Did Gonzo paint a portrait of you and you use it for your current avatar?

You know you're from Iowa when you spend time going to auctions looking for old crap. That's a classic pastime.

Condition of course is the hallmark for pin-up art. Also if its a calendar or sketch pad, is it complete with all the months?
A simple tear out like the one above is worth perhaps $5-10. It also depends on the artist. Like Varga stuff, which I don't care for, goes for some pretty big cash, especially is the subject is someone famous..like Monroe.
One thing I can tell you is if you come across full 1950-1959 full pin-up calendars cheap, Buy Them.
Also if you find pin up calendars with Cellophane Lifts..you know lift the sheet and the boobies are revealed those are very collectable.

I love doing that. And always have.
I remember my Mom dragging us to auction houses all the time.

You know you're still a student when you don't understand that old "Crap" at auctions can have significant value and can be turned into cash to purchase plenty of cool NEW "crap".

My uncle would love this thread. There are no less than three sheds at the farm full of stuff from auctions.

Eh, just admit it and say, "I've become my (insert older relative here)."

Lets go to those sheds together and I'll promise to take a load of that junk of my choosing away....free of charge. I'll buy your lunch.

Looks to me like someone just started watching American Pickers...

This someone STOPPED watching American Pickers a year ago.

This someone is trying to fund a couple of specific items with "extra" cash.

Iowa's two most famous show business stars since Donna Reed and John Wayne.

I'll raid church fall festival used book sales. I ain't too proud to walk away with a couple grocery bags full.

Ha just a small poke buddy.

I do get somewhat annoyed by the whole culture it's created. I love the show and especially the passion Mike in particular shows about what he does. However my brother lives in DM and has basically done his entire house with this type of shit. A couple items here and there or in the garage are cool, but he has some type of "pick" item in every god damn room in his house.

I went on a homes tour in the DM area this summer..... .5-1mil homes. Every single one of them was decorated with sticks and old shit I've been burning and recycling for years.

I've burned and smashed thousands and thousands of dollars of valuable "vintage" stuff over the years.

It's one of the advantages of the area in which i live, there is still quite a lot of items like you're talking about available...and lots of old farmers retiring or passing away.


It's giving me a way to make a little coin with some of the items I found on my farm too. I've got a box of old traps that will end up hanging in dens, some old solvent cans...wood crates....barn and farm pulleys etc....


I'm admittedly a year or two late to this party, but I was pretty busy doing other things with that time.

This is the part of the whole thing that annoys me, 5 years ago those houses were probably stuffed with Pier 1 BS or whatever was "hot" at the time. I like it when people actually decorate in a style that they have always admired, but that would require the American public to actually think for themselves.

I've always thought just buying boxes of smalls (small old toys/dolls, fishing lures, etc) and selling them individually on ebay would be a very easy way to make money. I've also wanted to do this for years with garage sales and old lady items.