Someone I don't know literally gave me the easel of my dreams for free. A friend of my in-laws had it sitting and doesn't seem to have been used. It was waiting there in Chicago for me where I happened to be going for the weekend. It was like the movies in which the kid who stares at the guitar in the store window finally gets it.
It's a Cappelletto Renaissance beechwood crank easel, and came with a special linseed oil for oiling the fancy wood. It has a palette and paintbox that box that both clip onto the front. Thank you God, I'll try to do something decent on it.