Vintage Valentines: Couples' Snapshots From My Collection

Some may be sentimental, others cynical...but like it or not, if it's February 14th---it's Valentine's Day. 

Shunning the typical dinner-and-a-movie date, James and I have decided that this Valentine's Day will be spent thrift shopping and playing video games at the Funplex. 

But before we go thrifting and gaming, I decided to dedicate today's Let's Go Thrifting post to the couples within my vintage photograph collection. Ranging  from the early 1900s to what looks to be the late 1960s (judging by Mr. Mutton Chops on the left), these five photos prove that love is timeless. 

So if you and your significant other, or your best friend, or your bad self are feeling the love, take some photos this Valentine's Day. They'll be treasured a lot more than something you'll find at the mall, without a doubt. 

And for more nostalgic visuals, visit my Vintage Photo Gallery. 

    

             

Happy Valentine's Day, thrift shoppers! 

The 6th Blogiversary List Of Top 6 Secondhand Finds

To best celebrate my 6th year of helming the Let's Go Thrifting ship into the great secondhand sea, I thought it would be fun to appreciate what I already have. This isn't to say that I won't be having any celebratory trips to the thrift (I already have, in fact). But I've been thinking of these last 6 years, and suffice it to say that I've found some truly awesome things---items that I couldn't imagine I'd ever be so fortunate to find

So welcome to the Let's Go Thrifting Top 6 Secondhand Finds Blogiversary List.

And at the top of that list would be be the beautiful framed lithograph of Margaret Keane's "No Dogs Allowed." Interestingly, much of her early Big-Eyed paintings were improperly credited to her husband, an interesting legal battle that makes her kitschy saucer eyed waifs all the more rare to find in the thrift store. 

Any regular reader of Let's Go Thrifting knows I just adore my collection of vintage photographs. But this doubly-vintage framed group portrait might be my favorite of the bunch. Two couples from the late 1960s posed with a novelty 1930s Ford in front of a  faux sprawling suburban landscape? Take my 99 cents, Goodwill!

I always wanted to have a vintage Ouija board. So when I found this secondhand William Fuld Talking Board Set at a yard sale on the Fall Equinox...I thought it as an especially fortuitous... maybe even magical find. This 1966 edition of the Ouija took spiritualism into polite society...with the instructions encouraging "a gentleman and a lady" to sit opposite each other and summon up some ghosts for a little chit-chat. Another dollar spent, another awesome secondhand find. 

Ah yes, the dream car. Or at least the Fisher Price version of the dream car I'll likely never be able to afford. I always wanted an original VW Minibus. In a burnt sienna, or pea soup green...a color fitting to the era. But this adorable 1969 toy replica will have to do.  And it was unearthed from one of the many bins of the Goodwill by-the-pound outlet for mere pennies.  It can comfortably seat six...so who wants to hit the open road? 

Here a key. There a key. Everywhere a skeleton key! But seriously. I love keys. You all know that by now, as I've featured them several times over the years here on Let's Go Thrifting. But this key is my very favorite. The patina and rust. The heart. And the tattoo design that came later. This is the one. I don't know what was once locked that this key opened. But I hope it was as secretive and special as I imagined it to be.



Originally an impulse buy for 99 cents from Impact Thrift, I had the intentions of adding this dilapidated house to my collection of beloved vintage photographs. Little did I know this house was the sole remaining photograph of a legend local to Skagit County, Washington. Built in 1903, The Ball House was the site of several tragedies and natural disasters, leading to abandonment and decay. It fell to the Washington winds in 1996. And aside from a few sketches, there were no known surviving photographs of the estate. Except for this one that I found at a Montgomery County thrift store, which I later sold to an eager buyer from Washington state looking to relive the memories of the property that she passed by with family until it's eventual demise. 99 cents was well worth the sense of mystery and adventure that this photograph brought me. 

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If you would like to know more about these items, be sure to click on the photos to read the original blog post in which they were first featured. While it was originally somewhat difficult to narrow my favorite secondhand finds to just 6...I had to consider what qualities I found to be most important. Sure, there's affordability and monetary value...but those qualities are present in every thrifted item I own, of which there are many. It had to be more than that. It had to be about personal desirability and what I found to be most sentimentally valuable. And I think these were the best of the best. Hopefully the next 6 years will bring even more. 

Thank you, dear readers, for being part of the Let's Go Thrifting community these last 6 years. 

Which Let's Go Thrifting finds have been your favorite? 

Thriftspiration: A Trip To Yellowstone Park And Beyond, 1957

Way back when in the spring, while I was chatting up a lively vintage vendor at the Columbus Flea Market and found the child's celebrity scrapbook that inspired this post, I also found this incredible travel scrapbook. Documenting a  road trip adventure across the western Unites States, the photos and ephemera inside are in absolutely beautiful condition.  

The travelers include: Sara, Chet, Betty, Estelle...

...Bill, and presumably a fifth person who isn't photographed, but is documenting the journey. And I don't know much of these young travelers, except that their summer wanderlust began in July of 1957...and that Estelle is a total glamazon. I mean, look at that outfit. Oh...and at least one member of the party is from Morrisville, Pennsylvania, as it is faintly written in pencil on one of their motel receipt slips.  

