Picking Vehicles Over The Years

A picker's vehicle is one of the most important tools he/she has.  These have been my "pickermobiles" over the years.

Late 1980s - early 1990s

(1) late 70s/Early 1980s 4 door Chevette

&

(2) 1980s 4 Door Pontiac Acadian 

(Essentially a Pontiac badged Chevette)

I fit 5 to 6 eight foot banquet tables worth of inventory into this car, and even then the inventory was crammed on my show tables.  

Even managed to haul a 12' long Texaco sign and a gas pump in these cars!

Acadian is shown wrecked after an accident. Walked away from it, luckily, with just bruises...some big bruises, but just bruises.

1990s

Late 1980 Dodge Ram Half Ton

With a cap on the back, this vehicle served me very well. Did lots of picking in this truck. Again, shown as it was, written off by MPIC, after a kid, driving his father's brand new truck, hit it on glare ice....marooning me & my girlfriend at the time in Shoal Lake for the better part of a week!

1980s Ford E150 Van

The first van I bought, and which hooked me on Ford full size vans.

Reliable, durable, but rust prone as they age..... But, "pretty" is not what a picker should be after when it comes to a vehicle!

Had another full size passenger van that I used temporarily inbetween these two.  

2000s

Another late 1980s E150

Put the back mounts of the leaf springs through the rusted out floor by hauling too heavy of scrap metal loads...couldn't close the back doors by the time I took it off the road.

Early 1990s Ford E250

A 3/4 ton van, this one cost me a fair bit in repairs, etc, but overall served me well.

1990s GMC Sierra

Used this as a temporary measure, but the 3/4 size box wasn't very utilitarian. The crew cab was ok for hauling stuff you didn't want to get dusty, but overall the truck was limited as far as using it for serious picking went.

2017-2018

1998 Ford E350

As of this posting, I am using a 1 ton Ford passenger van with the rear passenger seats, carpeted flooring, and assorted plastic interior trim removed. It was what I was able to find when I needed a van. The gutting took a bit of time, but it now serves its purpose. This one is a little more expensive when it comes to repairs, but it handles weight just fine. Has the usual Ford body rust issues, but it will have to do for awhile.   It isn't pretty, but it does the job.

I should note, I owned all these vehicles outright. No leases, bank loans, etc. They also were my "daily drivers", not just my picking vehicles.  

So, what is/was/were your pickermobile(s)?

A Treasure - Currier and Ives Print

Once and awhile you pick an item that makes your heart skip a beat, a real treasure. This garage sale find was one of those.

What was the item?  Only a Currier & Ives hand tinted print, titled AMERICAN EXPRESS TRAIN.

I've since sold the print, so I can only offer you a photo of a photograph I have, as seen below.

It was impressive, being quite large, roughly 3' wide, and it had been matted and framed. The frame was a modern one, with holes drilled in the edges. That does raise a red flag, as it usually indicates it was screwed to the wall of a restaurant or hotel room, and that would scream that it was likely  a reproduction. 

However, this one had all the hallmarks of an original! Plus, add to the fact that many places were decorating with vintage items, and there were plenty of people who fancied themselves to be decorators at the time, who were basically pillaging some attics and using whatever they found  as decor in some restaurants. I have spotted some formerly very good pieces in some of those restaurants....and I say "formerly" because some fool drilled holes through the items, impaled them on lag bolts, etc. It is sad to see what used to be a $500 item reduced to a $25 decor piece...

Anyways, the print in question was well done, and as far as any of the knowledgeable local dealers could tell, it was the "real deal." 

Now I was getting enthused!  

Why? Well, I had been looking through a magazine, and there was an article on that very print....the last one of these that sold at auction not a year before I found mine, had sold in range of $50,000!

So, the next thing I had to do was send it to an auction house, which I did. I seem to recall it was Sotheby's in New York, I believe.

So, I sent it on its way, rolled in a tube, and awaited their assessment.

I was told it was a very high quality piece.....but they would not be interested in consigning it in their auction, as it was also a reproduction.

They sent it back to me....with a bill for professional art packing, amounting to $250 US or so!

So, my initial $15 purchase now totalled a cost of nearly $200.  It was most certain professionally packed, flat, and well protected....but I would have been happier had they sent it back to me in a tube as I had sent it to them.

On the plus side, they appraised it at $500.

In the end, I did sell it on eBay, for $350, as a high quality reproduction.

It was a learning experience, which luckily I basically broke even, between postage, eBay fees, time, etc.

Oh well, can't win them all....but winning one once and awhile would be nice, wouldn't it?

Arsenic and Old Books

We covered Arsenic and wallpaper already, but another source of Arsenic you may come across is in old books. 

Potentially, the green colouration of some of those early books could well be Arsenic based.  Though, more than likely, it is present as "Paris Green", have being applied to prevent insect damage to said books.

The article here will give you some more details.

Containers of Paris Green itself tend to pop up in many places. I have seen more containers of it than I can count, from little tins to gallon pails of the stuff.  Many people whose sheds, basements, barns, etc I have gone through realized this poison was present at all.  "Paris Green" does sound innocuous enough....but the skull and crossbones printed on some of the cans should be warning enough, you'd think.

Anyway, just another little tip to help you stay safe while picking!