9-16 Featured Item 3: Sad Face Murray Pedal Cars

We have a few pedal cars and tractors up for sale this week including an original Murray "Sad Face" car.  This is a classic car from an important pedal car maker. 

This car contains its original parts and is from 1951-1958 and was one of the most popular lines ever produced.  It wasn't meant to be fashioned after any particular car.  This car is offered up for sale along side a Murray pedal tractor.  Come in and check out this week's vintage toys!

For more information on pedal cars you can see this link (which is also where I pulled a lot of information from)  http://ezinearticles.com/?Sad-Face-Pedal-Cars-and-Other-Popular-Murray-Models&id=2288914

9-16 Featured Item 2 FonZi Socks- new in package

The year was 1974, bobby-socks, greasers, and rock-n-roll was Americana at it’s best…




Television was filled with game shows, soaps and a popular sit-com called Happy Days. While he started out as a secondary character, Arthur H. Fonzarelli, or ‘the Fonz’ ended up being the spotlight in the lives of those on-screen and in real life.



He was a guy’s guy, greased back hair, leather jacket and motorcycle. All the girls wanted to date him, all the guys wanted to be him. He could walk in a room and start a fight, or stop a fight, which was actually the reason he and Richie became friends, but that’s another story. Even though he was a high-school drop-out (eventually getting his diploma), Fonzi was celebrated for the soundness of his moral compass. If the Fonz told you something, it was the truth, the Fonz could be trusted, and if you were his friend, he always had your back.



We celebrate our characters of tv who touch our lives through posters, music, dvd’s, and merchandising. A pair of Fonzie socks, of all things, have shown up at the shop. Granted they aren’t signed, but if they were, I would probably want them myself. Recalling the singular advise Fonzies father gave him, they have never been worn in the rain, for that matter, they have never been worn at all. So, if you’re a Fonzi fan, add this to your collection, pack it away for a day of nostalgia, or put it in your showcase next to the leather jacket and plastic comb that help us step back and remember ‘Happy Days’ and ‘The Fonz’.

9-16 Featured Item 1: Heddon Stockwell Type Meteorite Detector

We've got a meteorite detector for sale this week.  Its not your average detector!  This one was built in the 1950's by a Lawrence University professor (Appleton, WI) and was the first ever patented detector.  Unfortunately, it doesn't come with a manual or its power cord so we are unable to test it.  There is also the tiny matter of us not having any meteorites to detect (yes, Josh is "acting" in the picture).  The detector we have for sale consists of a round, wrapped copper tube which is to be worn over the shoulders via canvas straps.  The unit weighs about 50 pounds.  One side has a place in which to plug a cord and the other has a small "read out" area and white button.  This is truly one of the most unique pieces we've had walk through our doors. 

This precursor to the Heddon Stockwell-type Meteorite Detector was invented by Lawrence University professor William F. Read.  Most information published about the detector actually comes from the second model built by Read which was wheelbarrow mounted (he was trying to perfect the Heddon Stockwell wheelbarrow mounted detector.  This first model was worn over the shoulders as you can see in the above picture.  You can read more about how the wheelbarrow model works in this article (which is also where I pulled the information in this paragraph from):  http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1965Metic...2..369R





Additional information written about and by William F. Read can be found at these links as well as information about meteorites found in and around the Fox Cities:

• http://www.jstor.org/pss/3627173
• http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1969Metic...4..244R
• http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi-bin/WI/WI-idx?type=div&did=WI.WT1960.WFRead&isize=text
• http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=b68533dd-054d-4624-a2b0-18a65e5bc85d

Bentwood Bride Boxes

I have a very interesting Bentwood Bride box for sale in my ebay store.  View the item in my ebay store. 

It is aptly named Bentwood because the box maker would use water to shape the wood into an oblong box.  From what I can tell, husbands used to purchase these for their wives on their wedding day to use to store treasures or wedding memories in.  In many European cities, there was a position in each town as the box maker/decorator.  That was his job.  The one I have for sale is on consignment and is expected to date back to mid 19th century Europe.

I would love to know the story of this great box.

Early Bentwood Bride's Box with blue paint.
Beautiful floral sides, paint decorated bride's box.
18"L by 12" w, by 7" h
Northern European oval box
Lidded box with split cane lacings, some loss
Polychrome paint- some water marks on top
Remnant of bride and groom on lid with words on top edge
This is more than likely bent spruce
Paint wear, be sure to inspect all pictures carefully.  Raised split on bottom of box, could be fixed.  There is naturally a split there, but needs to be straightened a bit.

Eva Zeisel RedWing on The Story of Stuff

I went into look at a potential estate sale last month and noticed a beautiful set of sand and rust dishes in the china cabinet.  They were unmarked.  What struck me about these dishes was the "off-kilterness" of them.  They seemed really modern and I thought perhaps they had come from an independent art or pottery store.  I was told that they items were over 50 years old.  I was suprised by this, as the dishes did not seem as though they would come out of the 1940's.  The salt and pepper shakers were alien looking or gourd looking, I can't decide.  The tea pot is off center, the plates are lopsided.

I did some research without finding much out.  At the suggestion of an antiques appraiser that I work with, I emailed pictures of the pieces to Replacements.com.  Within a few days they told me what I actually had was a set of Red Wing Eva Zeisel dinnerware.  Its relatively rare because it is unmarked and people didn't realize it was Red Wing or Eva Zeisel (both highly collectible).

It turns out I had pieces from the sand, rust and blue lines of the Town and Country line.  Some colors were reproduced in the mid 1990's but those are marked.  The originals are not.  What cool little dishes these are. 

They will be available for sale at the estate sale on Frances Street in Appleton on August 12, 13, 14.  Although I do covet them myself, I never cherry pick the estate sales that I run.  Hope to see you there.  For pictures and more information please visit www.bumblepuppysales.com and click on the events tab.

The Story of Stuff

At BumblePuppy Sales we like stuff.  Janel Scott is the owner of Bumble Puppy Sales and will be writing this blog.

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