1909ventilo's Blog

i am a little church(no great cathedral)
far from the splendor and squalor of hurrying cities
-i do not worry if briefer days grow briefest,
i am not sorry when sun and rain make april

my life is the life of the reaper and the sower;
my prayers are prayers of earth’s own clumsily striving
(finding and losing and laughing and crying)children
whose any sadness or joy is my grief or my gladness

around me surges a miracle of unceasing
birth and glory and death and resurrection:
over my sleeping self float flaming symbols
of hope,and i wake to a perfect patience of mountains

i am a little church(far from the frantic
world with its rapture and anguish)at peace with nature
-i do not worry if longer nights grow longest;
i am not sorry when silence becomes singing

winter by spring,i lift my diminutive spire to
merciful Him Whose only now is forever:
standing erect in the deathless truth of His presence
(welcoming humbly His light and proudly His darkness)

Edward Estlin Cummings

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Found this awesome church this weekend driving around!  Love it!   The street it resides on is “England St” of course!

German Halloween Novelties
this veggie man 17 1/2 inch  has unusual clockwork mechanism
probably store display.  sold $19,550. 

Morphy Auction  2000 N. Reading Road Denver PA  17517

The accoutrement for the destruction of the Vampire

Wow, did they make me look scary?  .. they tried! I remember this day so clearly, we were having an auction in the historic town of Grants Pass, Oregon.  We spent an entire year preparing for this event.  It was the day before Halloween I decided to put my fears and shyness aside and I marched into the local paper and asked if they would like to do a story about this unusual Vampire Killing Kit. I held it in my hands and I described to them the rarity of this item; the editor said ‘they had other stories planned and thanked me for bringing it in.

My response was, What? You’ve got to be kidding me. Those exact words formed over and over in my head. I stormed out of there and drove 30 miles to the next city.  I pushed the buzzer to tell my story and said, “Look I’ve just come from the Grants Pass Courier and I have this Vampire Killing Kit from the 1800’s, it’s almost Halloween and the Courier had no interest so I am coming to you!”  The buzzer sounded off and they replied with, “Come on up!”  They put me on the front page of the Tribune, it went associated press and I even went on television! I guess the point is when the little voice goes off in your head, “You’ve got to be kidding me.”  just keep knocking, there are definitely more doors to be opened!

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Then there is item No. 282 which has created somewhat of a ruckus in the past few weeks.  “Unusual Vampire Killing Kit”, circa 1880″ reads the official description. Unusual, yes and disconcerting too. The elegant wooden box holds hair-raising contents, including a pistol built within an 8-inch-long ivory crucifix, silver bullets and powder flask, a sharpened wooden stake, garlic flowers, and “Professor Blomberg’s new serum.”  Professor Blomberg, it seemed, cornered the vampire-kit market last century. His written instructions assure that the accouterments within, protect against the “particular manifestation of evil known as Vampires” and that the purchaser is equipped to deal with them efficiently.”  “We got a ton of phone calls about the kit. Just a ton,” said organizer, Chris Fain. “A couple of really strange calls, too. Somebody repeating the same phrase over and over, that sort of thing. Heck, we think our wristwatches and guns are the most interesting things on the lot.”  Mr. Fain bought the vampire kit from a dealer in Portland who in turn found it in New York City. To date, only three others are known to exist. Two were in Rippley’s ‘Believe It or Not museums- one was stolen last year by thieves who also tore apart a display coffin.  The other-called a “Vampire dispatching kit” – fetched $21,000 in a California auction a year ago. “Rumors that the buyer lived in Transylvania are unsubstantiated,” quipped America Collector magazine. The kits surface every so often. In 1989, ‘Guns and Ammo magazine ran an article called “Vampire Guns,”  Which “bears no resemblance to any firearm design normally encountered.”  The magazine verified that the kits, gunsmith, Nicolas Plomdeur crafted firearms in the mid-19th century Belgium. “I haven’t seen any of these kits myself,” said New York -based antiques maven, Terry Kovel. “But people collect everything you can imagine. Some are typical, some not. There are those who favor old medical items, or vintage drug paraphernalia like opium vials. Their taste is quite specific and they love the hunt, it’s a part of the collectible allure.”

The culture, Mr. Fain and Mrs. Kovel agree is almost tribal in nature. “Collectors happily build social lives around their beloved stuff,” said Mrs. Kovel. “I devoted 10 years of my life putting this sale together,” Mr. Fain said. “We’ve had inquires from all over the world that auction fever is going.” And the Vampire kit?  “Maybe we’ll start the bidding around $10,000,”  Mr Fain speculated. Maybe not. Its true value won’t be known until the auctions’ end.

A big thank you to Jenifer Harper – The Washinton Times.

Leslie Caron will be on hand for the premiere of a new digital restoration of the 1958 best picture Oscar winner Gigi tomorrow, October 10, at 7:30 p.m. at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences‘ Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. Film critic Stephen Farber will host an onstage conversation with Caron.   This event was a few years ago.  I would of loved to have gone and seen the movie in the Goldwyn Theater and met Leslie Caron!

