My Collectorama Treasures - June 2013

Went to Collectorama on Saturday. It's a huge Antiques & Collectables Fair held four times a year, in the Nambour Show-grounds on the Sunshine Coast. Today, being the first official day of winter, meant a cold and dark start for me if I was to get there before the gates opened. You guessed it, I ended up arriving about a half hour after it had started. Still got reasonable parking though and don't think I really missed much.

I spent about three and a half hours looking around, picking up a few treasures and catching up with a few friends here and there. I started with the lower covered area.

My first find was a Salter No. 8 flat iron or sad iron on Ashley's stall. This type of iron aren't rare but they are usually to be found in a rather poor condition. This one (pictured below) was in very good condition and also very reasonably priced. Ashley always has many old irons for sale as he is an avid collector of irons as well as many other metal items. Lately he has been selling of his surplus at bargain prices which has enabled me to add to my own collection of irons which forms an important part of my overall kitchenalia collection.

Next I found this tool pictured below. The stall holder said it was for measuring the thickness of sheet metal and the gauge of wire. Not sure if this is correct as I can find no evidence of it ever having any markings on it that would indicate this. I showed it to another stall holder who thought it was more likely to be a special tool used for bending wire. But bending wire for what purpose remains unknown so it looks as though a lot more research will need to be done by yours truly. 

I found another item to add to my kitchenalia collection. This time it was a nice tin mould, maybe for jelly or something similar. Looks a bit like a beetle doesn't it? I believe it is supposed to be some type of fruit shape.

It was time to check out the two storey main pavilion next. You often find some of the better (and unfortunately dearer) items in there.

At one of the downstairs stalls, run by a nice guy from Maleny named Steve, I came across a convict brick with a large impressed heart mark. He believed it to be a genuine convict brick and after a bit of research, I am inclined to agree with him. Looks like another item that will require more research and a post of its own. I had bought some things from Steve before, namely rabbit traps, so knew that his prices were very reasonable to start with and that he was also open to consider any reasonable offers. I noticed that he had a huge circular saw blade on his stall but unfortunately it was already sold. So glad I talked to him about this because he told me that he had another one at home that I could buy. I gave him my card and he said he will bring it along to the next Collectorama in September for me. Don't know how I'm going to wait till then to get it. Hope he doesn't forget and sell it before hand.

Upstairs in the main pavilion I found the rolling pin shown below. I already had a few rolling pins but none with ends like this one. It's also quite a long one and in very good clean condition. Would be great for making pizza because of its length. Another nice addition to my kitchenalia collection.

I finished the morning by looking around the other covered area (the split level one) to see what else I could find.

The following two items were both from the same stall in the higher section of the split level area. I was lucky to see them as they had only been put out just before I'd come along (at least that's what the stall holder said). The DeWitt's Antacid Powder tin seems to be over half full but as the lid is stuck firm I have no way of checking this.  It looks as though someone has unsucessfully tried to remove the lid. Still a nice tin with good graphics. Probably dates from the 1950s.

The second item from this stall is a very tiny bottle of Alophen Chocolate Coated Pills (a laxative) with it's original box. It still has six pills left in the bottle. It has a very interesting ingredients list on the label that says the pills contain both strychnine and belladonna. I think the need for constipation relief would probably become a minor secondary problem after taking these pills.

On the same level I also found these two galvanised pitchers. The stall holder believes they were most likely used to bail out the dirty water from washing coppers. As he had about six identical ones (and he said he still had more at home) I am inclined to believe that they would have been used to scoop out feed or grain either on a farm or in a produce store. They are very strongly made and in good condition. I will probably plant them up and use them in my garden somewhere.

I also found some old Edison cylinder records (nine all up) on this upper level. Their cases weren't in very good condition but all (except for one) of the cylinders were very good. I've only ever had three before so now I have enough to play with when and if I ever get my own Edison Cylinder Gramophone. Also, the stall holder only wanted $10 for the lot which made them even more attractive.

One of my last purchases of the day, found on the lower level, was a child's Puss in Boots plate by Bristol, England. This goes nicely with a child's bowl with similar decoration that I already have from the same English company.

Last but not least was this yellow New Zealand Number plate form the early 1960s. It has already found a good home mounted securely on my shed along with all of my other number plates. Good colour for a 50 year old plate.

Oh, and of course no visit to Collectorama would be complete without stopping by for a chat and to buy some roasted macadamia nuts from Hamish. His stall turned out to be quite the meeting place on Saturday with George, Fay and Gordon, all from my bottle cub, also turning up for a chat while I was there. 

