Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Vintage Beaded Evening Bag


Ah yes, yet another classic evening bag. This was purchased at an estate auction earlier this summer along with some alligator hand bags.
My ecrater store has two of these lovely bags available. These would be just perfect for those holiday parties. To see this and my other selections stop in at http://chisumtrailmercantile.ecrater.com

Monday, October 29, 2007

Auctions Finds......





Sigh..... well not all auctions can be "gems". This past weekends auction was a bit of a let down. The day began with the wind blowing and there was a fall chill in the air - and many of my "regular" auction friends were in attendance (guess they thought they might miss something also!).


This auction didn't have a lot of items that attracted me. I did purchase a vintage wool blanket for the den. They had some nice hand work, but I have plenty of those. I should have bought that branding iron tho - . Well there will be other auctions down the road. Stop in at http://chisumtrailmercantile.ecrater.com/ to view my vintage handwork.


Friday, October 26, 2007

Auction Events





Well last weekend was an action packed "auction estate" day. There were two estate auctions on the same day and in two different parts of town. You'd think that maybe the locations could have some how been consolidated to be closer to each other - like next door to each other! I didn't attend either auction but heard that there were some wonderful items.


Now, tomorrow there are THREE estate auctions - I ask you what is a person to do? I would need three of me, not to mention three checking accounts with some serious cash!


In the mean time - take a gander at some of my other auction purchases http://chisumtrailmercantile.ecrater.com/

Dawn

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Estate Auction Results

Well the long awaited estate auction has come and gone. The turn out was not to bad, usually when you have a low turn out, you can save a bit of cash. They had a wonderful selection of items.

I did purchase a wool floor rug, and I got a pretty good deal. There were tons of post cards, love letters and such. But with the black and white french post cards I currently have listed at www.chisumtrailmercantile.ecracter.com I didn't feel the need to purchase any more.

I noticed in our local newspaper that there is another estate auction this coming Saturday and they will be featuring Francoma Pottery and Carnival Glass. I just might need some of those!

Monday, October 8, 2007


In a previous post I had made mention of some vintage sewing patterns. As time has gone on, I've been able to organize the box of sewing patterns that I purchased.

The styles have changed so much from the 1930's and 1940's until now. But fashion is like history, it repeats itself. The a-line skirts will return, so will the padded shoulders that I am so found of. This pattern is an Anne Adams, the simple lines and the bell sleeve is typical of this time period. Anne Adams sewing patterns were obtained through mail orders.
Stop by http://chisumtrailmercantile.ecrater.com to view my other vintage pattern listings.









Wednesday, October 3, 2007

It's Here - the official Estate Auction Notice


Oh boy - I've been waiting sooooo patiently. The first Estate Auction for the fall season is October 13, I'm counting down the days. Some of the items they will be selling are: Full Size Antique Iron Bed, Eastlake Parlor Furniture, Carved marble Coffee and Entry Tables, Original Peter Hurd Painting dates 1957, Turquoise and Costume Jewelry.


I've already looked at the photos they have on-line and the Turquoise jewelry is Native American. Being in the Southwest we have a lot of Native American Jewelry. I did notice that one piece in particular is corral and that is getting hard to come by these days. We also get a lot of Peter Hurd paintings down here, his son, Michael, lives on the family homestead and has his own following for his paintings.


Hmmmm - time to get my shopping list in order! I'm leaning towards the jewelry. The sweater clasp that is pictured above was one of my wonderful purchases this past summer. An absolutely wonderful piece of vintage jewelry, perfect for the upcoming holidays. Stop in and see my collection of jewelry at http://www.chisumtrailmercantile.ecrater.com

Thursday, September 27, 2007

Le Havre - The Harbour


Le Havre was founded in 1517. Le Havre means “the harbour or the port”. In 1793 the city changed its name to Havre de Marat and later Havre-Marat in honor of the recently deceased Jean-Paul Marat, who was seen as a martyr of the French Revolution. In 1795 Havre-Marat changed its name to Le Havre, its modern name. It was during the 19th century, that Le Havre became an industrial center.

The city was devastated during the Battle of Normandy in World War II. The city of Le Havre, on the English Channel in Normandy, was severely bombed during the Second World War. The destroyed area was rebuilt according to the plan of a team headed by Auguste Perret, from 1945 to 1964.

The devastation that Le Havre sustained is evident in the this postcard. Historically, this picture is worth a thousand words, the sheer and utter devastation is just unbelievable. It is estimated that 12,000 people lost their lives during this time. For other historical views of France, stop by http://chisumtrailmercantile.ecrater.com - we'd love to have you - Dawn

Tuesday, September 25, 2007














Isn't this a quaint looking street? This is another one of my favorite french postcard finds. I like the postcards and greeting cards with inscriptions on them - it makes the senders "real people". Someone you can identify with.

