This old barn

So, one of the (far too many) other things I collect is old toy barns. I especially love old German ones, and have a collect of perhaps 7 or 8 of them. Yes, yes, I don't know exactly  how many I have. Sad, isn't it? However, I do have the excuse that I've packed them up while we're doing the never-ending renovations on our real old house, so I can't get to them to make a real count. Still, they're one of my great loves.

Anyway, yesterday morning we went to our local favorite flea market in Lambertville, NJ, for a walk around the very cold air. We didn't really expect to find much, it being less than 30° when we got there, but there were a surprising number of dealers, and besides, we both needed the exercise. So, imagine my surprise when I spotted the back of a small building sitting on a table. From the front, as I knew it would be, it was an antique German barn. I picked it up, intending to ask the price, then saw that it had a tag -- $15! My husband made a grumbly face -- not because he didn't want me to get it. No, he was grumpy because he didn't see it first, as he would've bought it instantly as a last-minute Christmas present for me. Have I mentioned how much I love my husband? We have a perfect collectors' marriage -- he can collect whatever he wants, and I can collect whatever I want (within obvious reason).

Aside from the obvious missing door and a few small cracks in the wood, the barn is in remarkably good shape. The paint is spectacular, faded just enough in all the right places to be interesting. The litho paper decoration appears to complete and in extremely good condition -- one of the harder things to find in good shape on these old barns. I'm really happy with it, and I will probably just leave it as it is, unless I can find a really good picture of the exact same barn with the missing door (and can find a way to make a believable replacement).

You can bet it will be part of my Christmas display this year!