New scores from old Florida

I admit it, I'm a collector. I balance my desire to acquire with a strong sense of thriftiness and the overall knowledge that stuff does not bring happiness. So I rationalize my acquisitions so that my purchases serve a dual purpose, in addition to having great vintage graphics they must also be for one of the following:

1. Usable in a blog post
2. A resource for use in my graphic design work
3. A reference for historical subjects I'm interested in pursuing for a potential paper (since I don't want to be known forever as the 'hillbilly guy.")
That way I can get around the fact I don't really need any more stuff. I've been thinking about this a lot as Christmas approaches.

So at the recent Extravaganza at Renninger's I was focused on looking for mostly paper ephemera that I could use for my latest project dealing with the Fountain of Youth. Here are a few objects I purchased:

Vintage linen postcards from St. Augustine's Fountain of Youth

Vintage postcards of Ponce de Leon from St. Augustine

Many of Florida's springs claimed to be the mythic Fountain of Youth, and many developed into the state's earliest tourist attraction. Perhaps none more well known than Weeki Wachee and its famous mermaids.

Vintage brochures from Florida tourist attractions - I love the graphics and I have to admit I collect these just for the sake of collecting.

I found these fun images in a booklet from the 1960s entitled Living in Florida Year Round that I picked up in a Bradenton thrift store. These don't have a specific use, but it was just to cool to pass up at fifty cents.

Extravaganza!

Many of the quirky vintage items in my home were purchased at Renninger's Antique Market in Mt. Dora, FL, specifically during one of their three annual Extravaganzas. Every year, for as long as I can remember, they have been hosting giant antique and collectible shows in November, January and February, where hundreds of dealers from the all over the country bring great vintage stuff to Central Florida. There are almost too many booths to see in one day, and it is one of the rare Florida locations with hills, so a day of trudging around the extravaganza is pretty exhausting. But always fun.

If it's from the past, you can find it here. My current obsessions are vintage advertising ephemera and Florida memorabilia and it's here in great abundance. I do pretty well at not spending too much money, reminding myself that Christmas is only a month away, but it's nearly impossible to return home empty handed. Last year, entertaining a friend from San Francisco, we went two days in a row, so he could purchase several large items and ship them to California for resale.

My wife and I purchased our dining room set at one extravaganza years ago, hurridly renting a U-haul in nearby Apopka and rushing back to the extravaganza just before dark. So walking around over the dusty hills brings back fond memories of finding great treasures, some that came home with me, some left for another lucky buyer.

It's a great place for photography too; there are bizarre juxtapositions of objects at every turn and countless colorful details everywhere. I ran into a friend from Flickr and noticed several others have visited as well. As I resulted I started a Flickr group for others who enjoy seeing the beauty in objects from the past as much as I do.

Ponce De Lake County

I went to the Extravaganza at Renningers Antique Market in Lake County this past weekend and one of my favorite purchases was a vintage brochure from the Fountain of Youth in St. Augustine. My best guess is that its from the 1940s or 5os; the design and illustrations are wonderful.


The inside back cover has a great map of the "Colorful Florida's Most Colorful Spots." In addition to having familiar favorites like Cypress Gardens and Bok Tower, it has some that are new to me like St. Anne's Shrine in Hesperides, FL and the Cactus Garden in Avon Park, FL. St. Anne's has been added to my list for future exploration, while I'll have to do more research on the Cactus Garden. Also on the map is the Japanese Gardens in Clearwater. Fellow blogger Electrospark did a couple wonderful posts on that roadside attraction, also called Eagle's Nest Gardens, here and here.

(Click on map to enlarge)

Floridiana in Mt. Dora

My wife and I headed to Mt. Dora this weekend to look for antiques at Renninger's Antique Market. I also had a hidden agenda: to shoot a couple of roadside items along the way. Despite the heat and humidity, we've been trying to do little day trips this summer, but I still haven't gotten to shoot much roadside architecture. My favorite roadside icon in Mt. Dora is the round orange building on 441 just north of SR 46. Agilitynut's website says this about it: "The Mount Dora Orange was built in 1973. It is 14' in diameter and made of concrete. The Orange was originally used a fruit stand but has been vacant since 1984. It stands pretty far back from the road next to McNamara's Antiques."

The little building is one of the very few surviving examples of novelty architecture in Central Florida and it is a monument to the days when citrus was king in the area. The distressed building faces west, so the best time to photograph it is really in the afternoon hours. Unfortunately we were there in the morning, but there's less of it every time I see it and I don't want to miss an opportunity to get a few shots before it becomes completely engulfed in the wilderness forever.

Just up the road is Renningers Twin Markets, Nirvana for anyone who likes looking at old stuff. Their "extravaganzas" cover the hillside with antique dealers from around the country and there are more cool old things to ogle than you can possibly see in one day. Fortunately those are only 3 times a year. The regular market has enough vintage eye-candy for regular fix of visual ephemera.

After looking at some vintage cameras and old postcards, a booth featuring pottery with colorful Florida imagery caught my eye. The beautiful ceramics have matte glazes similar to Roseville Pottery but the subject matter goes beyond floral to show sunshine state favorites like alligators, manatees, Seminole Indians and wading birds. The potter behind "Florida Art Pottery Studio" is Martin Cushman and he throws the pots right in his Renningers booth. A former Eustis restaurant owner, Cushman honed his pottery skills at Winter Park's Creadle School of Art. After a successful one-man show, he was approached by a pottery dealer from Renningers and the rest is history.


"Being a Floridian, my pots have always been decorated with the beauty of the nature of Florida," says Cushman, "be it spanish moss hanging from old oak trees or alligators lounging in the swamps." His booth echoes that theme and he's knowledgeable of some of Central Florida's obscure wildlife artists, (and this blog's favorites), Joy Postle and Sam Stoltz. My pictures don't do his work justice, go by and see them for yourself!