May 18, 2013

Key Party!

Last week I visited Witch City Consignment & Thrift in (surprise!) downtown Salem MA. They have a pretty much rotating inventory so you never know what you might find
on any given day.

Not sure how old this cast metal Porky Pig bank is but it's freakin heavy!
It's probably close to a foot tall.


And there's never a shortage of dolls that might try to murder you while you sleep.


You might be wondering what this all has to do with a blog post that sounds like a '70s swinger's night out. For years, I've thought it would be interesting to start a key collection and this is the place that has gotten me going. Ideally, I want to get an engraver and number each key so I can keep a log of its point of origin but for now, I'll keep track on the blog.

Here's what I found interesting out of a small box of $1 keys. In case you were wondering, keys are a pain in the ass to light and photograph due to them being shiny.

 ford mustang padlock diamond key

Starting on the left, there's a Ford Mustang key. Modern keys aren't much to look at, unless you buy a blank with graphics so this seems like a work of art.

The second one I'm not sure of but it has a couple of Chinese characters on it.
It's also got a couple of sharp teeth, which I don't see often.
Anyone able to translate?

ford mustang diamond Chinese key

In the middle is a MasterLock key.
I had a very similar one for a padlock that I used to lock up my Huffy bike.

Next is a Ford key but I'm not sure what model. The key holes are usually round or rectangular so the triangular hole on this one is pretty neat. I also like the inverted chevron and horizontal lines. It's not a galloping horse, but I think it's a great piece of retro art.

The last one looks like it might have gone to a locker because it has a number on it. The text says Cleveland, O.U.B.A (maybe?) but I couldn't turn up anything on that. I'm curious if the monocled, top hatted key was a mascot of some kind.

cleveland ouba key

Here's a couple more to start my collection. The one on the left I found in the parking lot at work. It might even go to something important.


The one on the right I got in the consignment shop in a box of $3 keys. The text says "nivia" but a search didn't turn anything useful up. It certainly looks a bit older than the others.

Got any keys around the house you don't need?

12 comments:

  1. I think keys can be a interesting thing to collect and it should be fun watching your collection grow Dex. : )

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    1. Thanks, jboy. It'll probably only be from this one shop for now but they do have a couple boxes with all kinds of keys.

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  2. I can never resist a doll that might try to murder you while you sleep. Haha.

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    1. I think this place is the nexus of murderous dolls. Sometimes it reminds me of the antique shop in the Friday the 13th TV series.

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  3. Personally I think that murderous dolls bleed into our dimension from... elsewhere. We've got a metric ton of them here in Maine too.

    I know we've got a huge ring of old unused keys here somewhere... If I can find them I'll look through to see if there's a few worthy of your collection.

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  4. I have the same key( diamond key) but I live in Europe...

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  5. And does your key have that same little drawn diamond on its back too?

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  6. Too late I think you were there 2013? We have 2015 now so I don't think you'll answer😒

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  7. I have one just like it with the diamond on the back I'm trying to figure out what it's for. Any ideas?

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    Replies
    1. No idea, but that's part of what makes them interesting!

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  8. I have a key just like that and I don't know what it's for and it has a dimond on the back and Chinese characters could any one tell me what it's for?

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