Thursday, July 29, 2010

After the Fleas Had Fled



This morning we headed off to the Hartville Flea Market. For years we’ve heard about it, but until recently I hadn’t exactly been an avid flea-market-goer. This summer I’ve sort of gotten the bug (ha-ha), especially since I sold the goddess of knitting books on Wednesday after purchasing it Sunday at the Medina flea market. But as soon as we pulled into the enormous parking lot shortly before nine we realized we’d made a tactical error. At the Hartville Flea Market you have two kinds of commerce – the indoor kind and the outdoor kind. The indoor has its cowlicks all slicked down, its face scrubbed, and shines like a brand new penny. It's called nine o’clock commerce. The outdoor displays are like little boys – snips and snails and puppy dog tails. It’s called sunrise commerce -- get there at nine and the goodies are gone.

You would think that being a flea market snob, I would far prefer the indoor venue, but in this case you’d be wrong. Brand new country “collectibles”, purses, clothing, small appliances, and booths manned by major retailers selling replacement windows and bath remodeling do not a flea market make. A flea market needs a little rust on it – just not too much. Even though we were late, the weather was perfect and the terrain nice and flat, so we decided to check out the outdoor vendors. Immediately I regretted wearing my sneakers – I am SO not a sneakers woman – but within a few minutes I could have had steel-toed work boots strapped to my feet and never even noticed.

Right away I found a hard cover copy of my favorite, falling-apart low-fat cookbook. Most low-fat cookbooks produce food that would have the dog on the phone ordering pizza, but there’s an espresso cheesecake recipe on page 221 that all by itself is s worth the inflated $4 I paid for it. Two seconds later – literally at the next booth -- the card table of my dreams showed up. The fact that the only card games I play are Uno and War with my six year-old grandson is beside the point. These vintage folding wooden card tables with their painted tops are not ABOUT utility. Their mojo is charm, romance, and a little footsie under the flowers. So never mind that I already have one and gave a second to my friend Jessica for her birthday, Eric found himself lugging this third one back to the car. I display these like art, so it’s perfect in the dining room. Just imagine a painting on the lower part of the wall –fabulous!

From there it kind of went downhill though. The books were so sad and sorry they made the offerings on the free table at the FOL library sale look like candidates for the Antiques Roadshow. So I quickly shifted gears and started focusing on paper items. I did find one pretty nice Greek map, but it had a stain on the front I couldn’t overlook, so I let it go. But that was okay because minutes later I spotted First Communion Girl.

This is one enormous photograph, 15”x20” without its ugly frame, which will soon be history. The fact that’s she’s pretty helps her saleability, but she’s a keeper for several reasons. First of all, there’s the liturgical aspect, replete with crucifix candle holder and miniature missal. Then there’s the probability that she’s ethnic, perhaps Italian, but I need to research that a bit to be sure. The big thing is her CLOTHES – the little shoes tied with bows, the dress, and of course the elaborate veil trailing a garland of vegetation. I love vintage photographs and have sold them sporadically over the years, but most of what’s out there is pretty pedestrian. First Communion Girl tells a silent story and is a strong visual, making her special enough to win a ride home with the card table.

So what’s the point of all this? When I started writing it I’m not sure I had one. I just figured I’d tell you the story of the Hartville flea market and you might be a little entertained and that would be that. But just now it dawned on me that there IS a point here. The scope of the bookseller in the 21st century must be ever expandable. Every once in awhile take your gaze away from the shelf long enough to think outside the book. Follow your eye, your heart, and your interests and see where they lead you. It just might get interesting. It might also help keep you in business in these uncertain electronic times.

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