Oktoberfest and Nutcrackers

Hello everyone!  I'm Simone's daughter and I am doing a guest post as she is traveling again.  

As you may or may not know, the official Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany kicked off last week and lasts until October 3.  Now, you may be thinking, shouldn't the Oktoberfest occur in October and not September? Well, yes. The official first Oktoberfest began in October 1810 to celebrate the wedding of Crown Prince Ludwig I to his new princess.  The Germans enjoyed celebrating the marriage so much they're still celebrating.  However, to take advantage of the nicer September weather, it was moved up to start in September and end in October.  The wedding celebration also coincided with an older celebration of drinking the previous years' beer before it went bad.  Hence, all the beer drinking.

Since I'm not in Germany, to me the Oktoberfest is a wonderful excuse to display my nutcrackers. (Ok, who am I kidding, they're up all year round...)

Personal photo- this is actually a smoker, not a nutcracker, but it said Oktoberfest on it.

Nutcrackers

The traditional wooden nutcracker dressed as soldiers and kings that are everywhere during the holidays did not start appearing until between 1800-1830 in Southern Germany in the Erzgebirge region.  

Personal Photo- a Steinbach nutcracker dressed in traditional Bavarian clothing

Antique wooden nutcrackers from that era are difficult to find as people actually used them to crack nuts instead of to display on shelves. As a result, they would eventually break from use and get thrown into the fire.  All of my nutcrackers are new.  If I ever found an antique wooden one I would buy it right up, broken or not! 

Personal Photo- another Steinbach nutcracker dressed as a wine maker

Nutcrackers used as Christmas decorations didn't begin until the Victorian era when children would receive miniature versions in their stockings.  Then of course, Tchaikovsky's "The Nutcracker" ballet played during Christmas only enhanced their image as a Christmas symbol.

Personal Photo

I leave these nutcrackers up all year long, I just don't display them front and center.  Before Tchaikovsky and the Victorians, nutcrackers were left up all year long, so I am merely following an older tradition!   During the holidays I move them to a more central location and then add my Santa nutcrackers in as well. I'll have to post the Santa nutcrackers later as they are very cute!

Today there are two main German nutcracker makers... Christian Steinbach and Christian Ulbricht.  All of the German nutcrackers are handmade.  During the holidays you can buy nutcrackers at many stores, but they are made in China and are not high quality.  Plus, they just aren't as cute.

There is a nutcracker museum located in Leavenworth, Washington.  Leavenworth is this picturesque little village in Northern Washington located in the Cascade Mountains.  It is called the "Little Germany" because it looks like a little German village nestled in the Alps.

Photo from Wikipedia.  Click on photo for link to official Leavenworth website.

It is a cute little town to visit if you ever find yourself up in the Northwest corner of the U.S.

Hopefully that encourages you to display your nutcrackers at other times other than Christmas. The holiday nutcrackers will be posted in the holidays. I hope you enjoyed the little history lesson too!!
Thanks to my mother for letting me guest post!

Baltimore Antique Show - Ending Summer With Fun

There has been much going on this summer, but I've always wanted to attend the Baltimore Antique Show.  This show was hampered by the hurricane.  People were worried that the show, held in the basement next to the harbor, would flood.    It didn't, but they did have an earthquake during setup.   My California friends paused a moment, and then continued working.  About 20 minutes later, the building was evacuated.   You can tell the east coast doesn't know how to handle earthquakes.  ( #1 Rule:  DO NOT stand on the sidewalk outside brick skyscrapers.  Those bricks can come down and kill you....)

This is the first time I've been to the Baltimore show.   I've been to Miami, Philadelphia and my husband has been to Brimfield, but I tend to stay on the West Coast.    The Left Coast is the best coast--for hiking, weather, etc (or life, as my daughter says)--but go to the Right Coast for antiques!

I intended to take alot of photos, but wound up not thinking about my camera or blogging.    The show opened at 11 AM, and I didn't complete the first "walkaround" until 3 PM.     That's unusual for me, and I can usually blow through a show in 2 hours.

On to what you want to see--pictures.  I don't collect French faience, Quimper, but thought that it has a nice look.  Given that I collect early transferware, it seems like a nice collecting category to pursue.  So I'll think about what it is that would work for me in a collection.  I like to look for unusual items in a collecting category, but ALL of these pieces seem unusual.

