Whoa, Nellie, did we bring in the Western Americana to our space at Exit 55 Antiques!

antique feed seed burlap sacks barn findsantique horse barn tools bits branding iron antique horse bits

You might recognize the antique burlap feed and seed sacks from this post on how to clean them. (They turned out super, don’t you think?) The old horse bits and antique curry comb were more deaccessioned items from the Bonanzaville museum auction. The vintage painted “Do Not Sit Or Lean On Rail” sign came from that pick at Ida Carlson’s Barn. The old saw and old branding iron we got at other farm auctions.

But wait, there’s more!

western americana fair oaks antiques we have your collectibles vintage cowboy western photoalbum wyoming milkglass mug primitive barn western antiques

Shown here are a few more bits from The Old West… An antique, patent pending, fly trap called The Wonder Fly Trap, a nifty unused photo-album or scrapbook featuring a cowboy riding his buckin’ bronco, a vintage milk glass mug promoting Wyoming, antique wool cards, and (my favorite) a vintage travel souvenir from Yankton, South Dakota — a ceramic tile featuring a decal of little cowboy.

We have lots of other antiques with Western flair hidden in our space too… Like this old door pull or handle that looks like a belt, complete with buckle. Stop in & see what you can find that makes you say, “Whoa, Nellie!”  Exit 55 Antiques is located on I-94 in Fergus Falls, MN. It’s open 10 am to 5 pm, seven days a week. You can contact us or call the shop at (218) 998-3088 if you see something you like. Exit 55 Antiques is a multi-dealer shop; we are known as dealer “EQ”.

antique belt buckle door handle

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We’ve been trying to keep our space at Exit 55 Antiques (Fergus Falls, MN) full of Christmas items — but they are selling so fast! Yes, the vintage reindeer are practically flying out of the shop, but we do have a pair of the vintage or retro plush reindeer stuffed with sawdust.

vintage retro sawdust stuffed reindeer plush

And there are a few flocked reindeer ornaments, hiding among the other vintage ornaments. Many of them are made in Japan kitschy pieces. (Sorry, the elf has sold already too. Gotta act fast on this stuff!)

vintage kitschy christmas ornaments fair oaks antiques

Speaking of kitschy made in Japan Christmas ornaments, how fabulous are these made from paper & pipe-cleaners? And not just any pipe-cleaners, many are made with chenille pipecleaners!

vintage santa and angels ornaments japan chenille pipe cleaners

vintage paper foil pipecleaner drummer christmas ornament

If you love the Christmas kitsch, you might love these Three Wise Men ornaments. (Hubby is not a fan or I would keep them!)

kitschy retro three wise men ornaments

Not everything is an ornament. Check out this fabulous pair of vintage salt and pepper shakers. Don’t these angles look like Fisher Price people? While their heads and wings are plastic, the shakers themselves are glass.

kitschy retro vintage angel salt and pep shakers

Speaking of things hubby is not a fan of… How about this large vintage handmade caroler? I love her turquoise, wide-wale corduroy coat trimmed in white “fur”! (Hubby is just not a fan of 60s’ kitsch like I am. *sigh*)

kitschy retro vintage handmade caroler large turquoise

Here’s a trio of mid-century modern felt carolers — just like this single singer in our Etsy shop! (See what’s left of our Christmas items at Etsy!)

mid-centruy mod vintage felt caroler set

Our vintage rubber-faced or masked Santa sold just days after we brought it in — but don’t worry! We’ve taken some photos and made Santa available on everything from postage stamps and pillows to cards and mugs. I am especially fond of the napkins that look like a Polaroid photo of Mr. Claus. …My sister says I am creepy!)

retro_rubber_faced_santa_polaroid_napkins

And we have more vintage masked Santas too!

vintage retro masked stuffed santa claus doll

This one is especially great. Not only does he hold a bottle brush tree, but when you plug him in, the light in Santa Claus’ hand lights up!

kitschy rubber-faced masked stuffed santa bottle brush tree light

Not everything is kitschy, however. Look at this antique cast iron Christmas tree stand!

