Parlor & Living Room – Inherited Values

Mysterious Book-Box

The office manager at work called me into her office after lunch today: she handed me this little “book”, and I opened it:

Turns out it isn’t a book at all —

— and inside is an accordion-folded strip, with numbers on each ‘fold’:

They’re only numbered on one side — 6, 7, 8, then “5 TO 10”, whatever that means. Between the “In Fond Remembrance” on the spine, the bird’s-nest inside, and the numbering system, I’m baffled as to what its original purpose is. The whole thing is tiny — maybe 2″ x 1″ x 1/2″ altogether, like two matchboxes stacked. Anyone out there in Internetland seen this before?

The Joy and Tribulation of The Antique Dealer

No Egrets Antiques has just completed our third antique show of this new year. Our first was held in West Bend, WI in January. Cold, but the snow kept away and turn-out was very high! As always, the N. L. Promotions’ events are well attended and offer top-quality vendors.

The second was in Wausau, WI on a very cold winter weekend. At this time of year Wausau is snow ski country and the sport is for the hardy outdoor types. But we were set up inside the D.C. Everett High School and the droves of customers provided our booth with constant action for two full days. They came to buy! This show and our St. Norbert’s Show were put on by AR Promotions and Audre’ and Ray really do things right.

This last endeavor was a flip of what we had expected. Weather was kind to us, but buyers were not. The venue was at St. Norbert Collage in DePere, WI, and the gym was filled with many of the same dealers that were in Wausau. We were very pleased to see the crowds pour thru on both Saturday and Sunday. But!! After talking with many of our friendly competing dealers, the consensus was that the visitors left their purses and wallets at home. Still a good show, but not up to our expectations.

And so goes the life of an antique dealer. Wait until our next show. We’ll bring better antiques or maybe lower end items. Better glass, or depression glass? Probably not, it is not selling up to its potential. Victorian period? No, we need to bring more Mid Century Modern. Sports items? Always hot. Jewelry always sells so do post cards. Yippee! Post cards and jewelry. And probably some delightful prints and paintings for home decorating This is also a great show for outdoor items for your yard decor and also heavy-metal for your man-cave. That’s what we will bring to our next event.

Our next show will be in Elkhorn, WI, (another N.L. event) and it’s always a super show for both collectors and decorators and sellers, with Inherited Values and No Egrets in booths next to each other – Row two # 216.

See you soon.

The Halloween Tradition Of Romantic Tricks & Treats

Halloween was once steeped in the tradition of belief that the veil between this world and the next was thinnest at this time of year and so was considered a time when fortunes could be best told. Not even the Victorian era and it’s designs to clean-up the naked bonfire bawdiness could quash that Hallowe’en tradition. In fact, the Victorian notions of romance and marriage quite fed such things. Especially the romantic sort of fortune telling, predicting whom you might marry.

Included in this historical paper trail are the antique and vintage Halloween postcards. There, among the now-so-traditional Halloween fare of witches and black cats, are the romantic Halloween postcards. Sometimes these are simply postcards with romantic prose, courtship rituals, or even wistful, hopeful sentiments. But there too, along with icons or symbols of witchcraft (such as caldrons, clocks, mirrors, and potions), there are the utterly charm-ing old postcards of spell-casting or divination. These discuss the magical steps one might take to find love and bind lovers. Some are quite clearly the stuff of parlor games.

There were quite a number of fortune telling games. Some, like the postcards, provided instructions. Others were of the oral tradition. For example, among the myriad of seasonal apple traditions is the one in which single ladies peeled an entire apple and then tossed the long peel behind them. The shape the apple peeling took was said to form the first letter of the first name of their future mate.

Along with these sorts of party games, there were dolls who might help a single lady out.

In the 1800s, both France and Germany made wooden, and porcelain, dolls with skirts over paper petticoats, of sorts. It was on the paper pages of the skirting that one found one’s fortune. Much like a fancier version of the paper fortune telling games played in schools now!

This is an antique wooden Grödnertal fortune telling doll. (So-named for the Grödnertal region of Germany where the original peg wooden dolls were made.)

In French these fortune telling dolls are known as “bebe a bonne aventure” dolls.

They are often depicted as witches or gypsies, which is rather keeping in the Halloween tradition.

Image Credits: Antique fortune telling dolls via, via, via.

Sweet Antique Candy Boxes

Valentine’s Day wouldn’t be Valentine’s Day without the proverbial box of chocolates! These two boxes are pretty examples of sweet antique advertising ephemera.

