One of the first things I found, many years ago (still in the original box) was a reproduction mini cast iron stove. It was made by Greycraft in the 1960s. It is the Crescent model 20 Range. When these are found out of the box by some people they immediately think they have a salesmen's sample from the 1800s - but many times they are wrong. From my research I have found that these have been reproduced off and on since the 1920s and were still being made recently (though with less detail). This one came from a local man who worked for a local National Auto Store in the 1950s and 60s and bought many items that didn't sell or were display items. He put them in his attic and just stored them. After he passed away his son started selling off many of his treasures.
It had never been removed from the box and each piece was still wrapped in it's original paper. All assembled it measures 10" X 5" x 8" tall. and weighs about 3.5 lbs.
The box still shows it's $1.99 price written on the front.
I started getting interested in vintage and antique items when I moved from a single-wide trailer (12' X 60') into a 12 room, 3,400 square foot home that we had deeds for going back to 1854 (shown below). The local historical society thought it had been built in the 1840s. It was a 2 family when we purchased it and remained that way for a few years until our tenant (the previous owner) went into a nursing home. When we converted it to a one family I had a lot of rooms to fill but not much money to shop. So, I started going to garage and estate sales, church rummage sales, estate auctions, etc. I became hooked and my furnishing and collections grew and grew.
After 20 years of living there the time came to move into a small ranch home with my new husband. He had been living there since he built it in 1978 so it was already furnished. I gave away some things, he sold some items, I sent a large truck load to an auction house and moved the rest into our basement.
After a while I started sorting through the basement and decided it was time to part with some of the excess. My daughter's mother-in-law suggested that I sell them on Etsy and I have been selling there from my shop - www.etsy.com/shop/PJsParadise since April of 2012.
My favorite things to find (and sometimes sell - if I can part with them) are vintage items in their original boxes. When I find one I immediately know most of the history of the item I have. I decided I would like to share some of these items to help others in their research. I'll probably also throw in some of my favorite finds and some personal stories, too. I hope you enjoy it and welcome any comments.
