The Historic District

I love free stuff! I dumpster picked this giant vintage glass serving platter that was sitting just outside the dumpster directly behind my house! It's gorgeous and in perfect condition, so wonderful for the holidays!

Willa wrote:

nhguy wrote:Last year I scored a circa 1900 three light bronze flush mount. Another time a cast iron sink from around 1880 all the drain parts in place. Every year I find a few items most of the time I tell other antique collector friends what's there. I also find metal items I weld up sculptures to place in our gardens. See you're not the only scavenger. I'm a seasoned veteran as I have been doing it for years.

Wow - both of those are GREAT scores ! That's a nice light fixture for the cost of some new/old shades and wiring.

The cast iron sink is unusual. Was it from a butler's pantry ? Or are they common in your neck of the woods ? Do you have it installed ?

All the glass was chipped on the light fixture, but someone had rewired it which made a free deal even better! I had to climb down into the metal bin to pick it up quite a feat in itself. These sinks were pretty common. This was a real good one as all the drain parts are there. Most I see on CL are missing the screen over the drain or the couplers that hold the pipes on the underside of the sink. It's always an adventure going to the recycling center.

Willa wrote:Am I the only one who is a bottom feeding scavenger ?

Today on Kijiji I spotted a pair of large 50 x 52" antique windows with wavy glass - one large single pane each. Somehow my email got there first and we picked them up this afternoon. It's a shame anyone is removing old windows BUT I am so happy to have two large panes of old glass that I can use to replace a couple of cracked panes here, with glass left over.

Willa, what a great find, and I do like the price. I have problems finding wavy glass to fit our windows, mainly do to how tall are sashes are.
As far as free finds, we have very little of the sort. We have a couple of very nice Victorian arm chairs that were given us though. Pictures a bit later. I am of the view that most free stuff is is other people’s junk and need far more work to make presentable Were as, good antiques cheap are a much better arrangement for us. I just don’t have the time to restore antiques as well as the Gothichome at the same time.

Manalto wrote::text-worthless:

Hahahha.......

Today I picked up a Craigslist freebie. It's a horsehair mattress. I was a little skeevy about acquiring someone else's mattress but I'm currently in a climate where temperatures drop way below freezing and so I figured I'd be able to freeze critters if any exist. Also, the sellers were emphatic about how clean the mattress was so, at that price, I decided to check it out.

Last night I got curious and online I found a Scottish horsehair mattress company that describes the benefits of this material and the manufacturing process. Interesting, and quite an expensive product.

Anyway, today when I picked it up we had a nice chat and I learned that the mattress, according to the seller, has been in his family for generations and dates back to the Civil War. They told me that they had tried to donate it to a couple of local historical houses but state law forbids it. It has always had a plastic cover on it, good for keeping it clean but negates the benefits of horsehair stuffing.

If I can feel confident that the mattress is clean and safe, it's destined for the sleeping porch, once that room is put together. I I may use it in combination with a feather bed for chilly nights and that old timey sleeping experience.

Gothichome wrote:Willa, what a great find, and I do like the price. I have problems finding wavy glass to fit our windows, mainly do to how tall are sashes are.

Gothichome - I probably have twice as much glass as I need. I am happy to share the surplus with you. I will have to do some math but I think I can get what I need from one pane.

One caveat - the windows themselves are 50 x 52" - too big to fit between the wheelwells of a standard truck. I supported them with a couple of pillows and drop cloth and they made it here in one piece. You would have to get it home.

If you felt reeeeaaallly guilty about such a free thing, I would be happy to receive some surplus garden plants in spring.

Manalto wrote:Today I picked up a Craigslist freebie. It's a horsehair mattress.

Well now, let's see this thing !

How about part of the thing? I went out to the garage (it's not allowed in the house yet) and peeled back the plastic cover...



I find it hard to believe that this is 150 years old.

Manalto wrote:How about part of the thing? I went out to the garage (it's not allowed in the house yet) and peeled back the plastic cover...



I find it hard to believe that this is 150 years old.

Unless it's been re-covered, I'd say it's definitely 20th Century.