The first box marked “Overhauser’s of Spokane” features a Victorian lady with a large hat. There’s a holly and berries sticker on the box that shows this box of candy from the Overhauser Candy Company (Spokane, Washington) was likely given for Christmas — but it’s still a romantic gift, right?

The second antique candy box also features a fancy Victorian lady wearing a large hat — with roses that match the other roses on the paper. This box bears a red and gold foil seal that reads “De Luxe Chocolates, Little Falls, Minn.” Remarkably, the original fancy embossed papers are still inside!

Both boxes are for sale in our Etsy shop, here & here. Or you can contact me at We Have Your Collectibles or the We Have Your Collectibles Facebook page.

A Keystone Production

We’re here working at Exit 55 Antiques in Fergus Falls, MN, and one of the fun parts of working our required day each month is seeing what other new, interesting things have come in from other dealers since the last time we’ve worked. This time, being the camera fan that I am, I immediately gravitated towards this old movie projector that another dealer was selling for $89.

It’s older than most of the other cameras, movie or otherwise, that I’ve ever owned. This fine example of early film projection technology is a Keystone Moviegraph:

My first assumption was, “oh, like the movie studio!” It could make sense — if you’re making Charlie Chaplin movies, people have to watch them somehow, so why not sell the projectors, too? Edison and Victrola made big bucks being the single source for both the equipment and the media, so why not Keystone Film Company?

Unfortunately, my guess was incorrect. People might have watched Keystone Kops on this projector, but it wasn’t because both parts were made by the same company.

Keystone Manufacturing Company was a toy company based out of Boston, Massachusetts, thousands of miles away from the Keystone movie studios. This projector was designed to occupy the kids for ten to fifteen minutes at a time, each one taking turns cranking the projector at the right speed.

You’ll note that the ad says it includes just an electric cord — “for connecting to any lamp socket your electric bulb will fit”. The interior of the projector is a big open space, to stick a lamp inside.

At least they put vents in it, just in case too much heat built up. But, what could be safer than lettings kids play with an electric lamp, inside a metal box, running flammable nitrate film through a projector by hand? The 1910s were a different time; this tinderbox was probably the safest thing the kids had to play with.

This neat little aspect of the history of movie theatres was also included in some kits, along with tickets and other accoutrements of the theater world. Keystone offered a pin to identify yourself as a licensed Moviegraph projectionist.

In the past — and in some places still today — only properly licensed people are allowed to run movie projectors. Sadly, the several thousand people who carried Moviegraph License No. 79984 were sad to find out their licensing was not transferable to other systems.

As a nerd, of course, I have appreciate the mechanism the camera uses to move the film, a single frame at a time. I’ve taken a number of projectors apart over the years, and all of them have a different and unique way to advance the film. This projector uses the most basic gearing system — the geneva drive:

Originally designed for clockmaking, the early film industry grabbed on to it as a technical solution to stopping the film for the split second that the shutter is open, without having to stop the motor from turning:

Despite the high-tech gearing, this projector is missing something I mentioned earlier: there’s no shutter in it. Watching a movie projected by this Keystone projector would be pretty blurry, despite the momentary gear. Well, what can you expect from a toy?

I did speak a bit too soon: Keystone Manufacturing might not have been the same company as the Keystone movie studio in California, but they did sell film. Although the projector would work with any silent 35mm movie film, Keystone Manufacturing sold their own reels for the projector-owner’s entertainment. Most of their Moviegraph reels were lower-quality duplicates of shorts and small portions of full-length features. So, although they didn’t make movies, they still held on to a large part of the film distribution process as their business model.

Vintage Paint By Number Metalware

Combining two of my favorite things, vintage metalware wastebaskets and vintage paint by numbers, what’s not to love about this 1950s paint by number Tole Craft Wastebasket!

Frankly, I had no idea metalware came in DIY crafting sets…

So I searched, finding a vintage promotional Tole Craft “Paint-It-Yourself” Art Metalware piece at Pine Street Art Works:

And I found an ad from 1958, listing all eight of Tole Craft’s metalware craft kits: Hanging Picture Tray, Waste Basket, Desk Basket, Chippendale Hanging Tray, Snack Trays, Magazine Rack, Planter Plate, and Tissue Box. I need all of those! Especially the magazine rack.

Now that I do know about these vintage paint by number metalware kits, I’ve saved eBay searches for vintage “tole craft”, and vintage metal paint by number — and I purchased/bid on a couple of kits. *wink*

But I did find and leave a few of these kits for you too. Like these six metal paint by number trays. It’s not a set of six, but three different pairs of trays; a pair of equestrian or horse trays, a pair of floral pattern trays, and two Scandinavian themed trays.