The next event that I am looking forward to is the Caboolture Swap Meet Show & Shine on Saturday the 22nd of June. Never been to this one before so hope it turns out to be a good one.

Some Treasures from Dayboro Day Antiques & Collectables Fair

Last Sunday, I went down to the Dayboro Day Antiques & Collectables Fair. It's only on once a year and although fairly small, I usually find something nice there to add to my collections. I only did a quick visit this time as I wanted to get back home in time to go to church. I did manage, however, to get there well before the 8.30am start and was actually about the third person through the door. Never been that early to any fair before.

At the fair I found six treasures which I very happily brought home with me. Below are a few teaser photos of what I found. Some of these items will be featured in more detail in future posts.

My first purchase was the most unusual and also my favourite find of the day. I bought it from Kate, the owner of one of my favourite, small, antiques shop, "Tikki Boo", at Clontarf. Kate always has something interesting for me in her shop and her prices are also quite reasonable. This time I bought a sewing box (?) made from some old Laurel Kerosene tins, most likely during the Great Depression. A great piece of Australian history. I plan to do a special article in the near future devoted entirely to this most ingenious item.

Next I found an early card game called "CHOOK CHOOK". Apart from some water stains on the outside of the box, it looks as though it has never been used. This game probably dates from the 1930s. 

The next stall belonged to another two favourite dealers of mine, Ash & David. I very seldom pass their stalls without buying something and this Sunday was no exception. They had a very nice hand forged branding iron in a 'fleur de lis' or crown design. A little dearer than I usually pay for a branding iron but the design was worth the extra. One day I will do a special post on all of my branding irons. I just want to fire them up first and brand a piece of wood to see how they all turn out.

Ash & David also had a nice child's trio in a Noah's Ark design which I just had to have to add to my juvenalia collection. This probably dates from the 1950s / 60s and was made by "SYDNEY BRITISH ANCHOR ENGLAND".

The last things that I bought were from a stall owner who usually always has some interesting things at good prices. I have bought a few things from him over the years including my very first piece of Australian domestic pottery, a Diana trough vase. This time I found six Warning signs (4 aluminium and 2 steel) and an old galvanised bucket. I think the signs have probably come from some high tension power line towers as they warn of the dangers of climbing such towers. I wasn't really after this type of sign but how could I refuse when he only wanted $2 each. I intend to hang one or two of them up and then use the rest to make some signs of my own. There is no way that I could have even bought sheets of aluminium or steel this cheaply.

Not sure where I will use the bucket yet but I know it will look great somewhere in my garden.

Overall a very worthwhile visit. Came home with some nice treasures and caught up with a few friends. Looking forward to next year's fair.

Still More Mulga

I wasn't actually planning to buy more mulga wood items but they just seem to keep popping up out of nowhere. I had decided that if I were to buy anymore, they would have to be in excellent condition and very reasonably priced. You would think that this would limit what I would find, but no it didn't. I have found pieces of mulga in excellent condition at both of the last two collectables events that I have attended. The prices were reasonable so they had to come home with me to be added to my growing collection of mulga wood.

The first items are a pair of small vases. I found these on a stall at the Banyo Swap Meet just over a week ago. It actually turns out that the stall holders had been next door neighbours of ours, probably 25 to 30 years ago. It's a small world, isn't it. This swap meet is only the second such event that I have ever attended and I must confess that I think I could easily get hooked on them. Although they are primarily put on to cater to the car enthusiast (this one was put on by the EJ & EH Holden Car Club), they do have a lot of collectables for sale as well. You seem to be more likely to get a bargain at these swap meets than at a designated "Antiques and Collectables" fair. The next swap meet I plan to attend will be the "Caboolture Swap Meet Show & Shine" on Saturday the 22nd of June at the Caboolture Show Grounds. This is just up the road from me so I should be able to easily make the 7.00am start. Just hope it isn't too cold. The low entry fee to most swap meets is also another added attraction. Most seem to only cost $3 to get in.

The pair of vases are labelled "AUSTRALIAN MULGA SOUTHERN SERIES". I hadn't encountered this brand before so I was happy to add this new brand to my collection.

The pair of "SOUTHERN SERIES" vases (just over 15cm high)
Photographed using flash.

Other side of the vases
Using flash again to bring out the rich reds of the mulga wood.

