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07-034.
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Today was the first free Saturday I've had in months, so I though it would be the perfect opportunity for a thrift shop road trip. My loop through a half dozen small Illinois towns was very successful, and the whole thing started off with this. The best find of the day. In actuality, it turns out this is the best find I've had all year ... and possibly longer!
In 1947 Ray Eames designed a textile pattern called Sea Things, a fun and very midcentury modern design featuring a plethora of tiny sea creatures. In 1954 the pattern was licensed to Waverly Products to be featured on a series of plastic products. At least three different sizes and shapes of serving tray were produced, both in a black on white and metallic gold on aqua colorway. A small cocktail table was also produced, which today is an extremely rare example of the Eames' work. The trays are rare themselves, too, which I knew when I saw this tray sitting on the shelf in a small church run thrift shop. I vaguely recognized the pattern, and remembered seeing a similar piece available for sale at a major 20th century modern auction several years back. My memory was hazy, however, and I remembered the realized price being somewhere in the $250 range.
I figured the 75 cent investment would be well worth it, and happily carried my tray along on to the rest of my morning's journey. When I returned home and began to research my finds, however, I was flabbergasted. I was able to find four auction prices for similar trays in the past 10 years, ranging from $1,000.00 to $1,300.00. My tray turns out to be the more uncommon shape, thus at the high end of that price range. My jaw hit the floor!
Needless to say, I'll be taking this road trip again. It was truly an amazing journey!
Found on September 01, 2007 in Lincoln, IL.
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