A wall of Faience

The next thing I thought was something I could use was the wooden plaque below.   There were a pair of them. They were either European or Mexico.

Part of the Baltimore Show is a book show.  I've never sought out an antique book show, but I was delighted to have stumbled into such a wonderful show.  When we were first married, all I bought at estate sales were books.  Who could afford expensive (ha) antiques every weekend, but a $20 bill would buy me a stack of wonderful old bindings "decorator books by the yard".   I still can't pass up a nice book, however, instead of $2, it's more like $20-$60.

I took the business card of this dealer, I'll add his name when I find it...

Don't you just love all the wonderful bindings?  They are works of art.   Books add interest to a room.  I've got them stacked everywhere.  I am always amazed at how many estate sales didn't have a single book in it.  How sad not to have that dimension in your life.

Wow!  Check out these really old books.  Homer Iliad from 1664 in Greek for $1250?  Really, I can own something that old?

Check out all these wonderful books, many for $200.  Wouldn't you rather own one of these than an I-phone?
(I would, and I don't have an I-phone)

 I'm thinking about all the books that I see in the upscale shops like restoration hardware.  You see books wrapped in plain vellum.  Now I get what they were trying to copy.  I'd rather save my pennies, and buy one of these!

Owning books that are hundreds of years old is like owning art--literally.  This was quite an education

Of course the French Prayer Books with the embroidered tops were something I'd like to prop on the edge of my bookcase!

This was a German table from the 1700's.  Being German, I  think I should consider owning something like this.
Oh wait, I have one like this!

This English Penwork table has my name all over it.  Never go to an antique show without a mini-van....
That's my new motto.  Shipping this to the west coast would probably cost as much as the table.

This was like visiting a museum.  Many fabulous pieces, so over the top to own.  Can you imagine the size of room you'd need to hold this massive desk?  I think this was MS Rau from New Orleans.

My husband really liked this lamp.  It was very cool, you can't really see the molded glass that is a cameo like effect of a head.  I think he liked it because it was for holding the dealer's business cards, not for sale. hee hee.

One fabulous booth loaded with beautiful English antiques.  Close your eyes and point, you'll take something fabulous home!

I wish I'd thought about the blog and taken more photos.  This booth was soo wonderful.  They had many intriguing flags and I didn't even photograph the wonderful ones!

OMG!  You know how much I love needlepoint!   This was WONDERFUL!   I want this!   My husband said I couldn't have it because you can't sit on a piece like this, it would probably tear the needlepoint.  Sigh.  Someday....

The mosaic box was something that even caught my husband's eye.  The dealer wasn't in the booth.  I circled back later--his favorite box was from the 1700's, and was $24,000!   Oops, not going home with it  unless we win the lottery!  See what I mean about feeling like you are in a museum?

Isn't this painting charming?  It was $475.   I thought I would come back for that, but we ran out of time, had a flight to catch, and I forgot where this dealer was.  So a big hint for "possibilities"--write down the row of the dealer.  There must have been 50 rows of dealers.  500-700 booths?

The two pictures above are Antique Legacy, my friends from California.  They are the nicest people and OMG you wouldn't believe the fantastic clock that they sold.  I'll see if I can get a photo for you.

The two silk needlework pictures were a purchase.  However they never made it out west with me.  My daughter in St. Louis has them.   They'll stay there til next spring when I pick them up.

There were a couple of other purchases, but I wanted to share with you some of the fun of seeing the show.  Next year's advice:   Plan on two days to do the show.  Take an empty suitcase of bubble wrap so you can take a suitcase home on the plane with your treasures.

Since I've been home, I've been wandering through listings on Ebay.  I found another wonderful platter in mulberry transferware.  I'm working on a wall of platters in my bedroom.


It's great to get an antique fix without spending all day on an airplane too!

Just in Time For School: Alphabet Sampler

 I've seen posts from all my friends about school starting.  It made me think about my Biedermeier framed needlepoint alphabet sampler. I'm not sure what this item fall into:  My screen collection, or sampler collection.  I think I have about 7 firescreens. 

