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.

New Fishing Finds Fresh from The Dock!

I love coming across some fresh, old junk and I came across some decent fishing collectibles in a garage this past weekend. Not worldbeaters, not by a long shot. Just some decent stuff that occupied a gentleman's tackleboxes since the 1940s.

Normally, you have be on the scene EARLY in the morning if you want to beat the duck decoy/fishing lure collectors to the punch. These guys often are often avid hunters and fishermen and are totally into being the early bird, up before the break of dawn to get their prize.

The estate had some nice 'guy' stuff like nice fly rods in their original cases and old engineering levels in their original oak boxes. Unfortunately, that stuff was all north of a 'benjamin', so I let all that stuff be. I am a bottom feeder so I gobbled up the cheap stuff.

Notice the Wisconsin Fishing Laws, 1944 booklet. That's actually pretty good, although it has some 'foxing' (mold spotting). I've sold collectible lures at auction for over $100 each and, unfortunately, there were none of these in this lot. Any good wooden lure or bobber is worth having as is a spoon in its original box with papers. -Believe it or not, those white bobbers are probably worth what I paid for both boxes.