Along with kits by Tole Craft, look for kits and finished pieces by the Morilla Company, and even Family Circle. You’ll find wall sconces, book ends, and maybe more — if you patiently keep looking!

PS I just got this completed paint by number bookend with a heron as a gift for my bird-loving, antique addicted parents! (Shhhh! Don’t tell them!)

Mid-Century Modern Endtable

One of the fine things we bought at Ida Carlson’s Barn was this funky mid-century modern endtable. It has a very “nordic” style, made from flat pieces of wood and in that fun atomic acute-angle style that people love from the 1950s:

It has a very odd shape — it looks different no matter what angle you look at it from. There’s spaces underneath for books, a tall slot at the back for your large-format Life and Look magazines, and the classic kidney-shaped top means it’ll both fit everywhere and not quite fit anywhere. Of course, we had to buy it.

Fast-forward a few weeks later, and we were thumbing through old handyman magazines. We’re always looking for ideas for our house, and it’s always fun to look for interesting design styles. As I was flipping through the October 1955 issue of Home Craftsman magazine, I saw a familiar shape:

No, our endtable wasn’t shown in an advertisement or in the background of an interior design article: our little mid-century modern table was one of the featured projects in this issue. Here’s the plans for it:

The design is by Home Craftsman’s staff designer, Arthur Collani. Aside from simple projects for the magazine, Collani also wrote a couple books of furniture plans for Home Craftsman’s own series of how-to books. One book, Build Your Own Modern Furniture, was extremely popular — and wouldn’t you know it, our table appeared in that book, too! Collani never reached the renown of Eames or other high-end furniture designers, but since his books ended up in small public libraries across the U.S. his furniture probably graced more homes overall. Any hobbyist with basic tools could make Collani’s furniture, which, today, fits right in with the high-end midcentury furniture of the day. This auction and these two galleries show that his home-hobbyist designs are on par with Eames even on the pricetag. All it takes is 50 years to go from “hobby kit” to fine furniture, as long as mid-century modern stays popular.

Synagogue In a Teapot

It may look like a fancy teapot, but the owner found it had a secret hidden inside: the teapot disassembled into everything needed to perform various Jewish rites and holidays:

The Redditor who posted this amazing piece of metalwork said he had gotten it from his Jewish grandfather before he died, and the appraisers of Reddit went wild: although the original poster doesn’t voice any opinion on its origins, various experts — and truly experts, people who work in museums and history departments — interpreted it as ranging from anywhere from the Inquisition to World War II, figuring it was used by Jewish people to conceal their religion from people who would harm them for their faith. It seems like a reasonable interpretation, right? Why else would you go all Optimus-Prime on your religious items so that they fold up neatly into an innocuous item that conceals their true purpose?

Many people suggested that this pot could be a truly historical find, with much Indiana-Jonesing over how IT BELONGS IN A MUSEUM, but it turns out they’re talking about the wrong kind of museum.

Because the internet is such a vast place, of course somebody else had one of their own, and knew its origins:

The piece actually belongs in an art gallery before it should be sent to any world archives of Judaical history. It is actually an art piece made by artist Yossi Swed, of Swed Master Works in New York, within the past twenty years.

There’s lessons in this story, like a dreidel hidden in a teapot. First of all: Expert make mistakes; you might take a valuable item to an appraiser and they might, really, not actually know what it is and are giving their best educated guess. Second: the kind of expert makes a difference: I’d bet that a silversmith, with no expertise in Jewish tradition, would have been more valuable in determining the age of this work than the chair of Judaism at a university. And, lastly, the obvious isn’t always the truth; while this teapot was seemed to clearly be of historical Holocaust-related value, it turns out it was purely a work of art. Every collector and dealer knows the perils of buying something you don’t completely know the origins of, and this is a perfect example of how, on many levels, things are rarely ever what they seem.

Eureka Noiseless Talking Machine Lubricant

I think this vintage tin I spotted this weekend is completely $8 worth of fun — even if you’re not a record collector!

Manufactured by Ilsley-Doubleday & Co. of New York, this is “the perfect lubricant for all makes and styles of phonographs and talking machines.”

See also this Zeen with a collection of some of the articles on records, record collecting, and turntables that my husband and I have written.

Meet Bruce & Beth

A pair of vintage pottery figurines — Asian dancers of some sort.

As you can see, from the markings on the bottoms of the pieces, his name is “Bruce” and her’s is “Beth”.

