M1 Schleuter Helmet

This helmet is a later production than the McCord helmet; the rim is made from manganese steel rather than the earlier shiny stainless steel. The patch of bright green paint is curious- it looks to be the same age as the olive drab paint, it's just a shapeless patch so maybe it was slopped on to cover up some damage to the OD.

M1 McCord Helmet

This is an M1 helmet produced by the McCord factory in WW2. I picked this up, with another helmet, at Swinderby for £25. This example has the seam in the rim at the front, and the rim itself is made of stainless steel- both characteristics of WW2 helmets. The bales, bails or loops for the chinstrap (whatever they're called) are the later swivel type. I assumed the other helmet was junk; however it too turned out to be WW2, made by the Schleuter factory. Both are rusty, with little of the original paint left (in the case of the McCord helmet it had been repainted at least twice). They must have been dumped somewhere for the last 65 years- a barn or somewhere like that. Looks like the bright shiny rim is something to scan for- most of the helmets for sale at antiques fairs are post-WW2 or Belgian or French and difficult to distinguish from the originals at a glance.

A McGill Stapler from Croft Car Boot Sale

Known as the "McGill Single-Stroke Staple Press" this lump of cast-iron is an example of the first commercially-successful office stapler. The plunger presses down on a steel cylinder with a groove in the end to hold the staple. No maker's mark, or any of the gold-painted text that appears on other examples, although the shape is very similar. McGill patented his design in 1879, and this model (No. 1) seems to have been advertised from 1880 to 1909 or 1913. The paint on this example seems to lack the thickness apparent in photos of other McGills. I don't think it's been repainted though- the paint job is too neat.

Bought from Croft Car Boot for £1.50.

Matford Car Boot

Made the mistake of arriving at Matford, Exeter City Council's car boot, too early- at 6.30 in the morning. Although some "trade" sellers had set up, all the private sellers were queuing up to be allotted their pitches. Could have gone in at 7.30 instead. Matford tends to have a better ratio of antiques to household junk than other boots, but today wasn't much cop. Found an Eliza Acton cookery book of 1863, but the vendor was a dealer, and she wanted £10 for it- the book wasn't in particularly good condition and might have been okay at £2-£3. I bought an Acme Siren from her for £6, having never seen one before, only to discover when I got back that they're still made and cost £7 new.
One dealer, specialising in books, wrapped all his stock in plastic and attached a piece of paper to the front of the bag giving a brief synopsis of the book. Since he was charging only £1.50-£2 for each book it seemed a lot of work for what must be a small profit margin (unless he gets the books free!). On the other hand, if it rains his stock stays dry- I've seen plenty of wet books at car boots, halfway to being pulped, the stallholders not caring if My Booky-Wook goes mouldy.
Another stallholder brought along a selection of brightly coloured glass vases, all new, all looking like cheap rent versions of Murano. Bankrupt stock? Nobody was buying, or even looking at them.