Hubby and I work at the shop on Sunday (December 7th). Who knows what we will bring in then? Stop in & see! If you can’t make it, keep an eye on our Facebook page for photographic updates. And if you see something you want to buy, let us know & we can make arrangements to ship it to you.

PS The shop’s official Facebook page is Pasttime Collectibles & Antiques.

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A few weeks ago, my husband & I attended an auction at the Cass Country Historical Society. The museum was deaccessioning hundreds of items in order to raise funds to replace the historic St. John’s Lutheran Church which had suffered too much damage from a fire. On one trailer full of guns & ammo, I spotted this beauty:

showofftintypetree

It’s a folk art family tree of tintypes! (At least we believe they are tintypes; without prying the frames off, we can’t fully inspect them to say for sure.) The “tree” is made from a six-sided wooden base pyramid, covered with plaster used to hold the shells, photos in frames, mirror etc. in place. There once was a ring of old tokens at the top as well, though those were apparently removed awhile ago (you can still see the impressions of them in the plaster). The bottom has four metal caster wheels. Measures 27 inches tall; 18 inches along the widest part of the base.

This unique piece still bears the museum’s original paper label which reads “Pyramid Showing Family History Of The Charles Pollocks; Gift of Mrs. Charles Pollock, Fargo, N.D.”. (We prefer to call it what it is – a family tree!)

I’m amazed by it. It’s not like Godey’s Lady’s Book had their own Martha Stewart columnist suggesting a “how to” for such things. (If they did, I would think these folk art family trees would have become as popular as the Christmas tree the magazine made de rigueur.) At the time this was likely made, circa 1880s (1910s at the latest), North Dakota may not even have been a state yet, and Fargo may have only had a population of less than 6,000!

As promised on our Facebook page, I’ve posted more detailed images of this true piece of Americana. Among the notable antique photographs shown below: A gentleman who appears to be in a Civil War uniform, with a colorized stars and stripes flag, and a woman who looks to be Native American.

This is what it looks like in our little “nook” space at Exit 55 Antiques (Fergus Falls, MN) with the antique French candelabra. We also have it listed for sale in our Etsy shop. I believe the photos here and in the listing should answer all your questions, but feel free to contact us if you’d like.

victorian folk art tintype family tree antique americana

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We have a shelf in one of the glass cases at Exit 55 Antiques (Fergus Falls, MN) and recently put in a whole bunch of vintage dollhouse furniture (along with a few dolls, some vintage children’s books, etc.) The furniture was made by Marx, Superior, Multiple Products Company and others.

vintage dollhouse furniture display

vintage kewpie doll and dollhouse furniture

My favorites are the two-piece bed set, the little green lamp, and the little console (featuring a TV and a turntable).

Among the “etc.” are a pair of vintage cake toppers. One is a bull and bullfighter; the other, a pair of teenagers talking on telephones.

Some pieces have already sold. If you are interested, please contact us. Or call the shop directly at between 10 am and 5 pm (Central time). We will ship!

vintage doll house furniture and childrens books

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First we scored this sweet little vintage red and white Coast-King tricycle…

vintage red and white tricycle

It’s a Coast-to-Coast bike.

vintage coast-king tricycle

Then, just a couple of weeks later, we scored another vintage Coast-to-Coast bike.

vintage blue columbia bike

This one is a Columbia bike and it looks pretty snazzy up on the wall as art, American Pickers‘ style.

vintage columbia bicycle wall art

I especially like the depth of placing some vintage hubcaps on the wall, so you can see them through the spokes in the bike’s wheel.

hubcaps behind bike wheel rusty vintage

The old Milwaukee license plate is still on it. Note the year: 1954.

vintage 1954 milwaukee bike lic plate

Both vintage bikes are currently at Exit 55 Antiques; please call the shop directly at (218) 998-3088 for more information at (Shop is open 10 – 5 everyday, Central Time.)

PS We also have some old bike wheels in our spot outside at Exit 55 too.