Both Bruce & Beth were made by The Ceramic Arts Studio in Madison, Wisconsin. These are but two of the more than 800 figurines Betty Harrington designed in her 14 years at the company. Likely made sometime in the late 1940s or in the 1950s, the pair of figurines are specific examples of the Harrington’s work and noted in Ceramic Arts Studio: The Legacy of Betty Harrington along with the following information:

Betty’s interest in the costume designs of modern dance pioneer Martha Graham led to a series of arts-inspired draped figures, with arms and legs fully, or partially, concealed under flowing garments. This simple and modern styling elevated CAS design to a new level. Not only did the body draping result in what Betty called “beautiful, graceful forms”, it also had a more practical result: exquisite detail was realized with a minimum of time and labor.

I probably sold them too cheaply… But that just means they delighted someone and got to be taken home and displayed far faster. *wink*

Minimalistic Chic Modern & Contemporary Art Auction From The Estate Of Fashionista Janet Brown

While many are excited about the Schiaparelli and Prada showing, there’s an upcoming auction at Freeman’s that fashionistas may also wish to know about.

On Saturday, May 12, 2012, the Modern and Contemporary Art auction contains works from the estate of Janet Brown. Brown was an influential fashion retailer, she and her boutique in Port Washington, N.Y., are credited with bringing forth important designers like Prada — before the designs were famous or even sold in Manhattan. According to The New York Times, “for designers, having their collections stocked by Ms. Brown was often more powerful than staking claim to a floor at Saks Fifth Avenue.”

Because this is an art auction, there won’t be any fashion designer items available. But as a tastemaker, the same unique talent and vision that combined classic design, elegance, premier quality, and avant-garde fashion sense called “Minimalist Chic” is obviously apparent in her art selections.

Among the 18 auction lots (Lots 17-35), there are five figure studies by Auguste Vuillemot (auction estimate $1,000-1,500), and six panels by Louis Waldron, after Andy Warhol (auction estimate $1,500-2,500).

But I think my favorite is the Jacques Villion piece which bears the same title and has compositional similarities to several paintings the artist made in 1921 and 1922 depicting horse racing and jockeys. I love horses and it’s inscribed ‘HAUT’ twice along upper edge.

Vintage Tobacciana: The Smoking Cannon

This vintage ceramic ashtray is kinda kitschy-cool; when you place the light cigarette in its place, the smoke comes out of the cannon!

I just priced it and put in in the case at Fargo’s Antiques On Broadway.

Pick & Grin Is This Our Last REAL Christmas Tree?

Pick: Did you ever notice that everyone is happy and smiling putting up the tree before the Christmas holiday, humming Christmas carols the whole time, but taking it down is another matter?

Grin: Whatever do you mean dear?

Pick: Well, here I stand on a ladder taking down the ornaments, while you yell out the NFL Playoff Game Schedule from your chair.

Grin: OK, OK, I’ll get to work with you.

Pick: Thanks, hon. By the way, do you think this should be our last year with a real tree? All of our friends have the artificial trees with lights and ornaments still on from last year. They simply pull it out of the attic, tweak the lights and add a few ornament that might have fallen off. And they are done! We, on the other hand, have box after box of ornaments and strings of lights that need to be taken out and arranged on the tree.

Grin: Well, then there is the shopping for the tree. We have come a long way toward doing a better job of that. When the girls were young, we’d go a week before Christmas in the cold, snow and windy weather. There was one year we all sat in the car and simply yelled to the tree attendant – Yes, that’s the one! And he loaded it onto the top of the car. Not until we got home did we notice how crooked it was and how one side was virtually bald! At least we now go earlier and try to choose a dry, not-so-cold day!

Pick: Ah, that does bring back memories of our ‘lesser trees.’ Remember the year we had to wire it to the window sill so it would not tip over. I think that was the year my brother teased us mercilessly about it!

Grin: I also remember your brother’s delight when we put the tree out front. Remember, it was actually just the trunk and four or five branches remaining from our wreath project. We set it out by the door with two ornaments on it – sort of like Charlie Brown’s little tree! He howled over that one!

Pick: Well, you must admit, this was the finest, fullest tree we’ve ever found. Everyone who viewed it exclaimed about it being so lovely and ’round.’

Grin: Are you sure they weren’t talking about me after all the holiday treats – ha!

Pick: Very funny. But back to the tree. It does smell good in the house. I recall a friend’s son in law running over to her artificial tree and exclaiming “Gee, it smells like dust!” I don’t think I want that experience.