I remember my mom talking of the movie Gigi and  how much she loved it.    A few years ago I searched for it and watched it.  Now I am collecting all her movies and records, yes you know the old records!

http://www.onlineauction.com/index.php?page=auction:view_item&auction_id=1243928&title=Gigi_-_Original_Soundtrack_%281968%29_Vinyl_LP

thanks for reading my blog and have a great day!

reference:  http://www.altfg.com/blog/actors/leslie-caron-salute-gigi-lili/

GARTH MONTGOMERY WILLIAMS (American, 1912-1996). Charlotte’s Web, book cover, 1952.

Sold for:

$155,350.00

GARTH MONTGOMERY WILLIAMS (American, 1912-1996)
Charlotte’s Web, book cover, 1952
Graphite and ink on paper
14 x 11 in.
Signed lower right

Garth Williams’s historic, iconic masterpiece of children’s book art appeared on the cover of E. B. White’s beloved classic, Charlotte’s Web, Harper & Brothers, 1952.

Publishers Weekly listed Charlotte’s Web as the best-selling children’s paperback of all time as of 2000. The book has been translated into 35 foreign languages and is still in print in 21 of them.

Also included in this lot are a 14 x 16.5 in. ink drawing of a web that was used to create the decorative end paper design for the book, and two 9 x 8 in. watercolors of the cover design.

From the Estate of Garth Williams. Estimate: $20,000 – $30,000.

Heritage Auctions New York City at 445 Park Avenue

After Patterson completes the bridge, he learns that a lion has been trying to destroy the train station. When he goes to see, he finds big bloodstains where the lion was trying to slash the roof. There were 3 men in one compartment and an uncertain number of coolies in another. Two of the men had been sleeping on the floor when the lion gained entrance. The lion was on one of the men while trying to attack another. The third man, in an effort to get to the other section, which the coolies had been holding shut with their turbans, leapt on to the lion’s back, and tried desperately to get through. The coolies opened the door just wide enough for him to get through, and then tied it shut again. As for the other men, one got carried off and eaten by the lion, while the other man lay very still, probably saving his own life. Hearing this, Patterson decides to go after this lion, eventually finding it and slaughtering it.   http://http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man-eaters_of_Tsavo

  If you have not ever watched the movie “The Ghost in the Darkness”  today is the day!  It will keep you on the edge of your seat that is for sure!  After watching it again I had to research deeper and find the real book and see the photos of the real lions myself!  The internet isn’t it great!

http://www.onlineauction.com/index.php?page=auction:view_item&auction_id=1322571  African Safari for two!

Lets go to  OnlineAuction.com for some treasure hunting!  OnlineAuction.com

 I have been buying  and selling vintage clothes for a long time.  Taking everything to the dry cleaners began to get too expensive, so by trial and error I learned that  I could launder most clothing myself.  Dry cleaning is also somewhat toxic, so this is a much greener way to wash the item yourself.  Alright! Lets talk about how to launder that cashmere sweater.  First, the dryer is not your friend!  Great for towels and such but no good for vintage items , cashmere and wool.   Secondly, lets talk about the washing machine.  Sometimes, when hand washing your sweaters they will grow larger.  The water will absorb in the fabric and stretch the fabric , so go ahead and put your wool or cashmere sweaters in the washer.  Make sure all the sweaters are  in the same color family.   This is especially important because colors bleed.  With White sweaters you must only have other white sweaters and in some cases, you may just want to wash one sweater at a time.  A very mild soap; Woolite is good, but you can also use others.  I normally use a very little amount of soap.  Thirdly, Fill the tub with cold water.  Note this down, cold water and only cold water.  If your washer has a very gentle cycle you  may use that as well.  However, you may want to experiment! It all really just depends on how much you paid for the sweater… most of my sweaters are vintage and did not cost hundreds of dollars.  If you are very apprehensive of this process, fill the tub with water, agitate the sweater yourself by hand let it soak  and then turn the dial to spin. Let the water spin out of the sweater.  Lastly, Hang the sweater on a towel rack to dry.  If it is cashmere, it will probably be dried by morning.  Cashmere dries very quickly.  You have probably seen sweaters with piling.  So where does piling come from?  Most of the time from washing with other fabrics the agitation causes your wool or cashmere to pile.  Yet, when laundering the sweater yourself this can easily be remedied because the piling comes right off,  and if you are washing correctly you will create no pile on the sweater.   Your sweaters will be soft, smell good and the more you wash them the better they get.  So what if a hole appears after laundering?  If this happens, which is rare, this might be from moths and you may not notice until the laundering.   To solve this problem, just get out your needle and thread  make sure sweater is inside out and carefully, hand- sew the little spot.  Collecting cashmere sweaters is great!  I can have 4o in one drawer, they stack marvelously! Plus, they don’t itch like wool, they are warm but not hot.  Not to mention, The colors are fantastic!  Thanks for reading my blog and have a great day!

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I missed out on these pieces of Victorian Jewelry that sold!  Look at these prices!

Victorian bracelet $9.99  OnlineAuction.com

I would of loved to have this Edwardian mourning jewelry cross for $61.00 and it is gold!



So you are in Southern Oregon and you happen upon this small historic town. The easy-going streets, the soothing atmosphere, and relaxing vibe charms you. Suddenly, you realize you are in desperate need of a really great cup of coffee, you know “real coffee” without all the sweet stuff!   Right downtown on G street ~237 SW G~  is a coffee shop called Rogue Coffee Roasters!  Great Coffee!!  Pull over say hi to Paula for me!  They also have a website you can order coffee from…http://www.roguecoffeeroasting.com/beans.html