PSS We also had a retro Apollo banana seat bike; but it sold in the first hour we were at the Elkhorn flea. Photo here.

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Along with our booth space at Exit 55 Antiques we have a shelf in one of the cases near the wrap desk. For the holiday, we filled it with vintage valentines, antique candy boxes, vintage cameras, and a few other bits and bobs…

vintage cameras and valentines for sale

antique valentines candy boxes fair oaks antiques

Here are two of the antique mechanical valentines in action!

We also have some old valentines for sale in our Etsy shop.

You can look at, and learn more about, these and other antique and vintage Valentines we’ve shared here, here, here, and here.

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Because we have the window to decorate and display at Antiques On Broadway, I feel like we share a lot of those photos — but don’t share enough photos of our space at Exit 55 Antiques. So here’s a few photos to rectify that.

This photo of our booth shows our nice (if we do say so ourselves!) holiday display. Among the findings, a vintage wooden sled, one of those fabulous vintage framed Christmas trees made from vintage costume jewelry, vintage Christmas cookbooks (featuring several from the Otter Tail Power Company), more of those old primitive yet industrial cream separators to use as candle holders (soooo cool with ribbon wound through them and set on the mantel; change the ribbons to match the season!), and a festive soda pop bottle collection all decked-out for the holidays.

fair oaks antiques christmas display

We also have a shelf in a case in the antique shop and there you’ll find these antique German clips which held candles on the tree, circa 1920. Candles are not as safe as electric lights, of course, so we advocate other ways to use and display these antique metal Christmas tree clips here.

fair oaks antiques german christmas tree candle clips

Also in our space at the Minnesota antique mall is a antique washstand displaying collectibles with a holiday theme — check it out!

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I don’t like to throw anything out, if I can help it. I suppose that’s true of most lovers of vintage items and antiques… Many of these “old used things” can go on to live another life — if you can only see what they can be!

Sometimes, however, no matter how inspired I am, I just don’t have the time to make the things I see in my mind’s eye; those things we put up for sale. Like these antique wooden organ pieces. Wouldn’t they make great birdhouses? These are available at Exit 55 Antiques (Fergus Falls, MN).

antique wooden pieces from an organ

(More photos of these on our Facebook page.)

And these old spigots and turn-handles make lovely sculptural flowers — that last long after Summer has come & gone. These can be found in our space at Antiques On Broadway (Fargo, ND). (Another photo of these is also on our Facebook page.)

vintage outdoor faucet handles

If you have the inclination to get crafty and repurpose these beauties, contact the stores — or us, and we can get them to you!

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More photos of great things we just brought in for sale at Exit 55 Antiques in Fergus Falls, MN, that I just love. The feature of this little set-up is the antique child’s chair. Details on the chair can be found here. Other special pieces include the antique doily holder, a ceramic black poodle bank, a smokey-colored glass decanter, a floral tin, catalog or salesman’s cards for Italian lamps, and those theatre pieces from a production of The Nerd. As always, if interested in anything shown here you can contact us here; call me, Deanna, directly at (701) 306-6145; or call the shop directly at (218) 998-3088. And keep an eye on our Facebook page for more photos of our antiques and collectibles.

antique child's chair and pieces

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Sometimes, decorating a booth space at an antique mall is much fun as decorating your house. The only sad thing is seeing how cool the set-up looks and wishing you could take it all back home with you and re-do the house. Unfortunately, hubby won’t let me do that. But if you love chippy-paint antique tables, antique wood, and a primitive look, then you’ll understand how I feel about this:

love wood antlers

I love the look of the antlers by the insides of an antique piano. Even more amazing, the old newspaper adhered to the top of the old one-drawer wooden farm house table has the word “pianos” front and center!

chippy green table

piano parts at exit 55 antiques

chippy heaven

We brought a lot of cool stuff in with us today, working at Exit 55 Antiques (Fergus Falls, MN). We’ll be posting more photos at our Facebook page, so “like” and follow us there to see them all.

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