Gone To The Beach: Flea Market Finds

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Flea Market Finds

Sunday was such a perfect day for the first BIG flea market of the year. Throngs of dealers and buyers, so fun!

But isn't it funny---I always end up buying from the same half-dozen people, much as I enjoy carefully searching the dozens of tables and tents.

At first walk-thru I was a teensy bit disappointed...seemed like lotsa people spent the winter clearing out the garage and basement, bought a space and were selling granny's old junk! And the man who sells very antique Staffordshire china, sometimes with the Christie's auction labels still on, was nowhere to be found.
And I even had money!

But then, aha! I found the guy with the shabby old white linens and buttons mixed with his other stuff....

Found this great tin of mother of pearl buttons!

The buttons are large, carved, chunky. Primitive. I am guessing quite old.

And later I found this wonderful matelasse coverlet in a box shoved back of his van.

It was so age soiled I didn't want to really touch it too much...eeeewww.

I had it earmarked for salvaged fabrics for white hearts.

I never saw the fabulous hand-crocheted fillet lace edge---HEARTS!--- til I got it home and began airing it on my sunny deck.

Boy, did I negotiate a deal there....so beautiful. And it just came back today from my friend who helps me gently launder my antique whites....the coverlet, carefully rinsed, then washed , then bleached, then washed again by my expert helper and dried in our springtime ocean breeze and sunshine---it is now scrumptious! Yummy white summery perfection!
I'd love to keep it but it will probably go onto my eBay site this week, so if you love it as much as I do, check it out!
Under the coverlet, I found a lovely long Victorian christening dress---passed with a sigh. And this exquisite Euro sham---

all hand embroidered, finest white cotton, with the name Christina embroidered on it!

I'll repost pix of the coverlet on the bed and the sham when it is starched and ironed, later in the week.
Then another fav dealer, I think of her as the lady from Maine, though she recently told me, nope, she lives a few towns away from me, on the mainland!...funny how I get stuff, well, wrong. And she has very cool things--- always has special finds.
She had this wonderful creamy yellow and cobalt spongeware pitcher (authentic, not repro!), mixed in a group of 40s-ish vanity plates.

Its prim charm caught my eye, despite the price---fair but not flea.

Here it is with lavender and cream parrot tulips, set on a tin spatterware plate, with green apples and a tiny ink bottle with tinier grape hyacinths.....

And the lady also had this interesting small French kettle or saucepan:

It looks so hand forged! and I love the heartshaped "ears"---the little handles.

It is very sturdy, beautifully handmade, I think---and a wonderful patina.

I know nothing about cookware.

It is marked in the back:

France 20.

(if anyone knows about this type of metalware, pls send me a comment!) I don't even know if it is tin or steel or what....But I love it! Here it is with hearts in progress.

And I finished up with some pretty floral plates.

They really don't "go" in my white and blues beach cottage but I buy them anyway!---for photo props or for holding earrings and bracelets on my vanity counter....or for collections of seashells and beachglass. So pretty!
I'm so glad I remembered my big LL Bean boat tote for my goodies!
And I can't wait for next week! I passed up some fab antique buttons, a lovely old china head doll and that white christening dress. Not to mention a blue painted nail or ammo crate that was too heavy to cart around...but I--liked---it! A lot!