Typewriters, Racks and Rods

If you are a freshvintage fan on Facebook, you may have seen these photos when I posted them a few weeks ago:

These were taken at an estate sale in a nice neighborhood in Wilmington, Delaware. And I use the word "estate" the same way you would refer to a hooker as a "lady of the evening".

I don't think anyone had lived there for at least 20 years. It was a sad story. Something about the elderly owner not being able to keep up with the housework (textbook definition of "understatement"). There was a 15-foot-long hole in the roof, for god's sake!

I somehow managed to find a few things that weren't covered in black mold or mouse poop. These typewriters don't work, but they were two bucks each.

This one is a Olivetti Underwood Lettera 32 from the mid-1960s...the SAME model that recently sold for $254,500! Maybe I should mention that that particular Lettera 32 was owned by author Cormac McCarthy. If mine was in good working condition and had the vinyl zipper case, it would probably be worth $75-$125 on eBay.

This rusty Underwood Leader Portable is from the 1950s. If you are looking for information about typewriters, you should check out the Typewriter Museum website. I found info on both of these typewriters there.

I also scored this spinning display rack. I don't know what it originally displayed, but it must have been some type of personalized novelty. Maybe license plates?

The bottom half of the three-feet-high rack has strips of paper that say "Reserved For" boys' names.  I assume that the top half was once reserved for girls' names. And I guess that whatever was sold on this rack was priced at 49 cents:

You can get an idea of its age by the names that are listed. Most of them are names that you would not find in the latest Social Security Administration's List of Top Ten Boys' Names. Dwight, Lyle, Wally, Virgil, Val...

 

...Rod, Rusty, Skip. I have a special attachment to the name Rod: it is my husband's go-to name whenever he feels like making shit up. Like, if my kids ask him, "Who are you meeting at the racetrack, Daddy?", his answer is invariably "Rod". Or, if one of my sisters calls when I am out at yard sales, he will simply say, "Colleen's not home. She's with Rod". There is no Rod. He doesn't know anyone named Rod.

And the name has been adopted by other family members during the past few years. When we went to Walt Disney World in December, our whole group of 19 went to the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular. This is one of those events where the host picks people out of the audience to participate in the show. Four people from our group, including me, were selected after we stood up and wildly flailed our arms. My brother-in-law Doug (from New Jersey) was also picked. We walked onto the stage with the huge crowd watching and we each had to say our name and hometown. When it was Doug's turn, he boomed into the mic:

"Hi, I'm Rod from Yakima, Washington".

I guess I should be happy that Rod is the family favorite. It could be worse.

Comments

[Jan Hennings]

Sometimes a gal has to endure a little mouse poop for some great finds..makes me wonder about the history of the home and the woman..
I just did a project using an old Smith and Corona Typewriter so I loved that you got a good deal on yours :) Great blog!

[Traci]

I went to a "garage sale" like that once only after climbing junk for a long time thinking I would "score" I found nothing. The owner did let the kids take a few free rocks though......they were happy.

Love your blog!

[Maureen]

Haha! Love the Rod story!

That "estate" was one helluva mess - yuck!

[Thrifted Treasure]

The typewriters are lovely and make such nice decor even if they don't work and I love the display rack! Would look gorgeous displaying vintage postcards or kids' artwork :-) Always so sad to see an old house go to rot like that, so sad for the elderly owner.

[Asiyah]

Your post about "Rod" really made me laugh. It was hilarious...although I do feel bad for the homeowner. That looked like a horrible way to live.

[Jenni]

dear god, was the elderly woman ransacked and raped before she decided the housework was just too much??? eek!

[Lorrie Simons]

you are too damn funny! the Rod story almost made me pee my pants! btw, at a scrapbooking show I saw old typewriter keys like your second one being sold for $3.00 to $5.00 each.
~Lorrie

[Rebecca]

LOL...one of the funniest blog posts I have ever read. My family has the same crazy sense of humor.

[Tonia]

You got some great finds. Love the typewriters.

[Jil]

Hey!! I know Rod from Yakima.... hehehe... Lordy, love the warped humor. Sad estate sale but great finds. I remember as a child visiting abandoned homesteads on the plains on Montana and finding all sorts of "treasures". The homesteads looked similar to that house.

[Alicia]

Yes Richard Cranium is a favourite in our family ;0) Nice "estate" hmmmm... Still found treasures though, now thats committment!
alicia

[Kim]

Holy Moley! I thought that I'd been to some bad estate sales, but that takes the cake. I'm surprised that the house wasn't condemned. At least you got some good stuff out of it.

[Leah]

thanks for the typewriter link! thats awesome. favoriting it now. ok not right now, after i type now.

i love that display rack and the rod story. it's rad.

i love the photos of the estate sale. holy moses. that is a keeper story.

[Rita]

Great blog!
Do you still sell on eBay?

[denise;)]

You are just so funny!

I saw a license plate frame the other day:

"So many Dicks, so few Richards"

so true....

[kris cline]

Laughing outloud....waving at you from across the country...in Yakima, WA...really!

[Vicki S]

Love how you dig for finds! I mean you really dig! Nice Blog, thanks for sharing!

[Linda]

Good God. I hope you had the economy size of Purell in the car. The next time I go to a really nasty sale, I'll think of you. :)

[comprar camisetas]

me encanta que expositor y la historia de la varilla. es rad.

me encanta las fotos de la venta de bienes. Holy Moses. que es una historia portero.

[Laura]

I know this is an old post, but I wanted to say that rack looks like one that held those small little name tags for bicycles.