Friday, June 29, 2012

Elkhorn Antiques Market 06/24/2012


Last weekend I hit the Elkhorn Antiques Market with some folks, and despite bowing out early (so. hot. and. sunny), I found some awesome oddities and wonders to share. Elkhorn is an incredible market. There's a really diverse group of sellers/wares and an amazing number of them. I've always gotten there when the gate opens at 7 a.m. and have NEVER managed to see everything before closing.

 Can’t afford the boat to go with her. I likely can’t even afford her. Still nifty.

  Awesome medical exam/tattoo parlour chair.

 Gorgeous bronze sign, but quite pricy at $350

 
It Ain't Me Babe was a one-shot underground comic published in 1970; it was the first-known comic produced entirely by women. I would have loved to have snagged this, but at $40, my budget couldn't justify it.

 Horrifyingly racist naked “native” chalkware doll from the 1920s

 Quack medicine violet ray set from 1928 in very good condition and complete. It even comes with the original catalog of optional attachments.

 A couple of more quackeries:  Arsenic Complexion Wafers and Gonosan.

 I didn’t realize that they had formally organized. Good for you, ladies!

 Even more quackery! An original oil lamp for the use of Vapo-Cresoline with original packaging.

 (Warning: Obligatory Big Lebowski reference ahead)  

The rug really tied the lawn together

 This is one of those toys that I have very vague memories of from my childhood (Since it's from 1966, maybe an older sibling of a friend had this?). Glad to know that my imagination/nightmares did not create this and the product actually existed. It’s like Sid and Marty Krofft decided to tap into the popularity of the E Z Bake Oven.

 Silver Eucharist set

 I imagine that this is what a GM would wake up to if one decided to open up a D & D group to La Cosa Nostra.

 ---OR--- 

I see that St. George was here...

 Most. Depressing. Stuffy. EVAH.

 An absolutely incredible hand carved rosewood mantelpiece. I wish I could have gotten a better shot of it.

 Evidence that children were not always bubble wrapped and helmeted for their protection: This kiddie “roller coaster”. Essentially, the child would climb on board the wagon car at the top of the “hill” then launch themselves down the rails and onward (hopefully not into traffic). Whee! Definitely from the Erwin Mainway School of child development.

 Nothing sets the mood better than the soft glow from a desiccated puffer fish with a lightbulb inside (What SORT of mood, I’m afraid to ask…)

 Just what every child needs…a robot bartender with rolling eyes! (Note: Box definitely states that this IS intended as a toy. Clearly another Mainway product.) Want to see him in action? There's a video on YouTube.

 Box of vintage blowtorches

 Box of vintage medical tools (I’m noticing a trend)

 I’m just including this because I want it ever so much. This would make such a gorgeous work table/desk. It even has a glass top to protect the wood. Only $275 too. *sigh*

 For when you don’t want to drag that big and clunky Professor McClarity’s Miracle Pneumatic Suction Hygienic Device out to clean the carpets… a not-quite-steampunk-but-still-cool antique sweeper.

 Now I just need the house for this chandelier.

What’s a trip to the antiques market without at least one disturbing clown figure? This one looks melty and he's transparent, so you can see the souls he's consumed.

Not antique. Not even really vintage. (Kinda icky, actually). Give it a few years and perhaps you can say something along the lines of “In the 1990s, Midwestern couples were emboldened by viewings of HBO's Real Sex and thus purchased salacious and absurd marital novelties” and hipsters of the 2030s will find it kitschy.

 Secure those bungs! (Unrelated to the previous photo, incidentally).

 As long as we're already in the gutter...adhesive joke beer can label, circa 1970s.

 One more bit of smuttery, “Tijuana bibles

 Circa 1920s phrenology book

 Very early 20th century dental chart produced by Lavoris (per the company's website, they claim that they originally coined the term "halitosis")

7 comments:

  1. Excellent selection of absurd stuff we all once needed, and so bad too!!

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  2. It's amazing what things you can find at markets!

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  3. Great finds, I love having a good old root around car boot sales, flea markets & the like.

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  4. That 'Violet Ray' equipment took me by surprise. I learned about the violet ray whilst studying Western-influenced Reiki. Interesting...I'm realising how deep the roots of what I thought was popular modern new age thought actually go.

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  5. I think it's neat that you're taking photos rather than bringing all of this home! I'm sure you got a few things though.

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  6. That figurehead is gorgeous if a little creepy in that she's tied up. I'm thinking maybe she represents Andromeda? Whoever she is, I'd love to have it for my bathroom, which is going to have a shipwreck theme.

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  7. Fun! I love going along to markets -- glad I found you on the Etsy HA team's blog thread!

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