Tag Archives: Golden Nugget

Weekend Treasures – June 2024

It has been a while since we shared some of our weekend treasures. Rainy weekends and life have really put a dint in our easy breezy travels.  However, this past weekend proved fruitful.

Weekend Treasures

Alfred Dunhill, Silent Flame Table Lighter – Gold Finish

On Saturday, I headed out to one of my favorites, the Golden Nugget Flea Market in Lambertville, NJ. My first buy was an Alfred Dunhill Silent Flame table lighter with a gold finish. These were produced between 1935 and 1944 by Parker of London Ltd., New York City. The original 1935 patent lists it as an electric cigar lighter.

Marketed as “Aphrodite” it is sometimes called the “Fan Dancer” after the famed entertainer, Sally Rand.  And, it was extremely popular during the Art Deco period.

Weekend Treasures

Alfred Dunhill, Silent Flame Table Lighter (photo via table-lighters. blogspot.com)

These are not particularly difficult to find but are still quite collectable and can be costly. The exception is the rare Superman version which can sell for thousands. This one was extremely reasonably priced so I snagged it.

The next treasure I picked up is this reverse painted frame. What drew me to this is the accent color.  It’s difficult to see, but what looks almost black, is ruby red. It is truly stunning in person and a fitting tribute to the Joan Crawford photo that was included.

So ends day one of weekend treasures.

Weekend Treasures

Alfred Dunhill, Silent Flame Table Lighter – Chrome Finish

Since it was a nice morning on Sunday, back to the Golden Nugget. And what did I find? Another Alfred Dunhill, Silent Flame Table Lighter. But this time, in the chrome finish. Even more reasonably priced than the prior one, home it came.

Weekend Treasures

New York World’s Fair – Views

Anthony has a collection of the 1939-1940 World’s Fair memorabilia. I got this souvenir booklet although I was sure he had one already. It is in excellent condition (and doesn’t smell – always important when buying ephemera) and it was only $5.00.

Weekend Ttreasures

New York World’s Fair – Centerfold

My best buy, and the treasure of the weekend is this Chase Stratosphere Ash Stand. Designed by Walter von Nessen, it stands about 26 inches high and weighs about 7 pounds. Not fun to lug around in an open air flea market on a hot and  cloudless day. But more importantly, it is complete with the ashtray insert.

Weekend Treasures

Finding a treasure

This is not an easy piece to find, and even harder to find complete. The Stratosphere normally sells for well into the hundreds of dollars. Asking price? $45.00. A no brainer but I still checked with Anthony and got a resounding, “YES!”

When I bought it, it was complete. Then it wasn’t. And then it was. Let me explain.

So, I bought it when I was about halfway through the market. I got back to my car, packed things up and headed home. But when I got home, the astray insert, the hardest and arguably the most valuable part, was missing. I checked my car and it was not there. I figured I left it at vendor’s table. The only way for it to be missing is if the top was open and it slipped out. The only place it was open was at the vendors.

Now there were two issues I faced. The first is that there is no way to call a vendor table in the middle of a field.

The other issue with this flea market is that many vendors arrive by 5 in the morning and tend to leave by 10:00 – 10:30.

It was 10:15.

Luckily, I live relatively close, about 25 minutes away. To say I tore back there is an understatement. 17 minutes later and I was happy to see the vendor still there. Well, his table was there but he was not.

I spent the next ten minutes retracing my steps around the market in case I didn’t lose it there. This included looking under parked cars.

Not finding it, I headed back to the vendor and still he was not there.  I knew if he found it, he would have set it aside. I looked into his (open) van. Nothing. I looked all over, and under, the table. Nothing. And then I saw a small paper bag that seemed out-of-place. I took a chance and there it was! The heavens opened and the angels sang – AAAAAAA!

Weekend Treasures

Chase Stratosphere Ash Stand – complete with insert

I asked the vendor next to him to let him know I came back and got it.

The lesson to take away from this is to check and double check things with pieces before you leave the vendor and before you leave the market or store.

Weekend Treasures

Stratosphere – temporary home

So, there you go. Another successful hunt for weekend treasures.

Chris & Anthony (the Freakin’ ‘tiquen Guys)

Chase ‘n Fiesta

The summer weekends were filled with Chase ‘n Fiesta. I tend to go driving-for-deco more frequently alone during the week and weekends.  Our inside joke is that when we hunt together, we find some good pieces. However, not necessarily what we collect. Alone, I tend to find pretty good items to add to our collections.

So, what have I found on my hunts?

Chase and Fiesta

Vendor’s collection for sale

My weekends usually start at the Golden Nugget Flea Market. Since reopening post-pandemic, Saturdays are generally less populated. Both by vendors and patrons. On this day, one seller had a small sampling of Chase. He knew what he had but his prices were on the much lower side of fair.

Chase chrome bar caddy

Chase chrome bar caddy

I did not pick up the bar caddy from this vendor as we found one the week before.

Chase

Chase conical shaker

And so, adding to our Chase collection is this Conical Sugar Shaker (1936 – 1938).  It is a difficult to find item. And when you do, they have scratches and dents.  It has some light wear, but is a pretty good example.

Chase

Chase nut cracker

Chase Mark

Chase mark on bottom of nut cracker

This is an unusual nut cracker from Chase. We have seen examples without the base, or with a chrome or copper bowl between the base and the cracker. Is the bowl missing? We don’t think so.

