On Antique Binoculars

Yesterday at the auction there was tons of stuff I wanted, but most of it went out of my comfort level. Some people get carried away at auctions, but I try to stick to my budget. For instance, there was a really nice brass fire extinguisher that I wanted, but it went for $150 (plus fees). Rather than duke it out, I did an eBay search, and it turns out they are readily available, most for under $100, some under $50. Needless to say, I'll be buying one on eBay for a fraction of the auction price. This time my lesson learned the easy way.

I did manage to bag a couple of lots of vintage binoculars, and another antique lap desk (writing slope):

The lap desk is really cool because it's one of the ones with the built-in stand, and it's quite large (10"x20"). It does have a few cosmetic condition issues, but I'm going to try to sell it as-is (~$500); if it doesn't move, I'll have it restored (cost of restoration $200, increases value to $800-1000 but makes it harder to sell).

Binoculars are an interesting bunch, because they can range in value from $20 to $1000. Leica and Zeiss binoculars top the scale at I got this lot for around $1000 per pair, then in the mid $500 range you have top end Japanese brands like Nikon and Canon. The next tier down are military binoculars from World War 2 like the US Navy Mark 33 that got in the $150-250 range. Down below that is what I got.

Clockwise from top left: 

• Lichter 7x50. Nice binocs made in Japan in the 60's with a German sounding name. Value  $75-100.
• Bushnell Rangemaster 7x35. 11º Field of view, superior quality, all metal construction. Value about $125. A really excellent pair of glasses, I might keep these for myself.
• Tasco 7x35. Entry level Japanese glasses. Value $25.
• Lamaire Paris opera glasses with case. Mother of pearl and brass, 99.5% original condition. Value $125-150.
• Busch-Stellux Prisma-Binocle 6x. Made in Germany, imported by Paul Meyrowitz Fifth Ave & 36th Street New York, circa 1910. Value $100.

In all it turned out to be a good lot and should easily bring $400. Not a bad haul, shouldn't bee too hard to get money back out.

One night at Midnight Sun Antique Auction

Last night was the monthly Midnight Sun Auction, and I went to see what I could score on the cheap. The place was full of the usual suspects, and 300 lots of fine junkery. It was one of those nights that nothing excited me very much, meaning there were no "have to have" items for me. In those cases, my strategy is to pick-off somewhat interesting items for the opening bid price; if I don't get it, no big deal. Here was my take:

 

From top left, clockwise: Hand-painted Japanese vase, real elephant ivory elephant (with poorly repaired trunk that my restorer will make perfect, and missing tusks), a mini tackle-box of trade beads many of which are real turquoise, an unsmokes meerschaum cheroot holder in the original case (lacking a stem which I will have made by my pipe repairman). All of this rests on a nice signed etching of Norte Dame, most likely a tourist piece from the 1960's, but nicely executed. Total cost was $137 including buyer's premium. I will have to invest a couple hundred more to make everything more attractive, but overall I think it's not too shabby.

Santa Monica Airport Swap Meet recap

Last Thursday I decided to see if I could get a spot at the Santa Monica Swap meet. I had done that swap a few times before with varying degrees of success from $400 to $3500 in one day. I called, left a message and hoped I could get a stand-by spot on Sunday.

Sunday I got there early waited around for a bit and got a space by 7am, which was lucky. I set up and had a couple slow hours with no sales, but then the customers started trickling in. I think the dealers were hampered by Thanksgiving, I'm sure many regular shoppers were out of town, while others were at the mall.

Here's a panoramic snapshot of my little 16'x16' patch of tarmac:

 

And a close-up of one of the tables:

Now what's neat about the first shot, is that recently I found another shot I took over a year ago in the same space the first time I sold there. I was sharing the space with a couple friends, 50/50, but I gave them the lion's share of the space because they had cheaper inventory.

The two ovals are my stuff, along with a card table or two at far left. In comparison, it's amazing that I made any money at all. In truth though, all that stuff are things I accumulated over the years and not really "inventory" in the truer sense. I do see that I was making an attempt to accept electronic payment (see orange case at center, it says PayPal accepted), but overall I look back and laugh.