Treasure Box Wednesday: 40s Finds and Push-Button Magic

While shopping malls bustle with holiday-goers looking to return that itchy Christmas sweater for something they're really going to use, I usually end up hitting the long and winding road of Route 30 for a thrifting extravaganza.

Not only do I manage to avoid the hustle and bustle, but quite often I find the fortune of vintage goodies.

At the L&L Fleatique in Adamsburg-- one of my favorite haunts-- I came across this small and nifty McCoy vase from the 40s...
I particularly like McCoy from this era, as many of the vases have an organic, art nouveau art pottery feel, with fruit, nuts, berries and leaves incorporated into the designs.

At the same indoor flea market, I uncovered this Depression era ceiling fixture, which is very similar in color and general style to my downstairs chandeliers...

I'd like to use it at the end of my entryway hall, before my bookcase, where it gets a bit dark. It should showcase the ol' leatherbound classics nicely. And at just $5, how could I go wrong? It cost more than that during the Depression!

At the Red, White and Blue thrift store on Route 51, I snagged this pink fringed lampshade...
Amusingly, an elderly male customer there stopped me to tell me he highly approved. It's true, folks, that when you see decent fringed shades second-hand like this, it's not a bad idea to pick them up. They don't come cheaply if you have to special-order them. In fact, they can cost far more than your lamp!

And then there's another Fleatique find... This large, satin 1940s Valentine, still in its original box...
Yep, you know a Valentine has to have been a big deal when it comes in a decorative box and not an envelope. And as we look in the inside, as well as out, we see there's a lot of "Darling"-ing going on here...
We just don't do it like that anymore, do we?

Lastly, I'd wanted to just share a little home improvement success with you all-- and maybe spread the empowerment your way. For a long time, I'd had a very bent, almost unusable dimmer switch in my livingroom. First the dimmer knob broke, and a bad incident with the replacement caused the switch itself to bend.

I'd noticed that VanDyke Restorers had reproduction push-button switches with dimmers built into them. So since I have some of these original switches, I thought I'd order one of the repros and have it installed.

But-- with a hands-on tutorial from my dad over Christmas (because who doesn't do electrical work on the holidays, right? :) ) I was able to actually install the thing myself...
I need to fill in some paint where the old switchplate was now, but the whole thing works like a charm. So for my female readers who weren't sure whether they could do this sort of thing, I can tell you, it is possible. (Make sure you turn off the power to the switch first, so it's perfectly safe, and the rest is pretty darned easy!)

Three cheers for girl power!

Anyway, that's it for the Treasure Box this week. I hope you all had an excellent Christmas, if you celebrate, and to everybody, I wish you a fan-tab-u-lous New Year! Be safe, and I'll see you in 2010!

Treasure Box Wednesday: Rainy Days and Roses

On Saturday, the sky was a relentless gray and rain fell in a straight, half-hearted drizzle... but the insides of the thrift stores and antique malls were warmly lit and dry.

It would have been pleasure enough just to wander around the various aisles. But it turns out some great sales were on, and Lady Luck was in a giddy mood.

My favorite find for this week was this 1960s still-life rose painting from the L&L Fleatique-- which, in a fortunate half-off sale, was $20, framed...
The painting was originally from a gallery in southern Florida, where I rather doubt the painting sold for 20 clams the first time around!...

I'm particularly pleased the way the artist did the glossiness of that vase.

And speaking of vases, how about a little jadite?

Fans of jadite know it doesn't come especially cheap, given it's popularity. But at $9, I thought I could afford this one.

Speaking of both roses and vases, I found a Victorian transferware jug at the Salvation Army Thrift Store...
Okay, so, yes, they aren't roses printed on there... But you get the gist.

At fifty-cents a piece I got these framed tapestries at the Goodwill...

And last, a couple of collector's books on some American pottery of interest...

What's the price of knowledge? Well, apparently a fiver will do ya. :)

• And speaking of American Pottery, if you missed Sunday's post on McCoy pottery and how pricing has changed since the 80s, click here.

For the rest of you, I hope you enjoy a little sunshine this week, even if it's only the warm glow of a pleasant day.

Treasure Box Wednesday: The Real McCoy

You know the old saying about death and taxes? Well, I'll give you two guesses what I was doing this last Saturday instead of thrifting?

Heh, well, I DID get a LITTLE bit of thrifting in around the tax appointment. It came in a super-mini Cliff's Notes version of my favorite Route 30 trek. And there I uncovered two pieces of McCoy pottery.