Their travels took them to several diners, motels, drug stores, and several scenic stops toned in sepia. The Grand Canyon, Old Faithful, and many long desert roads in-between. But perhaps my favorite part of this scrapbook isn't the collection of snapshots...but the mementos kept within. 

Matchbooks, motel slips, and menus. Everyone is sure to take dashboard photos of the desert road, and Old Faithful. But only true travelers save the mementos along the way, the little things. And if this isn't a solid entry of Thriftspiration---hitting the open road in search of adventure,  back when a fountain lemonade cost 15 cents---then I don't know what is.

Happy trails, thrifters! 

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How Thrifting Can Inspire Your Creativity

Thrift shopping means bargains for shoppers, funds for charities, and a second life for useful items that would otherwise meet their end in a landfill. As an alternative to standard retail shopping, thrift stores provide us shoppers with a potential treasure trove of fashion, housewares, entertainment, electronics, and more. 

But have you considered thrift stores to be fuel for your creativity? I, myself, am a sponge, constantly absorbing droplets of information and inspiration. And when I'm out thrifting, I'm just sucking up all the visual cues to creative projects in the making.  Maybe it's a worse for wear dresser that could be given fresh paint and a fresh purpose as a bar. Maybe it's a richly colored textile that inspires a photo shoot. The creative possibilities abound. 

And for me, there are two specific and much sought-after sources of inspiration: Vintage photographs and skeleton keys. And I've grown to ask myself why I've been compelled to collect these relics. Both are tangible reminders of a bygone era. Both have an intimacy, a closeness that meant something special to the original owner. 

I've salvaged many vintage photographs from the thrift and made a gallery for others to enjoy them as well. But it just wasn't enough. Flipping through my photo album of found memories, I had a thought. I wanted to make them into something more. And so I did. 

Using the magic of Grafix Shrink Film and small novelty skeleton keys from AC Moore. I made a charm bracelet entirely inspired by my two beloved thrift-found collections. And in the coming days, I'll be posting a how-to guide for the process, and an exciting corporate sponsored giveaway from the Grafix company, so you too can create something special.

After a few days of seeing my vintage wares dangling from my wrist, I had another thought. And while it at first seemed impulsive, I knew it was something I wanted all along. But... that's for another post. So stay tuned for the big reveal of yet another thrift-inspired bit of creativity and an official giveaway announcement. 

How has thrift shopping inspired you?

Vintage Photo Friday: Double Your Vintage. Double Your Fun.

Vintage novelty photograph with frame,  99 cents. 

I had almost given up on my pursuit to keep Vintage Photo Friday a regular segment here on Let's Go Thrifting.  Family photographs and snapshots have become increasingly hard to find at the thrift stores. And outside of antique stores (with antique store prices at that. Hello, sticker shock), I fear that they're being forever lost to the landfills. 

But in a recent trip to the Goodwill of Warminster, PA I unearthed several quality finds, including the very subject of this post. While I love the nostalgic nod to yesteryear with staged novelty photos, this vintage-on-vintage photograph was a majorly surreal secondhand score. 

Then? It was faux vintage. Now it's vintage twice over. 

It's circa 1960 and these two couples are posing with a mock Oldsmobile from the 1930s, in front of a suburban landscape backdrop. 1960s and 1930s? It's doubly vintage!

And including the classy filigree frame, this might be my best find for under a buck. 


Have you spotted any vintage pics at the thrift lately? 

64 Years, 3000 Miles and Back Again

As some of you lovely longtime readers may recall, this isn't the first time that the photo above has been featured here on the blog.

 

The original post was back in October of last year and was titled Beautiful Abandon. This was The Ball House of Skagit County, Washington and it had quite the history. 

The Victorian style construction of the home in 1903, the terrible tragedy that provoked The Ball family to abandon the home in the 1930s, the decades of neglect and decay that followed...and the eventual collapse in 1996. Thanks to some internet research and  Bill Osbourne, the photographer who snapped and inscribed this shot back in 1949, I learned almost everything that I could about the infamous Ball House.

But a few weeks ago, I came to know something else. I learned that aside from some sketches and old photographs on the county website, no tangible photos existed of what was once an impressive stretch of property. I was contacted by Charlene, a resident of Buckley, Washington and longtime admirer of The Ball Estate.

For years, Char took her family camping in the Bayview area, where they would pass by The Ball House and see the slow and steady decline of the property. And then one year, nothing of the home remained at all.

After a few email exchanges, I decided that Char's personal connection and close location to the legacy of The Ball House certainly warranted selling her a prized piece of my vintage photo collection. 

If you're reading this, Char, I hope you and your family get to relive some of your past travels in owning this photograph. I would have loved to see what remained of the property in person while it was still standing.

I couldn't be happier that someone local to that area rediscovered the only tangible relic of a legend that no longer exists through Let's Go Thrifting! This little exchange only validates my own personally held credentials as a thrifter and hunter of cultural artifacts and further explores the mysterious cycle of secondhand shopping.

