Clock which tells right time twice a day

Starting price $29.99
* I don't really know why I am offering this clock for sale. It is the walking wounded. It doesn't work for one thing (which is why it only tells the right time twice a day).

* The glass for its clock face is missing, it is chipped and battered, the little hinged door which frames the clock face (and would have held the glass) is rusty. You might as well stop reading now.

* If you insist, I shall continue. It has a certain charm. It has the big name in clocks, being a Baduf from Germany. There's a wee signature on the clock face and also in bold print engraved on the movement inside.

* Its crowning glory, and something which does not photograph well, is its chime. It is an enchanting four-hammer melody. Possibly because this is such a big clock with two large empty sides acting as echo chambers, the chime is musical and resonant.

* To hear the chime, you have to move the hands on the clock face (ever so gently) (after winding the chiming mechanism with its key).
*

* It will chime on the quarter hour. The quarter hours, being less important than the hour, receive a short acknowledgment of their passing.

* Come the hour and the chimes let loose with an upbeat Big Ben performance, and you feel like standing to attention and saluting the flag.

* Again, remember that this clock has seen better days, so you should make allowance for the fact that the chime routine announcing the hour can only be triggered when you point the big hand to half past the hour.

* Moving right along: the veneer on the front is still putting on a brave show, but unfortunately I can't say the same for the top.

* The back board may not have come with the original clock, and the little back door appears to be made of a thin masonite. Did they use masonite to build mantle clocks in the olden days?

* The movement, when you look in the back door, appears to be all present and accounted for, but I can't see it because it is behind a brass plate. There is one brass cog protruding from one side.

* The pendulum is on the viewing side of the brass plate, and it will swing for you if you touch it gently. To safely transport the clock, you can unhook the pendulum. Although, beats me why you'd bother. The mechanism does not go.

* It is all show. When you look in the rear, you can see the sides are empty; roomy really. In there, you could stash enough cash for a comfortable retirement.

* It is 22cm high; 59cm long and 14cm deep.

* It could be fixed. Or it could make a great craft project: paint it in bright colours, add silver wings and a lipstick smile...


Amazingly, it sold for $40.99 to Bundaberg, Queensland.

Tretchikoff 'Balanese girl' 1960s framed print

Tretchikoff prints were kitch in the 1960s, but no one knew it then. They were seen as exotic, trendy and sophisticated.
They were also affordable, and they turned up everywhere, multiplying like cane toads.
Times changed. Demand for Tretchikoff's prints went off the boil, allowing him to count his millions at leisure.
Several decades later, and his prints are trendy again.
They are still kitch, but to meet growing demand, they are no longer so affordable.
So, I was delighted to find this Balanese Lady, in excellent condition, at a church stall.

Here is the ebay sales blurb, with a starting price of $120.

* If you have come to my auction site, you know perfectly well who Tretchikoff is, that he is an artist whose prints are very collectible, especially those which date back to the 1960s.

* This framed print, 'Balanese Girl', is from that era.

* Both the frame and print seem almost new, except that the sticker on the back has that 1960s feel. It records that it was a lay-by from the Co-op (no record of which Co-op). (If you do not know what a lay-by is, you are showing your youth.)

* As a matter of fact, I come from that era. My mother had a Tretchikoff print on her wall. It was the sole piece of art in the whole house. She hung it on the feature wall in the lounge room. That wall was painted a rich orange (the rest of the walls were a creamy colour).

* My parents could not afford original art, so they opted for the latest thing, which was a framed print from the department store. At the time, my mother would have been seen as very modern.

* Now we see her as very retro.

* But I digress.

* This print is framed without glass and backed with masonite. It is as solid as, and I wonder if it was ever hung on a wall at all.

* The colours are as rich as if new. Our Balanese girl looks down, enigmatic, refusing to meet your eye: she knows something, and she ain't telling.

Sold $252.50 to Bassendean, WA.

Book: Joy of war for boys - late 1930s

. Title: ‘The Boys’ Illustrated Book of the War’ (No author)
. Edition: second. No publishing date. (my guess: pre-world war II).
. Published in London by George Newnes Limited, Southampton Street, Strand, W.C.
. Number of pages: 136.
. Condition: poorly.
. Attitude: Stiff upper lip.

Starting bid $12.

(Sorry. No pic. I have lost it)

The editor (who signs himself as ‘The Captain’) has dedicated this book to all British boys – of whatever age.
He has recorded the story of British forces whose ‘valour has added yet another chapter to their glorious history’ during World War One. Heroism shines throughout this book: its noble battle scenes, its black and white photos of warships, big guns and frail biplanes and its chapters of upbeat patriotism.

The book itself is in a battered condition, as if it too has just limped home from the battlefield, gallantly ignoring its wounds. It is a snapshot of its time, taken between the two world wars, and is intended to call adolescent boys to arms and lay down their lives for Britain.

It appears to be complete, with all its pages. However, the facing pages inside both back and front covers are coming away. The fabric is torn from upper part of outer spine.

You can judge this book by its cover: it is flawed both inside and out.

But don’t let me put you off.

(NOTE: it did. There were no bids)

Black&white cowhide rug (minus the cow) w/bullet holes

• This here cowhide rug has been has been corralled at our house, under a lounge chair, for a few years. Now it is hearing the call of the wild, so I am setting it free.

• It is black and white, but mostly black. I never met the cow - or was it a bull? - which so generously gave of itself. It was a large animal, as the hide measures 197cm at its longest, and about 160cm across its middle. The thickness of the hide itself varies, from 3mm thick on some edges, and 1mm thick on others. It weighs five kilos, and is as tough as.