Grin: I agree with the great pine scent, but that comes from the millions of needles! Check out the extra scent-makers on our floor. They will make a long trail out onto the porch, down the sidewalk, down the driveway and to the curb where it will rest for a week or so until the city picks it up. We’ll be vacuuming needles until at least Easter!

Pick: Well, both of our daughters still get the real thing. They are creating fun memories (and laughs) with their kids when they get a ‘loser tree.’

Grin: But think how nice it would be to just go up to the attic and drag the completed tree down, lights, ornaments and all. No boxes!

Pick: Well, that’s not true, I would still pack up the ‘special ornaments’, and tree-top angel (that’s my mother’s) just to keep them secure.

Grin: So let me get this straight. You still like the smell of the tree, we would not gain any room in the attic because a tree takes up a lot of space and there’d still be lots of boxfuls of ornaments, plus you like the memories of a real tree, right?

Pick: Well, once again you have convinced me that a real tree is the way to go. We don’t have to make a decision right now, we can wait until next year, about a week before Christmas.

Grin: Well, here we go again. Let’s get back to work, only 11 more boxes to pack up!

Does This Happen To You?

You see a vintage or antique photograph and you wish it were larger, more detailed… I want to see every photo, every scrap of ephemera, on the table in front of her! As a collector, I’m allowed to be that nosy, right? Photo via Lynnstudios.

You Know You’re A “Pig” For Collecting When…

You accept a vintage pottery pig as payment for your work.

I happily received this vintage cold-painted piggy bank as my fee for consulting work. I adore her sweet face and the red roses that decorate her — ~~butt~~ but it’s the curly tail that charmed me the most. So this little piggy came wee-wee-wee all the way home with me.

I was told she was made by Hull, but it could be Shawnee… The piece of pottery is not marked and the style looks like other Shawnee pottery pigs I have seen too. The piggy bank is huge — roughly 13 inches long! And this little piggy bank still has her original cork stopper on the belly.

Anyone else work for vintage or antiques? *wink*

Collecting Frankoma & Some Mysterious Vintage Pottery (Can You Help?)

An interview about collecting Frankoma and other vintage decorative pottery with Molly Ives Brower, aka The Vintage Reader.

frankoma Prairie Green vase bank salt and pepper shakers unknown pottery vase — Collectible Frankoma Pottery Pieces

How and why did you start collecting Frankoma pottery? Was it, at first, just part of decorating the house?

When I was in high school I started going to the Tulsa Flea Market with my mother every few weeks. By the time I was in college we were going every time I was home on a Saturday morning. Most of the booths seemed to have at least one piece of Frankoma; I think every bride in Oklahoma from the 1950s through the 70s must have gotten Frankoma for her wedding, and much of it, especially the dinnerware, was in colors I didn’t particularly care for–muted greens and browns and golds. It was so common that I never paid much attention to it.

Then one Saturday I was looking for a birthday present for my sister, and found a little round vase in a beautiful clear greenish-blue, with a black base. I was surprised when I turned it over and found out it was Frankoma. The mark was different, for one thing, and the clay was lighter than the dark red that I was used to seeing. The dealer I bought it from didn’t know the significance of that, and neither did I. Then I started looking more carefully at similar pieces and talking to other dealers, who taught me all about the differences in the clay and the marks and the glazes. I even developed a fondness for the older green and gold glazes. (I still don’t like the browns, though.)

The summer after I graduated from college (1988), I started buying more pieces at the flea market, usually from one particular dealer who was extremely knowledgeable and enthusiastic about pottery from Oklahoma and Arkansas. He sold me some other pieces from the region–Cherokee and Niloak and Tamac. I don’t think I would have developed such an interest in collecting if the dealers at the Tulsa Flea Market hadn’t been so friendly and willing to share their knowledge with a young collector.

How many pieces of Frankoma do you have?

I really don’t know. Between my own collecting and people giving me stuff, I’ve probably got more than 100 pieces. I’ve sold some through the years, and wish I hadn’t.

What do you focus on when collecting pottery?

Mainly, I just buy things I like to look at. With Frankoma, I like the local and personal aspect. I have one of their salt-and-pepper sets in the shape of the First National Bank building in Tulsa (they gave them away at the opening of the bank in the early 1950s) and several of their “Christmas cards”–each year Frankoma made a small dish that the Frank family gave to their friends, inscribed with the year and a message. I’ve quit actively collecting it for the most part, but every once in a while I’ll find something really neat at a garage sale or estate sale. I don’t collect their dinnerware or large pieces at all–I like the small, unusual stuff.

