Tag: antiquing

East Coast Props and Antiques – Hampton Falls New Hampshire

Our last antique store of the day was East Coast Props and Antiques which was a nice way to round out the day. It was much smaller than the other two places but I think it had a lot of charm. It even was selling bundles of sage just in case you were in the market for buying something haunted. It’s the little things that show how much you appreciate your customers.

My companion was happy to have found not just a few straight razors but a sharpening rock and a strap to go with them. Late 1800’s and well loved. I on the other hand was SUPER tempted by a tiny $16 teddy bear who was practically tatters and rags. He was both adorable and potentially cursed. What’s not to love?! Only reason I passed on him is I am still spending most of my free time battling asshole mice who keep eating all my cloth items. Maybe not the best environment for a teddy bear who is already only barely holding on to life.

The rest of the shop wasn’t without charm containing one of the weirdest vases I’ve ever seen adorned with cherubs with weird facial expressions and dubious intentions. There was also a disturbingly buff Saint Peter statue and a distressing little ceramic of a boy sitting on a clown (fireman?) lap that just seemed… off. Mostly because of the expressions on each’s face.

Finally, there was a toddler sized rocking horse on a high shelf pleading people not to sit on it…. WOW. I thought this was a lovely little shop myself even though it was on the smaller side. I felt it had a lot of personality.

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Antiques at Edgerly Farm – Hampton Falls New Hampshire

Our second antique store of the day was Antiques at Edgerly Farm and it was on the swanker side, although certainly not as steep as the antique stores we have seen in parts of Connecticut! There were a number of cherubs about that I am sure someone would have loved. I however find the idea of a winged toddler a bit terrifying. Just WHY? Of all the things you could give wings to… A TODDLER?! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!

Not to be outdone there was a very expensive looking ceramic clown in the window which was just as jarring on the nerves. I was impressed by their wall of old tools. Something about it made me happy. It was a good display! I also really adored the ornamental wood stove.

As usual the attic had the more affordable and at times bizarre options the most unique of which was a birdhouse made from a stiffened denim glove. I also found a book called The AIDS Hoax from when AIDS was deadly proving that idiots have always existed in every generation. There’s a certain comfort in that.

Anyway, this shop may not have been as impressive as the last but it wasn’t underwhelming by any means. Definitely worth a checking out if you’re in the area or antiquing anyway.

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Route 1 Antiques – Hampton Falls New Hampshire

We had decided to go to Maine to attend the Cryptozoology Convention and in the process we decided to take the opportunity to hit a few antique stores during the long drive north. Route 1 Antiques in Hampton Falls NH (not to be confused with Route 1A Relics in Ellesworth Maine) was the first of three we would check out on this day.

This was a shop that was clearly situated in a repurposed old farmhouse and upon walking in I felt it was a place that was a little rich for my blood. All I saw was well maintained display cases. But there was a shop dog working as a door buzzer and being that she was rather cute I settled in. This first part of the store was indeed a little much for me. They even had a super realistic sculpture of a hawk that I thought was taxidermy! The keep was excited to talk to us about it saying it was a rare piece and told us about the artist. I love art and supporting independent artists buuuut I don’t think I’ll ever have the money to pay for proper rich people art! Luckily this place also had a basement and an attic which were easier on the old wallet.

The basement was neat in that it still had this crazy old fireplace in it but otherwise there wasn’t too much interesting down there for us. The attic however was filled with toys for all ages starting with the mandatory Howdie Doody memorabilia which is much beloved by the Silent Generation and scares the ever lovin’ bejesus out of the rest of us. They also had this primo haunted marionette doll that was out for my own heart, a “Ken doll with prosthetics” which I am pretty sure was the Million Dollar Man, some Rock em’ Sock em’ Robots, and even a few things from my generation including a Star Wars ship and an original Optimus Prime with real metal parts! So I’m told by my companion. His excitement was adorable. Sorry to say I wasn’t allowed to watch many cartoons, TV, or movies, growing up, transformers among them. My mother thought I should be spending my time playing in the dirt. This has resulted a reverence for nature and a profound lack of cultural reference points.

