Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Vintage Thingy Thursday - Jumpin Jack Flash!

Today is Thursday, and that means a visit to:


The Coloradolady
for Vintage Thingy Thursday


To explore the treasures of yesteryear.

Check out the cool cookie jar that she got and while you read, here is something to think about.

We know that Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall, and that he had a great fall, and that all the kings horses and all the kings men couldn't put Humpty Dumpty back together again. But here is the real question: What, exactly, did they expect the horses to do?

OK, now that you have pondered that, it's time for my vintage thingy!

Way, way back in the early fall of 2009, (remember back then?) Diann was posting about some good deals at Aldi's and she posted about a great deal they had on a generator. I saw that post and dropped a hint to Santa that he may want to do some shopping at Aldi's.

Well, Santa is no dummy, he knows a good deal when he sees it, so he ran (flew?) right over and got one. (He actually got two of them, one for me and one for my Father-in-law but who's counting?)

So, knowing that I may be getting a generator for Christmas I let Diann know I would be interested in getting a couple of gas cans. I wanted to be able to take our trailer back into the woods and not be running out for gas every day.

I could have just gone and bought a new one, but it really bugged me to pay $15 for an empty plastic bottle.

Well, Diann is every bit as smart as Santa, so she watches for good deals too. We spent most of last summer camping, while she combed the flea markets, thrift stores, antique barns, yard sales, bargain barns and other secret sources for bargains and deals.

So, I was not surprised when she showed up with this beauty.



I WAS pleasantly surprised when she told me how much she had paid for it.



This was one of those, OK, I'll buy item A if you throw in Item B for 50 cents kind of deals, so as part of a package deal of bargains, this one was less than a dollar.



It has a bit of a dent in the top. I think I can straighten it out a little, I haven't tried yet, but, the lid still screws on and off, so it's not critical.





I'm not sure of the details, but check out the vented lid, with the
spring loaded vent.





I don't know exactly how old it is, but I do know that plastic cans were developed and introduced into the general market in the mid 1970's, so for a metal design to be a "new" design, as specified on the side, I imagine it is somewhat older than that.


And now, since I can't seem to post something without a touch of trivia, here is a tidbit or two.

This can was made by the Eagle Manufacturing Company of Wellsburg, West Virginia. Eagle was founded in 1894 as a decorative glass company. They started with metalwork when they needed to make metal lids for their glass jars. Then, as industry demand grew, they grew to meet the demand. By 1907 they were making metal cans for the railroad industry. In the 1970's, as Occupational Safety became more of a concern, they expanded their line to include a wide variety of safety items.

Incidentally they still make a 2.5 gallon metal can. You can buy them brand new online if you want. Check out the price.


The very best vintage thingies are the ones where you get a really good bargain! So, although Diann did the bargaining on this one, it was still a thrifty purchase. That's why I feel good about linking this post to

Thrifty Thursday
at Tales From Bloggeritaville
Check out the other thrifty blog posts over there!

Don't forget to sign up for my giveaway, you can be entered up to 6 different times!


Read all about it and enter here.


Be sure and join me each Tuesday for Tuesday Trivia Tie-in, where readers are invited to share trivia and show off their treasures.


Read all about it here

I apologize in advance to any anonymous posters. Because of the large amount of SPAM I was getting, I had to block anonymous comments.
Sorry,

Troy

16 comments:

  1. It has a lot more character than the plastic cans. What a great deal!

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  2. Can you call an old gas can beautiful? I think I just did! Beautiful deal too!

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  3. Do not,I repeat,do not remove the dent!! Why mess with perfection?

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  4. dent add charm to the can.. and what a great bargain you had! btw you got very interesting post!.. thanks for sharing.. happy VTT

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  5. I'm with Charlotte...leave the dent! Great post!

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  6. Oh, I remember my grandfather had a gas can like this very one....dent and all...how funny is that! I love the way it looks, and what a buy!!!

    Now, I too ponder what the horses had to do with anything now...maybe they were sniffing out the egg shells??? LOL Have a great VTT!

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  7. Those cans are much more fun to have than new ones.

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  8. Leave it to a man to extol the virtues of a vintage gas can! Lovely post, and gives more appreciation for vintage vs new age plastics!

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  9. What a great idea you had for today. I have not seen anyone feature an old gas can before. I enjoyed hearing the background on them. Very interesting and informative post.

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  10. I remember my dad had a couple of these. I always like the clinking of the metal when he put them in the back of his pick-up truck.

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  11. Hi Troy,

    I had to laugh at first, because I thought you were posting a humpty dumpty find too! Great can, I remember those!

    Debbie

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  12. VERY cool can! Great vintage find.

    Jocelyn
    http://justalittlesouthernhospitality.blogspot.com/

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  13. Hi, Great find, very thrifty and much cooler than any new plastic can. Thanks for all the backround information, too.
    Peace, Stephanie

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  14. Fantastic find of the gas can! I was just thinking the other day how much I'd like to have a few of those.

    Oh... the horses? They were to supply the "horse sense" on how to put H.D. back together! ;-D

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  15. That's a great gas can! Of course being a gal, I'd probably try to figure a way to take some off the top and plant something in it, lol, but it really is terrific! I concur with everyone else- leave the dent, it adds to the charm!

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  16. I say,leave the dent alone. It makes the vintage can just perfect. Happy VTT...hope your weekend is a wonderful one.

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