eBaywatch 23/3/26
Category: Buy Secondhand
EBay is a literal treasure trove. There are metaphorical golden needles to be found in its haystack of listings. I can’t say I have the definitive take on what’s worth picking up but here’s what I’m coveting this week.
Cheap as chips
These cute Bulten (“Bolt”) shot glasses by Swedish glass specialists Lindshammar are, by the looks of the original sticky labels, new old stock. Unused, unloved, forgotten for years, they now could be yours to knock back your daily ginger and/or Jaeger shot.
They appear to be from 1980, if this product catalogue is to be believed. At £5.25 for five glasses, this looks like a steal. Even if it has been miss-listed and should be the price per glass, I still think it’s a bargain. If you’re interested, I’d recommend checking with the vendor about the state of them. It’s unclear from the photos if there are any chips or scratches and the AI generated description is no help at all. Skål!
Somewhere in the middle
Basil Spence was a Scottish architect known for his modernist public buildings, most notably Coventry Cathedral and numerous university campuses (campi?). This lovely chair, credited to Spence, is from The University of Sussex.
The seller also spotted this shot of the chairs in situ at the university library, courtesy of the University of Sussex Library Instagram account. (On closer inspection, the ones below appear to be the version without arms.)
Actually, on even closer inspection, I don’t think these are two versions of the same chair. In the 1967 picture, not only are the tenons clearly visible but the top rail of the chairs are flush with the top of the stiles, not dropped/offset like the one in the eBay listing.
Of course, this chair could also be from the University of Sussex but it’s not the chair in the black and white photo the seller included in the listing.
Anyway, it’s still a lovely pew. The seller wants £313 for it, although the they’re open to offers. Either way, I don’t think this will hang around for long. A couple of years back, someone was selling a load of study chairs from the university, also credited to Spence. They were crazy cheap and I didn’t snag one. They’re all long gone now. Been regretting it ever since. There’s only one of these so, as the kids would say, don’t sleep.
Blow the budget
The Toio floor lamp. A classic. One of Achille Castiglioni’s greatest hits. Designed with his brother Pier Giacomo, it consists of a car headlamp, originally supplied by General Electric, and other repurposed materials, such as fishing rod hoops for guiding the cable to the bulb. Very Decmatic.
This listing for a used example - there are, in fact, two for sale. I would do some probing. Who buys two of these? - is about half the retail price. If genuine, this would be a very good deal, in my - inexpert - opinion.
Happy hunting.
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