I always look forward to the Decorative Arts sale at one of my usual auction houses. Not so I can buy stuff but because the merchandise can be so funky and unusual.
The prices are normally too high for most of us regulars and some don’t even bother to show up. I do, though, because I’m curious about what new strange item has been retrieved from someone’s estate.
The sale this week didn’t disappoint me. I found several items that would test the most creative of designers. For some of them, I couldn’t fathom how to fit them into any décor. Except for one piece.
Here are some of the items that stumped me, along with their descriptions from the bid sheets and how much they sold for. Some looked as if they could work in an artist’s installation at a gallery, but inside a home? Tell me how you would use them:
Vintage industrial large floor jack. Walker Hydraulics Roll-a-Car jack. $90
Industrial galvanized steel trash cans on wheels. Original paper labels. 3 pieces. These were made by a company called Witt Industries, which “enjoys a rich, established history in the steel waste receptacle manufacturing industry dating back to 1887. It was founded as The Witt Cornice Company by George Witt, who invented and patented the first corrugated, galvanized ash can and lid in 1899,” according to its website. The company noted that it was a woman-owned business. $90
Vintage industrial traffic light with colored plastic lens. Tall larger size. This was the second traffic light I had come across recently. The other was sold during an auction of memorabilia from the now-closed Spaghetti Warehouse restaurant in Philadelphia. I learned that the first traffic light was set up outside the British Parliament in 1868. The modern electric traffic light was invented in this country. Urban Remains, a Chicago company that sells architectural artifacts, was selling a similar traffic light on its website for $495. The one at auction, which was a foot taller, sold for $100.
Industrial metal lot: 2 wheels, 1 gear-type piece, 3 coil springs, 2 metal pieces with connecting chain. All vintage industrial. $80
Lot 3 vintage Air Flight hassock floor fans made by Universal Electric. Dark Bakelite top with clear plastic louver fins. 3 pieces. These apparently could double as a stool or table. $130
Public pay phone, 25 cents for a call. It still had the public’s dirt, grime and fingerprints on it. This was not part of the more upscale Decorative Arts sale. I’m not sure how much it sold for.
Student driver sign. This, too, was not part of the Decorative Arts sale. Not sure how much this one sold for, either.
Vintage industrial spark plug gear lamp. Creative table lamp with assembled gear construction. Shade composed of spark plugs. Signed J.C. $240
The lamp fits into the category of the unusual, but I think it’s a nice piece. I could actually envision it in my home.
