Old Shit

Snowman999

Snowman999

Active member
I've always been fascinated with stereoscope cards. But, they're expensive. A few years back I found a view with some cards for $20, and now I'm hooked.

These are a few recent purchases. I buy in bulk. It's too expensive to buy a single card.

Tired of Play - copyright 1900.
123 years later and new folks are looking at them.
1700336688901.pngLove, Courtship, and Marriage - copyright 1901
My lousy photography might make it hard to see. Look in the mirrors.
That's pretty ingenious in 1901
1700336775572.png
This is the coolest.
Winter Sports Wonderland, Niagara Falls - copyright 1888
There ain't no way in hell anyone is walking on frozen Niagara now.
1700336894628.png
 
Snowman999 said:
I've always been fascinated with stereoscope cards. But, they're expensive. A few years back I found a view with some cards for $20, and now I'm hooked.

These are a few recent purchases. I buy in bulk. It's too expensive to buy a single card.

Tired of Play - copyright 1900.
123 years later and new folks are looking at them.
View attachment 134561Love, Courtship, and Marriage - copyright 1901
My lousy photography might make it hard to see. Look in the mirrors.
That's pretty ingenious in 1901
View attachment 134564
This is the coolest.
Winter Sports Wonderland, Niagara Falls - copyright 1888
There ain't no way in hell anyone is walking on frozen Niagara now.
View attachment 134567
Click to expand...
Yeah, those are really cool... sad how no-one really cares for simple entertainment like that anymore! "Love, courtship, and marriage" is really nice :)
 
That reminds me of all the Viewmaster reels. We had a box of them to look at as kids, lots of Donald Duck and Micky Mouse, and pictures of national parks. I remember the picture of Old Faithful was so REAL looking!
 
Serendipity Records said:
Yeah, those are really cool... sad how no-one really cares for simple entertainment like that anymore! "Love, courtship, and marriage" is really nice
Click to expand...

Things like these cards are so cool. When they're in good condition, it's astounding at the history in them. I have some of Washington DC, and in the background there's horse and carriage. The flower arrangements in front of the White House were gorgeous. I'll post some of them.
TalismanRich said:
That reminds me of all the Viewmaster reels. We had a box of them to look at as kids, lots of Donald Duck and Micky Mouse, and pictures of national parks. I remember the picture of Old Faithful was so REAL looking!
Click to expand...
I love viewmaster. I have quite a few of them. They're not as expensive as the stereoscope cards. I do have some Walt Disney, The Monkees, Dark Shadows, and lots of tourist destinations.

You can reach people around the world on the internet. But, pre net, the arts were so much better. I guess because it took more effort to accomplish.
 
This one is cool. I like postcards of early photos or embossed illustrations. Today I bought a stack for $5. If I had picked through them, I wouldn't have bought this. I'm glad I bought them all. It's the Lusitania postmarked Jan 22, 1908 from Jersey City. It was that year that it set a record for crossing the Atlantic. Of course it was torpedoed in 1915.
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This is very cool. When I opened the playbill to see what was playing the first thing that hit me was an article written by Brooks Atkinson with a photo of a young Vincent Price from 1938.

The play was Julius Ceasar directed by Orson Welles. Playing in Repertory with it was The Shoemaker's Holiday with Price. Joseph Cotton was in both productions.

What I found out, The Mercury Theatre was founded by Welles and John Houseman. The famous War of the World broadcast came from there. It also turns out I worked on the same block as where the theatre was. The history I didn't know about. The only thing that would have made this perfect, if there were autographs. But, there aren't any. Oh well...
1702175438784.png1702175524938.png
1702175554170.png
1702175575118.png
 
There are some things in that playbill that younger folks won't recognize, like the phone number.... BRyant 9-3688. Cities had different exchanges, MElrose, JUniper, ATlantic, REpublic. followed by 5 numbers. Today, it would be 279-3688.

Pre ZIP code, you had a 2 digit postal code. I always get tickled when I see people selling old Valco amplifiers as the model CHICACO 51. That's not the model number, that's the postal code of where it was made:

1702177130147.png

I have been scanning in lots of old photographs from my parent's collection.

