For anyone who considers themselves a collector of something, you live for those rare moments when you uncover a true treasure. Today, was one of those days.
A few months back at Jake's Flea Market in Barto, Pennsylvania, I ran into my old friend and fellow dealer, Bob - whom I've obtained some of my most prized Disney collectibles from. We struck up a rather casual conversation about our latest flea market adventures and then proceeded on our way. At the last minute, Bob turned to me and remembered that he had a Figaro piece on his workbench at home that I might be interested in. I knew Figaro collectibles of any kind, whether vintage or new, were few and far between, so I was very interested. But, when he described it to me in detail, I began to feel that little charge of electricity within me when I know I'm close to striking gold.
The scent of excitement that had wafted into my nose on that day lingered for three solid months while I waited for Bob to call me. Just when I was about to give up hope, I was pleasantly surprised to hear a message from him on my voicemail while driving home from work last week. We made the arrangements and met at Jake's this morning past.
All I kept picturing in my head this morning while driving to the flea market, was the image of a 1940 Figaro piece made by Brayton Laguna Pottery that I had seen in a book on collecting Disneyana. Bob initially described the figure as a ceramic creamer, green in color, with a little Figaro dangling from the lip. I knew exactly what he meant as soon as he began describing it, and had been looking to add it to my other Brayton Laguna Figaro figurines for some time now (incidentally, the three other Figaros in my possession were purchased from Bob too a few years back).
It didn't take me long to find Bob's van after parking, and upon seeing him, his smile revealed to me that he was just as excited to see me. He popped his trunk, pulled out an old shoebox, and removed the contents within. To my surprise, Bob unwrapped not only the creamer piece he had described, but a matching sugar bowl with Figaro as its lid to boot! I had never seen this piece before, and knew I had to have them both. After declining Bob's rather low offer for the both, I gave him what I felt they were worth to me.
As is often times seen on the History Channel's American Pickers, it's not always about finding a rare and valuable item. From the time I met Bob at Jake's a few years back, I knew I had found a treasure in him. Nearly forty years my senior, he feels like that distant uncle that I rarely see, but always look forward to talking to again. The initial set of Figaro pieces that I bought from Bob were my first serious purchases as a Disney collector. It's only fitting that these two new additions came from him too. They will always be special to me because of that.