This place was cute. I definitely would say it’s worth checking out if you like antiques of all price ranges. Or toys. So many toys.

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Main Street Antiques – Bennington Vermont

Onto another antique shop! This place was typical of a main street antique place in that it was small and orderly. We walked in and were greeted with a $300+ cast iron dutch oven and a very ornate wood stove. There was also THE SADDEST AND CREEPIEST CLOWN and a doll with glowing red eyes for no apparent reason?!

But really we were most enamored by the coins. So. Many. Coins. My travel companions were ahead of me and poking at some confederate coins when the shop keep lit up and gave us all an impromptu history lesson.

“You want to see something you’ve never seen before?”

“YEAH!”

He pulled out a note from his pocket that stated it was worth a 20-dollar gold coin. And he showed us the coin that someone could have traded it for. And then said how worthless it was at the time due to wartime inflation. Very cool.

We chatted a little bit. I think he was hoping we were monied folks but we are not. Though we did stop to look at the Nazi occupied country coins, which were interesting in their own way. It never really occurred to me the currency changes in occupied countries. I guess because I never had to think about it.

In the back we found a bottle labelled Boyes Oil and I cracked a joke. And continue to do so. Did you try the Boyes Oil? I found a bunny cake pan that looked like it did. DAMN was that the most ripped bunny I’ve ever seen. Why did it have the muscles of a bull?! What a terrifying Easter someone must have had.

Anyway it was a cute little shop, with a lovely staff and lots and lots of coins if that is your thing. Or bottles. Some of those bottles were super unique. One even had a Halloween cat stretched across it shaped into the glass.

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The Berkshire Emporium – Antiques & Snack Bar – North Adams

I rarely need reason to go back to the Berkshires, a gorgeous portion of New England that I have scarcely gotten a chance to poke at (mostly because it’s so damn hard to get to.) No worries the four-hour drive was still worth it, well worth it!

We started at the Berkshire Emporium, our plotted out starting point. From the descriptions online it looked big which is always a plus when you are making a day of it. And I have to say getting there was just as much of an adventure. The scenery was out of this world as we drove a grumpy Prius through the mountains!

When we eventually got to the cute little town of North Adams we found the Berkshire Emporium without any troubles in part due to their greeter – who happened to be a velociraptor standing in front of a basket of props you could put in its mouth, or in its talons, or the top of its head if you wished. Just inside the door there was a little mini bakery cafe which was decorated with lots more dinosaurs, some were featured in portraits done by a local artist! There were also cookies. Big ones. I nearly fell to temptation but beyond that delicious distraction was the antique store…

Of course the emporium was another winding maze of absolutely random things. One of the first things we came across was Bigfoot in all his glory. Or rather a costume of Bigfoot chilling in a big room with The Bumble…. which I’ve been calling the Abominable Snowman for like… 38 years… my bad. The next room to them had all kinds of cool instruments and an old off-key music box which played Farmer in the Dell in the same way a horror movie might. In fact this place seemed wonderful inspiration for such a venture as I also found the creepiest box of antiquated plushies, some Halloween memorabilia, a flying monkey, and a number of disquieting art pieces made from melted sneakers poured over manikins and clothes. Quirky.

We had a lot of fun at this place but it wasn’t quite as big as we’d anticipated and we didn’t spend too terribly long, though we did take a moment to give the velociraptor a fish. It only seemed right. From here we’d do some ambling to see what other trouble we could get ourselves into.

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Re Antiques and Interiors – Kingston Rhode Island

By now my companion was looking a bit off and not feeling up to his usual so we decided this would be our last stop of the day. Really, he just wanted to go out on a high note and the last antique store was… underwhelming.

