Treasure Box Thursday: Victorian Cards, Cut-outs and Cuties

Over the weekend I'd done a little shopping in Pittsburgh's Strip District (don't worry-- no stripping involved!-- it's a warehouse district where you can buy all sorts of interesting fresh foods). And this is also the location of Mahla Antiques. That's where I picked up a few examples of paper history-- some Victorian fringed greeting cards and some brilliantly-colored paper items once in a Victorian scrapbook.

One of the cards is as pretty on one side as it is the other...
And it's hard to believe after all these years the fringe is still bright and intact!...
This is the second of the cards I'd gotten. I thought it was particularly interesting because, even though it's a Christmas card, too, it doesn't have the look of what we think as "Christmas" today...
We tend not to use bouquets of flowers to represent the season these days unless they're, perhaps, red roses or holly.

Last is the bag of cutout goodies. I particularly wanted it for the cherub and the dove... They may get displayed at Christmas somehow with the cards...
And that pretty much seals up this week's Treasure Box. I'm sorry I'm late with it this week. I actually forgot what day it was yesterday and went off to work without posting!

Bad blogger! BAAAAD blogger. :)

Hope to see you again on Sunday for the next post. That is, if I remember when it's Sunday. :)

Christmas Comes to Scoobie's Ranch

Regular readers may remember my friend Scoobie, who had been renting from me, and recently bought a house of her own. And today, thanks to her kindness (and also the fact I had my camera with me and she couldn't stop me), I'm able to bring to you some photos of her new home in all its Christmassy glory.

Years ago, when she'd spoken about her home of the future, she'd jokingly envisioned it looking like "Old West Bordello Chic"-- a balance of lavish Victoriana, the Western rustic and a modicum of hunky cowboys. And now that she's got a place of her own, she's been enacting on that vision (well, the cowboys may be a tallish order in her neighborhood). You can see the beginnings of the look here in her entryway, with this gorgeous red Eastlake parlor furniture...
Velvety and rich, she was very lucky to pick up this matching set with already redone upholstery!

Here she gets jiggy with some pine bough garland and red ribbons. If ever a staircase was made for garland, it was this one...
Here you can see her marvelous stained glass window. I believe she said the house dates from around 1900...
Oh, this red fringed lamp was one I'd put together for her as a birthday present one year. It was the first lamp I ever refinished!...
Now, Scoobie had rented the blue room in my house. Amusingly enough, new new house came with a bedroom already blue to taste!...
And dig this gorgeous fireplace!...
She'd had a little blue bedecked tree she used before she'd moved, and it looks perfectly at home here in her new abode...
She's been having fun playing around with tablescapes, like on this dresser top...
Down in her livingroom, a very large painting courtesy of the Goodwill hangs, looking like proud expensive art...
The cowboy statuary on either side there came recently from Big Lots. They may not be Remingtons, but they look good and were incredibly affordable.

She indicates she's still working out the way she'll want to do the tree. It's a big one-- I'd say seven feet tall and burly! But as she understands better what color schemes she wants to use, she figures that should work itself out.
As it stands, she wants to remove the wallpaper from this room (it's a bit twee, really) and possibly paint the walls a warm copper or muted coral. She's going to change the curtains to some brown velvet.

And here we have this year's birthday gift-- I'd gotten this fellow at the L&L Fleatique...
He's a wonderful copper-bronze shade on a wooden base. As soon as I'd spied him, I knew he needed to gallop on over to her house!

And me, well, I need to gallop offline myself. I hope you all have a terrific week ahead of you. And perhaps I'll see you Wednesday for the last Treasure Box post before the Christmas holiday.

Take care and yeeeeeehaw!

Treasure Box Wednesday: Half Off, Fully Fun

Oh, it was a great day to be a cheapskate antique-lover this weekend, my friends! I don't know if it's the economy... the close of the summer season... or just a big ol' coincidence... but it seems everywhere I looked along my favorite Route 30 haunts, there was a sale!

Sure, antique-fiends know that a nice 10-20% off is likely to happen, sometimes just for the asking. But this weekend marked 25%, 30% and even 50% off whole booths at antique malls.

I need a vintage hankie just to be dainty about all the drool! :)

It was a weekend of big finds, too. So I think this Treasure Box Wednesday might expand into next week, just to accommodate it all.

We'll start with these delicate Victorian chocolate cups I found at the Goodwill Thrift Store in Greensburg...


