Another Chicago Hoarder

After walking into this place, the first thing that hit you -- aside from the overwhelming lived-in smell -- was the sheer volume of stuff in it.

And not just any stuff, either. This was someone with an obsession.

At first it looked like a mere fascination with American Indian... what's the word? Memorabilia? Paraphernalia? Collectibilia?

Because they had it all. From figurines to artwork to dreamcatchers. Everything but the scalp from a pioneer maiden.

And they had it everywhere. I'm pretty sure the people holding the sale would have gladly sold this stuff by the pound, there was that much of it.

I found this lamp in a back bedroom. I should have bought it...

... and sent it to the good people at Travelocity.

Of course there was a basement...

... and of course it looked like this.

There were two big bookshelves, and both of them were stuffed with books. Their topics spanned everything from astrology to Zoroastrianism.

There were quite a few interesting finds down here as well. This sombrero could be the start of a mighty fine Halloween costume for someone.

Who wants to get their hair did?

This was incredibly weird and goofy. I would have bought it if had been in better shape. Maybe having the photo is just as good.

Somewhere behind all that stuff was a pretty swank bar.

Something tells me this must have come in handy a time or two.

None of these pictures show it, but the basement was packed with estate salers, busily digging through all the layers, each of them hoping to find their one true treasure.

On my way out I stopped in the back yard and garage where there was...

... you guessed it, even more stuff. On my way out I talked to the guy keeping watch over the backyard collection. "It's too bad," he said, "if all you had was ten percent of this stuff, it would fly out the door. But this... it's just too much. It all ends up looking like crap."