Underside of each vase showing the "AUSTRALIAN MULGA SOUTHERN SERIES" brand stickers

Same two vases using natural light only.
Notice the differences in the turning of each vase especially around the top rims.
No two pieces of mulga wood are ever the same.

Other side of the vases photographed in natural light.

Much browner in colour.

The next item of mulga wood was found last weekend at the Caloundra Antique & Collectables Show. When I first saw it I didn't even know what it was. I asked the dealer and he thought it may have been for holding rings on a ladies dressing table. It didn't look feminine enough to me for this purpose. I now believe it may be a desk tidy for something like pins or paperclips. Maybe someone can help me here to identify its actual purpose. This piece was obviously originally bought as a souvenir as it has "From Ulladulla" in gold lettering on it. Coincidentally, this piece is also labelled "AUSTRALIAN MULGA SOUTHERN SERIES". 

Small souvenir pin? dish with raised centre.
7 - 8cm in diameter

Souvenir  pin dish "From Ulladulla"

Underside of pin dish showing the "AUSTRALIAN MULGA SOUTHERN SERIES" brand sticker

When I concluded my last post on mulga wood I asked the question of "Will I buy any more mulga wood?". Well the answer has clearly proven to be yes but I am now definitely only looking for those special pieces in great condition.

My Rusty Ploughs as Garden Decor

Yesterday I was lucky enough to get two rusty ploughs (well one is actually a disc harrow) for my new back garden. I had seen them on Gumtree a little over a week ago and went to check them out last Sunday afternoon. Fortunately they were only about ten minutes drive away. Nice when something you want to buy is that close. As I walked up the driveway I spotted the plough in the garden (fell in love with it straight away) but couldn't see the harrow anywhere. I met the owner, Lynette, who took me over to where I had seen the plough and proceeded to point out the harrow hidden amongst some plants in the same garden. After a little trailblazing through the garden, a rather large and somewhat rusty piece of farm machinery began to be revealed. I wasn't sure we would be able to get it out of the garden, let alone even lift it. But then Lynette said the magic words, "We've just dropped the price down to $20 but if you buy the plough my husband, Scott, said you can have the disc harrow for free". I now knew I definitely wanted both ploughs.

Now I needed to work out how on earth I was going to get these things home. So who do you call when you need something big moved? Why, your little brother, David, of course. After all he does have a trailer. I felt a bit like Mike from American Pickers as he often calls his brother when he needs something big picked up. Anyway, David kindly said he would love to help his big brother. So along with David, myself and my son, Rob, we were all set to go.

To cut a long story short, we met up at Lynette and Scott's place and set to work loading the trailer. We had to dismantle the disc harrow into four pieces (a bit of angle grinding here and hammer and cold chisel there) as there was absolutely no way we were going to move it in one piece. Even then some pieces were extremely heavy. Half an hour later and my ploughs were on the way to their new home. Another hour later and they were in place in my new backyard garden (not completely bolted back together though). All the heavy moving finished by lunch time.

A few hours work in the afternoon saw the disc harrow all bolted back together and looking even better than it did before we moved it. Thankfully, I had saved all of Dad's tins of old rusty bolts and managed to find just what I needed in these tins. Very happy with the way it all turned out and very thankful to  Lynette and Scott for their generosity and to David and Rob for their brawn. Couldn't have done it with out you guys.

Below are some photos of my new toys. I just love them.

My ploughs

The Horse Drawn Disc Harrow (C1900?)  Nice rusty patina. Both steering levers move but only one still really works 

Poor old tractor seat is rusted completely through but now stays firmly in place thanks to a little rusty wire

Ten lethal chopping discs on the harrow, five each side

The Single Furrow Horse Drawn Plough (Circa late 1800s?) 

Love the flowing lines of this type of plough. Very sculptural.

Cool cast iron handles with nice rusty patina. Not sure what the numbers mean, maybe a design number?

More numbers on the plough - P 1852 (Maybe a patent date?)

Sweet lines

The Disc Harrow and Plough again

Photo showing full extent of my new backyard garden. Still a lot more plants to put in. Can't wait for them all to grow

Hmm! I now have two pieces of nice rusty farm machinery. Does this constitute the beginning of another collection??? Looks like there is still room for some more.

More Australian Mulga Wood

A few more pieces of Australian Mulga Wood have been added to my collection recently. One from the last Collectorama of 2012 and two from the first Aladdins Fair for 2013. These three pieces are all desk accessories. This seems to be one of the most popular uses of mulga wood.

