I've been busy buying and selling...

A lovely couple who are filling their home with Empire bought my Mint Julip Cabinet ( seen in an earlier post).  

I had decided to sell it because it suddenly seemed that everywhere I went, I was discovering grand pieces of furniture that I normally would not find and would not come up for sale again. 

I found this 1820 Federal Chest in Marion, Alabama and liked its unusual and authentic shape.  The pulls are wrong  ( added about 1890)  so I ordered some that are Federal style. 

This stepback cupboard was at a shop just south of Birmingham. The lady was a primitive lover and her booth showed it.   

This piece is in original red paint.  The little white knobs are wrong so I replaced them with better ones made of pine. 

The inside has been given a coat of blue/grey by someone in the last twenty years and that is fine since it reflects light much better than a dark interior would.

I went to a night auction in Calera Alabama and this new couch came up for sale. 

I bid ten dollars.  

No one else thought it was worth bidding on, probably because their trucks were full or they had come in their cars, or maybe stripes weren't their thing. 

Anyway, I won it and for ten dollars I'm not complaining.  

It has Chippendale ball and claw feet.  Not very primitive but it sits very nicely.  

I added mustard pillows my sister bought me from Pottery Barn.

This ca. 1830 beauty is called a Jackson Press. Most follow the plan of having small drawers over a large drawer over a pair of cabinet doors.  It's the cabinet doors that  make it what it is. 

Here is how I got it. 

 I went to a yard sale advertized on Craig's List as "having 20 items from 1860 or older."   

The very educated gentleman had moved to Alabama from Charleston, South Carolina.   

As he and I talked antiques and such,   I watched people come and go, looking at the pots and pans and ignoring the furniture.  

I got on my phone and called some of my antique people, but not after securing the things I wanted.  

I bought the Jackson Press,  a side chair I think is Meeks or Belter, and an 1840 stand. 

He took me inside his house and showed me a huge secretary/bookcase that was eight feet tall. It was a dandy piece but not for sale.  

My friends showed up and bought most of the other things he had.  He was happy I came along that day.  I was happier.

I was looking around in some consignment shops in Shelby County, Alabama, and here was this dry sink,  in pine,  square nails, and not messed up.  How could I let this get away?

So I bought a old primitive desk that I thought was pretty and nice on a Saturday, but by accident I have four old desks already, so I left it in the jeep and went to my friend's shop in Clanton, Alabama,  "Remember When Antiques."   

Jim had this two board table so we made a swop.  

I don't do well with green so I will be doing a scrape job soon and will make photos.  

The Fantastic bottle shows you how wide the boards are.  I hope the table looks fantastic after I spend a week scraping on it.

The county library people  held their first Antique Show and  Appraisal Fair on a wet Saturday a few weeks ago in Columbiana.  

The location was a barn and the atmosphere was like something you'd see on Road Show,  but Alabama style. ha 

This pine stepback cupboard was in a back stall and was being ignored because it was full of cases of old Coke bottles.  

I learned from my antique dealer friend Jim that if you want to sell furniture quickly, then don't cover it up with other things for sale. 

Most customers only notice the smalls and don't see the furniture. Fortunately for me, this was true that day and I was able to buy this piece.  

Orignial square nail construction. It is not a married piece, but sometime about 150 years ago the owner took the top part's doors off  ( and  threw them  away ) and had the side and top boards cut in the curvey pattern to "modernize" it.  

Someone also took the bonnet off the top ( evidence of one is seen clearly on the top boards including the square nail holes that held it on.)  Such is the history of a piece that was made to be used.

When I got it home, I filled it with Staffordshire and other dishes but it looked much too messy for me, so I empted it out and found wooden boxes and other brown things.  I did include a real blue Canton plate and one piece of Yankee redware. 

 I love this very heavy dough bowl.   The top of one side has been worn away from years of use.  The seller's husband on Ebay called it "the relic."

I bought the dough box from my friend Wanda in Chilton County, Alabama. 

 I like the burn marks caused I guess from sitting too close to the fireplace. The cabinet it is sitting on belonged to an early pharmacist in Selma, Alabama.

The dovetailed container on top of the stepback is either some sort of dough box or a feeding trough --  pine,  grungy, attic surface,  heavy, and heavenly.

If any of my loyal readers ( all 27 of you!) find yourselves just south of Birmingham,  please drop by for a personal tour, followed by some coffee  ( for Betty) or iced tea  on the front porch.  

You'll also get your choice of my peach cobbler or pineapple upsidedown cake. Or why not a little of both?    We'll add ice cream to kill the sweet.   ha