This is my dad, circa 1945 with his sister. . . He was into model trains when he was young.
Dad.jpg trains.jpg
 
TalismanRich said:
There are some things in that playbill that younger folks won't recognize, like the phone number.... BRyant 9-3688. Cities had different exchanges, MElrose, JUniper, ATlantic, REpublic. followed by 5 numbers. Today, it would be 279-3688.

Pre ZIP code, you had a 2 digit postal code. I always get tickled when I see people selling old Valco amplifiers as the model CHICACO 51. That's not the model number, that's the postal code of where it was made:

View attachment 135038

I have been scanning in lots of old photographs from my parent's collection.

This is my dad, circa 1945 with his sister. . . He was into model trains when he was young.
View attachment 135041 View attachment 135044
Click to expand...
That's a great photo of your dad and his sister.

I was personally into hot wheels. I still have all the originals. They're worth a little money, only because I played the shit out of them. If they were in better condition, I could make a small fortune.
 
My stepfather passed away May '22. Upon retiring just as much as a side income as a hobby he started in old antique radios. Replacing the caps, whatever it took to get them working, having veneer work done, replating chrome, fitting some with thumb drives or mp3 type capability. etc etc etc. Little ones, big ones, really cool stuff, beautiful pieces. Shipped all over the world. Apparently there is a sizable market over in East Asia. In the process he would run into situations such as buying out an old defunct radio broadcast station's equipment. From there and elsewhere Telefunken Microphones, speakers, tubes. I had thoughts or intentions to get involved helping & learning or just spending time with him once I moved back relatively close to home. He died the month I bought my current home. Now at my mom's place in the partial basement(4 story split level home) there is approximately 1200 sq ft of shelves packed with radios and the like, some untouched, others in various states of completion, others parts radios. Unbelievable quantity of stuff, and that's not even counting the large completed radios in his office and in other areas of the house. He had a passion, it was pretty cool to listen to him talk about how these old pieces were once a cherished treasure in people's homes, folks gathered around the radio in the evenings, the entertainment and information center of the time.

Now that he's gone, what to do. There is a lot of money invested down there, and hearing him talk about it, a really nice looking radio is/could/may not be as valuable as one that is not as nice looking, ornate, or whatever. It's not obvious to someone not in the know. I/we wouldn't have a clue how to sort it all out. Mom getting older, there will come a time when it has to be dealt with.

Old shit is cool. But just because it is old doesn't mean it is valuable, or the value can vary considerably.

As an aside: he once bought an old radio he opened up, it had a big wad of cash squirreled away inside. I suppose legally it was his to keep(?), but he was a good guy, contacted the seller who sold their dad's cherished old radio because they needed the money, returned the cash. Almost 10 grand. He was a good guy, I miss him.
 
Nice, well cared for and in good shape. The drawer(s) veneer resembles a scallop shell. My wife would go nuts.

The top looks double thickness. I don't see a hinge. Is that original or an overlay.?
 
If you zoom in and look closely at the left corner of the desk top you'll see a flushed hinge. So yeah - that top opens up for a larger surface. It's a very cool desk. I absolutely love it.
 
Yep - it's still up - from here anyway.

Hmmmm.... I just noticed that one of the two knobs for the pull-out support sliders is missing. I just went and looked and found it in the drawer. I'll bet one of our kids or the cleaning lady snagged that. I'll fix that coming up. Dang it.
 
dogooder said:
Did you look on the back of it for a manufacturer?
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It's been 7 or 8 years since I dug into that - but if I recall there was a name that was partially obscured. I was able to find some information and found some others online that were similar - but I remember that I could not specifically find the exact age. Now that we're talking about it again - I may give it another shot. :thumbs up: I like researching that kind of thing.
 
PorterhouseMusic said:
It's been 7 or 8 years since I dug into that - but if I recall there was a name that was partially obscured. I was able to find some information and found some others online that were similar - but I remember that I could not specifically find the exact age. Now that we're talking about it again - I may give it another shot. :thumbs up: I like researching that kind of thing.
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Look on the bottom also, maybe the bottom of the drawers. A company that made a piece that nice is going to put their name on it. Maybe you are correct and it is worn. I have seen them burnt in with a branding iron logo.
 
