A Green Onyx Lamp I Kept Walking Past
For months, I kept going back to a green onyx lamp in booth 128 at the Sherman Oaks Antique Mall. Then I needed something for a console radio I don’t even own yet.
One to Fifteen Nickels
A Mills Violano-Virtuoso at the John Moran preview in Monrovia: a mahogany cabinet with a brass plaque reading You can play 1 to 15 nickels. Inside, a real violin and a piano, played by a paper roll.
St. Francis Relief Found at a Thrift Store
A carved St. Francis relief caught my attention on a thrift store shelf. A closer look at the surface, worn gilding, frame construction, and carved scene raised enough questions that the next stop is a specialist.
A Crystal and Brass Table Lighter from Gum's Mall of Antiques
A short list, a favorite antique mall in Hawaiian Gardens, and a cut crystal and brass table lighter in the second booth. For weeks I'd been hunting one for the small table in front of my bookshelf.
A Small Weight, Found by Accident
A shop I liked had moved, so I went looking for its new address instead. What I came home with wasn't what I expected, a small, heavy metal box with a painted figure hiding somewhere I almost missed.
What I Saw the Second Time
A Streamline Moderne ashtray and a pair of brass birds on green onyx, neither one bought for what it was built to do. What changed when I stopped looking at them so literally.
A Black Lacquer Triangle and a Glass Sphere
A black lacquer triangle dish. A glass sphere with no chips or cracks. Neither one was what I set out to find, and neither one meant much alone. Here's what happened when I paired them anyway.
The Weekly Letter.
One antique lamp, a few shades worth owning, and the newest guide, once a week.