Junk Hunting at The Trove

That’s what I call it, but truly it’s not junk, I oughta be clear about that. I’m not big on TV programs, especially reality TV… now that’s JUNK!  However, we love the History Channel’s version of reality TV… American Pickers, Pawn Stars, even Counting Cars… because not only are these people decent and genuine, you learn something valuable about items from our past.  

Thanks to one of my blog readers (I have to apologize, I forget which one of you tipped me off to this)…I discovered a new junk hunting location not far from here… The Trove in Old Saybrook, CT.  Mike and I took a ride on Saturday to check it out, and while we came home empty handed, we saw more than a few interesting pieces.

 A Kodak Brownie Camera in very good condition… The Brownie was a  very popular simple and inexpensive camera made by Kodak , the first being introduced in 1900, a cardboard model with an introductory price of just $1.  These cameras made photography much more accessible for the non professional.   This one is the Holiday series with a simple built in flash….made in 1953 through 1957.    I’m guessing they were called “holiday”  because they were a good choice to take along on vacations (on holiday) , easy to tote.

Mike had one of these when he was just a sprite. 
I remember a neighbor of mine had one in green
and he usually had bball cards attached to the spokes with clothespins
to make that awesome sound. This is an Oscar Hedstrom bike..
more info HERE if you’re interested.

Some lovely furniture, all from different periods..the drop leaf table
very reasonably priced.  If I had a spot for it….
Some of the curiosities you find in places like this are very… curious.

“Doctor M.A. Simmons
first practiced medicine in Georgia, where he brewed up Simmons Liver
Medicine (curing costiveness, lowness of spirits, colic, foul breath,
dyspepsia, etc.) and drove through the countryside with a five-gallon
keg of it, dispensing however much anyone wanted to buy. He moved to
Mississippi, first living in Holly Springs, but located in Iuka when the
proprietary medicine tax became effective in 1862.”

 An ad I found online for the stuff…

I took an immediate liking to this biscuit tin below, no bigger than a pencil box. 
I might go back and buy it, although I don’t really have a need for it. 
You know how you keep thinking about a thing 
even days after you walked away from it?


“Huntley & Palmers started life in 1822
as a small bakery in London Street, Reading. In 1846 the firm opened a
large factory on Kings Road in Reading and by 1900 this business was the
largest biscuit manufacturer in the world, employing over 5,000 people.”

  A beautiful two dollar note for the Eagle Bank of New Haven
dated August 1st, 1825.  The Eagle bank was the second bank to open in New Haven in 1811.

A Tom Thumb childs cash register/bank from the 1950s.

I love this case.. if only I had a place to put it!
I can imagine hours and hours of imaginative cooking on this adorable
childs stove, hand made with wood and still in beautiful condition. 
  Hmm.. to go back and get that biscuit tin.. or not. 
That’s todays question.