They were undoubtedly part of a chocolate set with a pot at one time, but two pretty cups remain. The nice thing about this kind of transferware is that is looks good with other non-matching pieces of the type. So I already have a few pieces they should work with.

At the L&L Fleatique in Adamsburg/Jeannette, I got this pair of McCoy bird vases, and at 30% off!...


Perfect along a table or on either side of a mantle!

And yep, I don't want to forget this next item. This was from the Greensburg Goodwill, too. A very kitschy 1940s Asian figural lamp in terrific condition...


I'd seen these in high-end antique stores which have a lot of mid-century modern furnishings... But I'd never expected to see one at the Goodwill. Anyway, it's made of plaster, and handpainted. And it came with the original shade you see there.

My regular readers know that I am powerless against the grip of a good vintage thrifted lamp.

And do you want to know how much it cost? Do ya? G'wan, ask me!...


Okay, since you asked so nicely, I'll tell you. But hold on to your Kimonos... It was $6!

I know it's a really strange piece, and not everyone's taste. But a great example of 40s kitsch. As you can see, right now it's on my bedside table, cheering me immensely with the warm glow that reflects through its angled lampshade...

Also that $6 price tag. :)

In one of the other best deals of the day was this ornate basket-weave Carnival glass bowl, at 50% off...


It's not marked, but judging from the pattern, my collector's book seems to lean toward it being either made by Northwood or Fenton. They both did basketweave patterns, though I couldn't find a bowl precisely like this.

And just for a bit of variety, my thrifting bud Scoobie let me take photos of a few of her items. She's got quite a lot of blue enamel kitchenware already, and based on this weekend's adventuring, I'd say her set's about complete...


There's a roasting pan, a couple of bowls, and even a pasta strainer! These were all thrifted at different places.

And last, we have another half-off beauty-- her etched-mirror cowboy shelf. Scoobie's favorite dude at her imaginary Home on the Range will be able to hang his hat, lassooo and, er, other cowboy accoutrements there. (You can tell I'm not the Western officiando... better ask Scoobie for that sort of thing!)


Anyway, she's got the pots for the vittles and some purty decor, too! Yeeeeee-haw!

But, friends, this wasn't all we found-- can you believe it? So next week, I'll include those items in a very special Part Two Treasure Box Wednesday.

It's good to pace ourselves. Being this excited about cool, old weird stuff can get kinda exhausting; it's important to take breaks. Breathe deep. Stretch.

• Oh, and if you need a laugh and missed Sunday's humor post on some totally far-out 60s knitwear, click here.

And if not? Maybe I'll see you Sunday!

Thanks to You and Some Giving, Too!: Victorian Thanksgiving Postcards

Pull up a chair to the table and help yourself to some of that beautifully-roasted bird up there. This postcard is a Raphael Tuck card postmarked 1909. Yup, almost a century ago, and the setting is as appropriate for so many Americans today as it was then!..

Well, okay, so maybe not appropriate for MY family; I spend the holiday in the Florida Keys with my dad, who is retired, and my Thanksgiving feast involves beloved traditions like fresh steamed shrimp and crab legs dripping with butter and lemon ...

...I’m aware most folks don’t share happy memories of the annual Thanksgiving Crustacean.
That said, I thought I’d share with YOU some favorite Victorian Thanksgiving postcards from my collection-- which are 100% shellfish-free. And at the end of today’s post, there will be a little downloadable surprise for you as my way of saying thanks for visiting The Thrift Shop Romantic blog this year.

Turkey. The late Victorians were virtually unable to talk Thanksgiving without talking Turkey. And if you look carefully, you begin to suspect the scenarios they depict would not have been QUITE so idyllic as they portray.

For instance, one of my cherished cards here:


Awwww.... the baby has just learned to walk! Only now there’s simply no stopping him. So far he’s gone after the cat, the dog, the rooster, and now the turkey is being chased as part of a special holiday aerobics program.

Except anyone who knows the general disposition of turkeys knows that turkeys all have some attitude. So what self-respecting turkey is going to put up with a lengthy slow-speed barnyard chase scene instigated by a cherub-cheeked child in a ruff?

No good can come of this.

Now THIS poor girl is under the impression that she can make friends with the turkey through bribery...


You have to wonder who sent the child outside, not with loose grain, but with a corn cob to hand-feed the turkey? It’s probably that one goofy relative everyone has.