With other pottery, I look mainly at glazes and shapes. I still like deep greens and blues, and for some reason I also gravitate toward orange pottery, although I don’t usually like orange.

I also like modern artists who are inspired by the past. In Western New York there’s a lot of Arts & Crafts influence (especially around East Aurora, where the Roycroft campus is), and when I lived in Buffalo, I loved looking at the local artists’ work. I couldn’t afford much of it, but I have a couple of nice tiles. 🙂

I have a whole collection of green art pottery that is obviously from the same place, but it’s not marked, and I’ve never been able to figure out what it is. My first piece came from my regular Frankoma dealer–it got chipped in transit to the flea market and he gave it to me, but then I started finding it all over the place. I’ve found this pottery everywhere I’ve lived, and I’ve even seen a piece on the cover of a book, but I still don’t have any idea where it came from or who made it. Maybe some other reader could identify it?!

Let’s give it a go!

This photo is of my mystery pottery–a large urn and three small pitchers. They all look hand-formed, and there are some faint coil marks on the urn. The clay is dark red. I’ve found several pieces of it that sellers have tagged as Frankoma, but it’s not Frankoma–I would love it if someone could help identify it!

mystery vintage clay pottery pieces — Vintage Clay Pottery Pieces That Need Identification

Any pottery collectors or experts out there? Share your info in the comments!

Molly will be back here at Inherited Values soon; meanwhile, she can be followed at Twitter: @VintageReader.

PS The print included in the “mystery pottery” photo is a hand-tinted engraving, Le Lapin, by Allen Ye Printmaker of Oswego, NY.

All photos the property of Molly Ives Brower.

Vintage Lucite Tray & Luggage Rack, Forerunner Of The TV Tray

A vintage advertorial announcing “what’s new” to ladies who read Modern Woman magazine (volume 17 number 1, 1948). In this case, “what’s new” was a Lucite tea tray and luggage rack. Since the photo was courtesy of DuPont, I assume it was a DuPont piece.

Tea for two — on a distinctive “Lucite” table, combining an attractive Chippendale-style tray and luggage rack of the crystal-clear plastic. The light-weight tray is easily removed for carrying dishes. The decorative, sturdy luggage rack folds away for convenient storage, and has gold-color tapes across the top, woven in a leaf pattern.

It sure sounds like what we call a TV tray today.

Lessons In Cold Paint From The Pirate Duck

I purchased this vintage wall pocket awhile ago simply for it’s whimsy; what’s not to love about a pirate duck?

It simply has to ‘quack’ you up — or you’ll be forced to walk the plank, arr!

It’s a vintage ceramic piece, made in Japan, rather nicely painted under the glaze with additional spots of cold paint on the bow and hat.

“Cold paint” refers to paint which has been applied after the pottery piece has been both glazed and fired. Because this painting is done after firing and is not fired (heated) itself it is called “cold paint,” “cold painted,” or “cold painting.” And because cold painting was done to save money, the results were not only less expensive but cheap in terms of quality: Paint applied over a glaze easily slides or washes off.

However, as this was such a common manufacturing method, most collectors expect such wear and are more accepting of such missing paint than they are of chips, quacks cracks — or puns.

In fact, while vintage cold painted ceramic and pottery pieces with the majority or all of the paint intact will sell for much higher prices, if the cold paint looks too good to be true, it could be a sign that the piece may be a repro (reproduction) and not vintage at all.

So the missing paint on this little vintage ducky wallpocket may just be the proof that it is great pirate booty. *wink*

…Now if someone could just tell me what the heck I’m supposed to put in a wallpocket — that won’t risk damages to the china.

UPDATE: Give the down-sized space issues while we restore the old house, I’ve listed this cute duckling pirate for sale at Etsy.

Vintage Fan Collection Is Really Cool

When I saw this photograph of Wink, the vintage fashion collector and seller, the first thing I thought was, “Wow, vintage fans really blow her skirts up!” The second thing I thought was, “What a ‘cool’ thing to collect!”

And then, nearly out of puns (“She has created her own ‘Fan Club!'”), I realized I wanted to be a bit more serious and talk to her about her collection of vintage fans.

Wink, describe your fan collection. What do you look for in a fan? Is there a time period, manufacturer, size, color or other specific thing you look for?

My “fan club” consists of seven electric fans of varying vintage. I’m a graphic designer by trade, so I tend to notice the brand badges in addition to the industrial design of the fan.

For collecting purposes, I don’t pay much attention to the brand, or color, or period… I just go for whatever catches my eye. That being said, I’ve been a fan of the “atomic future” shapes of the 1950s for about as long as I can remember, and I suspect that most of my fans date to that general time frame.

