Original 1851 Smith’s Illustrated Astronomy Textbook
For only 25 cents, a person brought an original copy of “Smith’s Illustrated Astronomy Textbook” from a thrift store. It came out in 1851! Amazingly, it has stayed in such good shape after more than a century and a half. There is a chance that the former owner had no idea what it was. After all, they would have sold it for much more than that otherwise. This was found at a garage sale in Illinois. The book was released for “public or common” schools across the United States. This is now worth $150.
Vintage 1939 Schumann Piano
In 1847, Schumann started making pianos in Illinois. It saw tons of success and grew rapidly. In fact, they had to relocate to a big factory in Rockford not long after that! The company produced upright, player, and grand pianos. Their products were popular in the early 1900s. The piano in question is a 1939 Schumann that normally costs more than $10,000 even if it had bumps and scratches. A buyer was lucky enough to buy this for less than $60 at a thrift store! Aside from a few scratches, it was “in great shape.”