Fresh Caught Nautical Junk for The Boathouse...

I grabbed a handful of brochures at the estate sale where I bought those great old Mohawk tackle boxes and that 1963 Mercury Outboard sales brochure recently. Like so many men of the day, the man of the house was serious about his hobbies and his tinkering. Apparently, he loved the really early autos but he also was into boating. Here is some information provided by oil, boat, and outboard companies that is still very handy today.

Recent Sporting Antique Finds

Sporting antiques are one of my favorite areas of collecting and I've found a few new additions lately. They can be hard to come by because they are so popular. But it's funny how they do pop up where you'd least expect this kind of 'guy' stuff to emerge.

I bought this great 1930s gun cleaning box at my church's rummage sale this past Saturday. Lots of practical gun cleaning stuff in the box but there was also a few good old sporting advertising pieces inside. This Colt Arms revolver box looks quite old and includes the hang tag for the weapon. I'd guess that this is from the 1920s or older.

This 1930s tin of lubricant isn't really that rare but this one is in near mint condition.

Last weekend at the flea market, an old dealer brought down a fresh load of junk from Upstate New York. Among the junk were around forty 1940's wooden Yuengling beer crates that he got at an Amish farm auction. -What the Amish were doing with those, I have no idea. Anyway, they were cool crates and people down here love Yuengling so I wasn't surprised that he sold almost every one.

-I should have picked up one or two.
This dealer also brought down some nice old oars and I snagged a few including this great old long oar. It's got great old paint and, judging by the tinwork on the end and shaped handle, it's turn-of-the-Century at latest.

This little Fall City tackle box came out of the same estate that I found those two large tackle boxes recently. It was probably his fly fishing box because it had these nice little Peck's dry flies along with the Phleuger 'Chum' spoon in its original box with papers.

 I got this folk art anchor and chain from another church rummage sale. The anchor is around 6" wide to give you an idea of the large size of this piece. All of the links as well as the anchor had to be carved out of single block of soft wood of some type. I also have another shorter set. I cannot say how old this is or where is was made. However, I suspect that is from the 1940s or 1950s and could have been picked up overseas or made by a whittling sailor to pass the time during long months at sea.

A postwar wooden cot may or not be a sporting antique but, for what I paid for it, it was worth plucking from the basement where I found it. Believe or not, once I remove the canvas stains (hopefully) and refinish the Oak slats, it will serve nicely as a bed bench or even a cottage coffee table.

Thirty Years of Awesomeness: Annapolis Croquet Battle Royale

Has it been 30 years? All that time, venerable St. John's College in Annapolis has hosted a joyous party under the pretext of athletic competition. To celebrate, I'm reposting an old post that I did a while back. If you are in the Washington DC area and are looking for a place to bust out the seersucker, big hats and the first G&Ts of the season, head to Annapolis on April 28, 2012. To Find out more, check out St. Johns College Croquet Information. If you doubt the coolness of this event, check out their 30th Anniversary Poster-Remember that movie where the likable band of misfits banded together to overcome the odds and compete against the fit, straight-laced, conformist team from the glamour school? –All cocky in their uniforms and Ray-Bans? I saw that one too. What if I told you that that epic conflict reenacted itself every year around this time? But instead of lines like “nerds, nerds, nerds”, “drop and give me twenty” or “Bushwood – A Dump?” there was friendly competition and swing dancing with women in sundresses? It’s true and you too can experience it –in Annapolis on Saturday, April 17th.Last year, a large festive crowd gathered on the front lawn of St. John's College in Annapolis as the students from Saint John’s, dressed as bearded, horn-helmeted Vikings, rose up and defeated the not-mean-at-all Middies from the U.S. Naval Academy in the 27th annual quest for the Annapolis Cup. The score was 4-1, but even if you were cheering for the Away Team (as many no doubt were) the good weather and garden party atmosphere made the score pretty irrelevant. And Hoover didn’t even need those 10,000 marbles in the least. Check out the video of the proceedings -http://www.stjohnscollege.edu/events/AN/croquet.shtml (This post is from last year but the event is held annually around the same time in Annapolis. Check it out. It's a blast! -Trailer Trad)

Steam Punk Estate Sale Finds

I got this and some other assorted cool junk recently from the unassuming home pictured below. As I've mentioned before, it's surprising how creative, innovative and skillful those old guys in the neighborhood are or were in their younger days. The gentleman of the house must have been a repairman or technician of some kind because his little basement was PACKED with old equipment; some was recent(ish)like stacks of punch cards but much of it stretched well back into the analog age.This is a coil box from a Ford Model-T that I found in the basement. Incredibly steampunk looking.

Not that many old houses in Raleigh have full basements. Most were built on 'slabs.' Those with them often have some dusty cool stuff hidden in their dark recesses.

This is an intercom set up from the 1940s, give or take. The case is homemade out of wood with cool art deco buttons installed at the base of the unit.

This stuff goes WAY back. This 'Belt Stick' was applied to machinery belts to keep them from slipping or catching (I think).  And it probably helped keep them from dry rotting. I would date this from the 1920s, give or take.

1963 Mercury Outboard Brochure