Luckily, we hit another treasure with this one! It seemed to be all the weirdness of the first antique store of the day combined with all the respectability of the second, in a larger space. Fancy paintings adorned the wall with old foreign ad posters. We found cultural items from all over the world – some which I still maintained probably came with a free curse for the white people buying them, but I digress. There were African statuary, a bunch of scary masks, and even full Samauri armor. I was also mesmerized by this gorgeous swinging baby cradle. Other hits were a writing desk fit for a wealthy historical fiction author, a wire rat Halloween decoration, a country chic armoire, and a tin Easter bunny from the bowels of hell.

A woman sat in the main part of the shop and kept an eye on customers, and I knew my photo taking was making her a little tense but me being me I wasn’t about to say anything. I swear to god, I’m not casing the place, and the things I am taking photos of are not the most valuable items, more like the most random. Congrats on that Easter bunny!

As I was leaving she finally asked if I was having fun taking photos or something along those lines and I said, “Yes! I’m taking them for a travel blog.” The ensuing conversation honestly just served to confuse her more, but she did say if I ever get the chance I should go to England. Touché. My companion seemed more entertained by this conversation than myself who resorted to self-depreciating humor because I lack the imagination to see myself financially well off enough to go overseas again and I also suck at lying. Especially on the spot. These things take planning. And need crazy detailed back stories. No? I guess I may be the odd one here.

Maybe someday I will visit England. Or all the countries on those two little islands half a world away where all my ancestors seem to have come from. Or perhaps I can see the Oracle at Delphi, or revisit the Parisian catacombs, or sit with the rats at the Karni Devi waiting for a white one to approach. It is nice to dream, isn’t it?

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Antiques at Old Tiverton Rhode Island

It was an unusual circumstance in which my companion had an illustrious Thursday off. A Thursday that all the antique stores closed on Tuesday and Wednesdays would be open. AHA! A BUCKET LIST!

And this first one was a riot. We drove all the way there (GPS fucking with me the entire time, because why not) and when we got there we found a building with a very small parking lot of sorts fitting about five cars. It was full. Luckily one of them was leaving, an old couple who seemed VERY confused I was waiting for their spot.

We checked out the yard first. The yard which legitimately had a fire exit… In case all the junk spontaneously combusted I suppose. It was fun junk too. Yard decorations, old street signs, a cross gravestone (with no name – probably either an extra or replaced by something else.) There were some big ceramic jars and a wild assortment of random things all packed into a very small area. It was like being in Maine again!

Inside was much the same. Just really random things all piled up in a small space, the people in the shop talking about how they have to sell things for the price they’re at to make a profit. I don’t know why anyone would try to haggle here, everything already seemed cheap considering the other prices in the area. There was even a drawer full of glass apothecary bottles I had to pry myself away from. Yes, they’re cool, what would you do with them though? MAKE SPELL BOTTLES? You’re not a witch, cool your tits.

There was also a little area for a local glass artist who had some adorable sea creatures. The rest of the shop had everything from old can labels and coupons, to a few creepy masks, to a seriously cool old leather cat carrier. It looked like it had been custom made for Hannibal Lecter’s cat and I looooved it. But alas, I am catless. Woe is me.

All and all I liked this shop. It clashed violently with all the other chichi froufrou upscale antique stores in the area. This was a common man’s store. And there’s nothing wrong with that!

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Generations Antique Mall – Rockport Maine

This was supposed to be the last antique store we’d went to after several days of antiquing and it was a nice way to round everything out as it was small and clearly independent. It was more on the thrifty side of things than the overpriced chic markets near the coast we had been poking at.

My new cheap phone did a terrible job taking photos (I guess my hand had to be tripod still and the lightning needs to also be perfect.) In any event we did find a cast iron cauldron, coincidentally just the right size to sit one baby, ‘case you’re into that kinda thing. It was pretty neat. I ended up going home with a record and a lobster cookie cutter because who makes lobster cookies?! I brought it home right before Christmas and used it to cut out some Christmas Crustaceans. If elf on a shelf can be a thing I feel we should at least try and make Christmas Crustaceans a thing too.