Monday, September 24, 2007

The Carlsbad Caverns



During one of my many postcard sorting days, I ran across this vintage photo postcard of the Carlsbad Caverns.

The letter on the reverse side was written to the writer's mother and was explaining why there had been no contact. She'd been to the dentist to have a wisdom tooth pulled and the dentist broke the bone! Oh - the pain. I must confess I winced when I read the back message of this postcard. The writer goes on to explain that the tooth hadn't come through because there was no room and her gum had to be cut. Then she further explains about a fever that she's had for most of the time. I'm invisioning more severe pain -

This post card was mailed on July 15, the post marked date is not ledgible, but we can use the 2cent stamp for verification.

For this and other vintage postcards stop in and visit me at www.chisumtrailmercantile.ecrater.com

Friday, September 21, 2007

Vintage Sewing Patterns



At the estate auction I attended in July (see I can even tell you the month I acquired my items) I ran across a box lot of vintage patterns. I think the prior owner of these items must have been a seamstress at one time.


Imagine my excitement as I was purusing my purchase and found a Betty Grable Pattern which was made by Hollywood Patterns. Oh and the vintage Vogue Pattern which only cost $.50 at the time it was made - have you seen the cost of a Vogue Pattern today? Stop by www.chisumtrailmercantile.ecrater.com to see my other collectible listings.
Both patterns offer the classic styling of the day. Now, if I could get my figure to those "classic styling" measurements - we'll leave that topic for another day.

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Postcards, Postcards and more Postcards

I tell you I don’t know what I was thinking when I purchased TWO boxes of vintage postcards. These two boxes are in addition to the vintage greeting cards I already had.

At the time I purchased them I thought they were a great find! They had to be sorted into categories and then those categories had to be sorted and sorted some more.

Despite all the work, it was well worth the effort. I’ve seen pictures of the Olympics that were held in Germany prior to the war, Le Havre after the destruction during the war, Napoleon’s Tomb, the liberation of France from Germany. To see these historic places stop by www.chisumtrailmercantile.ecrater.com.

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

“Oh Where for Art Thou Next Estate Auction”?


The affection for “all things old” began many years ago when I was just a small child. My “Grandma” taught me at the tender age of 8 the fine art of collecting. Friday evenings were spent closely scrutinizing the local newspaper for just the right “Garage Sale” ad. Once that was complete our route was carefully laid out. Come the next morning we were off! Oh the anticipation – would there be Barbie Dolls and clothes? Maybe a pedal car? What about a game or two?

Nah – none of that “stuff” for me. I needed “glass” beautiful cut glass in colors and intricate designs, perfume bottles, porcelain tea sets, crystal dresser sets.

Now that I’m all grown up, I still have a need for my “glass”. My venue for purchasing has changed, now it’s Estate Auctions! Love Them!!!! “One Stop Shopping” for the collector – a wonderful concept. My hometown is of average size, so these outings are what my auction going friends and I consider to be a “Social Affair”. We visit, browse and bid.

I have purchased some wonderful items, an iridescent carnival glass paper weight, Spode Cornucopia Vase, vintage Vogue sewing patterns, Betty Grable sewing patterns, and postcards from France during WWII. To see many of my vintage items visit me http://www.chisumtrailmercantile.ecrater.com/

The auction circuit has been pretty quiet this summer (too hot). Don’t these auctioneers understand that I NEED an auction? Three months without one is too much for one to bear. I’d grovel if I though it do any good -


Tuesday, September 18, 2007


I attended an Estate Auction a few months back and was able to purchase a box lot of French Postcards that date back to World War II. The former owner of these postcards was a Chaplin in the Army and was able to travel to several countries during his tour of duty.
Collecting postcards is popular due to the various range of subject matter that is available. Not to mention the historical value of the postcards.
The French postcards I have are from the Divided Back Era - March 1, 1907 thru 1915 and the "White Border" Period. Most postcards produced during this era were printed in Europe, especially by the Germans. The threat of WWI brought a decline and eventually ended the supplying of postcards by the Germans. The war, influenza and a lessor quality of postcard brought an end to the postcard collecting hobby.


The next era for postcards is the White Border Period - 1915-1930. After WWI the German publishing industry was never revitalized. Some of the finest publishing houses both in England and Germany were bombed. With the higher cost of publishing brought down the quality of the postcards. "White borders" were left around the postcards to save on ink.


The "Linen Card" era was next for the postcard collector. Publishers now had the technology to print cards on a linen type paper stock. The high rag content gives the postcards a "textured" look. Most of the production of these types of cards ceased in around 1939 with the introduction of the color "chrome" postcard. With the onset of WWII the postcard industry again saw a decline, which forced many postcard companies to print older views and then only if the printing material was available.


Chisum Trail Mercantile has a large array of vintage black and white matt post cards from France, Brussels and Luxembourg. To relive these historical places stop by www.chisumtrailmercantile.ecrater.com