Labor Day NOT the Way It's Supposed To Be

We work hard on labor day. Being retired and getting up at 5:30am to hit the flea markets is not what labor day is supposed to be like. But, that's what we did.

First we went to a Labor Day only flea market, where in 2023 I bought 50 blu rays and in 2024 I got 110 blu rays from the same man. They were all expensive classics at $1 each. He wasn't there last year, and this year we got there too early, and headed over to another flea market. When we got back, he was there. But, someone bought 100 from him earlier. So, I got the left overs which were still 55 DVDs and 6 Blu Rays. I ended up paying .80 cents each. These are watched once, in perfect condition.

Earlier at the other flea market I found a beautiful book on Roger Hane: Arts, Times and Tragedy. He was an excellent illustrator. The seller yelled books are $1. Okay, that's my price. I ended up with 8 pieces, and it was $10 total. Since I found $10 the day before, basically all this was free. I thought these two were prints, they're not. They're watercolor and ink from Shannon Valentine. She's an independent artist who sells her prints for $18 each.


This is an intaglio 181/200 "City Scape" by Al Kaufman. The Twin Towers in the background is very cool. The mat is velvet.

A porcelain postcard from West Germany.

This is honestly my favorite piece, because of the artistry of both the portrait and the cartoon. It's very small, maybe 4 or 5".


The funny thing is, I bought two reproduction cross stitch decor, and I have them on ebay. They have a watcher, and if someone buys it, I'll make more than $10.

It was a good flea market day.

Today we hit our usual shops. At one, a woman who owns an antique store volunteers there. So, I'm surprised this print was still there. Gray tags were 50 cents.

The actual print is 12" x 16". I took a photo and the best AI could tell me was that it was probably made for a pharmacy. They'd put these up for their art, which makes sense.

I decided to take it out of the frame to see what it says under the mat. The paper backing was newer, and it was framed in Norriston PA. Under plastic on the back was this -

AI tells me DJ Healy was a popular department store in Detroit till 1962. The original print in this frame was probably a Robin Hood print. When the place in PA reframed, they put it on the back for provenance to the original piece.

It turns out my apothecary print is NOT a print, it's an actual illustration. Done on this board, which AI tells me is the logo from 1920 - 1950.

To keep the ball rolling, my wife picked up a Limoges Christmas Tree trinket box and Steiff bear with button and tag out of a thrift shop. They had garbage bears priced higher.

When I worked full time (up till covid) I'd barely get out of bed on labor day.

 

Retirement-mighty nice feeling aint' it ? Imagine what life'd be like if we were all Trust Fund Babies-the sheer joy of it ! Think of what you could do with all that excess energy- hmmm, I wonder ?

 

You'd think trust fund babies would have the best lives. But, look at how many celebrity kids are completely messed up. Working makes you appreciate the down time.