You know the one: that crazy Cousin Lou or weird Uncle Jimmy who, when you were five, thought it was HILARIOUS to play keep-away with your favorite stuffed toy? Or let it slip accidentally-on-purpose that your old dog Blue wasn’t sent to a farm to live after all?

Yep, he’s probably watching at the window of the house right now, waiting to see just what happens. He and cousin Eustace might even be making bets on the action...

At least it passes the time until college football starts.

Now THIS little girl has more of the right idea...


Look at the trepidation on her face. She is saying to herself, “Those birds are monstrous big and they’re beginning to circle. I’d try to pet one but I may need all my fingers for kindergarten next year. Perhaps I should think of some better pastimes than standing outside in the November cold without a coat.”

In contrast, there’s THIS kid...


He’s been desensitized a LONG time ago by “Old Yeller” and “The Yearling” and “Call of the Wild” and “Charlotte’s Web” and all those tearful classics we had to read. He’s made good friends with our friend trusting Tom Turkey, sure, so his smiling contemplation as he holds that axe is just a little unnerving...

And look at the turkey. Now there’s a turkey who not only feels betrayal but knows his goose is cooked...

Especially if he’s seen the little culinary equivalent of the Jolly Roger symbol there to the side of the card as we zoom in here...


Ah, but the Victorian era was not only about the eternal struggle between Child and Turkey. Here are just a few other cards from the same era, these depicting the serenity and beauty of the Thanksgiving autumn season...



Oh, and somehow still sorta about turkeys, though. Notice the number of them employed in even their most subtle designs. The Victorians clearly had their priorities when it came to Thanksgiving! (Here’s a rather beautifully-colored one which is entirely void of turkeys, believe it or not...)


I hope that YOUR Thanksgiving offers you some pleasant times with family and friends-- no matter what your dinner entails.

As a special treat, I leave you with this; I’ve placed scans of three of the cards you’ve seen today into a PDF document which you can download, print out and use for your own crafting/decoupage projects! Just click the file name below to begin downloading:

Thanksgiving.pdf

And next week? We’ll have “What in the Macrame Is It?” a humorous look at some very 70s crafts. Hope to see you then!

Think Zinc: Decorating with Spelter

Zinc. We use it to relieve colds. We include it in our multi-vitamins. And some of us even decorate our homes with it.

And now, I’m going to show you how to make a mosaic out of zinc tablets...

Kidding, kidding. Zinc tablets dissolve too easily for effective mosaic-ing.

So instead I guess we’ll have to talk about spelter. Spelter is the metal zinc, which is sometimes mixed with lead. And while spelter may not carry the innate value of gold, silver and bronze, the Victorians did use it to create beautiful statuary, tableware and personal care items. This allowed the growing middle classes to own status items similar to those of their wealthy counterparts, but at less expense.

And spelter is versatile; it can be coated in a patina to make it look like higher-end bronze or silver. For the Victorians, who loved to entertain, appearance was everything.

I suspect the little cherub above is a spelter piece coated to look like bronze. Why do I say that? Well, by scraping gently on an obscure area of the statue, say here under the base at the left, the mark appears more white in color than bronze. (So this is a good reason to make sure you know what you’re buying when someone tries to sell you a bronze piece!)

Here at right you’ll see spelter in its more natural state. Items like this bowl may have been silver-plated at one time, but while they now lack the brilliance of their silver sisters.


Yet notice the delicate art nouveau designs. You can tell the art nouveau style by the sinewy vines and mystical maidens that peer from the metal. They pretty much don’t make ‘em like that anymore! So spelter is an affordable piece of history.



And occasionally, it’s very affordable. Would you believe the hand mirror below came from a thrift store for under $6? I’ve found two that way. Spelter is quite a soft metal, so general use means spelter pieces may have dents, holes or dings. But considering the examples here are approximately 100 years old, this looking-glass lady is still a fair beauty.

My most recent spelter find was the two art nouveau busts in the photo at the top of the page. I stumbled on them two days before Christmas in a back booth of a flea market. The dealer, whose flea market specialty was in selling all-you-could-fit-in-a-box-for-$3, was genuinely certain they were bronze. The telltale white metal shining through the patina told a different story.

But quick negotiation and the nouveau ladies had found a happy new home. (And no, they weren’t $3-- let’s not get too over-confident. :-) ) Today they peer from my bookcase with all the dignity of their bronze sisters.

