Sheer Trash Roadshow: Kid Stuff and Kitsch Stuff

Yesterday my husband and I celebrated our anniversary. Normally we don't do much about these occasions--well, maybe buy a box of See's chocolates--but since it was one of the "milestone" type we gave ourselves a treat and went out to breakfast and then to an estate sale. 

And what a sale it was! It was one of those rare occasions when my husband was as thoroughly jazzed as I was, both of us finding lots of the kinds of stuff we prize. This house and shop were packed with vintage items to the point where you simply could not see it all. We each made several dives, coming up with armloads of fabulous junk and staggering out to pay for it, before going back in for more. We may even go back--we were there for the first day, and on the last day of the sale, the prices will be even cheaper. No telling what else will have been unearthed from those piles of temptation by then. I can't tell you what a lot of these things cost, mainly because most of them weren't priced and the proprietor just named a price for the whole pile when you placed it on her table. It was cheap, though.

(You cannot believe the closets of vintage clothing the lady of the house had stowed away. But more about that next time!)

Right now I want to share the sheerest of the sheer trash, meaning the plastic kitsch cheap-o stuff, and the (okay, not sheer!) wonderful children's books and small toys. I'll start with the books.

Either the husband or the wife of this household had been a prolific artist--not a bad one, either. I couldn't afford any of the paintings, but he/she did have a massive assortment of illustrated books of all types. I assume these were reference material for painting. Here are the three I joyously pounced upon:

These large, colorful books date from 1956 - 1964. The first, Come Play with Me by Mabel Watts is in only fair condition, but I have a couple of other books around here somewhere by this particular pet photographer and so I was particularly interested in this book, which I'd not seen before. Here's a peek inside:

These studio photographs have a sort of static, otherworldly character to them that I find strangely nostalgic. If I can dig out my other Mabel Watts books, I'll show you some more some time.

The next book is a treasure--I don't know if I want to part with it. It's The Cat Book by Katherine N. Daly.  Just one look at the inside cover and you'll see why I'm so taken with this book. Look at these wonderful illustrations!
 

I recognized this artist's work because I have encountered her work before in a vintage Woman's Day magazine I saved just for these delightful drawings. Now that I have the book from which they were excerpted, I will probably sell the magazine. 

The third book has an unusual binding which was, it states, designed with children in mind to withstand rough treatment. It certainly has done that; the book is in very good/fine condition. I love the bright, glossy cover art of Walt Disney's Perri. This was apparently a motion picture (I don't remember ever hearing of it) based on a story by Felix Salten, and the book is illustrated by Dick Kelsey. Nevertheless, the frontispiece has this cute illustration, and if it's not a Richard Scarry work, I'll eat a hat. (I have several.)

The book then opens to a sort of map-like panorama:

I love it when books have illustrated maps to help me visualize the setting, don't you? The other pictures are pleasing as well.

Okay, that's the book situation. Now for the truly tacky. We'll start with...

I don't think anyone else at the sale even noticed this little slip of paper--they were hunting for bigger game. I, on the other hand, recognized a strip of very vintage iron-on transfers. This is Thumper, from the animated movie icon Bambi. Now the movie came out in 1942; I don't know that these are quite that old, but they're old enough! The kind of paper ephemera that doesn't usually last long enough for collecting. Cool, huh?

Another Disney goodie is this Pluto puppet:

It is stamped "Made in Hong Kong" but has no date of manufacture.  Sixties?

Then I scooped up a handful of Garfield items--pencil toppers, mostly:

I will have to do some double-checking for dates before I can list these as "vintage", but if they meet the criteria (Etsy requires vintage items to be 20 years old) all these items--plus Pluto and Thumper--will be up for sale shortly in MyPalPeppy.etsy.com. where I hope they'll raise much-needed funds for small dog breed veterinary care for Displaced Pets Rescue. Displaced Pets just made a mass rescue of puppy mill cage-bound chihuahuas and money is needed. You can read about it here:

htmlhttp://displacedpetsrescue.com/2013ChiRescue.html

http://displacedpetsrescue.com/2013ChiRescue/700_1115.jpg

Okay, back to the junk. I promise to wind this up soon!

My next toy item is a collectible Chatty Cathy doll coat. I paid 50 cents for it. It's easily worth $10 - $15 or more.

The hole in the back of the coat, for those of you too young to remember Chatty Cathy, was for the doll's pull cord to make speak.

I remember having a Chatty Cathy, though I don't recall how I came by it. Mine was blonde, and I cut her hair to resemble Hayley Mills in The Parent Trap.  I was pleased with myself for my cleverness at the time.

Now the last bit of stuff I have to share from yesterday's foray is vintage Christmas kitsch. I carefully untangled these plastic ornaments from a messy boxful of dreary bits and pieces. I got more than I bargained for.

As my husband was trying to find a space to stow these delightfully dubious treasures, he remarked, "Hmmm, there's something tangled up inside this bell." He tugged at it briefly, and out came....

...this Asian coin. Is it from Vietnam? Korea? My husband thinks it looks like Chaing Kai Shek, and now that I've googled a photo of the general, I'm inclined to think he's correct:

http://alphahistory.com/chineserevolution/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/chiangkaishek1.jpg

Neat, huh? You never know what you'll come across at an estate sale. 

Okay, enough for now, but I'll be posting more.....