The Scary Estate Sale

Today's treasure hunt led me to a home that used to be an antique store that is legendary around these parts. I can remember going into this house when it was a store and the place was packed from floor to roof with items for sale. The owners also lived in this house and God only knows how they managed to move around in it with all the "junk" in it. The interesting thing is that the merchandise wasn't junk it was just so disorganized that it looked like a junkyard inside.

They always had items of value, they just couldn't find at times if you asked for something in particular. Well last night while checking the online classifieds I noticed that they were having an Estate sale there this weekend and I just had to go see what was left inside of this place. I knew that the member of the family that last ran the place had died accidentally a few years ago and the place had been boarded up since then. It looked like a building that was about to be condemned.

Ok enough background dramatization on this place and let's get on with the Estate sale story. My wife came along to see for herself what I was facing. We walked in and much to our relief the place was actually cleaned out enough that walking around wasn't going to be like running an obstacle course. The main concern was to not fall thru the floor as there were several soft spots in the wood and lots of plywood patches. We managed to navigate safely and although it was dark managed to find lots to dig through. Dig is a good way to put it. Remember in an earlier post I mentioned you had to be willing to get dirty to find good items sometimes? Well this was one of those situations. Everything was covered with dust and droppings from insects, rodents and who knows what but underneath were several nice items for purchase. I managed to find some great old photos of local interest that were inscribed and autographed to George Palmer Putnam who was at one time married to Amelia Earhart. I will have to research and find out who the men in the photos were to see if they have any monetary value. I also managed to find another early Dansk teak wood Salt and peppermill designed by Jens Quistgaard. To think I've managed to find 2 of these rare items in the past week is a big surprise. The one found today has some wear to it but I managed to clean it up and got it looking spiffy. It does have a slight crack in the wood so I'm not sure if I'll be selling it or using it myself. I probably will sell it since it still should fetch a decent price and I didn't pay much for it. Also found were some nice Williamsburg Reproduction trivetts that look great and will be easy to sell at one of my booths. My wife found a Fitz & Floyd swan shaped soup tureeen with a ton of dust and dirt on it but it also cleaned up nicely. She also found a dandy of a splite oak basket with brass fittings that will be kept for home. We found some other easily saleable items for the booths.

So while it wasn't quite as bad as hunting thru a haunted house it was definitely an experience that will be remembered for some time. I will go back probably on the 3rd day and see if I can get some big bargains buying by the boxload. There looks to be a ton of sales advertised this weekend so I'm hoping to find some more treasure for resale. When you live in Florida you can yard sale all year round as long as the rain doesn't stop you. Good luck with your treasure hunting.