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Monday, July 29, 2019

Matchbook Monday!

#matchbook #collectibles #flight #aviation # airfare #estatesalefinds #foundastory #urbanarcheology #1940s
Matchbook Monday is back from a slow flight to Charleston, South Carolina. Another gem from the 1940s back when it was ok to smoke not only in the plane’s bathroom but also in the seat next to the person who really wished that you sat next to someone else. Although those flights look like a great deal remember that in today’s dollars that would have been a good amount. The only benefit of flying then was the absence of of feeling like you were about to spend the next 20 years at Shawshank prison. I still think the healthcare crisis could easily be solved by replacing TSA agents with Medical Internists. You’re basically getting a free CAT scan every time you fly - might as well get that shoulder surgery scheduled while you wait for your flight to board.

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Saturday, July 27, 2019

The most beautiful dirt is the kind that tells a story.

#turnofthecentury #pictureframe #coaldust #estatesalefinds #foundastory #urbanarcheology #tease
The most beautiful dirt is the kind that tells a story. Against my better judgment, because really? Who needs good judgement when digging for treasure? More on the actual framed image in later, but for now enjoy this turn of the century frame evidenced by the coal dust on the inside of the curved frame glass.

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Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Happy Matchbook other-than Monday! The fault lies not within our stars but within our horoscopes. Astrology is one of those things that sounds legit but really isn’t. Despite that criticism I would wager that everyone reading this knows their “sign.” What are the top 2 problems astrology can help you with? Marriage and teens. This is funny because the problem with anyone’s marriage could well be the fault of teens. See? I didn’t need my horoscope to figure that out. #found #matchbook #collectable #astrology #horoscope #foundastory #urbanarcheology #estatesalefinds


Happy Matchbook other-than Monday! The fault lies not within our stars but within our horoscopes. Astrology is one of those things that sounds legit but really isn’t. Despite that criticism I would wager that everyone reading this knows their “sign.” What are the top 2 problems astrology can help you with? Marriage and teens. This is funny because the problem with anyone’s marriage could well be the fault of teens. See? I didn’t need my horoscope to figure that out. #matchbook #collectable #astrology #horoscope #foundastory #urbanarcheology #estatesalefinds

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Tuesday, July 16, 2019

The Hunt for Matchbook Monday. Why do today what you can avoid til tomorrow? Once, just once, I considered trying French dressing -until I read this recipe. First, I can’t get this visual of someone making this while balancing a cigarette ash over the pot out of my mind. Second, any claim that this will last “indefinitely” in the icebox hasn’t seen my walk-up ‘fridge. Now, if you made the dressing with peaches, well you might have something there. #found #foodie #recipes #hunts #matchbook #vintagematchbook #foundastory #urbanarcheology #estatesalefinds


The Hunt for Matchbook Monday. Why do today what you can avoid til tomorrow? Once, just once, I considered trying French dressing -until I read this recipe. First, I can’t get this visual of someone making this while balancing a cigarette ash over the pot out of my mind. Second, any claim that this will last “indefinitely” in the icebox hasn’t seen my walk-up ‘fridge. Now, if you made the dressing with peaches, well you might have something there. #foodie #recipes #hunts #matchbook #vintagematchbook #foundastory #urbanarcheology #estatesalefinds

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Friday, July 12, 2019

Body shaming isn’t anything new - even before we were judging others at the gym there was another guilty party going at it. As you can see these instruments are parading this poor tuba around making light of the obvious size of his brass. If you ask me it’s probably the work of number 3 in line - “Sexy the Saxophone” Actually, this represents a typical dilemma for me at estate sales. This record likely has some resale potential and I could realize it. However, I can’t see turning around a single item which might 3-5$ and then selling it for $15 or $20. It’s likely that if I haggled successfully it would sit in a pile in my house for me to appreciate it whenever. I really didn’t want to pass this up but if I don’t show some restraint my garage could end up looking rather....Tubby. #found #records #vintagevinyl #childrensrecords #recordcollecting #vinyl #humor #tubbythetuba #stopbodyshaming #estatesalefinds #foundastory #urbanarcheology


Body shaming isn’t anything new - even before we were judging others at the gym there was another guilty party going at it. As you can see these instruments are parading this poor tuba around making light of the obvious size of his brass. If you ask me it’s probably the work of number 3 in line - “Sexy the Saxophone” Actually, this represents a typical dilemma for me at estate sales. This record likely has some resale potential and I could realize it. However, I can’t see turning around a single item which might 3-5$ and then selling it for $15 or $20. It’s likely that if I haggled successfully it would sit in a pile in my house for me to appreciate it whenever. I really didn’t want to pass this up but if I don’t show some restraint my garage could end up looking rather....Tubby. #records #vintagevinyl #childrensrecords #recordcollecting #vinyl #humor #tubbythetuba #stopbodyshaming #estatesalefinds #foundastory #urbanarcheology

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Thursday, July 11, 2019

Who needs a smart phone to look up useless information when you can have Conklin’s Vest-Pocket Argument Settler? It’s fascinating to see what we’re the nuggets of information one needed to know to avoid an impolite confrontation. This gem came to me at a preview estate sale in Danbury CT conducted by my friend Justin of Just In Antiques. It’s also happening Saturday - leave a comment if you want the address. This goes under books I buy for the title alone. The joy is flipping through the pages for the proper etiquette at the table - “Don’t nite fruit at the table. Use a silver paring knife to remover the skin and cut the fruit in bite sized sections” or maybe you need to know when Washington died. “The last hour of the last day of the last month of the last year of the century.” Clearly smarter than the average smart phone - now you can be too! #found #rarebooks #vintagebooks #bookcollecting #argument #estatesalefinds #foundastory #urbanarcheology


