The other thread's getting too big:
Here's mine:
a stereo copy of "The Freewheeling Bob Dylan" with the four songs that were deleted before the record was actually released.
I paid $1.00 for it in 1992 and sold it for $12,345.67
Furniture-wize, how about a real Saarinen cigarette oval table for $15.00 at Salvation Army in NYC? How about an Egg Chair ottoman for $20.00 at another junk shop in NYC?
Cool, Nick
Isn't it a joy to find something you don't need and then discover its real worth?
I've junk shopped for records for years and years and have found some real gems.
Finding great MCM furniture for next to nothing is more problematic and sometimes the resotration isn't worth it.
It IS a balancing act, isn't it?
Here's where to start, James
By studying the Records and Art price guides and learning to spot a rare item.
In the case of the Dylan LP, the cover is the same as the regular one....only the first batch of records were pressed before the 4 songs were removed and replaced. Supposidly all copies were destroyed, but apparently some survived. I was lucky enough to pull out the record and that's when I noticed "Blowing In The Wind" was not listed on either side. I had read about the changed tracks, so imagine my shock and surprise!
But it all came down to my knowing about it when I saw the label.
By no means a best ever...
By no means a best ever profit but very satisfying buy just before Christmas..... at my local auction house's weekly general sale the BBC were filming Cash in the Attic (awful tv programme where so-called 'experts' value people's stuff and put it into auction). Anyway one of their lots was a mixed group of studio pottery, about 10 pieces, estimated at £50 - 70. In amongst the brown pots was one of the nicest Gambone vases I've ever seen, perfect condition and signed. Bought the whole lot for £90 + hammer. Sold the vase for £700 two days later. Can't wait to see it on air!
As a postscript the same BBC 'expert' (Jonty Hearnden I think his name is) was talking about a Barcelona chair seen at a French market on another show - apparently it was made by one of Mies' students (!),a man called Parker Knoll (!) in the 1960s. Staggering that people get paid for talking such drivel.
Very interesting, Paulanna
I watch "Cash In The Attic" here in the US on BBC America, and I'm surprised at the crap that gets sold at everyday auctions in the UK. Here, auctions are only selling the higher end, more collectable art and decorative stuff. We also get reruns of "Bargain Hunt", which is even more ridiculous; buying at an antique fair and putting the items into a "real life auction". I guess once one gets into the "game", they can find some good stuff cheap, but I'd rather go to a set-priced store and buy ir or not, without all the 'excitement' of a live auction, not to mention those fees.
But
In keeping with the "greatest find" theme of the thread, I have to mention the Nelson CSS unit I found on the Chicago Craigslist for $200 a few months ago...4 poles, 8 perfect shelves, phono cabinet, drop down desk with light, and a fixer-upper cabinet that needs 2 doors. The best part is that I waited on it because I couldn't tell in the pics what it was (had junk piled on it), then I started looking at the details, realized my blunder and left work here in Milwaukee early to drive down in rush hour traffic. The worst part was the estate liquidator guy didn't know what it was and had set the cabinets rather roughly on the ground before I got there (the veneer chips very easily). The funniest part was the poles didn't fit in my 2 door Golf and they had to stick out the passenger window on the 2 hr drive home...it was about 40 degrees out!
I think it hadn't been snatched up because it was listed as "Teak Scandinavian Shelf System"...I just happened to do a search for teak furniture and found it that way. The ironic part was that just a week earlier when picking up my new old sofa, the guy had found his CSS for next to nothing and was saying how it's worth thousands. I was daydreaming all week about finding such a amazing set under the radar, and this one came along! AND right under the Chi-town dealer's noses...
my best finds
--Saarinen tulip arm chair, upholsterd shell in a nice bright blue. Excellent vintage condition. $10.00 at a yard sale.
--Bertoia slat bench. Fair condition-this will need refinished, owner had used it in the garage to store paint and other crap on it. $16.00 at an auction outside in the winter, it was snowing and no one knew what it was or any of the other MCM treasures we got that day.
--Jens Risom teak credenza. Fair to good condition. The top has some stains and other flaws. $175.00 at an antique co-op. At that price and condition, I did not feel bad when I drilled holes in the back to run stereo and video cables through the back.
--Arne Jacobsen series 7 in very good vintage condition. $12.00 at a flea market.
--Eames DKX-2 with bikini pad in very good vintage condition. It took much cleaning because it was covered in a thick dust. $25.00 at a flea market.
--Saarinen #72 with walnut legs in good condition. The foam is starting to get crunchy, but I plan on get it reupholstered this year. $35.00 at a flea market.
--We have found many "smalls" over the past years like a Russell Wright Oceana starfish bowl for .75 cents. My Ericofon for $3.00 from the "worlds longest yard sale" My wife and are not wealthy people so we have to get our stuff second hand. The hunt is part of the fun! It is very addicting!
Jazz record
No profit here though it is a cherished and precious find....
An album by Paul Gonsalves called 'Boom-Jackie-Boom-Chick' for one pound.
I joined a record listeners club ages ago and when I showed up there was a handful of ancient cats who loved their Stan Kenton and Artie Shaw, big band stuff , mostly pre 1950. Anyway, they had a kinda in-house record library and I just about fainted when I flicked through and saw all these first issue gems, all 50's bop and killer modal/hard-bop from the 60's.Crux of the story is that it turned out they were all for sale ' to contribute to the tea and coffee fund ' !
I think I took about 120 in total ....... a quid each
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