Anyway, if you happen to already be in Rockport or are just whiling away the hours this place is nice and cozy but not large by any means so probably not worth travelling very far unless you’re nuts like I am. I will say however the staff were adorably sweet. So, there’s that. I’ve included photos of my Christmas Crustaceans.

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Bangor Antique Marketplace – Bangor Maine

The Bangor Antique Marketplace was what you’d expect with such a title – a large antique mall with lots of vendors and variety. I was particularly thrilled with their vast collection of wall art depicting seemingly haunted Victorian children and one photo portrait of what was clearly a Civil War orphan carrying his pa’s hat. You know, the sort of thing you hang up if you want a poltergeist..

Most of it was pretty standard fair but we did find a few cool things. One was a hand-pump vacuum?? The specifics of which confused me to no end but I guess vacuums predated electricity in every home?? It looked like a butter churn with a sucking attachment! We also found the weirdest “spice rack” I have ever seen in the shape of a 1950’s poodle mama and six pups. A few racist artifacts were spread about in the usual manner including a mammie doll that also doubled as a broom because why not? Funny enough since I have started going around to all these antiques stores pointing out these less than welcoming items I have noticed a lot less of them being blatantly visible. Are these two things connected? I couldn’t tell you, but I sometimes like to think I do have some effect on the world with my joyful chaos even though it was never my intent to make these things go away. I’m not sure I have an intent.

On the other hand there’s no shortage of terrifying clowns and haunted dolls and I would have it no other way. And this place had at least one vendor with some really instruments – mostly banjos, but weird ones.

I ended up buying a brand-new book that was at the door and clearly written by one of the cashiers. It had big glossy photos of creepy dolls taking an ocean hiatus juxtaposed next to some home-grown poetry. OUCH. Hit me where it hurts, I couldn’t leave it behind. I HAVE to support this sort of whimsical strangeness. An independent author and photographer after my own heart. I should have had her sign it! She was super pleased (and halfway shocked) I walked out with it. Maybe I was the only one… but you guys, you have to support independent authors and artists. You just have to. (And if you want to support this particular author the book was called Sea Witch; Photographs, Poems and Forget-me-Nots From a Mainer Growing Up by Kristie Billings.)

Of course, you could also do that by going through their shop and finding something nice for yourself. There was plenty to choose from! Well worth the visit!

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Wiscasset Antiques Mall – Wiscasset Maine

This was another big one that took quite some time to get through. When we walked in my attention immediately gravitated towards a little plastic encased booklet reading, “Little Known Facts About Bundling in the New World.” For those of you that don’t know in the early days of our country it was customary to only have one giant bed per family, especially in the winter when body heat was a good resource to have! Men and boys slept to one side, women and girls slept on another, and directly in the middle would be a bundling board – or a little wooden fence-like thing keeping the two groups seperate. Interestingly enough courting teenage couples were allowed to sleep in the same bed in these days, in the very middle, with the bundling board in between them and their parents right behind them. I’m sure that wasn’t weird at all. Also how were babies made with this arrangement?! There seemed to be an awfully lot of them…

ANYWAY, now that I am past that disturbing little distraction I will go back to telling you about the antique store. It was another Byzantine place with all sorts of nooks and corners, a ton of vendors, and just about something for everyone. I was particularly intrigued by a series of old newspapers saved detailing big events – Elvis Presley’s Death, the assassination of Kennedy, and the Son of Sam trial. And wow, so many puppets! All of different kinds! And the weird books… I could have dropped a lot of money on weird books but I was running low at this point. They even had one with absolutely horrible misogynistic boomer humor that was beyond cringe. Even more alarming they had an official notary press for sale…. and it worked… I’m sure no ne’er-do-well will find it and use it for anything mischievous…

All and all this place was large enough yo recommend travel to pick through or if you happen to be in the area its definitely worth a visit!

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