Mick Doobie said:
My stepfather passed away May '22. Upon retiring just as much as a side income as a hobby he started in old antique radios. Replacing the caps, whatever it took to get them working, having veneer work done, replating chrome, fitting some with thumb drives or mp3 type capability. etc etc etc. Little ones, big ones, really cool stuff, beautiful pieces. Shipped all over the world. Apparently there is a sizable market over in East Asia. In the process he would run into situations such as buying out an old defunct radio broadcast station's equipment. From there and elsewhere Telefunken Microphones, speakers, tubes. I had thoughts or intentions to get involved helping & learning or just spending time with him once I moved back relatively close to home. He died the month I bought my current home. Now at my mom's place in the partial basement(4 story split level home) there is approximately 1200 sq ft of shelves packed with radios and the like, some untouched, others in various states of completion, others parts radios. Unbelievable quantity of stuff, and that's not even counting the large completed radios in his office and in other areas of the house. He had a passion, it was pretty cool to listen to him talk about how these old pieces were once a cherished treasure in people's homes, folks gathered around the radio in the evenings, the entertainment and information center of the time.

Now that he's gone, what to do. There is a lot of money invested down there, and hearing him talk about it, a really nice looking radio is/could/may not be as valuable as one that is not as nice looking, ornate, or whatever. It's not obvious to someone not in the know. I/we wouldn't have a clue how to sort it all out. Mom getting older, there will come a time when it has to be dealt with.

Old shit is cool. But just because it is old doesn't mean it is valuable, or the value can vary considerably.

As an aside: he once bought an old radio he opened up, it had a big wad of cash squirreled away inside. I suppose legally it was his to keep(?), but he was a good guy, contacted the seller who sold their dad's cherished old radio because they needed the money, returned the cash. Almost 10 grand. He was a good guy, I miss him.
Click to expand...
That's BEYOND nice. I'm not going to lie. I probably would have kept it. I bought years ago an old radio that I still have. I've turned it on and it still picks up AM. I'm told the caps in old ones can set fires. So, I've never tried to really use it. I would love to somehow get it wired to play an MP3 through a 1/4" jack. Hearing old jazz and big band through electronics and a speaker it's supposed to would be great.

If you don't need the money, but don't want to keep the radios, put them up for a decent price and don't budge. Most people would buy them cheap and then sell them in their antique shops.

Early morning years ago, we stopped at a garage sale. The seller had a bunch of guitars. One was a Fender Strat for $45. I bought it. I figured it was a Jap model. When I got home and put on my reading glasses it was a STARCASTER. I have it in the basement. Though I probably could sell it for $75 - $100. At a local thrift shop, a Starcaster and a crappy Fender practice amp were up in a silent auction. This garbage sold for $375. The buyer must have looked up Starcaster, and the new ones are about $400. This was one of the first. Mine actually plays nice. But, it's still a low end axe.
PorterhouseMusic said:
I've got this old desk that belonged to my great grandmother. I've tried, unsuccessfully, to accurately date it. I figure it's about 100 years ago.

View attachment 135056
Click to expand...
That's a gorgeous piece. Old furniture RULES. We just picked up this china cabinet at a thrift shop for $100. We got double points, so we got $20 in store credit. The Christmas stuff did not come with it.

1702419989675.png
 
4 new ancient stereoscope cards.

London Bridge late 1800s or early 1900s
1702945051887.jpeg
Her guardian and companion - faithful as far as life can go - 1906
1702945081167.jpeg
Kittens - Cat-A-Line on the Rostrum - 1871 a century and a half old.
1702945113717.jpeg
Wing Shot (think about the camera being used to get that detail over a century ago) In case you can't make it out (my photography sucks) That's a guy with a shotgun shooting. Those are either scared shitless birds, or ones that have been hit.
1702945143530.jpeg
 
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