The world has certainly changed since this wonderful sampler was made!  Young girls would practice the discipline of stitching and have a wonderful accomplishment to show for it.   My nieces are masters with their hands too--texting in shorthand, lol....  I wish they'd have a sampler to show for their summer's work....

I love the pastoral scene underneath the sampler. It is done in needlepoint, with a handpainted face on the shepherd.  It is considered Berlinwork.

Currently, the screen lives in the uncluttered study.  How uncharacteristic of me!

I'm off to Baltimore for some shopping therapy at an antique show, then swinging by St. Louis to visit my daughter.    I am looking forward to it, minus the flight across the country.  Have a great week!

Antique Clock Face

I mentioned that yesterday was an adventure attending a small antique show.  One item that I couldn't leave there was an old clock face.

The name on the front of the clock is Wright, Birmingham.  There were companies in England that just made clock faces.  Thanks to the internet, I found out within seconds that there were two companies that made clock faces in Birmingham:

Wright, B&Co.           From  1805 - 1820
Wright, Christopher    From  1835 - 1845

Clock faces can be dated based on what is in the corners of the clock.  The link below talks about how to date a clock face.  If there are flowers in the corner, the clock is earlier, 1770 to about 1800.

For more information about clock faces:  http://www.dialrestorer.co.uk/date-painted-dials.html

I wondered what kind of clock case it must have lived in originally.  I hunted on the internet for a clock case that had a similar looking dial with "Wright-Birmingham" and found the following photo:

From Liveauctioneers.com

It looks very similar to my clock face, wish they'd had a closeup.  It appears there is a girl and a fence in it like mine. .

This little 200 year old gardener brightens up my day when I look at her.  Notice the sheep dotting the hillside.   Is this a scene out of the Cotswolds?  Maybe I'll put a battery operated clock and hands on this, and tuck it in a bookshelf near the TV.  Or maybe I'll just talk about how I'm going to do that someday.

Antique Patina: Antique Letters and Papers!

This morning I went to a cute little antique show.  I got there a half hour early, and still missed a few great things.  One thing caught my eye was a stack of old French documents.  They range in date from 1751 to 1818.   It appears that some are letters of introduction.  The old paper has watermarks on it, plus impressed seals.   I don't know if it came with the paper, or it was added when the document was written.

I have a vitrine display table.  I know alot of people use them to display fancy smalls, but today I decided to fill it with antique papers.  The only thing that is missing is the old quill pen!

The papers aren't viewed best from the side, but the sight of them makes you curious!

Looks like a piece of history to me!

I hope you enjoy seeing this as much as I enjoyed buying them and putting this together.  I will probably layer more items on top of them.   They also would be great to copy and use for other clever things--like wrapping books, perhaps make a photo mat...Hmmm... what fun!

UPDATE!   

A follower, Dr Vacuum, found that I'm not the only one interested in these pretty documents.  She found them on Williams Sonoma Home, too!  I was amazed that the date of 1753, is so close to the papers I have (1751-1818+)




Description from their website:

From Williams Sonoma Home

Logged by hand on November 22, 1753, these ledger pages record the transactions of a working French farm, including such everyday events as items bought and sold. Today these pages from history look romantically genteel, and our prints reproduce their graceful script and weathered paper in exact detail.

• 20 1/4" x 28 3/4" high overall
• 16" x 24 3/4" high image
• Archival giclée prints on acid-free paper
• Set behind Plexiglas and floated on an acid-free cream mat
• Italian wood frame with black stain and gold-leaf finish
• Made in the USA; frame made in Italy

Are you sitting down?   $525.00

Don't they look nice framed.   I'm enjoying my messy pile of them though!

French Wire Hamper on Wheels!

Ever look for a stylish hamper and get tired of all the baskets?    Yesterday I stopped by Pottery Barn with my husband.  We were really just goofing off, killing time before lunch.  I spotted the cutest hamper ever and had to have it.... I like to use vintage wicker laundry baskets for clean clothes, but I've never seen anything with wheels!

Photo from Pottery Barn website.  

I only bought one, but I love it!  You know I always want to have new things that look old.  The Crate and Barrel might seem more functional given the narrow shape, but this one is really nice because you don't have to bend over to empty it.  They only had one color liner, but I bought it anyway, thinking it would be easier to use it as a pattern if I wanted to redecorate.  You can get the porcelain tags that say "lights", etc.  but I only purchased one, so I didn't need the tag.