Do the fans have to work? Do you repair them? If so, do you do it yourself, or pay a professional? (Or, option three, make a spouse do it lol)

Six of the fans work, although the oscillating fan no longer oscillates. One that had been a catalog stylist’s prop and was gifted to me has a cut cord, and I’ve never bothered to splice a new plug on. I could, though! If the motor is blown, though, that’s beyond my own skill set. I might pass it off to a mechanically-inclined friend and bat my eyelashes, but it’s really not important to me that one isn’t working.

When buying, though, I’ll do a function test on-site if it’s possible. Which is kind of funny, really, because I never use any of them for their intended purpose!

Aside from your personal budget, do you pay attention to the monetary or book value of fans?

None whatsoever.

I buy what I like, and the most I’ve spent is $20 so I decided that was my personal, if random, limit. I could easily go higher, and I know that I’ve been very lucky both with my own finds and with the friends who have given me a few as gifts.

When my collection was younger and smaller I tried looking up the value of what I then had, but it was a cursory search and really. I just buy them because they look cool. It’s not an investment thing, like clocks or rugs would be.

What made you become a fan of fans — decide to collect fans?

I bought my first fan for $1 at a garage sale. (Well, the seller was asking 75¢ and tried to give me 25¢ change but I told her to keep it.) That was a blue Coronado, and I bought it because I loved the shape.

Then I bought a second at an antiques mall, and my third (the non-oscillating one) at a flea market. That was when I came up with, “Two is a coincidence. Three is a collection.” Talk about a rationalization!

How many fans are in your collection?

A mere seven, but they take up space!

How do you display your fan collection?

I used to have them up on wall-mounted shelves in the living room, but a few years ago I bought an “entertainment center” that has six cubbies which are perfect for displaying items approximately fan-sized. The seventh fan sits on top of the TV. If/when I get more, there’s a shelf that’s supposed to go along the top which can hold perhaps five or six similarly-sized fans.

Fans are larger and their shape makes them less efficiently organized than say books or some other collectible… Does their size limit your collection?

Most definitely. I had to set an artificially low budget for myself so that I won’t obsess over searching for them, or my house would fill up. They’re definitely out there if you’re looking!

Instead, I made an Etsy treasury of electric fans for other people, and tried for a while to replace listings as they sold. As the treasury got older, it wasn’t getting new views so I stopped updating it. I can’t bear to take it down, though, so perhaps it’s time to refresh it!

Do fans have many fans? lol In other words, when you are at auctions, flea markets, do you find yourself competing with many other collectors for the fans?

There do seem to be a few collectors out there, but since I go for looks/price and not book value, I don’t know if we’re hunting for the same things. Shipping expenses will often blow my budget out of the water, so I tend to look locally. I’ve never had anyone try to pry a fan out of my hands at the antiques mall! LOL!

How do people react to your collection of vintage fans?

The fans are clearly on display in my living room, which is the first room in the house. People who know me are used to seeing them (the collection started somewhere around 10 years ago), but new friends notice them right away and usually let out with a “Oooh, I like your fans!” They’re like sculptures for the common man!

Do you collect brochures, advertisements, packaging etc., or just the fans themselves?

Just the fans, although I wouldn’t be opposed to buying printed ephemera if the price was right and it had some display value.

Do you collect anything that you’d consider related to fans — other small appliances or some such?

I’m a clutterbug. Is that a word? It is now. I collect, actively or passively, a lot of things. Fans are the only electric appliances, though!

Given your youthful appearance, I gather the fans are much older than you are and so they do not carry a sense of real life nostalgia for you… Is there anything you’d like to say about your affection for their “atomic” appeal?

Why, thank you! Yes, I imagine all of the fans are older than I am. However, I grew up in a family of thrifty folks who typically didn’t throw away or replace anything that was still useful, so this is the kind of fan that my grandmother or great aunt would have had in their houses.

My dad had an industrial-strength window fan in his home office that was probably similar in style, although I don’t quite remember its looks as much as I remember its ability to wreak havoc with his paperwork if we accidentally shut his office door! As a family, we spent many weekends watching ’50s sci-fi and film noir flicks on the television, so I’m sure I grew accustomed to this style in that way as well.

Then again, I’m still grumpy that the Dodgers moved to L.A., even though Ebbets Field was torn down before I was ever born! It’s difficult to explain some of the things I’m sentimental about.

Isn’t that true for some many of us.

You can keep up with Wink at her blog, Shoes and Pie, and become a “fan” of her Etsy store at FaceBook.