There are “pick holes” on the shaft on the ones manufactured with the bowl component.  However, the shafts are smooth on the ones that are free-standing.  This has no pick holes but has a base. It could be a marriage of pieces, or an alternate version unknown to us.

More research is needed on this one.

Also found there, are these very hard-to-find individual ashtrays in copper. These are from a different vendor and he had no idea what they were. Nor they were made by Chase. And they were inexpensive. Cha-ching!

There is a regular vendor who deals in art deco with a heavy emphasis on Chase giftware. We don’t tend to buy from him because, a) his prices are on the really high end of fair.  And b) he refuses to bargain.

,,,

Flash forward a few Saturdays. To my surprise I found him selling a piece of Chase that I have been looking for.

Chase Pretzel Man

Chase Chrome Pretzel Man

If you read about the Pretzel Man in an earlier post, you know this piece is already hard to find in copper. And it is nearly impossible to find in chrome. I dreaded asking him the price for the chrome example. To my surprise, he was asking $75.00.  These generally go for well over $120.00.

Fietsa

Fiesta Cup – forest green

And as for the Fiesta, it started at my next stop. A vintage Fiesta cup in forest green glaze from Good Stuff. Cost? $1.00.

The next morning, can you guess where I went?  If you said the Golden Nugget, pat yourself on the back.

First, I found a pair of Post ‘86 Fiesta turquoise bulb candle holders for $8.00.  Although we tend to look for vintage, we are not above picking up “newer” pieces.  That is, if you can call something almost 40 years old “newer”.

Fiesta Post '86 bulb candleholder

Fiesta Post ’86 bulb candleholder

The exceptional find of the day was a complete Fiesta relish set, heavy on the Ivory. One of the inserts is damaged. The vendor was honest about it and priced it accordingly.  This is an item that is not the easiest to find.  And when you do, it will be over $200.00.

Fiesta relish tray

Fiesta relish tray

Because of the damage, the asking price was well below that. Even lower than it should be. I know this vendor. He knows his stuff and he does not usually deal in Fiesta. Still, I did a little bit of haggling (which Anthony hates when I do) and got a bit more knocked off. Final cost, $65.00.

As a side note, when we were in Madison, Wisconsin antiquing, we found a replacement insert. Woo-hoo!

Fiesta divided plate

Fiesta divided plate

Best of all, he threw in a vintage Fiesta 10 1/2 inch light green divided plate for free.

These were produced 1937 – 1959 in the original 10 colors. But, unfortunately they proved too heavy for practical use. When you find them now, the raised ridges are often scuffed or chipped.

This one is in mint condition, and I like free!

But wait, there is more. Elsewhere, what did my wandering eye see?  Well, not Fiesta but some pieces associated with Homer Laughlin’s Heniquin line. I picked up a mauve-blue individual creamer and a mauve-blue nut dish for $1.00 each.

The creamers are not listed as part of the Harlequin line. However, as they are glazed in the Harlequin colors, they are often referred to as: Harlequin Individual Creamer.

The in-between weekends were spent in Detroit. Follow us along on that adventure.

The next weekend after Detroit, I bargained and bought a Homer Laughlin 1939 Artist Decorating a Vase World’s Fair plate. Though fairly (no pun intended) easy to find, this sample is trimmed in gold. This makes it a harder-to-find example.

1939 Fiesta Worlds Fair plate

1939 Fiesta Worlds Fair Artist Decorating a Vase

And finally – for that day – a mint condition #6 Mixing bowl in light green.

Since I mentioned the 1939-1940 World’s Fair, a vendor that weekend had quite a selection of memorabilia – but that is for a different post.

A few weekends have passed and back to, you-know-where? And what did I spy but another individual creamer in red, and two nut dishes, red and yellow.

Homer Laughlin Individual Creamer

Individual Creamer – Red

Homer Laughlin Nut Dish

Basket weave nut dish 1938 – 1943

It is a bit ironic finding more of these. The Creamers can go for between $20 – $30 each. Light green and Rose are hard-to-find and can cost over $100 each.

Homer Laughlin Individual Creamer

Individual Creamer – Light Green

This past weekend I picked up a light green creamer for $5.00. Antiquing Karma is smiling down upon me.

Here’s my current collection. I need one dipped in the 40’s rose glaze for a complete set.

Homer Laughlin Individual Creamer

Homer Laughlin Individual Creamer

The nut dishes are also fairly easy to find. These generally sell for around $20.00. And like the individual creamer, light green and rose are the more difficult to locate and command a higher price.

My purchase price for this last group? A grand total of $7.00.

Ready for more irony? I found another, albeit without the gold trim, 1939 World’s Fair Artist Decorating a Vase plate. It was a good price and so it came home with me.

Fiesta Artist 1939 Worlds Fair Artist Decorating a Vase

Fiesta Artist 1939 Worlds Fair Artist Decorating a Vase

So that is some of my summer adventures Chase ‘n Fiesta. Thanks for coming along for the ride.

Don’t forget to check out our next Detroit post: Tabernacles, Tables and Trays. More sightseeing and more driving-for-deco antiquing!

Chris & Anthony (the Freakin’ ‘tiquen Guys)