ON THE COVER -
February Issue 2005
Those Fancy Valentines .. by: Robert
Reed
Giving valentines
to those dear to us has been a practice for centuries but it
was the Victorians that made them so wonderfully fancy. During the 17th
century both men and women devoted hours of handiwork to
preparing Valentine's Day messages of love. Images were
hand-drawn or painted in water colors, carefully cut out, and
pasted together often with bits of thread, lace, and silk.
Q. I have a friend who has graciously offered to lend me an antique wicker bassinet to use when my next baby arrives. It is very thoughtful of her but I have a concern about the paint on the wicker. Since the bassinet is so old I am sure that it has lead paint on it and I don't want to expose my children to it. Should I insist that it be repainted first?
THE ANTIQUE DETECTIVE
Colorful Bohemian Glass Used Many
Techniques
When most people think of Bohemian glass (now Czechoslovakia) from the
18th to early 20th century, it the ruby red color with etched deer and
castles, that most comes to mind. Yet, many colors and techniques were used
to create what is considered some of the most beautiful glass in the world.
Even these days you see new examples of cased or overlay and color-stained
glass described as in the “Bohemian style.”
Retro-Rama Show Draws A Crowd .. by
Carol Perry
Gulfport, Fla.-
Show-goers were lined up early at the grand old Gulfport
Casino for the opening of Retro-Rama - A vintage collectibles
show. The handsome old Art Deco building, complete with
spinning mirrored ball, hardwood floor (billed as "the finest
dance floor in Florida, ") and spectacular view of Tampa Bay,
provided a fitting background for jam-packed displays of
antique, vintage and retro merchandise.
BUSTER BROWN AND
MARY JANE . . by Roy Nuhn
"Meet me in St. Louis, Louis; meet
me at the fair," was what America as singing that year. It was 1904, and
the city that4had long been the gateway to the West was playing host to the
country - and to the-world - at the gigantic and fabulous Louisiana Purchase
Exposition.
The Golden Age of Souvenir Spoons
.. by Judy Penz Sheluk
Beth Jacobson’s collection of antique souvenir
spoons started in 1995, when she inherited a few sterling silver spoons
from her grandmother. That her grandmother had been a collector made
perfect sense - the “Golden Age” of souvenir spoons spanned from 1895 to
1925. To Jacobson, however, the spoons were kind of cheesy. She nailed a
few to the wall of her cabin in Alaska, and threw the remainder in a
drawer.
Rubber Tire Ashtrays .. by Roy
Nuhn
Whatever its merits,
especially considering today's warnings about the bad effects
of tobacco on our health, the tobacco industry has been kind
to collectors over the last couple of centuries. Late
19th-century cigar and cigarette companies provided an
unending flow of wonderful insert premiums, such as cards of
baseball players, actresses, famous people, and important
American landmarks.
THE 19th CENTURY-Revival Time
..
It is tempting to think of the 19th century
as the "Victorian" century and it is true that Queen Victoria
sat on the throne of England for 63 of the 100 years,
beginning in 1837. But as far as furniture is concerned, the
century did not begin with Victorian furniture and it did not
end with it either.