Who needs a smart phone to look up useless information when you can have Conklin’s Vest-Pocket Argument Settler? It’s fascinating to see what we’re the nuggets of information one needed to know to avoid an impolite confrontation. This gem came to me at a preview estate sale in Danbury CT conducted by my friend Justin of Just In Antiques. It’s also happening Saturday - leave a comment if you want the address. This goes under books I buy for the title alone. The joy is flipping through the pages for the proper etiquette at the table - “Don’t nite fruit at the table. Use a silver paring knife to remover the skin and cut the fruit in bite sized sections” or maybe you need to know when Washington died. “The last hour of the last day of the last month of the last year of the century.” Clearly smarter than the average smart phone - now you can be too! #rarebooks #vintagebooks #bookcollecting #argument #estatesalefinds #foundastory #urbanarcheology

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Tuesday, July 9, 2019

So now it’s matchbook “Tuesday” In 1911, Joseph Shapiro and 4 brothers, Russian emigrants, were selling ice cream and then moved to baking cones as well. From there they added straws and matches. In 1947 Joseph outvoted 14 other executives on his board and the Maryland company added cups under the Sweetheart brand - why they were against this we don’t know - maybe their cup hadn’t runneth over yet. Joseph died in 1968 but the company was still growing to the point where in 1981, when they were purchased by the Fort Howard Paper Co. they had 33 plants and 10k employees. Sold a few more times they were bought by the Solo company in 2004 for nearly a billion dollars - a Sweetheart deal at the time the cup and container industry has fallen on hard times and even Solo has had to down size. This faded but unique matchbook is an icon of the early days of the Sweetheart cup. #found #matchbook #matchbookcollecting #collecting #sweetheart #cups #foundastory #urbanarcheology #estatesalefinds


So now it’s matchbook “Tuesday” In 1911, Joseph Shapiro and 4 brothers, Russian emigrants, were selling ice cream and then moved to baking cones as well. From there they added straws and matches. In 1947 Joseph outvoted 14 other executives on his board and the Maryland company added cups under the Sweetheart brand - why they were against this we don’t know - maybe their cup hadn’t runneth over yet. Joseph died in 1968 but the company was still growing to the point where in 1981, when they were purchased by the Fort Howard Paper Co. they had 33 plants and 10k employees. Sold a few more times they were bought by the Solo company in 2004 for nearly a billion dollars - a Sweetheart deal at the time the cup and container industry has fallen on hard times and even Solo has had to down size. This faded but unique matchbook is an icon of the early days of the Sweetheart cup. #matchbook #matchbookcollecting #collecting #sweetheart #cups #foundastory #urbanarcheology #estatesalefinds

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Saturday, July 6, 2019

Got memories? Someone posted this image of their relatives from the 1930s offering a small monetary prize for the best restoration. I restored the faded image on the right to something a little more clear and won the prize. Now, as an artist who is never satisfied with his work, I couldn’t accept the reward until I offered up a colorized version as well. If you have any old/damaged photos that could use a little (or a lot) of restoration - leave me a message in the comments. #found #vintagephoto #photorestoration #foundphoto #photography #photoshop #restoration #foundastory #urbanarcheology #colorization


Got memories? Someone posted this image of their relatives from the 1930s offering a small monetary prize for the best restoration. I restored the faded image on the right to something a little more clear and won the prize. Now, as an artist who is never satisfied with his work, I couldn’t accept the reward until I offered up a colorized version as well. If you have any old/damaged photos that could use a little (or a lot) of restoration - leave me a message in the comments. #vintagephoto #photorestoration #foundphoto #photography #photoshop #restoration #foundastory #urbanarcheology #colorization

from Instagram

Thursday, July 4, 2019

This one page is really the keystone to understanding how many great unsung patriots have come before us. The woman who penned this could have easily been a First Lady and in addition should be honored on American currency today. Clearly, it is the silent heroes who seek no glorification and only want to set the best example - they are America and they are the ones I honor today. If I had my way everyone would know who Elizabeth Hutter was and why her simple note to her patriot brother on this date in 1876 is so very significant. #found #history #elizabethhutter #patriots #independenceday #july4th #foundastory #urbanarcheology #coolfinds


This one page is really the keystone to understanding how many great unsung patriots have come before us. The woman who penned this could have easily been a First Lady and in addition should be honored on American currency today. Clearly, it is the silent heroes who seek no glorification and only want to set the best example - they are America and they are the ones I honor today. If I had my way everyone would know who Elizabeth Hutter was and why her simple note to her patriot brother on this date in 1876 is so very significant. #history #elizabethhutter #patriots #independenceday #july4th #foundastory #urbanarcheology #coolfinds

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Monday, July 1, 2019

Happy Matchbook Monday! Long before there was a need for the Maytag Repairman - it will always be Jessie White for me - I couldn’t see Gordon Jump in any other role than “Mr Carlson” from WKRP in Cincinnati. Founded in 1893 this matchbook heralds 50 years of Maytag manufacturing history. This matchbook looks pretty good for being almost 76 years old! #found #matchbook #matchbookmonday #maytag #vintage #collectables #maytagrepairman #oldgold #estatesalefinds #foundastory #urbanarcheology


Happy Matchbook Monday! Long before there was a need for the Maytag Repairman - it will always be Jessie White for me - I couldn’t see Gordon Jump in any other role than “Mr Carlson” from WKRP in Cincinnati. Founded in 1893 this matchbook heralds 50 years of Maytag manufacturing history. This matchbook looks pretty good for being almost 76 years old! #matchbook #matchbookmonday #maytag #vintage #collectables #maytagrepairman #oldgold #estatesalefinds #foundastory #urbanarcheology

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