Mitzi's Miscellany

Show and Tell Wednesday Post #45

Today I'd like to show you something really wonderful from the fascinating Victorian era, something we should bring back in my opinion.  I discovered this great selection of picture nails (below) in the booth of Al and Pat Carlson at the Antiques Market of Williamston here in Michigan: 

A picture nail was simply a nail with a decorative embellishment for a head.  When hanging wall art, the wires would be visible and would hang on the beautiful picture nail.  In the world of the Victorians, everything received a decorative touch, even nails!

How does one attach the nails to the wall without crushing the glass?  Well, these are clever little "nails".  The glass part screws onto the metal nail after the pounding part is over:

 

Recently sold on Ebay for $110, these Victorian-era dog motif picture nails are very special:

Picture nails can be found in metal, milk glass, and various other decorative glass.  Prices range from about $18 on up.  They are fun to collect and can be used alternatively as curtain tiebacks.

Mitzi

Show and Tell Wednesday Post #44

A couple weeks ago we had a March Madness Sale at the Antiques Market of Williamston.  As I walked around the mall and took pictures of the wonderful goods for sale, I spotted two charming ceramic pie birds for sale in the booth of Kathy Branch and Fred Muse:

For those of you that aren't pie bakers, pie birds were actually functional as well as cute.  They were designed to vent steam from a baking pie and prevent the pie juices from bubbling over in the oven.  The inspiration for the bird figure came from the old rhyme "Sing a Song of Sixpence", which has the line "four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie" in it.  Pie birds were very popular around the 1930's, and they make a fun collectible now.

Here is a common example of a black and yellow glazed pie bird that I found on Ebay.  It sold for $17.00 plus $6.00 for shipping and handling, just to give you an idea of current market value:

Pie birds were made by various pottery factories, such as Shawnee and Nutbrown.  And not all pie birds are birds!  Collectors might branch off into other figural pie vents such as chefs, other animals, and female figures.  Some will have a maker's mark on the bottom which will be helpful for identification and valuation.

Mitzi

Show and Tell Wednesday Post #43

Did you ever receive one of these little ceramic figurines on your birthday when you were a little girl?  Josef Originals began creating these pretty figurines in 1945 to commemorate celebrations and started a well-loved tradition in many families.

This large selection of Josef figurines is for sale at the Antiques Market of Williamston in Hugh and Suzy Clark's booth:

A close up view of the Birthday Angel figure for a four year-old girl:

Besides the birthday celebration figures, Josef Originals produced a Birthstone Doll series, Doll of the Month series, a Romance Doll series, an International Doll series, a Housekeeping Doll series, and more.  They also made animal figures.

Values for a Birthday Angel figure are pretty steady at $15 for most of them.  Wouldn't it be fun to start a new tradition with vintage Josef Originals for your daughter or granddaughter?

Mitzi

Show and Tell Wednesday Post #42

I just got these three composition figures ready for sale in my antique mall booth.  Prone to chipping, I touched up a few paint chips with carefully color-matched acrylic paint.  The duck in the foreground was actually a candy container, and has a cardboard bottom that can be removed so the hollow duck can be filled with candy:

Many paper mache and composition candy containers and holiday figures were made in Germany in the early to mid-twentieth century.  Often, they will be marked.  My duck had a ink-stamped "Germany" on the cardboard bottom.

Here's a cute German-made rabbit currently for sale on Ebay.  You can see the cardboard bottom.  Go ahead and bid, it can be yours in plenty of time for Easter!

And just a little clue:  when you see "U.S. Zone Germany" on an item, like our rabbit friend below, you know it was made during the years following World War II, 1945 to 1955.

I would like to thank Ebay seller Leaton11 for the use of the rabbit images.  Please visit their shop, they have many, many wonderful old items there!

Mitzi

Show and Tell Wednesday Post #41

I bought this three-panel screen a while back at April's Antiques and Home Furnishings, one of my favorite picking spots in Lansing, Michigan:

Although there were the obvious stains at the bottom, I was very attracted to the vintage travel stickers from all around the world.  I just love the old, colorful graphics that promised great adventures at exotic locations:

Typically, travel stickers such as these would be found on luggage or saved in a scrapbook.

One of my favorites is the stork sitting in her nest in the chimney above the Hotel Dagmar:

The previous owner of this screen did a lot of traveling back in the day!

 

Screens like these are useful, too.  Right now I have this screen in my living room, hiding a large pile of stuff I need to sort out (read:  mess!)

Mitzi

Show and Tell Wednesday Post #40

Last weekend I went to an estate sale in Lansing, Michigan on the second day when prices were marked down.  I saw a cat figurine and didn't pay too much attention to it, primarily because I'm a dog lover and the figurine had soft colors that didn't call out to me.  The woman that was holding the sale thought I was passing up an opportunity, and pointed out the figurine was a Kay Finch of California ceramic cat:

After taking a second look, I began to appreciate the item.  Plus, I realized the "Kay Finch California" mark indicated that the cat might be a good item for me to sell on Ebay, because California mid-century pottery is hot right now.  I was willing to take a chance and I bought it for $40.00.

Once I got it home, I did a little research and found the name of the cat was "Ambrosia."  I couldn't find a similar one that had sold recently on Ebay, but other Kay Finch items had sold vigorously, indicating that my cat would be a good item to put up for auction.

