Checking In!

Good morning and happy Monday everyone! More than a week after my travels to Lewisburg, PA, I am finally getting caught up. As always, my sister and I had a fabulous time and I got some great deals! We had what I would consider perfect fall weather for the Northeast, USA! The day started out slightly cool and by early afternoon it was time to shed our jackets!

Saturday, the 16th started at 5 AM and after almost 6 hours of driving north, I met my sister at our hotel. After a quick check-in, we headed straight for the Street of Shops. We had come across some great finds there last spring and we were hoping for a repeat! I am always on the look-out for turn of the century American Art Pottery in dark green glazes and although this trip didn't disappoint, I didn't find any here. I did however find this pretty leaf dish without any markings other than USA. The asking price was $1.00, so I wasn't asking, just buying! 

Next stop, the flea market in the basement of the Street of Shops. Last spring I had passed up a pair of platters that matched an antique set that I use every day at home. I was so hoping to find that they were still there but after much digging and to no avail, I gave up. I did however come across another find that I think is far superior and we used it for a roasted chicken just last night! This is an Olympia platter and most of the early J.W. McCoy pottery, Brush McCoy pottery, was not marked. Some items have only an impressed shape or number as seen below. 

My platter has the Olympia stamp and this was the trademark of the Brush-McCoy Pottery Company from 1915-1925. And for $8.00, I am Happy!

The other item I came across in this building was one of my other passions - vintage or antique salt and pepper shakers! If you look closely in one of the following pictures you might see half of a set of pixie shakers I got last spring. As it turns out, my latest find is very special. I already have a set of Mr. and Mrs. Claus shakers from my childhood, but for some reason, I felt compelled to buy these at $3.00. I had no idea at the time, but when I was giving my husband the big reveal of my special finds on Sunday night he told me that these were identical to a pair his mother had when he was growing up. He just loved them! 

 

Next up, Roller Mills Antique Center and another $1.00 purchase! Although not the big story of my trip, you will have to check back for the next installment to see the item that I consider the find of my life! Now that your curiosity is peeked, here is the latest addition to my green glaze ceramic/pottery collection - a sweet little sleigh that someone named Barb made many years ago, probably in her local ceramic shop. Ceramic shops were very popular in the 60's and 70's and have made a mini comeback of late as a hobby party setting. But they sure don't compare to the one from my childhood in my hometown of Monroeville, NJ. Narleski's Ceramic Shop was were I got my first job when I was 8 year's old! Yes, I said 8. Back in the day, kids could actually have jobs at 8 and it was O.K.! This awesome piece looks just like many that went through the shop when I worked there!

Lewisburg, PA is home to Bucknell University so we headed over to the campus for some fun picture taking with my new camera. As an aside, I researched my new camera to death! I was looking for something under $500.00 that would give me great pictures similar to a digital SLR without all the apparatus. I was big into photography in college and even had my own darkroom for years. I was looking for something that would make me feel like I used to when taking pictures with my old Olympus equipment. I bought a Fuji FinePix HS10 - 10 megapixel 30x zoom and I am in love. It is so easy to use and the pictures and features are spectacular! I can even take videos in HD! Here is a shot of one of the many beautiful views we had that day.

Sunday was another long travel day for me, so we tried to limit our browsing to Silver Moon Antique Mall. We also found some great buys here last spring so again, we were hopeful. As it turned out, it was very disappointing this year, but I did get another piece of American Art Pottery. This piece is stamped with USA Pottery, so I can't be sure who made it, but it is in my favorite old pottery glaze; dark green! It looks very similar to a Brush piece I own, so I was happy to pay the $6.00 the vendor was hoping to get.

My final purchase of this trip was 2 turn of the century Christmas postcards. To this day I send cards for all occasions and I have a collection of my own cards dating back to my birth. I was fortunate enough to have a mother that appreciated the importance of marking time with memorabilia and there is nothing more beautiful than a well preserved piece of Ephemera! I hope you can see how beautiful the inks are in these 2 cards. And not only the inks but the embossing. They just don't make things like this anymore, not at any price! Enjoy!