No. 4 Universal Bread Maker – Daryle Lambert's Antiques and Collectibles blog – The best of the rest.

 Thanks to egi.ebay.com

It was Friday morning and I was in the mood to go “house sale-ing” so that meant getting up at 6:00 and mapping my routes. There was one sale that stood out so I put that sale at the top of my list. Knowing that I could buy several items because I had set money aside in the account to increase our inventory, I was soon out the door.

This was going to prove to be a real learning experience so I will share it with my readers. Arriving at the residence, I could feel my heart start to pump just a little faster as I prepared for the competition. Entering the packed living room, I began to scan the items that were offered. It soon dawned on me that most of the prices were extremely high, but I kept on searching. The sales company had brought in an appraiser to price the sale I think, and this is a common practice. However, the appraisers often overprice the sale to impress the sales company.

I checked out all the art and it was overpriced. I had to laugh when even unsigned prints were listed at $700 to $1000. Next there was some Doulton china, but likewise it was priced at retail, as well as all the glass. Not wanting to give up, I headed to the upstairs where only clothes were being sold. By this time I had almost written this sale off. There was still the basement and garage to search but I figured even there the prices would be out of sight. In the basement, I started the old look through every box routine. Still nothing, but on a shelf I saw a bread making machine. Taking it off the shelf, I noticed the round brass emblem that read No. 4 Universal Bread Maker awarded the Gold medal at the St. Louis exposition 1904. I knew I had to own it because I had just written about World’s Fairs. Taking it upstairs, I asked the conductor of the sale if he would take $10. He said he would take $20 which I was glad to give. My first purchase.

The rest of my time spent at this sale was looking for items that I might purchase the next day at half price and I found several of them so I will be going back. The items that may be treasures were found in the garage They are cast iron pieces that looked as if at one time they could have been inserts in a fence. They were, however, very decorative with vases of flowers and shields in the center of each panel. To the right person, I believe they could be worth $500 each but the appraiser had priced them at $150 each, which was too much for me. They were more like what the American Pickers would have bought. At $50 each, I hope they will be mine tomorrow. This ended the sale with just the one purchase. Returning home, however, and researching my bread maker, I found one very similar to mine that sold for $50 without the advertising plaque for the 1904 Expo, so I believe mine will bring at least $125. Not a fortune, but with the possibilities for tomorrow, it might not be bad.

I kept my money in my pocket for another day, made one purchase that paid for my time and hope to go back and claim some treasures there tomorrow. These are good lessons to learn.

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