• It would be a strong fashion statement in any apartment, introducing a rural element in a city environment. Place it in the middle of the room under a coffee table, and your decor will be wild west, but without the dust and flies.

• It has a few worn patches, mostly around the edges, where the animal possibly rubbed against fence posts/trees.

• There is one small worn spot in the middle of the back, about the size of a dollar. It is the centre of - yes, you guessed it - a cowlick, where the fur kicks up in a kind of a twirl.

• Of course, no cowhide is complete without bullet holes. This one comes with three down the middle of the back, where the hair is thickest, so you don't see them when it lies flat on the floor. Which is a pity, because they should be featured, don't you think?

• Alright. They are not bullet holes. Who'd shoot a cow in the back? I was having a fanciful moment, trying to portray a cow with an interesting past.

• The truth is more mundane. The holes are where the hide had been folded and split in three places. Each hole follows the line of the fold, one being large enough for three fingers to push through, the second two fingers, and the third about thumb size.

• If this rug were new and undamaged, it would retail for about $350. END
  

COMMENT:
Starting price was $39.99. After 15 bids, it sold for $127.

Nuts and bolts: it weighed five kilos. Postage from Sydney to Victoria was $25.80 (paid by buyer). I learned the hard way that you cannot send a rolled rug through Australia Post. It was too long - Australia Post will only send articles shorter than 105cm. Our rolled cowhide stood taller than me when I tried to lodge it at the post office. So I lugged it home again, and folded it in four, and rewrapped. It passed the length test, and ended up happily floored in North Balwyn, Victoria.

My virtual ebay market stall

Here's my link on ebay. Do call by and visit my virtual market stall.

http://myworld.ebay.com.au/wandagirl21

Lois the 1930s taxidermy freshwater crocodile

A few months ago, I bought a taxidermy freshwater crocodile at a church jumble sale. Paid $5.
She had needle-point teeth and a warning look in her eye. Nevertheless, I took her home but could not bring myself to display her as an ornament on my lounge room shelf: there was something near living about her, and at some primeval level, I feared that, at any moment, she might snap out of her coma and bite me on the ankle.

So I put her up for sale on ebay.

I named her Lois, and she received a few propositions.
When I first posted her on the ebay site, I mistakenly listed her as a saltwater croc. Wrong. Salties are an enormous animal over three metres long and way too big to send through the post. Lois is 90 cm long, and weighs a dainty 800g.
Someone was quick to correct me. I received an email saying: 'Lois, you are a freshwater croc.'


Here's how she made her debut on the world stage:


'Pay ransom to free 1930s taxidermy freshwater crocodile

Please buy me! My name is Lois, and I am a genuine freshwater crocodile (taxidermy) and I am being held against my will.

Only a generous ransom will set me free. So – bid up.

I can understand why anyone would kidnap me. I have gorgeous come-hither eyes, but if you come near, I also have very sharp teeth.

My tail curls like a whip, and people travel for miles just to come and admire it.

If you pay up, I will be very grateful. I will come and live with you and make you happy.

Although I am actually 91cm long, I am set in a very becoming curve, so I will require about 60cm of shelf space, preferably white, with a white background, to show off my particularly fine crocodile skin.

I don’t care to share my shelf space with anything else, although I would not object to a fish tank stocked with a variety of juicy meals.

Although a lady does not like to talk about her age, I would guess I am from the 1930s or 1940s. I have been preserved for future generations through the miracle of taxidermy, the details of which I will spare you. Enough to say that I have a scar along my belly, with stitches, to prove that my innards were removed and replaced with something more hygienic.

NOTE FROM OWNER: Lois is prone to exaggeration (although not about the fish). She will not admit it, but the years have taken their toll. While the texture of her back is as superb as any handbag, the complexion under her chin and around her neck is not what it was when she was in the wild. You can see a few ashen patches in the photos, around the neck and chin. However, she would not be averse to a little restoration. And yes, like all taxidermy crocs, a few of her toes are loose.

DELIVERY: Lois is fragile. Pickup would be good, and I could arrange to meet the buyer for delivery in Sydney. If she must be posted to other cities or countries, Lois would like to talk to her new owner about how she will travel. She will tell you that she only flies first class.'

The next day, an email arrived for Lois.

Hello there!
I am living with George, a male freshwater croc who is constantly nagging me about some "female friend" he can chew his Barbies with. George arrived safely via Greyhound from Queensland, nicely wrapped up in bubble wrap. George (being 135 cm long and weighing around 3 kilos) travelled for 19 Dollars, and according to him, it wasn't "too bad at all".So I wonder whether mildly spoiled Lois would object to being treated the same way, to be met by me and George in Darwin, in case she'd choose to live with us? Marlene

Marlene,
Lois is over the moon that she would have a companion, especially a big hunk like George. She is much smaller than George, weighing in at 800g, and I think that registered postage Sydney/Darwin would be around the $20 mark. Packaging would be free, as I already have a box (and lots of bubble wrap) which will contain Lois, although she is pouting because it does not have a bar fridge.
Lois sends her warmest regards to George.
cheers, wandagirl

Hi wandagirl,
George is simply besides himself (in a male, understated way), he wants me to let Lois know that he actually has a bar fridge (he suggested I send it down for her journey, but for various reasons I had to disappoint him).
Now have to work on MY strategy to make sure Lois will be living with US very soon.
George says "HI".
Marlene

NOTE: Marlene's bidding strategy did not work. The winning bid ($92.09) came in a few seconds before the auction ended, and Lois went to Melbourne to live, I hope, in the luxury she felt she deserved.