Pick Of The Week

This week's Pick - picked at a firehouse flea market on Sunday morning - a pair of cast aluminum wall plaques depicting soldiers from the Revolutionary War period. The black coat is from the Continental Army, the green coat is a Minuteman.  These were created by the Sexton company from Raytown, Missouri circa 1960's and measure about 21" tall each.  The Sexton company created cast metal wall decor in a variety of themes (vehicles, military, household items, historical figures, etc.) before going out of business in 2001.

I just thought they looked cool!

Pick Of The Week - A Mystery

This one is a total mystery to me!

The size is 14" square and about 4" high.  Which is highly suggestive of a cake platform (like they use at weddings).  Or maybe a pot stand for indoor plants? My web searches of cake platforms, plates, and risers turned up nothing with a patterned top like this.  Indeed, I couldn't imagine putting a cake on top of inlaid enamel.  And my search for plant or pot stands came up empty handed as well.

This is a shot down on the inlaid enamel top. The pattern appears too "perfect" for the leading to be hand laid, so I'm guessing it is machine made. But I'm not positive.  The colors are actually very bright and jewel-toned.  But my web searches of inlaid enamel turned up jewelry, vases, and trinket boxes - nothing like this!

The floral and striped detailing on the sides appears to be embossed tin, wrapped around the edges of side and tacked down with very tiny finish nails or pins.  Reminds me of tin ceiling tiles.

The claw feet are attached to the base with slotted rather than Phillips head screws, which suggest that it is an older piece.

There is nothing anywhere on the piece to identify a manufacturer, country of origin, or date.

So can any of you help me solve this mystery?  Ever seen anything like this before?

Pick of the Week

Since shopping the thrift stores and flea markets has become such a prominent part of my life, I was trying to figure out a way to share that here that would be interesting and informative but not be the primary thing I'm always adding to Memorandum Monday.  So here is the first installment of "Pick of the Week."  I will try to do a post for each week when I have an interesting find to share.

 This week's pick was found at a local thrift store.  It is a cast iron CASE train engine floor toy.  Cast iron toys were originally manufactured in America as children's playthings from the 1870's through World War II.  According to this eBay buying guide the one we found is likely a later reproduction because of the coarseness of the finish.  I also read that original pieces did not have gold paint.  In either case, we thought it was a cool piece that will likely sell quickly in our shop!