I just loaded it in my truck. When I got home, I found these gems. I also unearthed about 20 children's costumes from the mid 1960s to late 1970s. None were in great shape, except this Cyclon costume in the box. I bagged up the remaining costumes. I'll probably throw them on ebay as a lot. Unless someone here in blogland is interested in them.
I'm not sure why, but none of the vintage luggage that was in the junk piles sold. I decided to open all of them up to see why. They were all full of what seemed like unwanted stuff. One - being tons of cheap dollar store type dolls. Until I got to these.
2 Midge dolls and a Skipper. Skipper is in her original outfit too. I left a lot of accessories and clothes behind. I kind of wish I grabbed them now, seeing what they're going for on ebay.
Besides the floral frogs, these 4 Coca Cola crates were the absolute deal of the day. I couldn't pass up this cute little stool too.
Another ceramic Christmas tree. These fly out of my booth at Christmas.
I've never seen one of this style before. I need to replace a few bulbs, but this will head to the booth soon!
Hope you enjoyed viewing the bitterly cold auction without having the leave the comfort blogland.
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