Saturday, August 27, 2011
RANDOM 341 OBJECT
HONEST Antique AMERICAN COUNTRY Pieced QUILT-$61
Close your eyes and imagine this. (Wait. If you close your eyes you won’t be able to read. That was a pretty stupid thing to say, so forget that part.)
Anyway . . . It’s late fall, and there is a refreshing chill in the air. It’s one of those evenings you have your windows open so you can enjoy the aroma of leaves turning back into soil. You’re in your favorite comfy chair reading Keats, and just as you come to one of your favorite parts; “. . . Through the sad heart of Ruth, when, sick for home, She stood in tears amid the alien corn . . ,“ a little chill blows up your legs, so you reach over and grab this soft old quilt and spread it across your lap.
That’s just the kind of quilt this is – old, charming, comfy – but it has eeeshews.
It is the perfect size to toss across a sofa or someplace else handy. It’s a personal happiness thing, not a showoff.
See? It is frayed here and there along the binding and at the borders.
I don’t know the name of the pattern but someone’s grandma made it – probably right here in Ohio.
A few of the little red triangles are popped here and there.
M My arrow points to the only place where several pieces are popped exposing the cotton.
RANDOM 341 OBJECT
ANTIQUE Blue &White ARMORIAL Tin Glazed DELFTWARE JUG-$128
Long after the jug was hand thrown, decorated and fired, perhaps a century or more, a well-to-do family in Cincinnati, Ohio had it made into a lamp (without drilling). It was special to them; perhaps because it was quite old and rare; or perhaps it conjured up memories of a particularly momentous occasion. I just don’t know.
The shield or Coat of Arms may be the tipoff to experts in old Continental pottery, but I have a feeling the peculiarities of the base will be even more revealing to them. (You gotta love that Knight with his flamboyant plume though.)
You’ll notice glaze skips typical of old pots, but miraculously the handles have survived unscathed.
There are some chips around the bottom rim, but the largest areas where the clay is exposed are glaze runs and skips. See my arrows. There is another on the back of about the same size.
(actually the potter's fingers when dipping in the galze)
Not only did the family have it wire so as not to require drilling the bottom, they also, apparently, replaced the sockets one time after it was in use for a spell. The spring loaded thing with the red rubber tips goes down inside to hold the rest in place. It was patented in 1927. The rod, cap, etc. are brass, and it is an adjustable height lamp.
That brass cap was probably the salvation of the jug. Surely, over the decades someone would have bumped against something had it not been in place.
See the turnings in the body? (I’ll show you another image of the bottom.)
There’s that glaze run on the back I mentioned. I suppose you’ve already noted the chips around the bottom rim. They’ve been there for many decades, and, as far as I’m concerned, they simply add to the charm and help verify that it’s quite old.
I’m thinking Spain, Portugal, somewhere in that part of the world. I’m also thinking it dates to at least the first half of the 19th Century, but probably older. THERE ARE NO CRACKS. The little line you see on the bottom is simple an irregularity on the potter’s wheel – or something like that.
Of course I’ll send along all the pieces to put it make as a lamp. I just HAD to see inside. As you’ve likely guessed, I absolutely love this piece.
SATURDAY OUTHOUSES BLOGGING
snow gets deep, gotta get in. but this one is for management + employeees.
Friday, August 26, 2011
RANDOM 341 OBJECT
1887 Antique Calligraphy LORD’S PRAYER Print FINE FRAME-$107
You may have to show a little patience as we trudge through this description. I kept noticing things as I looked it over for the first time just today. It is just the way I found it, cobwebs and all, which is always the way I offer my discoveries.
The paper is age toned just as you’d expect. The lighter part at the bottom in that image is simply reflection from my white bed sheet. (You’re not dealing with a “Margaret Bourke-White” here. I’m a peddler; not a photographer.)
First off: It’s big.
The custom made, probably homemade, oak frame is a work of folk art on its own. It is 26 ½” by 32 ½” and made with ½” oak.
The image is 21 ¼” by 27 ¾” – approximately. I say “approximately” because I didn’t want to disturb the back and take exact measurements. Why? As you’ll see, it has remained undisturbed.
A flutter of doves encircles the portrait of Jesus with the “Lord’s Prayer” set in every imaginable typestyle. It’s almost like the printer or publisher was trying to sell you on his printing skills.
Sorry to give you whiplash by jumping so quickly to the back, but I find it fascinating. There are at least three layers of newspaper, and, of course, a wood backing under those.
I guess our Victorian ancestors thought all the different sizes and styles of type were as cool as we thought of our black light posters 70-some years later in the ‘60s.
It was published by the “Real Pen-Work Publishing Co.” of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, copyrighted in 1887.
I think today’s Jesus has done something different with his hair.
