"Should I throw this out? I don't know. I'll put it on Fresca's desk."
I'll sometimes come into work to find a mystery item a coworker left on my desk--anything from wonderful vintage to utter junk. Either way, I'm glad they check before throwing or recycling it. It's not that I necessarily know, but I'll look it up online, which a lot of coworkers don't.
Yesterday, three vintage dishtowels (more yellowed than they appear here). I priced them six for the set, hung them in BOOK's, and they sold in minutes.
BELOW: I don't know if these two art pieces were donated together, (Art Volunteer had not hung them together--I did this), but the one looks like a copy of the other.
Also, BOOK's in Action! The customer here bought a pile of books--I wish I'd looked to see what they were. If it's a regular, sometimes I ask, "What did you find today?" but I didn't recognize this woman.
I should maybe take more photos of unrecognizable people shopping in BOOK's--as long as their faces don't show. (Or, I could ask permission and take portraits.)
In contrast, the view across from the thrift store. The street dealers' barbecue grill, which the cops cleared out twice, is now a barrel for fires. This produces even worse toxic fumes. Persistence wins, that is for sure.
BELOW: Some books in the glass display case
An envelope of photos of Sean Connery's James Bond in Goldfinger. They sold in a day, so maybe I'd underpriced them at $30? (Only the top photo was a lobby card--valuable––so I didn't bother to look them up because I was lazy.) If I did, that's fine.
BELOW: Doctor Zhivago (first English ed; nothing terribly special--they're plentiful, but such a nice hardback copy). Probably overpriced at fifteen dollars--tho' that's only half of a new hardback book today.
Can you see the embossed cover behind? It's Little Journeys to the Homes of Great Scientists [1905].
Mrs Piggle-Wiggle. Oh dear. I just googled this series and it's full of tales of humiliation as a "cure" for children's bad habits. A girl who won't bathe, for instance is "left unbathed until she is caked with dirt, then radishes are planted on her".
[Hahaha---bink commented that that would've enticed her as a child--growing radishes on her own body. LOL--yeah, let's try it!]
BELOW: First ed. of Heinlein's Have Space Suit–Will Travel (1958)--cool art, but no dust jacket... Fun write-up of the story, at TV Tropes.
BELOW: Samuel R. (Chip) Delaney's memoir The Motion of Light in Water: Sex and Science Fiction Writing in the East Village (1988), signed by the author.
I read it years ago--among other things, I remember it as a celebration of the fun a gay man could have in the Village in the 1960s.
He called himself "merrily promiscuous"--very spicy-radishy--definitely hadn't been squashed by Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle.
ABOVE: Delaney at Wesleyan, c. 1972--from his page on the Greenwich Village Preservation Society.
I saw him speak once [oh, wow, in 2008--I blogged about it--I was thinking "recently"]. I liked him a lot--calm and kind, funny and smart.
During Q&A, an audience member said she had taught writing in college and wondered how to balance writing and teaching.
He advised protecting your time: "Get out of academe."
BELOW: Complete Pictures of the Eight Noble Steeds, China, undated.
sometimes i think it is better to be underpriced and sell than to have it linger on the shelf for some time.
ReplyDeletei picked up a sunbeam mixer yesterday when i had no intention of buying one-- one of the big ones that sits on your counter but the top comes off for hand mixing. i about died when i saw what people were selling them online for. whatever. i don't go to thrifts to resell but to appreciate and use.
and an interesting book published in 1960 titled "philosophy for a time of crisis." how apropos!!
kirsten
KIRSTEN: I agree--I'd rather underprice something and move it along--and give the buyer the pleasure of a deal.
ReplyDeleteIt's a trick to hit that sweet spot.
Oh! I think I want a stand up mixer too--for cake making. Though I don't have room in my kitchen. We do get those old Sunbeams sometimes--I will look more closely next time one is donated.
All times are times of crisis, I think. Though some more obviously worse than others, eh?
ps i grew up with a stand up mixer so loved using one. i haven't tried mine yet but yes for cake mixing!!! the old sunbeams are good ones.
ReplyDeleteseeing the doctor zhivago reminded me that i have a 1900 version of tolstoy's ressurection that pasternaks' father illustrated.
and yes to crisis.
kirsten
Great looking collection of books you have—both behind glass and on shelves.
ReplyDeleteIf I was a kid, I would be encouraged to not bathe by the idea of growing radishes on me. Cool! A mud-monster, full of sprouts!
BINK: GOod point, Radish Child!!!
ReplyDeleteMrs. Piggle Wiggle was a favorite read before bed book. The radish story really stuck with me, thinking then that grown ups were a cruel lot. My thinking has not changed much.
ReplyDeleteAs for Kirsten's purchase of Sunbeam mixer- none are better! Very lucky find!
LINDA SUE: That's why we prefer Orphans--no cruel grown-ups! Pippi Longstocking and Co. Now my girlettes want to grow radishes...
ReplyDeleteI always say that the internet ruined Goodwill as they can now look up the value of things online. I'm sure there was a lot more than that that has made Goodwill so much less fun and a treasure hunt than it used to be. Overpricing seems to be their norm these days. But the smaller thrift stores can still manage to thrill me and I would have bought those towels in a heartbeat.
ReplyDeleteNow I sort of want to read about Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle and the little girl who had radishes grown on her to my grandsons. I mean- who wouldn't want to read about that?
MS MOON: Ah, yeah, online sales... it's a weird loop with thrift stores---everything is cheaper online, so prices overall have dropped, but yeah--now thrift stores aren't such a good deal.
ReplyDeleteWe generally aim for to price things a third of the average selling price on ebay (you can find this info on Picclick.com).
Goodwill (where I worked for a summer) is the worst--so super corporate--and they have their own online sale site so all the cool old stuff gets siphoned off and never hits the sales floor at all.
It's quite a dance, trying to get in step--pricing good stuff cheaper than online, but not throwing it away.
Let us know what you think of Mrs Piggle-Wiggle, if you read it--the radishes are planted to "cure" the girl, against her will, not as fun... so kinda creepy and abusive.
Good art and shelves!
ReplyDeleteSad to see the bin and blackened snow.
I thought of Ms Moon immediately when I saw those kitchen towels! Love the Heinlein book, though I must admit I wouldn't pay $80 for it. (It's cool art but I've never been able to read Heinlein.) I'm tempted to go find a copy of that Delaney book. I've never read it and it sounds intriguing!
ReplyDeleteGZ: Thanks. Yeah, the ash and smoke is wearying...
ReplyDeleteSTEVE: I don't like Heinlein either, but plenty do--I hope someone will want the book (though I'll discount it after a while).
I do recommend Delaney's memoir!