whirlwind epic procar weekend

Steve Loftin said:

Do you happen to know the make and name/model of this? The "picket fence" in the head panel is interesting.

Click to expand...

I also think this casket is very cool.

Atti, GREAT haul, you have found the auctions most of us only dream of. Good planning on capping the prices you were willing to pay for items, I know it would be easy to spend every dime I had on these type of items.
After everything is sorted, are you planning on reselling some things? Im sure alot of people here will be interested.

Reached the 2nd auctioneer this morning and were told that none of our bids held. They must've had one helluva turnout! Our bids ranged from $175 on low end to $350 for one particular coffin; same amount on coffin hardware.

Cheapest coffin sold for $450, most went for $500 or better. Coffin hardware realized $750! Stunned, can't believe I was that far off marks for each. Lesson learned. No buyer's premium enticed fevered bidding. Wow.

Today we had to unload caskets first. Can you think of a better storage place than a vacant 4600 square foot Greek Revival 1830 homestead?




Next up was checking out a few more recent acquisitions my friend has made since I last visited. '72 Superior flower car looks pretty decent. Repainted once in original colors. Frame has badly deteriorated in one section due to the way it was stored. Decision hasn't been made to section or replace frame from a donor coach (already owned).



'37 S&S Byzantine is more/less being used as a guide while a like '37 S7S Byzantine is currently being restored. This one has an extend table. Cast carvings are kept indoors as a theft preventative. Rough but still fun to see details given rarity.



'86 Eureka flower car is same I mentioned a couple weeks back. Showed up at a scrap yard and they beat coach up pretty good while it sat waiting for a VIN trace. 23k miles and not rusty. At least all the stainless decking is undamaged.

Decided to leave second embalming table in truck for time being, choosing to unload around it.



Little help - What is this..? Found in one of embalming rooms.



More unloaded today.







Phone number makes these matching pumps prewar.

Dating vintages off ID plates would be appreciated.





Keeping Bomgardner. Ferno cots, basket, and body lift available.

There was a smaller basement room I passed buying contents on. Only items of interest previously seen had already been removed. Literally a ton of junk remained to be sifted through. Took a calculated risk factoring time it would take and moved on. The room sold for the opening bid of $5.

Turned out being quite a mistake. Luckily I befriended buyer of that room earlier and had been giving him my leftovers already. Bought these beacons after he dug them out. Filthy, globes intact, and they work too.

So jealous of the procar and '75 Sedan DeVille finds & purchases Thanks so much for the visuals!

Even after I've taken 400+ pics the last 4 days, many items are inevitably being left out. Certainly as some have thought, there is plenty available. I'm not home and have spotty internet & phone reception so PM/email inquiries.

Steve, I neglected to take exterior shots of Cunningham and Hughes FH. Never crossed my mind. Here's an online shot from '74, which is pretty much the same it looks today (minus sign).



Building runs all the way down alley and is 3 story. Chapel faced rear of building on middle floor.

What I believe is the very best find has been saved for last. It also came from that $5 basement room that I passed on, buried away for probably seven decades. So elated I managed to acquire this two days after auction!!!



About 2' tall and heavy. Under all that filth, all four of the etched glass panels are intact, as are bulbs inside. Too large to be an interior sconce, so pole light? It's exquisite. Haven't had time yet to fully look into this. Electrical components appear Bakelite and if presses to guess vintage I'd say '30s. Inside of top is cast:



This piece instantly became a permanent part of my collection. I'd graciously accept any further info. Thank you in advance.

Other items I'm definitively keeping were packed in for (ultimate) drive home. Hmm. Hearse is sitting low in twilight. '69 still on rollback in distance.



Leaving you with a parting shot to guess how many items have been crammed in.



After a week of super long days, a little R&R is in order next deeper into the dirty south before return trip. I'll try to stay away from tick invested procar laden junkyards but no promises.

The one you asked "what is it" would that be a head holder for the table,and sir in one weekend you lived most of our dreams of a lifetime,thanks ever so much for sharing, and happy hunting in the future, P.S. as for that safe, usual demise of safes on the TV show"storage wars" I tend to refer to the show as" morons gone wild"

I confirm it's a head holder multileveled. Saw the same in old stock we used to use in a closet. Do you know approximately the year of the casket catalogs?

Way to go Atti! Awesome story, pix, and the treasures you bought are incredible to say the least

what a waste on that 1986 Eureka Flower car.
that would have looked nice beside my 87 Eureka Endloader !

Wow...great finds Atti. Fantastic that you were able to acquire so much. I'm sure it will all find good homes. Interesting how some were buying for "scrap" regardless of the actual intact value.

That Bomgardner has been updated with the blue aluminum. That took someone a bit of time to disassemble, cut/fit, and reassemble. Some would have just scrapped it and found another cot to use.

Shame about the auctioneers lack of care and professionalism. Would have been interesting to have the owners present to see the conduct.

Your "storage" facility is also quite the find..perfect!

Thanks for sharing the adventure and pictures.

Great finds as well Attila. I'm concerned as to why the funeral home failed to make sure the military headstones were not installed. Just seems like they should be with the deceased in the cemetery.

Thanks for all the pictures, nice!

Richard

Richard,
They may have inaccurate information on them or were replaced with a nicer companion memorial..........

All veteran's memorials are the property of the U.S. Government. I am shocked that they were selling them at an auction. Those should be returned to the Veterans Administration.

Thank you for that info Mike. I had no idea.

There were dozens of new cast grave markers with incorrect info and these few stones, each unused, and assumed replaced given dates. One on right still in box had cracked in shipping, as another did not shown.

Three of the owner's children were present during most of auction itself, then two on Sun. They were appalled at the way their auction was handled. In fact, one told me had they known a collector like me was out there, they wouldn't have needed an auction in the first place.

Owner's health prohibited him from attending.

Atti, dibs on the beacon ray lights. Actually,,I just need one.

i do not have a lot to say

Just a few words like WOW and EGAD and SUPER and WELL DONE !

Dave

awsome thread atti, It was one of those i was at the end of my seat excited to see the pics in the next posting. Great find and great snag. Lots of way cool stuff i would love to have in my collection. Thanks for posting it.

Other than coming up with some Superior Funeral Supply Corporation patents online and learning several torchiere lamps acquired were made by same company, I've not found out much else. Even though I'm still on vacation, I couldn't wait any longer to carefully unwrap and wash dirt off.



Maybe at least someone here knows what sort of light this is called? I need more search parameters to try.

We call those "Votive Lamps"