Ode to eBay

The marvelous thing about eBay is that it is basically the biggest junk shop ever and they hand you a magical little chalkboard on your way in the door – aka a “search box” - to help you find things. Each time you scrawl a different word in chalk, all the things in the shop jump off their shelves and reorganize themselves accordingly. My eBay explorations began with concrete search terms such as “antique cast waffle iron.” Today, they continue with more generous terms like “unusual” and “wonder.”

It is a combination of science and art that can lead you to the most interesting items. I have learned the eBay search lingo. Here is one of my current favorite search phrases:

“(vintage, antique, old) (machine, dispenser) -sewing -pez -marbles -adding -popcorn -oil -answering -slot -cotton -gun -tattoo -coke -coca -cola –embroidery.”

Try it. It’s like a big rotating exhibit I just curated for you to walk through - 1428 items today, and different everyday. Can I interest you in an antique cast iron fabric-fluting machine from 1875 that you can use to crimp your collars and cuffs?














Or instead, 5 brand new bumper caps for Old Chicago pinball machines?













What about a vintage cast iron woodpecker toothpick dispenser? The little woodpecker delivers the toothpick to you in its beak.















An antique manual clothes wringer made in 1898? How else you gonna dry your clothes?














An antique match vending machine?


















A rope maker?


















I am digging into the past – through the geologic layers of eBay and the detritus of days gone by – looking for any sign that we’re going to be okay. Any thing that can guide us or inspire us to live anew.