How did a photograph of a Skagit County, Washington home from 1949 end up in a Montgomeryville, PA thrift store in 2011? How many people in how many towns had their hands upon this photograph in those 62 years before it ended up in mine? And the cycle continues, as the only tangible reminder of what once remained of The Ball Estate now belongs to Char and her family two years after I rescued it from the Impact Thrift Store. 

Enjoy the memories, Charlene! And do let me know if you find a photograph of any legendary Philadelphia properties at your local thrift store.

The Ball House   

Skagit County, Washington

1903-1996

Photographed in 1949 by Bill Osbourne.
Thrifted in 2011 by Jackie Jardine.

Sold to Charlene of Buckley, Washington in 2013.

Happy Mother's Day, Mildred!

Fresh from my collection of vintage photographs is  this stunning snapshot, personally inscribed by the photographer.

This is Mildred and her son Kenneth, circa 1940.  I'm loving Mildred's bright smile and perfectly coiffed victory curl. And despite her physical disability (note the shorter leg and walking stick) she's a proud and capable mama.

Happy Mother's Day to all the proud and capable mamas out there. 

And congratulations to one in particular...

Congratulations to my friend, Liz. 

John will grow up proud to be your son.

A Lovely Little Desktop Addition

It's not that my desk was bare. As my reference material, reading and writing projects prove, that's hardly the case. But following a recent purge of excess items to my Etsy shop and to the donation bin, my desk seemed to be all business. After moving a few things around, I decided it needed something new. 

It needed something fun, something whimsical. Something like this vintage silhouette Wallace Berrie & Co 1978 frame. I scored this swinging silhouette from Goodwill for $1.97 and knew just where to put it. 

And if you're wondering why that name sounds familiar, Wallace Berrie & Co...also known as Russ...also known as Applause... was the manufacturing epicenter for quirky-cute finds of the 70s and 80s. Remember troll dolls? Smurfs? Those wide-eyed "I love you this much" resin statues? We have Wallace Berrie & Co to thank for all that. 

What lovely thrift shop additions have you found lately?

One Of These Things Is Not Like The Other...

I recently acquired a bunch of snapshots from Etsy, in the hopes of expanding my ever-growing collection of vintage photographs. I was pleasantly surprised by the lot: A handpicked selection of 25 photos of men, women, children, pets and houses of yesteryear, all gems every one. 

Many of the photographs featured a handful of the same family members in what spanned over a decade of time. But these two shots are really fascinating to me.

Just look at that sweet elderly woman, with her hand-darned pillow and floral printed frock, sitting pretty in that leather chair. Wait...

It's the same pose. It's the same dress. And it's obviously that same leather chair. But despite the same sweet ol' granny, check out all the differences. 

Isn't it odd that she appears exactly the same, but there are so many differences between the two photographs? 

It's a vintage photo hunt! 
How many differences can you spot between the two photos? 
Leave your comment below and let's see how many we can find. 

All is Fair in Books and Ephemera

I was curled up on the couch a few weeks ago reading the Sunday paper, when I stumbled upon the most intriguing ad. The following Sunday at the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Philadelphia would be a Vintage Book and Ephemera Fair. Admission was only six bucks so I decided to pay a visit.

The last time I was at a book fair had to be in my grade school gymnasium, surrounded by piles of best sellers brought to us from the kind people of Scholastic. Remember the anticipation of waiting for that book you ordered through the Scholastic classroom catalogue? Ah, those were the days.

So, fast forward some twenty years and I'm standing in the event center of the Sheraton hotel. And it was far from digging for pocket money to buy the latest in the Goosebumps series, I can tell you that. Maybe I've just been thrifting for too long, but I experienced some major sticker shock. While I didn't expect to really purchase much of anything, I wasn't prepared for the lowest of hardback prices to be in the $400 range. Granted the printings may have been limited, and there were certainly a lot of first editions in pristine condition. But $400? $1500? When compared to my thrifted 25 cent reads from the thrift, this was something else entirely. 

I don't regret going, not in the least. The smell of aged paper filled the air, the ambiance of a museum. And I got to hold in my hand, albums literally entire albums of travel photographs, personally inscribed postcards, worn maps and more. And of course, I brought some home, something a little more in my price range.

Ten Assorted Vintage Photographs: $15
Visitors Map of Philadelphia, 1944: $4

I will feature these lovely  pieces of ephemera individually and in more detail in a later post. A Vintage Photo Friday special edition post, perhaps?

I also forked over $20 to a kindly gentleman who had a few LPs that struck my fancy. 

I met some fascinating people--collectors, vendors and vintage enthusiasts of all ages. I bought a few records and a little collection of photographs that I love. And I also envied the wealthy who could afford to buy the first editions and $500 photo albums and personally handwritten diaries that I could only lust after. 

Well, maybe someday Let's Go Thrifting will be an empire that can afford me the luxury of a vintage book fair shopping spree. Until then, I'll stick to the thrift store.