In my last post about mulga wood, I made mention of a South Australian company using the politically incorrect brand name of "ABO BRAND" back in the 1930s. This first ink stand is actually from this very company. I bought this one from Collectorama.

"ABO BRAND" inks stand. The finish is a little dull and could do with a good polish.

This ink stand has it's original liner in the inkwell. These are often missing.

Nice "MULGA WOOD ABO BRAND" transfer on the underside.

The next inkstand looks as though it has never been used. Probably given as a gift and put away in a cupboard many years ago. It has two inkwells and some pen rests. I found this one, along with a mulga wood blotter, on a stall at Alladins about a month ago. I wasn't planning to buy anymore mulga wood items but the beautiful condition of this inkstand and blotter proved too tempting.

Mulga wood double ink stand and blotter.

Mulga wood double ink stand by "THE MANNA DESERT TREE"

Each ink well should have a liner to hold the ink. Unfortunately one liner is missing from this ink stand.

"THE MANNA DESERT TREE" transfer brand mark on the underside of the double inkstand.

Mulga wood blotter by "RYANS Australian Mulga"

"RYANS Australian Mulga" brand transfer on the underside of the blotter

The Australian War Memorial has a pair of RYAN Australian Mulga wood bookends in their collection. They can be seen here.

Will I buy any more mulga wood? Probably yes, if I come across something different and in great condition. We'll just have to wait and see.

Hanging Food Safe (Part 2)

Remember how I wasn't happy with the look of our solar inverter on the side of my shed and how I made a hanging food safe to cover it. And then I wasn't happy with how transparent the fly screen was. It just didn't disguise the inverter enough. Well, over Easter, I actually got around to replacing the mesh in the sides and door and am very pleased with the result.

This is what it looked like at first with just the fly screen.


Doesn't hide the solar inverter much at all.

And this is how it looks now. So much better! You can see just enough of the inverter through the mesh to know what is inside without it staring you right in the face.

I managed to source some perforated steel mesh from a company called "Goods and Chattels". They have been around for many years but no longer work from a shop. The business is now conducted mainly as an online store but you can pick your order up from the owner's home if you wish. Have a look at their website. They have a comprehensive range of products aimed at the furniture restorer.
The mesh wasn't dirt cheap but not too expensive either. And I had it cut exactly to the sizes that I needed for no extra charge. Very happy with the service and product.

I think the inverter cover project has turned out rather well and even looks so much better with the new mesh in place. Let me know what you think.

Food Safe Style Solar Inverter Cover

I haven't been happy with the look of the solar inverter on the wall of my shed ever since we had solar electricity installed about a year ago. It didn't fit in with the look that I was trying to achieve. And to make things worse, it's right next to my office door so it was right in my face every day. Something had to be done about it.

I am trying to decorate the side of my shed (where the inverter is) with grocery store and domestic collectables. The inverter is non of these. It needed a cover so a hanging food safe seemed an appropriate solution. My reasoning for this choice was that a food safe of some sort would often be seen hanging on a verandah just outside the kitchen door of an old house, keeping food fresh and cool. I even imagine that they would have been seen outside some early grocery stores. The mesh sides would also allow for ample ventilation around the inverter. The photos below show the result.

The side verandah of my shed showing some of my grocery store advertising signs
 (and our inappropriate looking solar inverter)

The food safe cover in place on the side verandah of my shed.

I built the food safe out of some Western red cedar that I have had lying around for years.
 The top and bottom are cut out of an old piece of  plywood.
This resulted in a very light construction which was simply screwed to the wall.

The mesh sides are old aluminium fly screen cut out of one of our old window screens.
 I was hoping for something darker to disguise the inverter but couldn't find anything suitable.
 Maybe I will someday replace the fly screen with something like perforated zinc sheet similar to that found on many old original food safes.

This teal green colour is one of my favourite colours. Bright colours such as this are often found on old food safes.
 I used a navy blue (looks a bit purplish here) as the  interior colour and overall base coat.
 This was then finished with a top coat of spearmint, sanded back a little to allow some of the navy and natural wood to show through to give the food safe a lightly distressed and aged appearance.

The simple swivel toggle catch works well and is in keeping with the style of original food safes.
 The spearmint, navy blue and natural wood can be seen clearly here.
 

Overall, I am very pleased with the way the food safe came up. It certainly softens the look of the inverter and adds a splash of bright colour to what is, after all, a rather drab colour wall.