My research yielded a little more background on Kay Finch Ceramics.  The pottery was made in Corona Del Mar, California, from 1935 to 1963.  Pieces were mold-formed and glazed with mostly pastel glazes, and hand-detailed in darker colors.  Many of the popular Kay Finch creations were fanciful animals such as pigs, cats, and horses;  she also created male and female figures and more utilitarian wares such as ash trays and vases.

Right now, I'm auctioning the cat on Ebay.  If you want to see where the price is, bidding-wise, you can take a peek here.  I'm hoping to at least double my initial investment of $40.  It will be exciting to see what happens!

The Kay Finch California mark on the bottom is rather light, but I think you can see it well enough:

So now when you see pastel glazed pottery figures, look for the Kay Finch mark on the bottom.  You might have a valuable little item on your hands!

And wish me luck on my auction....

Mitzi

Show and Tell Wednesday Post #39

A couple weeks ago my main water line backed up and I had to have a plumber come and clear the line.  They recommended I have the old clay pipe replaced with PVC pipe to the tune of $3,700.  I opted for the $270 temporary fix, keeping the old clay sewer tiles in place and hoping they will remain clog-free another few years. 

This leads me to our "Show and Tell" item for today, which is sewer tile art.  Years ago, during the late 1800's to early 1900's, the companies that manufactured the tiles that were used in my clay pipes would use the same clay to make  little figural items, such as lions, copies of Staffordshire dogs, or vases.  These items are very collectible now, and fall into the category of folk art. 

The banks of the Ohio River were a huge source of clay, and there were many potteries that produced sewer tile items from Ohio.  I live in Michigan, just about 10 miles from the little town of Grand Ledge.  The Grand Ledge Sewer Tile Company produced sewer tiles and sewer tile collectibles, many of them with identifying marks. Occasionally we come across these items at local auctions.

This Grand Ledge Sewer Tile lion below is helpfully marked on the side, so there is no question about its authenticity.  It was sold by Ebay seller Rocky'sVariety Store recently for $149.00, which gives us an idea of the value of a marked figural sewer tile item:

Some sewer tile figures were cast in molds, and others were pieces of the pipe with added decoration, such as a section of pipe turned into a log form cemetery planter or a humidor.  Still others were hand formed, and take on a very folky charm.  I've seen these hand formed pieces before at local auctions, thinking they were some high school kid's project from ceramics class.  What a surprise when the gavel fell at nearly $100 per piece!

I hope you will keep your eyes open for sewer tile items, especially if you live in the Ohio River Valley area, where they should be relatively plentiful.

Mitzi

Show and Tell Wednesday Post #38

I'd like to show you two little toy tool chests I have here at home that I'm just getting ready to sell.  These were made for little boys in the 1920's and 1930's to get them interested in building things just like dad!

This tool chest is made by the Mason and Parker Manufacturing Company.  Inside is a beautiful, nicely colored chromolithograph scene of three boys building an airplane.  I can imagine how this sparked the imagination of young boys back in the days of "Lucky Lindy" and his historic flight across the Atlantic:

The tool chest includes some child-size tools.  Over the years, other tools might have gotten mixed in with the original toy tools that came in the kit.  I'm not completely sure what tools are original to my kit, and to make things more confusing, I have two kits....

 

Here's my second tool chest.  The American Manufacturing Concern made this version in Jamestown, New York:

 

Some examples will show the boys working on an airplane on the interior graphic, like my first example, or a chicken coop, like my second example.  You might also find one where a boy and his dad are building a boat.  There might be more versions, too.

You might think  charming play-sets such as these would be very valuable.  Actually, these are quite common and sell at retail for about $75 to$100.  Of course, condition of the interior graphic, the number of tools, and condition of the wood chest will affect the value of the set.

Mitzi

Show and Tell Wednesday Post #37

Elfinware, sometimes called "mossware", is a type of decorative ceramic ware.  Often little shoes, tiny teapots, or pots of flowers were made in this manner, which included lots of applied decoration and colorful glazes:

 

One of the hallmarks of elfinware is allover applied flowers.  Another is "spinach", a green background for the flowers.  Collectors really prize the spinach!

I would call my shoe "elfinware", although the lace has the "Dresden" appearance.  Various companies made elfinware, and you won't find the word "elfinware" stamped on the pieces for identification.  Perhaps I had better find a better example for you than my shoe....

I had to go to Ebay to grab a photo.  The little watering can below shows the applied flowers and the desirable "spinach" surrounding a center rose:

Elfinware isn't particularly expensive or rare.  You can shop Ebay right now and pick up pieces for a reasonable $8 to $20 and start a collection today!

Mitzi

Show and Tell Wednesday Post #37

Today I'd like to show you a "whimsy" from the Victorian era.  This is a boot-shaped, heavily beaded pincushion that I purchased last summer.  I've bought and sold similar items like this, sometimes in the form of wall plaques that might hold letters or matches, maybe with the date on them (I recall one from 19o8), or little pillow shaped-pincushions with the similar heavy three dimensional beading.

There are a few sequins mixed in with the beads:

You can see how much the fabric on the front has faded by viewing the back of the item:

These souvenir whimsies were made by Native American tribes such as the Iroquois around the mid nineteenth century to early twentieth century.  They were selling for a pretty penny when I first started by antique business back in 1999.  An item like this boot example would have sold for over $100.  Now I think I would charge about $65 for it here in Michigan.

For other examples, zip over to Ebay.  Just type in "Iroquois beaded" in the search box, and see what pops up!

Mitzi