The only thing I didn't like about it is that it looks like rusty wire.  I like the look, it's just not that functional--don't put damp clothes in it.  The really cool part is--the basket collapses flat!   I thought I'd share, as PB always seems to place one-time orders and when it's gone, you're out of luck.


I saw this hamper at Crate and Barrel's website.

It's function, and you could roll it down the hallway if you're like me and do 3 loads at once.  I hated those cheap looking plastic wheels and it just doesn't have the charm of my new one!

Berlin Work: Creating Needlework Using Antique Patterns

Isn't this a wonderful piece of petitpoint?  The frame is a wonderful old birds-eye maple, the glass is wavy and has seeds in it here and there.

A closeup of the stitches shows meticulous detail.  There are 360 stitches per inch.  The work is a combination of cotton and silk on a linen background.

I love the subject--3 doves on an urn, with gilt bronze handles.  Wouldn't you love the urn too!

I do needlepoint, and can't understand why people do all these modern designs when history is loaded full of beautiful designs.    I did so many projects as a teenager and gave them all away.  After I had "the empty nest", I decided that I wanted to do needlework based on historical designs. 

At the time, all I could find was Elizabeth Bradley's work.  I've done alot of her Victorian animals.  

A kit.  I modified the colors a bit.

Another kit.  It's a really great piano stool used at a desk.

A design from one of Elizabeth's books.  I made up the border from another kit.  
I had a friend with terminal cancer who picked out the design, and looked forward to my
visit every week to see my progress.  I have to work like crazy to have some "expected" progress.
I was happy to finish it before she passed away.  I don't walk by it without thinking of her!

This Elizabeth Bradley sampler was made by my daughter.
The urge to do something while sitting  goes to another generation..

This is another sampler kit I found.  You can buy it here on Ebay for under $10

By Permin of Copenhagen
Anna Thies 1859

So you can imagine my joy when I found A BOOK that describes exactly the kind of work I like to do and collect.  It is by Rafaella Serena.  She wrote 3 books in all.  The one below is "Embroideries and Patterns From 19th Century Vienna"

Cover

Back Cover

Pattern of above doves, From "Embroideries and Patterns from 19th Century Vienna"

Rafaella goes into detail about the style of the times--covering more than just needlework.  She talks about the influence of Empire and Biedemeier on needlepoint designs.  It is fascinating and worth reading.  It helped me hone my collection and what I am looking for.

   

Yes, I made the framed needlework of the doves.  I made the decision to make the roses pink, because of project #2, pictured below.  I also changed the center of the urn color,  I had trouble finding the right color to match that in the pattern.  This was about 10 years ago, and now there are all sorts of wonderful threads, silks, etc, thanks to the internet.  Lately, I've been using alot of Trio, and Silk & Ivory by Brown Paper Packages.

The linen used was special linen for samplers, about $75/yard.  It was a colored linen, and this time I didn't mess with dying it with coffee or tea to give it a more aged or stained look.  That is popular.  I am always on the hunt for period frames and glass, as I like to use them for my projects.   Sadly, I just broke a large piece of wavy glass in a frame in my move.  So a spare picture frame is always nice!

However, I'm off on other things.  I'm in the middle of two projects, and I'm scoping out the next two projects.  I think the dove picture needs a mate:

"Someday" Project #2:  This is the mate that I plan on doing next.  From "Embroideries and Patterns from 19th Century Vienna"

If you want to find out more about Rafaella Serena, she has a website here. She sells some kits and patterns.

http://www.raffaellaserena.com/

You can find her books on Amazon, Ebay or Bookfinders, sometimes at incredible deals.  

She wrote about the Nowotny Collection.  There is a store in Vienna that sells some fine needlepoint going back in time to that original collection.  They have a website.  I'll be sure and go by the shop if I'm ever in Vienna!

http://www.nowotny.at/English/Welcome.html

My family didn't have any treasures passed down through generations.  Wars and running for your lives has a way of making that not very relevant.  After collecting other families heirlooms, I think I should make the effort to share something for future generations in a thoughtful way. 

Either that, or someone will have a great $20 buy at my estate sale someday.

Do you have a favorite designer who does antique reproduction needlework designs?