Collecting While Traveling: Florida, Orange You Glad We Shopped.
05.16.08 By The DeanWe never miss an opportunity to vacation in Florida, this time it was to introduce two of our grandchildren to Mickey (a personal friend, I have pictures of him and I), spend some leisure time on the beach with our daughter and her hubby and view some wonderful sunsets.
But for a true collector, no trip is complete without a visit to an antique store, flea market or garage sale. Well, I hit a triple on this trip.
We stayed on the Gulf side and had limited time for our hobby but with co-operative family we took a Saturday morning and headed for a flea market. Being May and warm, the garage sale signs were aplenty, and we stopped at a dozen places all in one sub-division. Our luck was only fair. Since we flew to Florida, the bargain drum set and the beautiful couch and matching chairs just wouldn’t fit in to our expandable soft side luggage.
That means we’re out looking for small items, hopefully unbreakable and by all means rock bottom priced. I think the grand kids had better luck than we did at these tag sales.
So back into the mini van and off we went to find the flea market {where is the GPS I should have rented?) So we saw more of the area than we intended.
We could tell by the size of the parking area and grounds that we should have some luck at the Mustang Flea Market in Pinellas. Here are a few items I bought.
This Aladdin lamp with a logo of Hillsborough Community College. Made of pottery it’s signed by Pollack of Chicago. This was sitting in an unoccupied booth as we walked onto the grounds, but when we came back to retrieve the car, it and the vendor were together and she was willing to part with the treasure for only a few dollars.
Spotted in a case with two other porcelain dolls, I chose this doll for its saleability and because it’s small and fit easily into my suitcase.
We also came across an advertising tin vendor. A husband and wife team that purchased a vast collection of tins some time back and were now selling off the lot. I marveled at the rarity and condition of the many examples they had.
But again the space issue raised its ugly head and I was left getting only a few. This tin is from the American Tobacco Company, marked Columbia Mixture. It was a very good buy and I sure wish I had bought more.
The last leg of our triple crown visit was to antique stores. First we stopped at the Park Street Antique Mall, on Bay Pines in St. Pete, not on Park Street any more, (No GPS Again), and I purchased this grape shears. I didn’t need them, because no one needs two pair, but this one I’ll keep and sell the other.
And what cheese head could pass up a cheese slicer with ornate handle.
Lastly, we made a stop at the Gas Plant Antique Mall on Central Ave in St. Pete. A large place, with great furniture items, if I only had an empty semi to drive back home.
While my findings were slim to none, wifey was able to find some items.
This medallion is from 1971 and commemorates the 100 anniversary of the 1871 Peshtigo Wisconsin fire, where 1200+ people lost their lives. Not well known, it occurred on the day of the more famous Chicago fire. Ironic to find it in Florida. (It’s now back home in Wisconsin)
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Here among her other treasures is the sports award for Carrol County Public Schools. The top round medallion is signed Playground Athletic League. Each of the hanging metals are from track and field and dated starting in 1924.
While the sun was warm and the beach inviting, we still managed a few hours of our favorite sport, and when you’re about to travel, check your favorite search engine for shops on your way or while at your destination. We are always excited to see items not found in our own area, and thrilled with purchases for our own collections.
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Article Tags: Aladdin, Athletic Metal, Peshtego================
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