Vintage Cameras: Collection or Decorating Element?

When guests walk into our home for the first time, it's not the abundance of vintage knotty pine woodwork and paneling that elicits comment (maybe they're just being polite). Nor is it my extensive collections of vintage Thermos, flower frogs or our books. Not even our Hoosier cabinet, antique wooden ice box or Stickley postal table. The oohs and aahs frequently are directed at my collection of more than 150 antique and vintage cameras.

"How many do you have?" people generally ask.

"More than 150," I always say, not quite sure of the number anymore.

Years ago I started a haphazard inventory of my cameras, but I didn't keep it current. So, I lost track of how many total cameras I have and how many are duplicates.

That's about to change. My husband gave me McKeown's Price Guide to Antique and Classic Cameras for Christmas. It has more than 1,200 pages of photographs, descriptions and current values of cameras. It's the bible of camera collectors.

Cataloging my collection is one of my goals for the new year.

I've acquired most of my cameras at estates sales, but my own Brownie Flashfun (left), which I received for my 11th birthday, and my mother's Vigilant Junior Six-20 (right), which she received as a high school graduation gift, formed the basis of my collection.

Increasingly, I see vintage collectible cameras integrated into home decor. Indeed, they can make a nice addition in almost any setting.

In recent years--at least in my neck of the woods--I've been disappointed to see that estate sale proprietors, as well as many flea market and antique dealers, have grossly inflated the price of collectible cameras they offer--often up to five or six times the actual value of the camera. That means the casual collector or the young couple who just wants to pick up a camera or two to add interest to their decorating are paying much more than market value.

If you're interested in adding a few vintage cameras to your home decor or collecting for yourself or a young hobbyist, you'll discover that they're not difficult to find. Collecting vintage cameras such as the Kodak Brownies, many of the Ansco, Argus and Agfa models and several of the simple pocket type cameras that have come on the market since the early 1900s can be very affordable. The brightly colored models from the early 1960s, such as those seen above, are still in circulation and won't dent your pocketbook too badly.

Most of the Kodak Brownie models--and there are well over 50 Brownie types--have a market value of $20 or less. Many are in the $10 and under range. A good number of folding cameras from a variety of makers can still be purchased for $20 or less. Box cameras come in many shapes and sizes and often at a reasonable cost.

That said, as I noted, these same cameras can also carry price tags that are heftier than those mentioned above. To be fair to dealers and vendors who come across vintage cameras infrequently, finding reliable values that can be used in pricing is not as easy as it is with glassware, kitchenware and other more common antique and vintage items. The McKeown guide my hubby gave me is one of few--and, I believe, the most reliable--price guides on the market. It's expensive and not easy to find, other than on-line.

As you can tell, I have a love affair with antique and vintage cameras. I'm absolutely not an expert on them. But, I'm happy to share my camera hunting experiences or assist--if I can--if you have a curiosity about collecting cameras or a specific camera you'd like to find out more about. Feel free to leave me a comment below and I'll get back to you.

Make it a great day!

Linking to:

Nifty Thrifty Sunday
Sunday Show Off
Sunday Showcase
Sunday's Best
Creative Mondays
Make the Scene Monday
Creative Bloggers' Party and Hop
Cowgirl Up!
Junkin' Joe Fabulous Finds

Froggy Went a Carolin'

Thanksgiving involved a whirlwind trip to Illinois and special, quality time with family. Today, back home, the Christmas decorations are tugging at my sleeve.

I'm struggling a bit to find my decorating mojo this year. Can't really explain it, other than that I seem to have lost several months between last Christmas and this holiday season and it's thrown me off my game. My, how time flies when you get older!

Sitting in the family room last week, I looked across at the stack of flower frogs that showed off some of my pressed leaves. I couldn't believe I hadn't seen it before. The stack looked a bit like a tree.

So, even before I pulled out the boxes of Christmas decorations, I created a row of frog Christmas trees to display on a small, rustic shelf.

Two of the trees stand atop bases of overturned antique sconce pieces.

If you have a few flower frogs laying around the house, you'd be surprised at how versatile they can be. I use them year-round for decorating. They are handy for displaying photos and postcards and holding pens, pencils and paintbrushes. And, yes, they're great for the purpose they were intended to fill.

A beautiful black glass frog, hidden inside a jack o' lantern, created the base for my annual fall collection of dried garden goodies. I call him Wilson.

Use a collection of frogs as a focal point in your decorating year round.

The small glass frogs look a little like snowflakes and make a nice, sparkly addition to holiday decor..

If you're one who thinks frogs are fair-weather friends, dust off your pieces for endless year round decorating fun. If you don't have any flower frogs, consider picking up a few at an estate sale, thrift store or on Etsy or eBay. They're reasonably priced and a joy to work with.

Make it a great day!

Linking to:

Nifty Thrifty Sunday
Christmas Linky Parade at Cottage Magpie
Motivate Me Monday
Make the Scene Monday
Cowgirl Up!
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
Time Travel Thursday
Vintage Thingie Thursday
Transformation Thursday
Share Your Cup Thursday

Valentine Memories; Winner, Winner . . .

First things first:

We have a giveaway winner.

Congratulations to Linda of Itsy Bits and Pieces.

Linda will receive one of my Giggles and Grins handmade ephemera journals.

Thanks to all who visited and entered my first-ever giveaway. Your visits and comments make my day.

When my husband was helping me put the Christmas decorations away, a very old, flat box in the attic caught his eye. He opened it and discovered the collection of greeting cards I had received as a child. I don't think he'd ever seen them. Even I hadn't opened the box for decades.

Birthday cards, Christmas cards, get-well cards. There's even one specifically wishing a quick recovery from my tonsillectomy. Apparently, in those days, having one's tonsils out was so common, it made sense to have cards specifically for that.

And valentines. Do I ever have vintage valentines! 

Seeing the "Baby's First Valentine" card made me realize that everything in the box was 50 to 60 years old. Oops. Guess my age is no longer a secret.

Many of the cards had eyelets to create moving parts. Those were always so much fun. The boy and girl dancing in the photo above rock back and forth in keeping with the card's "hep" dance theme.

The fuzzy ones, like this kitten card are among my favorites now.

But, I have to admit, I remember loving the space-themed ones when I was a kid. You can see a couple of them in the above photo. I was fascinated with Sputnik and smitten with anything related to the stars and the night sky (thank you Dad for enriching my life with your study of the heavens).

These are just a sampling of the valentines in the box. I must have kept every one from our grade school exchanges--up until I was nine or ten years old. Then the collection seems to end. Someday, I'll probably find a way to display some of my favorites.

That forgotten box was a terrific trip down memory lane--to a time when life was simpler, the pace slower, personal correspondence more valued. And, receiving mail from the postman made every child giggle with excitement.

Make it a great day!

Linking to:

Sister Sunday at Sisters of the Wild West
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday at Coastal Charm
Rednesday at It's a Very Cherry World
Sugar and Spice at Seven Thirty Three
Tuesday Vintage Style at Knick of Time