This one came from the Good Samaritan thrift store, and boy, does it need a bath!


I think fondly of it as my "breadpan" piece... though, it actually was intended as a planter. You can see the mark on the bottom here:



Now this lovely leafy example came from the L&L Fleatique and I understand it is also McCoy. And it's got a totally different mark-- the earlier "NM" for Nelson McCoy.



The Garage Sale and Flea Market Annual tells us that McCoy "used a variety of marks over the years, but with little consistency, since it was a common practice to discontinue an item for a while and then bring it out again decorated in a manner that would be in synch with current tastes."

It goes on to say that all marks were in the mold, not ink-stamped like many porcelain and pottery makers had done. And apparently because McCoy never registered its trademark, there is a company in Rockwood, Tennessee using the McCoy logo on their pieces. (Many, the book says, are dated #93). So it's definitely a case of buyer beware!

In fact, I suspect I saw a piece of this repro McCoy in the form of a pottery bookend this weekend. The quality just didn't seem the same, and the stamp just looked so... new. NOT the real McCoy. :)

Anyway, I thought you all might enjoy seeing where these vases have been living, as I've accumulated them. Here is my mantle right now.


And here's a view of the Hazel Atlas Moderntone Platonite dishes-- I'm not fully happy with the table-setting, so this is a bit of a work in progress...




And see that pink bowl below? That is the missing Big Mama bowl of my Pyrex set. It's now complete. How amazing to have been able to find these pieces so close to the same time!


Well, that's the dish on this week's Treasure Box Wednesday. If you happened to miss Sunday's post of "Battier Homes and Gardens, 70s Style," click here.

Otherwise, I'll hope to see your bright and shiny faces on Sunday (or thereabouts) for our next feature.

Treasure Box Wednesday: In the Pink with Pottery, Pyrex and Plates

Ah, the graceful lines of vintage pottery in soothing creams and pinks... what could be more timeless... more elegant... more... five dollars?

Yes, the McCoy cornicopia was a whopping five smackeroos at the L&L Fleatique in Adamsburg. The "As Is" marked there was because of a minor crack at the top of the piece, causing the vase to lose so much its resale value-- and really none of its looks, as far as I'm concerned. I intend to put it, and its pottery cousins, on my mantle as part of a post-Easter display...

The unmarked cream vase in the middle was from the Salvation Army in Greensburg, and that was $1.99. But one expects to pay more for McCoy, you know. (Hysterical laughter here.)

The deco dinner plates below were finds from the U.F.O. in Greensburg. At $1.00 a piece, I couldn't resist, and not only will their sherbety good looks work well with the pottery vases as a part of a diningroom do-up, they'll coordinate with the jadeite I already have. After doing a bit of research, it appears they're Hazel Atlas Moderntone pieces, from the Pastels collection, and were made in the 40s and 50s.


The Pyrex pink gooseberry bowl below has been on my wish-list for a long while. My mother had a set of these, which is surprising because she was not a pink girl by any means. But she was a fabulous cook and used her pink Pyrex for mixing a wondrous array of delectables-- from cookie dough to Italian meatballs...

I see this pattern and think how many amazing dinners I'd enjoyed, due to my mother's remarkable culinary skills. And those past flavors somehow seem more tangible when represented by that lovely pink Pyrex bowl. Yes, this bowl is a metaphor now, for meatbally memories. So at less than $3 at the U.F.O., I cheerfully recaptured it.

This Lefton bunny planter from the Good Samaritan thrift store is sadly out-numbered by the sheep...


That must be why he looks a little nervous, he's worried about being mugged by those roving flocks of wooly marauders! (Er, or maybe because I keep referring to it as "he" and he has a pink bow in his hair... Oops-- sorry, fellah.)

The table cloth below was also from the Good Samaritan. I already have my table set the way I'd like for this Easter, but for next year, this will be a really nice addition.

And what thrifting weekend would be complete without adding to the milkglass gift basket I want to give my family friend for Christmas? Two saucers and a goblet are a nice way to expand the collection. And at $1 each, with an additional 20% off, it's hard to go wrong.


So what's coming up next time on The Thrift Shop Romantic? Hmmmm, I think I'll unveil a couple more retro recipe books and we'll see just why using whole vegetables as candle holders for a romantic dinner might not set quite the tone one hopes for.

For those who missed Sunday's post, where Marshmallow Peeps became entwined in vintage-style carousel crafting, click here.

Otherwise, wishing you a day filled with the little joys that make life interesting, and keep you in the pink!