Book Board Chat

Final flea report of the season:
Sane people would have stayed home. The winds were raw and the temperature was around the high 40s. We were at Rosemont at 8:30 a.m.

Sellers and buyers were out in force. There were even sellers we hadn't seen all season. The food vendors stayed home, however. No pizza or pretzels; no hotdogs or lemonade.

Bicycles and snowblowers however popped up among the farm produce. Glassware was not selling, even at .50 each. Books were out (I bought 2) as was ephemera. However, the ephemera had to be covered due to the winds, so not many people were going thru the boxes. Baseball and sports cards were selling, tho.

Sellers with kids' clothes, jackets and hats were busy. I saw a number of people had bought hats with attached mittens because they had not dressed warmly enough for their outing. Impulse purchases, or necessities? Old Matchbox cars and trucks were selling as were NIB kids toys. Also sold was a VHS tape player and a turntable.

Interestingly, the Chinese couple I mentioned a few weeks ago were back with much better articles than before. They had a gorgeous bronze Qwan Yin statue for $495, along with junky jade pendants and carvings for $5 and $10. There was a Russian guy selling an icon (was it real?) that looked quite old, but I was wary because I know nothing about those kinds of things. The African mask seller was absent, as were the sellers of Mexican pottery. However, jewelry, both costume and fine, was going like crazy and at (to me) fantastic prices. Silver jewelry seemed very popular (maybe because gold's so high?). The styles being sold ranged from delicate 20s pins to ethnic necklaces to chunky 80s necklaces. My bet is that beaders were buying these to refashion/rework.

One seller was making a fortune with his suitcases (maybe people needed them to get away from our nasty winters?)

The clock seller was back, with his vintage and antique wall and mantle clocks. His prices were reduced from last month, so I suspect he wanted to unload his inventory. There were very few "mid-Century modern" chairs or lamps. Has the trend peaked?

Christmas-related goods were not much in evidence, but Halloween-themed things were. There were mannikens (sp?) -- legs and heads that could be used for decoration, I guess, along with rubber masks, and other things of that nature. There were many small vintage occasional tables and rocking chairs that we saw being carted off, but few of the larger pieces of furniture.

Due to the weather, we sped thru the market, and headed out for 3 estate sales, which, in general were a bust. I bought some Chinese wood stands, because they are always handy to have around. I debated about a nice dry sink for $40 but decided against it because I have no place for it, and it really wasn't my "style." What I noticed has sold before we got to the sales were the large furniture pieces such as corner cabinets, armoires, chests of drawers, etc. What was still there were the vintage linens, such as 40s and 50s table cloths, cross-stitched and printed. Remember when those were "hot"? Guess they're not any more.

http://www.windycitybooks.com/ebay/flea1.jpg
http://www.windycitybooks.com/ebay/flea2.jpg
http://www.windycitybooks.com/ebay/flea3.jpg
http://www.windycitybooks.com/ebay/flea4.jpg
http://www.windycitybooks.com/ebay/flea5.jpg

Hope everyone has a wonderful day, and those our East stay warm and dry.