Photographs of Wink with her Fan Club taken by Candy Apple Photography. (Caution: Candy Apple Photography website plays music — so don’t try to sneak in at work, unless you’ve got your sound off!)

Alice White, I Hardly Knew Ye (But I Want Your Furnishings & Your Little Dog Too)

One of the great things about collecting old photographs are the things in the photos — not only the objects and persons the photographer intended you to focus on, but the little extras which make the scene. Like in this vintage photo of Alice White.

Clearly designed to promote the movie star, but (as pretty as the Ms White is, as cute as her little white dog is) I’m drooling over the rather eclectic mix of furnishings in the frame.

Revel in the mix of patterns and textures, including the walls, the upholstery, the lace tablecloth, and the wicker Ms White sits on.

Check out the pretty mirror in her hand (more objects from the vanity set appear to be on the table — a table covered in a lace cloth, with suggestive legs beneath it, making me wonder just how wonderful that old round table is!). I just wish the mirror wasn’t preventing us from seeing more of that dress…

But it’s that fabulous art deco lamp which has me sitting-up pretty and panting, begging like her canine companion. Look at that final, the base, and that shade! All those spheres!

Giving A Ceramic Poodle A Bath (Or How To Clean Vintage Spaghetti Figurines)

When I was a kid, I had a number of vintage spaghetti figurines — mostly poodles. Sadly, I sold most of them at family rummage sales as I got older. So when I spotted this black poodle with the familiar ceramic spaghetti fur for just $2 at a local thrift shop I had to take him home. Even if he is not perfect.

The most obvious problem was a long stripe down his back where someone had likely priced him for sale with masking tape. (Lack of concern for damages to items when pricing them is a huge pet peeve for all collectors.) And his ceramic spaghetti fur was covered in dust and dry ick. In short, Blackie the vintage poodle figure was begging for a bath.

Before I share my tips on cleaning old figurines, please note: Do not wash or submerge any pieces which have been glued or repaired as the water will likely seep in and, if not dissolve the fixative, can crumble away the weakened pottery itself. Do not wash or submerge vintage chalkware pieces or any pieces which do not appear to have been fired.

The best way to remove sticker residue and other goo from pottery, ceramics and even (many) plastics is with liquid soap. Rather any liquid soap, from dish washing detergent to hand soap or even shampoo will do. But you should always do a small test of both the cleaning product and the tools you are using, preferably in a place which won’t show, such as the bottom of the piece.

First I like to rinse the piece. Just to get all the loose stuff off. Then take a finger tip full of liquid soap and apply it directly to the areas affected by the sticky residue.

Rub it in good and then let it sit a few seconds to soften the residue.

When you are ready, hold the figuring securely with one hand. Take care how you hold your piece. You will be tempted to set or lean the piece against the counter top or table; don’t. The pressure you’re applying can leverage a break or stress fracture, or simply risks bumping and sliding across the hard surface causing a chip. (Since I was taking photos while I did this, you’ll see I’m short a hand for holding in the photo; but trust me, I did it!)

Using your thumbnail, gently but firmly, scrape the residue off. (Personally, I find there is no greater tool than your own fingernails; you know exactly how much pressure you are applying and the ease with which the goo is sliding off.)

In cases like this vintage figurine, the sticker residue has aged and set so well that while you do make progress, not all of it will come off right away.

Simply apply more liquid soap with your finger tip, let it sit, and scrape again. You may wish to rinse or wipe the piece with a damp sponge to make sure you’re removing all of the loose bits of residue you’re scraping off.

This may take repeated efforts, but eventually the oils &/or emollients will break down the residue.

Now to clean between the ceramic spaghetti strands. This is best done with a toothbrush (I always keep toothbrushes in my cleaning kits). Wet the toothbrush, apply a bit of the same liquid soap, and gently brush it into the ceramic fur and other crevices of the figurine, creating a lather.

Be especially careful where there are damages, paint that you have not tested, etc. But overall, a light brushing with the mild soap won’t do anything but remove the dirt.

The rinse off and gently blot the piece dry. Let it sit on a towel to try before placing it back on the shelf, especially if it sits on a wooden or painted surface.

Now Blackie’s clean. But he’s still not perfect. He’s got a number of places where the tips of the spaghetti strands have been broken; the white ceramic spots are obvious to the collector’s trained eye, even if he looks great on the shelf. So I’m leaving him alone. But if your spaghetti figurine is going to remain yours, there’s nothing wrong with taking a permanent marker and placing a dot of color on the bare white ceramic and hiding the flaws.