Part 1: The Sheer Trash Road Show, July 5 Edition

Yes, it's that day of days...The Sheer Trash Road Show rides again! It's the day after Independence Day, so not too many folks had the energy to hold garage/yard sales, but I managed to find a few and acquired my usual stash of vintage ghastlies. I have so many little bits and bobs to show you in this haul that I'm going to divide the finds into two posts. Tomorrow I'll show you the vintage Christmas items and today, everything else.

First of all, let's put Vanessa out of her misery and talk about the Kewpie. 

Vanessa (number #1 blog fan) has an impressive Kewpie doll and figurine collection and she is probably Kewpie artist Rose O'Neill's most avid admirer. (By the way, did I mention Vanessa has her own Etsy shop? Check it out! www.etsy.com/shop/Vintagetoyfun ) I'm hoping she can tell me a little about this doll. 

 

It's an older squeak toy, about 10 inches tall, and the only markings I find say "Made in Japan" and the numeral 2 on the back of her head. Not in perfect condition--the young man who sold her to me said it was pretty dirty before he cleaned it off to sell, so there's some mild discoloration of the vinyl in places, and her eyebrow paint is worn off. I think the doll belonged to his mother or grandmother. I paid $2.00 for Kewpie. 

Next I want to show you my personal favorite: a nifty little flocked German Shepherd dog. Or maybe it's a wolf? Or a Belgian Shepherd?

 I love this little guy! His tail has some damage--looks like some kid bit it at some point, or at least bent and mashed it. But he's so strikingly lifelike, I couldn't resist him. I paid the unmarked asking price of 25 cents (one of these days I'll get wise and ask in a bored voice, "10 cents for this?") and even though it was overpriced considering the grungy nature of the sale, I willingly forked out my quarter. There is no way this fellow will be going in my Etsy shop, at least not for a long time. He'll go upstairs in my private sitting room domain where he'll join my other miniature canines. I must think of a good name for him. Yes, I play with them when no one is looking. And even when they are!

What's next? Ah, yes. Here are some old (I think!) Peanuts Snoopy figures.Or maybe I've been snookered and they're merely recent McDonald's Happy Meals toys. They are made of sturdy plastic, not bendable. Each figure has markings reading"China" and "1958, 1966 United Features Syndicate, Inc." The cowboy in the bright yellow and orange hat (in back) obviously held something in his hands originally. He's also not solid plastic like the others, but has a hold in the bottom and is hollow inside. Anyone have any ideas about these? I paid $1.00 for the baggy containing these.

The next pair of animals are bendies--a cute but somewhat worn cat and dog pair. They're marked "Made in China" but they do seem to be vintage (before 1994). The young woman who was selling these (as well as most of the other things I'm showing today) said these toys used to be her own, and she was in her early- to mid-twenties, I'd say. I'm trying to remember what I paid for these. A quarter for the pair, maybe.

This same woman had two strings of wonderful wooden beads priced at 25 cents apiece and I bought both of them. I was especially taken with these because of the animal beads included among the geometric shapes. I've pulled out examples of each animal type here for you to examine:

The last thing I bought from this lady was a group of odd plastic dolls I'd never seen before. The markings proclaim them to be "Betty Spaghetty" dolls. The pieces can be taken apart and rearranged. When I asked the woman if they were her childhood dolls, she said, "Yes, and they're getting hard to find now." I don't know yet if they're considered old enough to be sold on Etsy, but they are offbeat enough that I wouldn't mind keeping them on hand for the granddaughters to play with if I can't sell them immediately. I paid $1.00 for the three. Does anyone know when they were manufactured? Each measures about 7 inches tall.

That's about it for this time. I am participating in some BNR/BNS sales now on Etsy and it'd be terrific if you wanted to click the links to see what's on offer with the various shops represented. Here's one:

www.etsy.com/treasury/MjQ4NTY2NjB8MjcyMjEyNzk2NQ/paused-you-may-still-shop-freedom-rings

and here's the other:

www.etsy.com/treasury/MjQyODY1NDN8MjcyMjEzMzE1MQ/open-the-late-night-queens-of-bns-total

You don't have to buy (unless you want to, of course!) but every click helps.

Until the next time... It'll be "Christmas in July" fare next time around.