This was an eye-catching booth!
I wish I had taken a panoramic of this display (I was too excited and overwhelmed at the colors to take pics!) as it almost seemed out of place at the Fair.
The name of the booth was Big Ship Salvage. But wait, half the booth was filled with shelves of tin ware of all sizes, shapes and colors.
Here’s the story behind this collection:
The owner, John, does a lot of buying in India (for Big Ship Salvage) and bought, sight unseen, four buildings south of Mumbai. They were, he was told, full of merchandise. It was a gamble!
When he arrived there he knew immediately that two of the buildings would have to be demolished right away, one was salvageable, and one was FULL of merchandise. But it was not the kind of merchandise he had been told: it had cartons and cartons, and more cartons, of this tinware.
It turns out all this tin dinnerware had been made in Czechoslovakia pre WWII, shipped to India where it was to be sold for local use. The war came, then Independence and the British departure from India, and the goods sat. And sat. And sat.
Until 2003 when John bought the building and contents. He described going through the boxes and crates…that had not been touched since 1947. That is years and years of roaches and lots of other creatures who had made it home!
So….he shipped all these crates and cartons (after a thorough de-bugging!) to the U.S. and now sells them at local antique markets.
If you look closely you can see markings on the side: on the indigo mug and blue bowl below. These were put there to denote that the proper taxes and duties had been paid, pre-1947, upon entering India!
 Here you can see the still attached labels on bottom of the bowl:
This little bowl is only 2″ diameter: perfect for holding my rings at the kitchen sink!
My favorite for last: the vase.
Love Love Love
a little out of focus: sorry
Now THAT was an interesting story, wasn’t it?
P.S. John had told me where to find more of these items on Ebay. But I think I heard him wrong and cannot find them anywhere. I’ll email him tomorrow for the correct shop/address and let you know.