Going, Going, Gone!

           

 

 

 

 

 

The Duppster and I enjoy going to auctions.

            Sometimes he bids on and buys items.  Sometimes, he bids but doesn’t go high enough to buy.  And, sometimes, we watch and don’t bid at all.  Either the way, the auctions are our weekend entertainment.

             Besides being fun, they are great learning experiences.  For example, I’ve learned not to wave to anyone or fan myself or swat at flies or make any other motion with my arms – not even to scratch something – when there’s bidding going on.  Otherwise, we might end up buying something we don’t need or want.

            And then there are times when we end up with stuff that Dupp wanted, but, for the life of me, I sure don’t know why.

            Right now, we’re practically tripping over bottles and jars – all empty, of course.  I’ll admit that Dupp has found some very interesting bottles with delightful histories.  For example, we have a bottle for Lydia Pinkham’s Vegetable Compound (for “female complaints”) from the 1870s.   Another from the 1800s is a bottle for Pond’s Extract, the first product of the company that eventually developed Pond’s Vanishing Cream and Pond’s Cold Cream, followed by other cosmetic items. 

            From auctions and garage sales, though, we’ve occasionally ended up with something that we just have to label “unknown thing.”  In fact, I think we are now official collectors of unknown things.

            Sure, they’re interesting to display.   Also, since we have a little booth in an antique gallery, we typically put our finds in the booth.  But, the thing is, that to sell an object, it helps to know what it is or at least a little something about it.

            Who wants to buy something with a tag that says “unknown thing”?