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skymama

They sure were multi-taskers back in the day

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Last weekend, I inherited my Grandmother's dining room set. (She's still alive and kicking at 93, thank goodness, but she has decided to move in with my parents.)

I'm thrilled to get such an heirloom and was even more surprised that she still has the original receipt from the purchase in August 1934!

Check out the total price of $242...the set consists of a table with extension leaves, 6 chairs, mirror, sideboard and smaller hutch and is solid birch. That alone made my jaw drop, but then I noticed the other services that this company offered. They were also funeral directors and an ambulance service! :ph34r:
She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man,
because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon

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That is awesome!!

Remember the day when everyone had nice handwriting? :P

So I try and I scream and I beg and I sigh
Just to prove I'm alive, and it's alright
'Cause tonight there's a way I'll make light of my treacherous life
Make light!

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Yeah, she saved the pamphlet showing the different pieces too. Actually, she was a pack rat. My mom and aunts threw out a ton of stuff I'm sure would have gotten a lot of money on Ebay, but they just didn't want to deal with it. Today, we were going through a lot of old photos, some from the turn of the century and she remembers who is in all the pictures!
She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man,
because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon

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What condition is the set in?



It was in mint condition until my dad got ahold of it and packed it poorly in the U-Haul and now there are some scratches on the table top. :S He said he'd pay for a furniture restorer to take care of it. He got yelled at by all the women in the family. :ph34r:

I'll take a picture of it...
She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man,
because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon

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But what's the "10%" add-on?



I haven't been able to figure that out yet. The handwriting was so good back then, who could read it? :P
She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man,
because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon

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cool stuff!

I've been considering getting an antique dining table & chairs.

You can get modern stuff that is made in an antique style, but the problem is the chairs. Nowadays the ALL have seats that are like two and a half feet wide!!:o:o

That's fine if you have an ass that's nearly a meter in diameter, but the chairs are so wide that you can't fit them easily around the table. So I'm considering getting some actual antique chairs which are more normal-sized.

Speed Racer
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Here are the pictures (I haven't hung the mirror yet). I just found silver serving pieces in one of the drawers! B|

She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man,
because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon

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But what's the "10%" add-on?



I haven't been able to figure that out yet. The handwriting was so good back then, who could read it? :P


the 10% is probably the profit
Give one city to the thugs so they can all live together. I vote for Chicago where they have strict gun laws.

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Those are beautiful pieces. You might want to consider having them appraised.

My parents' home is chock full of antiques and I've been given the job of curator for some of them in my home.
"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

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Yeah, she saved the pamphlet showing the different pieces too. Actually, she was a pack rat. My mom and aunts threw out a ton of stuff I'm sure would have gotten a lot of money on Ebay, but they just didn't want to deal with it. Today, we were going through a lot of old photos, some from the turn of the century and she remembers who is in all the pictures!



At 93, if your grandmother remembers things like that so well she's more of a treasure than the furniture, get all the historical information you can from her. My mom passed away at 93 a couple of years ago and every day I still think of multiple things I'd like to ask her.:)
The older I get the less I care who I piss off.

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the 10% is probably the profit



I had that thought too. Maybe the first price list was the actual cost to the store of the pieces. And then the store sells it with a 10% markup. Being totally honest and straight-forward, it's written out for the purchaser to see exactly what they're paying for.

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Today, we were going through a lot of old photos, some from the turn of the century and she remembers who is in all the pictures!



Write that info down on the back of the photos!



Catalog the pictures. I would not want to write on the back of 100 year old pictures. Put them in an album with a description next to them.
"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

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What condition is the set in?



It was in mint condition until my dad got ahold of it and packed it poorly in the U-Haul and now there are some scratches on the table top. :S He said he'd pay for a furniture restorer to take care of it. He got yelled at by all the women in the family. :ph34r:

I'll take a picture of it...


Be careful about restoring and removing the patina...you can make it worth less by doing so.

Write down the names of the people in the photographs. I have all kinds of old photo albums...with many pictures from the 1870's and a few earlier and I don't know who the people are. When my Mom passed away it all was lost.
--
Murray

"No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey

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