Columbus Antique Mall 08/26/2012

On Sunday I trekked up to Columbus, Wisconsin for an expedition to the Columbus Antique Mall with the Milwaukee Steampunk Society (and various folks from other  steam-ish contingents). Great place, huge and kind of overwhelming. It’s the largest antiques mall in Wisconsin.

I needed to bow out early because my allergies were driving me crazy (Dust and mold are my Kyrptonite) and I was exhausted (late night and up at 6 a.m. to make the drive), but I probably would have lasted much longer with the help of Claritin and sleep. I only have a few shots from this trip due to my early departure. I only managed to make it through 4 1/2 rooms on one floor, so there was SO much more that I missed. I really wish that I could have soldiered on, since I didn't even check out the 1893 Columbian Exhibition items in the museum.

Bring on the weird highlights!

 Awesome mechanical pachinko machine that was marked down to $50. It was obviously in need of a great deal of repair, but it would have made a great project for those so inclined.

 That’s a bit more…er…graphic…than usual.

 Sometimes, I see things that need to come live in my cube at the office…if only for the purpose of confusing my coworkers. This Elvis shrine is a prime example.

 Little Emily was a danger to herself and others, so precautions has to be made.

 This is downright creepy and would make for an excellent art component. Not at $55, though.

Now that I’m firmly skidding into middle age, I suppose that my days of carrying a lunchbox as a handbag are behind me, eh? Pity.

While NIU will not publicly admit to the existence of these creatures, each year several freshmen are devoured by the Maize Minions when they’ve wandered into the fields surrounding DeKalb during the blood harvest….

Ginger is uncomfortable with the political incorrectness of the vintage action figure.

Nifty quarantine sign. I wonder if this would stop people from standing on my patio to yell conversations up to my neighbors on their balcony?

I really should have picked this up.  It’s a promo shot of the Addams Family cast in a Halloween setting. Framed for $9.75

 This actually DID come home with us. My partner is a bit of a Sid and Marty Krofft fan...

 Last…and definitely the oddest...item of the day:  A cast iron advertising bank for a laxative product, depicting a large “mammy” character on a toilet. Seriously. I have no words.

Holy Hill Flea Market 7/22/2012

 On the 22nd, my lovely sidekick and I headed up to the Holy Hill Antique and Flea Market . While technically put on by St. Mary of the Hill Parish, it is in the shadow of the basillica, in a stand of pine trees, so it's also a really lovely setting.

A lovingly restored original Whiz Ball penny skill game.

With my penchant for vintage medical oddness, I was a bit tempted by this diptheria vaccine.

A map of steamship routes of the 1930s and a steamship horn.

Various patent medicines

 May I have a geekgirl squee moment? I love the fact that my partner tried playing the opening to Coin-Operated Boy on this. Pure love.

 Lovely apothecary chest...but just read the labels on the handles...

I was very tempted by this pachinko machine. 

I'm afraid that I didn't fully capture the full glory of this hoofy wonder. (and yes...that's a three horned Viking helmet behind him)

Maxwell Street Days 7/15/12

 It's been a few weeks since I last posted about a market outing, so I'm catching up. On the 15th of last month, I headed up to Cedarburg to Maxwell Street Days, which is put on by the Cedarburg Fire Department 4 times a year. Nice setting and a good variety of vendors from the antique and secondhand junk merchants to the more flea market-y bins of socks and gadgets folks. There's also a few beer booths onsite...did I mention that? If I didn't, you'll not forget it anyway, since the loudspeaker announces their presence repeatedly. Very repeatedly. It's 10 a.m., do you know where you can get a pint?

On to the market!

Collect and discard to assemble the best xenophobic rant! The "Bronx Cheer" cards are wild and can be used to add any epithet to your hand! Fun for the whole family!

Vintage Baume Bengue mentholated rub (pre-cursor of Ben-Gay) and a bottle of Atropine Sulphate

When mashed peas were sweet-sweet respite from the other horrors of dinnertime.

Bourbonzilla! (Hard to tell scale in the photo, but this thing was almost 3 feet tall)

In the days before every cover promised "50 Awkward Ways of Pleasing Your Man (For The Desperate and Lonely Girl With Poor Self Image)"

What a perfectly gloomy stroller for your little monster.

Electric Bitters

More pre-1930s patent medicines

Wow. That's somewhat ominous and unsettling. If you're curious as to what exactly is going on in the scene depicted on the cover (Fraternity hazing? Satanic ritual? Amway sales recruitment?), the book is available in electronic format for free.

Kind of epically want this for work-in-progress storage

More awesome patent medicine. GOMOZO!

A model plaster crypt from a mortuary showroom

 

Relax...just a sign for sale at one of the booths. Keep on swilling that plastic tumbler of Milwaukee's nectar and standing in the hot sun. It'll just add to the flea market experience.

...but don't drink this. It looks a bit past prime (though it was reportedly a big hit with the Empress of Germany circa 1902)

An early motorized exercycle (with a vibrating belt slimmer in the backdrop)

Speaking of weight loss myths, I remember the New Era potato chip brand from growing up in Detroit. I believe they were still trying to push the "healthy snack" angle up into the 1970s.

She's not sleeping.

Is that a euphemism?

I really should have bought this (Not a reprint, see the embossing at the bottom)

Another item that I would love to have in my studio (you know...if I had a real studio). It's a good height and size for a worktable.

I know that these are supposed to be country primitive lawn ornaments, but I see something far less sweetly kitschy when I look at these two. I see a lonely-lonely soul who has painted faces on his tools...his only friends. Sometimes...very late at night sometimes...they even talk to him. Mr. Digs and Shovely are bored. They want to dig holes. Deep holes. Holes to put things in. Pretty stranded travelers on lonely country roads are things...

Nope. These are not lawn ornaments. They are sentries, just waiting for a task. (Wisconsin: Beer, Cheese, and Ed Gein.)

 An early incarnation of Mr. Microphone.

I swear this is the way that I found these two pieces displayed. The following week, I saw the same vendor at a different market and...yep...sleepy doll head in a mossy boot.

Alas, I lack a turntable.

Racist? Check! Sexist? Check! Ageist? But of course! Bonus points for the first depiction being of a "15 year" old. Classy!

And last...but certainly not least...I present Walter White Decaying Zombie Rooster! (which I think is a much better interpretation of this statuary than the reality)

In case you were wondering what actually DID come home with me from the market, here are a bunch of the little bits and bobs (art supplies).