Postcard Perfect New Year

The tradition of sending postcards began in the Victorian era-- and it wasn’t just a way of saying “Wish You Were Here” while sunning yourself on some sandy beach. No, in fact, they functioned pretty much like a cross between today’s greeting cards and text messaging.

There were no telephones, so rather than spend time trying to get across town-- or across the country-- to visit someone and share day-to-day information, postcards served as a quick way of sending news. Especially since in many places the mail came multiple times a day

But postcards also functioned as the formal way of sending well wishes for particular holidays. Christmas, Easter, Valentine’s Day, Thanksgiving and, yes, New Year’s were all occasions which merited a postcard. Postcards were also used to send a potential sweetheart encouragement, such as official permission to visit. Or to enquire if a particular person was the one he or she had met at some social gathering. Postcards were the polite and accepted way of saying much of what the Victorians wanted to share.

Initially, Victorian postcards were paper cards rimmed in fabric fringe. But over time, the fringe was left off in favor of the more streamlined postcards we know today.

The wonderful thing about postcards from the Victorian and Edwardian eras are the elaborate designs, the gold or silver leafing and the insights they provide into the thinking of the time. Plus, scanned images of these cards can be used for a variety of decoupage crafting projects-- or even for simply sending your own quaint greetings.

In terms of collecting, postcards can be quite reasonable in cost-- anywhere from $0.50 to $5.00 depending on rarity and condition. And because they take up such little space, they’re easy to store in an archival quality album.

Largely, they’re available at flea markets and antique shops, but I recently found two at a thrift store, so it never hurts to keep your eyes peeled.

Sending all of you well wishes for a postcard perfect New Year of your own,

--Jenn

Hey, Baby New Year, Pass Me That Mantle Scarf!

When those post-Christmas sales hit, and I hit the stores, I don’t look across the ransacked aisles and see a rumpled, partied-out spirit of Christmas Past…

I see Victorian decorating on a budget.

After all, what we largely consider a “traditional” Christmas actually has its roots in Victorian England. So, many decorative items slated for the holidays work perfectly well in a Victorian home on any day of the year.

The Victorians were all about jewel tones—rich reds, greens, blues, and purples. And while these colors can be impossible to find during spring and summer, at Christmas they’re a staple (and after Christmas they’re a steal). So if you’re looking for slipcovers, goblets, lampshades, candles, or throws in red, deep blue, hunter or plum, this is the time to snap them up. They’ll be gone once that Annual Retail Time-Warp happens and Spring pastels bloom mysteriously in February.

And while we’re on the subject of bold colors... if you love Victoriana, all that glitters might very well be gold. Often considered too-gaudy for its own good most of the year, at Christmas, suddenly gold has this seasonal popular resurgence, with stores boasting displays to even satisfy Midas.

Then, come January, once again it’s, “Be gone! Away with you, gold! You are tacky and sicken me! Silver is the new gold now!” (Home fashion is so darned fickle.) But for folks who like Victoriana, the mercurial nature of retail is really just bonus; because from stately chargers and candlesticks, to elegant mirrors and bejeweled picture frames, if you’re going to go for the gold, the time to get it is now. And cheap.

It’s also the right time of year to secure heavy Victorian fabrics like jacquard and velvet. I got these velvet table runners at Dollar General right before the holidays at just a few bucks a piece. You’ll probably want to avoid items printed in holly or other seasonal patterns (and on jacquard, the pattern can be subtle, so it’s smart to look carefully). But it’s easy to find appropriate mantle scarves, tablecloths and tablerunners to use whenever. The Victorians loved their textiles, and Christmas offers some luxurious options.

And while you’re shopping, don’t forget to visit the craft store. Craft stores can be an unexpected resource when you’re a bit of a neo-Victorian. My favorite ornament to use all year round is the Victorian tassel. No, they don’t serve any particular function—unless you have a playful cat or a high-stress job. But the look is distinctly Victorian. And on a drawer pull, doorknob or curtain tie-back, they can be a fun little addition.

Victorian-styled ornaments like tassels, fans, old-fashioned shoes, and cherubs are also a nice way to top off a gift any time of the year. Many come in sage greens and rose colors, which work as appropriately on packages in June as they do in December.

So if you begin to suffer from the post-holiday blues, just remember: the comforting richness of the season can stay with you all year round. And for a fraction of the cost you’d expect.