The last few years decades I've become a fully fledged modern day treasure hunter. It's not something that I share very often probably because I have this guilty feeling that people may start using words like "hoarder" in association with what I'm now coining marketlarking.
I actually just had to Google this to see if it was a thing - apparently it's not, maybe I need to submit it to Wikipedia?
Many months ago I stumbled on a metal detecting video on that rabbit hole place with videos on it. Yeah, you know the one I mean. I had been watching those and then I started getting suggestions on other videos mostly from people in the UK who go mudlarking along the Thames during low tide. Oh boy, this opened up a whole world of time wasted watching people finding the weirdest shit along the shores. I like this kind of thing a lot. But, I don't have a metal detector (yet) and I don't have the Thames either. I do however visit markets and boot sales and a variety of online marketplaces where I hunt down interesting things. Most of which don't really serve any purpose at all other than to sit around and look pretty.
This weekend I went to a second hand market thinking I would probably be horribly disappointed and have wasted a vast amount of fuel in the process. That wasn't the case at all this time around.
All of these goodies in the photo came home with me, all of which are special in their own regard, but one of them was particularly special. I'll leave that one as the grand finale.
A round bottomed pewter trinket box was the first find of the day. It was the art nouveau flower that first caught my eye. It's not in the best condition and has signs of wear as you can see in the photo but I like things like this with character. It is marked at the bottom Royal Selangor Pewter and the company still exists but originally dated back to the 19th century.
In 1885, a young pewtersmith named Yong Koon arrived in Malaya from the Chinese port of Shantou, armed with little more than a set of tools and a determination to succeed. Today, Yong Koon's humble enterprise is Royal Selangor, the world's foremost name in quality pewter.
source
While I was cleaning it up a bit I noticed that the inside of the rim is gilted in gold which I think is a nice little touch of opulence. I had a look on their website which was probably a bad idea because now I want to buy this for my housemate. They don't have the Armourer, I checked. I am exceptionally disappointed. In fact, I may just write them a letter.
Alas, moving on
Are you starting to see a pattern here yet?
Swirly designs on a cuff bangle. It's nothing special in terms of the metal - it's silver plated over brass, but I like the design. It was $1 - it decided it wanted to come home with me even though it's miles too big. I could probably wear it next to my elbow, but have a feeling it could become annoying, so it will probably end up in my jewellery box with all the others. At least it will have good company. It's a similar situation with the glass ring box, and the two spoons you can see in the first image. The next one however, is a whole other kettle of fish snails. Let me explain...
This is a sterling silver snail fork. It was made in Birmingham in 1913 by the company Levi & Salaman who is well know for silver flatware from back in the day. I took one look at this fork and tried to remain calm while on the inside I was jumping up and down just a little bit. I have managed to find a exact style match (The Greenman) set of what they are calling condiment spoon and fork online in the description, but that fork has three tines, not two. After some reading and chasing lagomorphs, I discovered this is a snail fork. I would never have known that before because I've never held a snail fork in my hand, let alone lifted one to my mouth. I'm a bit of a gagger when it comes to eating molluscs. I will happily add a sterling fork to my collection though. I paid $5 for this, but to me, it's worth so much more than money.
For anyone that wants to read a very cute article on another item that has this same style and by the same maker, but also nice provenance, you can read about the Well Travelled Hairbrush.
I certainly wouldn't call myself an antique collector, but I have a few items that I found in strange ways through the years that are all now weaving a story together. I have no idea why I enjoy treasure hunting like this so much, other than the fact that it brings me enjoyment and enriches my life somewhat. Some people collect cars, some people stack coins as a hedge against a failing economy. I collect little silver things with pretty designs and I love tracking down their history. They probably won't fetch the same market value as silver 1 ounce coins, but to me, they somehow feel more special because there are only a few of them around and often these pieces were made by companies that no longer exist and they will never be made again. For me that's kind of cool. A little piece of history tucked away safely until SHTF. If I can't sell it immediately when that happens, at least I'll be able to use it as a utensil until I do haha or stab people with it that try to steal my stuff.
So now that you've had your history lesson, I'll give you your photography lesson.
All of these photos were taken in my kitchen. No flash, no lightbox, just shiny surfaces, a normal(200mm) to macro(300mm) lens with a high shutter speed and ISO and a lot of patience. Feel free to critique, I'm always keen to learn from others. You can tell me about your latest treasures at the same time too if you like.
𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒅𝒍𝒚 𝑨𝑰 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆. 𝑨𝒍𝒍 𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒎𝒚 𝒐𝒘𝒏.
