Last Saturday I spent hours weaving around the colourful tents that dotted a field in Aberfoyle, Ontario. These are the things that caught my eye.
The Aberfoyle Antique Market, about half an hour from my house, is Canada's oldest antique market, opening in 1961. It's open every Sunday until the end of October but twice a year they hold what they call the Saturday Special.
Guest vendors fill the parking lots and fields surrounding the regular show and it's become the place to go for junkers who are still mourning the demise of the exceptional Christie Antique Sale.
It was an immensely popular, world class, outdoor antique show that took place twice a year for the past 30 years with 10,000 people showing up every time.
The city cancelled it.
If you work for the City of Hamilton and know exactly who I should send my most respectful comments on this decision to - please let me know.
SO that leaves us with Aberfoyle and a perfectly pleasant fall day.
These are the things that caught my eye. ONE of which came home with me so get ready to guess what I bought.
The Thing I Regret *Not* Buying
I'd never seen anything like this table runner before. A penny rug that you could never, ever duplicate. That's the thing about antiques. The aged fabric, wood or metal just can't be convincingly faked or reproduced.
You could make a copy of this penny rug sure. But it wouldn't have the softness that a century of wear gives it. Or the subtle beautiful fading of the fabric.
That's what I love so much about antiques. They have a depth that new things just don't.
See what I did there?
Steiff hand puppet. This is the kind of thing you find at an antique show and think ... holy crap ... who knew I'd like a tiger hand puppet so much.
I was just having a conversation with one of my sisters a couple of weeks ago about these old cardboard Humpty Dumpty potato chip containers. They were like hat boxes for your chips.
Add a trip to the Pop Shop before Saturday night's Love Boat and ... you had a seriously good night ahead of you.
One of the most unique fines at the show was this bar cart.
The porcelain dolls in the cart are called Piano Babies. Draping a shawl across the drawing room piano was once in fashion. These dolls are made and marketed as a way to keep the piano's shawl from falling off.
They were weird times indeed.
It was a rough day for Superman.
FUN FACT:
Superman was in fact Made in Canada. The artist who created him was from Toronto. You can learn more about how very Canadian Superman is in this article from the CBC.
If you like the kissing dogs photo you'll love tomorrow's post which is going to be a tribute to The Dogs of Aberfoyle.
They f&*ked with my FRIES. The importance of french fries to an antique show trip can't be overstated.
They're the reason for going. The reason for walking. The reason for everything.
And then some rogue lunatic cook randomly decides to serve french fries dusted with a flavourful spice mix on them as if this were some kind of Michelin starred antique show and ruin my day.
Luckily my mood lifted as soon as I saw the 10 cent pen dispenser. I want to live in a house that's large enough to accommodate important household items like retractable pen vending machines.
Tomorrow's post will reveal what, out of all these curiosities, came home with me. Take your guess now in the comment section ...
That tiger looks just like "Daniel the Tiger" from Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. I probably would have bought him.
Maybe that's why I was so fond of him! ~ karen
I had a dog puppet like the tiger puppet. Received it used. The head was stuffed with sawdust or something, and your finger went through a thick cardboard tube into the head.
You had a good puppet. :) ~ karen!
Such great clear photos. I get a longing for these kinds of events and never seem to find one. Always enjoy these posts.
Dang! I missed going, so seeing it second hand is good. I didn’t know the City cancelled Christie….. grrrr. I’d assumed it fell victim to financial woes.
Ima thinking you bought that big white platter or the sweet rug with the cozy winter scene.
I think if you only bought one thing it would have been a close tie between the Liquor Cart and the Penny table Runner. I would love to make a trip to Canada some year just to attend this market- it looks fabulous!
The bar cart...it was fantastic and versatile!
Either the hook rug or the table runner.
I really hope it’s not the very cranky baby-on-a-platter. Although… Halloween is coming and that thing is scary to me…
I vote for the bar cart, because if it were me, that would have been my choice. I've never seen one like it before. I don't have room for it, but it's a keeper.