Hey, maybe I'm a Martina Hingis Fan

Why wear Swiss national flag socks on the courts? While I am a Martina Hingis fan, it's all about The Fed Express. Roger Federer faces an uphill battle at upcoming Roland Garros in Paris. Rafa and 'The Djoker' are the favorites coming in but I think that the classy embassador of my sport Federer is poised for a strong summer; perhaps not at The French Open but quite possibly at Wimbledon.

So, what do you think of the socks? A hit or epic 0-6 0-6 fail?

My Favorite Sport Part II: 1950s Booze Ads

I've been around the sport of tennis for all of my life so I'm pleased to offer you the following two pieces of vintage tennis advertising. Please don't attempt to play a singles ladder challenge match after imbibing and please be discerning as it relates to shorts length. In concept, I should welcome the vintage length but, like in basketball, I think the sport took a step forward in lengthening the shorts. -Just my opinion.

Trailer Trad Collecting: Spring Picking

Picking has picked up this spring as folks in Raleigh have begun to clean out their basements and attics, thus allowing me a few modest acquisitions. See that small seascape in my trophy case? I picked it up recently at a very nice local yard sale. It's a 19th century oil with a lot of charm.

You know me. Always looking out for nice advertising signs from the 1950s. I bought a few of these soda signs at the flea market. -They have some rust and paint issues but I thought that the orange and sun graphics were too cool to pass up. This piece is a good example of how to differentiate between real, old signs and reproductions. The paint on this one is richly applied in coats (no little lithographic 'dots'). It has embossing which means that the tin has been raised in areas like around the border and around the lettering. The natural rusting and oxidation detracts a lot from the value of the sign but does indicate real age.

I traded a furniture dealer I know a cottage kitchen table and chairs for this oak barrister bookcase. He really got a deal on that trade but I didn't need the kitchen set and I got it for $10. The book case went inside of my trophy case and I have been using it to hold some of my dress shoes. Pretty cool looking!

The 19th Century French male tailor's form is all original and is perfect for displaying blazers or vintage athletic uniforms.

This funky chair is actually pretty desirable. It's a Charles Pollack executive arm chair manufactured by Knoll in the 1970s.

This groovy item is a Robert Sonneman table lamp, also from the 60s or 70s. I picked it up at the same yard sale where I purchased that seascape, if you can believe it.

Estate sales bring out the crowds, even at the crack of dawn on a weekend. This estate was really more of a moving sale, with a couple moving to the beach. Fortunately, they had some pretty nice stuff and, since it was the second day of the sale, everything remaining was half off. I picked up this nice oak arts and crafts rocker at a pretty good price. Since it's so delicate and clean in form and has those great vertical slats, I would say that it graduates to mission or prairie style.
I'm always looking for signs and old letters off of buildings and this killed two birds with one stone. Enameled steel from the 1950s, it will looked great and was worth the splurge. - Y not?