What a find

One of the hobbies my wife Beth and I share is visiting estate and garage sales.

The 4 different companies we have come to appreciate since coming to Niagara County, not in particular order:

Lewiston Antiques: Richie and company are always pleasant. His sales are almost always worthwhile.

Sales by Mario: Always fair, friendly and on a Saturday morning last summer, one of the workers in Youngstown watched our dog while we shopped.

Early Bird Estate Sales: Again, friendly, new to us and fun. Willing to negotiate.

Nettie Stinson Antiques: Infrequent sales, but nice, flexible and usually worthwhile.

We try to avoid excessive purchases. That means if a rocking chair is perfect, we better have a place for it or dispose of one it upgrades.

The find of the season so far for us was a Stickley-style oak hall tree at a Stinson sale for $80. I came home and looked it up online and found it selling for $1,800 to $3,000. The roughness of the brass hardware and screws convinced me it was original, not a reproduction, even if the patina seems a bit fresh. It may have been carefully stored and not used.

Ditto a pair of Hersey Manufacturing chairs we acquired a year ago in Wheatfield for $25. Oak armchairs with original leather seats, in perfect condition, never refinished or reupholstered, built about 1910 in Buffalo. Online they are listed at $750 each.

I also will do things like spend $1 on a sealed bottle of imported Balsamic vinegar which likely A) Improves with age and B) Sells for $30 or so online. Most of the expiration dates on the spices on that sale were 2015 or older so I assume the vinegar was the same vintage.

Another fun recent score was the political button collection I found for $3 at the LaSalle Community-wide garage sale, pictured above. Anderson ran against Reagan. The closer for me was Nixon/Lodge from when Nixon first ran. I even scored a John Daly and a LaFalce as well as some I did not recognize. Oh sure, the sticker says $4 but who am I not to bargain?