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At
last month's Long Beach Ca antique flea market I picked
up something that really put me thru the washing
machine. I didn't know quite what I was getting
into when I paid for it, but I think in the long run
I'll be happy I got it. Here's the whole story. As
I was walking around I saw a really great looking
antique display cabinet for sale. It measured 69"
tall by 31" wide by 18" deep. They were
practically giving it away....$100.00! But I didn't have
my truck and I live 7 hours from Long Beach.
I
had come to L.A. to go to the mid winter All American
Antique show in Glendale, and the Long Beach flea the
following day. I specifically drove the mustang so I
could drive around L.A. with the top down in the middle
of January. If you read my stories you know I look
forward to my annual January Glendale show trip. A big
part of the trip is enjoying the warm L.A. January
weather; and what better way to take it in than putting
the top down! The only problem with the mustang is when
you find something big...and I found something big.
So
back to Long Beach...I spot the cabinet and recognized
it immediately as English. As a collector, display
cabinets are an art in themselves. Over the years I've
seen enough to know the nuances. The antique English
display cabinets have a certain refined masculine
appearance. The posts are thinner than American ones,
and they just have a special privileged look. This one
had the look, except it was a little beat up and needed
some TLC. Perfect, otherwise it would have been
priced higher. The bottom front trim had been knocked
off but it was inside the cabinet and could be
reattached. And the interior flooring was missing, or as
the English would say "had gone astray". A little
puzzling why it would have been removed but
nevertheless, a fairly easy fix. However, the coup de
gra was, it had all it's all important original wavy
glass. Plus it was the size...69" tall by 31"
wide by 18" deep. Just about the right size I could
use. When
you find a cabinet the right size, the right look, and
the right price, you pretty much have to pull the
trigger. Because those three don't come together very
often. Especially the price part. And it would have been
a perfect find except for getting it home.
I
looked at that thing and just shook my head, as I knew
those three factors met up....but....I didn't have my
truck with me!...no way to get it home...a
giveaway...$100.00 and I couldn't buy it!....So I left
and continued on thru the show...So I finished my first
comb and backtracked for a second. When I got to the
back area again where the cabinet was I was taken back
it was not only still there, the guy had crossed out the
$100.00 and put $80.00. Arrrgh! I had to come closer and
examine it and I pondered how I could get it home.
I
explained to the seller my predicament and asked if he
would let me pick it up the following Rose Bowl....No
thanks he said, he didn't want to haul it back...it was
strictly a cash and carry deal...I had a seat and racked my
brain for a way, as I looked at it...I couldn't come up
with anything...so I started walking away...I got about
ten feet and came back and said... how about this...I'll
pay you the full $100.00 you wanted if you let me pick
it up....Thanks but no he said....and I figured it was
over....I walked off slowly from fatigue and got about
ten feet away and the guy said hey hold on....tell ya
what, he said....how long you gonna be here? he
asked....probably about an hour I said...come back in an
hour.....if it's still here maybe I'll take your deal,
but no promises....OK I said....And the rest is
history....I came back about 35 minutes later and he
said give me the hundred! A month went by and it was
Rose Bowl and time for the big trip...Man did it take a
long time to get down there...the seller lived in
Temecula....way past Los Angeles..allmost all the way
down to San Diego...phew!
Would
you like to know how much my $100.00 display cabinet
cost me? Well, I kept all the gas receipts it took to
make the trip from Napa Valley to Temecula...
$197.53...plus $60.00 or so to Red Roof makes right
about $260.00...so my $100.00 cabinet cost me
$360.00 ....Of course I made a trip out of it by going
to the Rose Bowl flea which is a real treat for me.
At
the Rose Bowl I picked up a most interesting c1840, 16
1/4" tall by 10 1/4" wide, broadside poster
which solicits help to build a log cabin in Ithaca N.Y..
I say it's most interesting because on the surface the
poster speaks to constructing a literal log cabin. But
there are elements of the text that lead me to believe
the announcement is a tongue in cheek call to a meeting
of the Whig party. I was baffled by it even as I
hesitantly bought it on intuition. I must have stood
there four or five minutes reading it over and over
trying to figure it out and decide if I wanted to buy it
for the $75.00 asking price. The seller seemed to have
been completely clueless what it was and couldn't care
less. He said it was the first time he had set up there
was just trying to get rid of his fathers belongings and
had no interest in collecting. I offered $50.00 and the
guy countered with $65.00. Finally We agreed on $60.00
and I continued on thru the show. If it was simply a
call to construct a log cabin, it was a novel upstate
New York item. If it was a clever reference to the Log
Cabin party of 1840 we have lift off.
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Sunday,
February 13, 2011 11:15 PM
Tom, Check out this brodside I picked up today
at the Rose bowl Flea...I thoght it referenced
the Log Cabin party of 1840 because of the
word cadidate ...but maybe not, I can't figure
it out....I guess it's just acall to build one
LOL...Darn...I doubt I can get my $60.00 out
of it
-Carlton
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Monday,
February 14, 2011 7:15 AM
No Carlton - I'm pretty sure you have a winner
there - It is definitely about the 1840
Presidential election - William Henry Harrison
- "Tippecanoe and Tyler
too!!". I don't get the reference to the
materials but this is definitely somewhat
tongue in cheek and I am sure it has something
to do
with the Whig Party. How big is it?
Tom
eBay
handle walnutts
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Unable
to come to come to a conclusion on what I had I emailed
my friend, Americana dealer/historian Tom Cardaropoli in
Cape Cod. Tom is likely eBay's most prolific seller of
antique Americana. The serious Americana collectors
check his listings weekly, eBay user name walnutts.
Tom felt sure it was about the 1840 presidential
election, William Henry Harrison, and the Whig party,
because of the "Tippecanoe Boys" and Log Cabin
Candidate reference. To the moment I'm still baffled by
the poster's apparent mysterious coding and will
continue researching it. However, if Tom is right I see
two things. It would be a very rare public address by
the Whig Party to influence the 1840 presidential
election. And two, the dialog apparently reflects a
remarkable sophisticated intellect of both author and
audience; the Ithaca/ Tompkins County New York populace.
Ithaca New York is of course the home of Cornell
University.
The
only thing I can think of that would explain the
mysterious coding would be that the poster was in
response to something of the day, an event, a written
article, a structure, or what ever. If it was a response
to something it would probably be something everyone of
that time was aware of. Scrutinizing the text will
hopefully provide enough clues to help understand it.
The ten people named at the bottom as the "building
committee" were likely Whig party members and
recognizable names of the region. Interesting the first
name is E. Cornel; similar to Cornell University but
spelled with one "L". As a long time collector
of antique posters, one of the most valuable elements
they can have is a date...and this one's prominently
dated April 9, 1840. The presidential election was held
"""" ""
"""". The little illustration of a
log cabin cleverly placed between LOG and CABIN at the
top is a deluxe personalization as well.
As
for my other Rose Bowl pick up, I also got a c1874,
22" wide by 17" tall lithograph print of the
Art Gallery building at the 1876 Centennial. So we'll
see if I can lower the price of the cabinet after I sell
them on eBay!
Other
than those two items I didn't get too much at Rose
Bowl...Didn't see a single sports item worth mention! It
was great to go anyway, the Rose Bowl is awesome. Take a
look at a few shots I took as I walked the show.
click
here to see 37 photos
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