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August 13, 2007
A Day At The Market
As I occassionally get asked how I've gone about building my collection- where I find them, how much I pay etc...- I thought I'd take the next few days to break down a typical day at the market for me. Yesterday was actually a pretty good day- not great- but definitely better than average, particularly this summer which for whatever reason has been pretty slow for me. Sunday I actually went to three different markets- the first was a flea market with a mix of new and used goods, the other two were both antiques markets. The flea market is just north of Chicago, near O Hare airport. I got there just after 6 a.m. (dealers start setting up at 4:30 am and while technically the market doesn't officially open until 6 I know people who get there before 5 a.m. - I'm not quite that hardcore. Anyway I got nothing at that market- it rained late Saturday night and between that and forcasted temperatures in the 90s not many dealers showed up. From there I headed to an antiques market in Wisconsin about 80 miles north of Chicago- arriving just after 8 a.m. where I did pretty well. Finally, I went to one more market on my way back to town- as I didn't get to that market until about 11:30 what photos were there had been pretty picked over but I did manage to get a few things. All together I spent about 50 dollars (not counting gas which probably set me back another twenty dollars). Today I'll post the stuff I got that I'm pretty sure will make onto Square America eventually. Tomorrow I'll post the maybes, and Wednesday I'll post the photos which I have no idea why I bought and will never see the light of day (of which there always seem to be plenty).
The first photo I'll show was the most expensive one of the day- it cost me $3.00- and was my last purchase of the day. It was on an album page with 4 other photos on it none of which I wanted but the dealer didn't want me to just pull the one photo which was understandable. I basically got it because I've been wanting to add another page to my Defaced show and it certainly fits. It was also at the last market I went to and I wanted to get something there that I could use on the site so I didn't feel like I totally wasted my time going there. This is a pretty bad habit of mine- I hate to walk away from a market empty handed so I often wind up buying something that I'll never use wasting money that I really don't have. That said, I've certainly spent three dollars on worse photos.
The second photo also will probably wind up in Defaced as well. This was actually one of the first photos I bought and was part of a pile of about 10 photos I got for $4.00.
Just a quick aside on my attitude towards bargaining- if I'm only paying .50 cents or less for photos I never haggle- I know people who would haggle on something that cost a dime just on the principle that your supposed to haggle at a flea market and that's part of the fun of shopping. Generally speaking those people are assholes (in my opinion anyway). None of the dealers I know are getting rich and I know plenty of dealers who've gotten so sick of people beating them up on prices that they've gotten out of the business. Before I hand a stack of photos to a dealer I figure out what I think is a fair price for the photos and if their price is at or below that price I never haggle.
This next photo cost me .50 cents and will eventually wind up in The Book of Sleep
The next two sets of photos both came from the same dealer- as I was going through the box I asked him how much the photos were and he said a buck each- I pulled out twenty photos- now normally this is a case where I might ask if he'd take a little less- often when you're buying a bunch of photos dealers will offer a bit of a break but in this case he didn't offer any discount and given what I was getting I didn't ask. First was a little stack of 5 post-mortems (and one funeral photo). While I don't go looking for this kind of thing I do have quite a few in my collection now and eventually do a show of them. None of these is extraordinary but a buck each I couldn't pass them up. Here are a few.
This next set is a little dark as well. I don't see vintage photos of handicapped people (especially mentally handicapped) too often- they are actually much rarer than post mortems. I'm not sure where I'll put this set of photos- which date from around 1920- but again at a buck each I couldn't pass them up.
I think this next one, another 50 cent-er, will wind up in The Portrait Gallery though it might wind up in What The Camera Saw (which is incidently the show I'd most like to throw out and start over from scratch with The Painted World coming in a close second- both shows need some serious reorganization.
Now the last two photos are my favorite finds of the day though I'm not sure where I'll put either of them. I got both of them from the same folks- a husband and wife. They often have interesting stuff, the problem is priced and while the wife's prices are always pretty reasonable the husband always gives me outrageous prices- generally three times what his wife would charge- and is pretty surly which means I always have to wait around until the husband is dealing with somebody else and then get the wife to give me prices. I got 12 photos from them for $18 which is a bit more than most people charge for photos around here but is still pretty reasonable. The first is a real photo postcard and I'd guess it dates from the late teens when the debate over prohibition was in full swing. If you can't read it the text on top reads "NOBODY KNOWS HOW DRY I AIN'T" and on one post is written "Beer" and "2 for 5 cents each" is written on the other.
I love this last photo in spite of the faded color though again I'm not sure where I'll put it.
Tomorrow I'll post a few more good ones and some near misses.
Posted by nick at August 13, 2007 01:08 AM
Comments
Nick, this is really fascinating. I always enjoy the images you post but it's also quite nice to have you write so much so we on the other side of the screen get a better idea of you and your personality. Can;t wait to see the next few posts.
Posted by: Brittanie at August 13, 2007 06:05 AM
I really enjoyed your commentary, all the trouble you go to so we can enjoy your finds. Truly appreciated.
Posted by: Carol at August 14, 2007 06:50 AM
I love that last shot!
Posted by: swapatorium at August 25, 2007 03:58 PM