Baking: A Competitive Sport
HG owns a beautiful bronze medal, finished with French blue enamel, from the Institute International de la Boulangerie. A five-pointed star hangs from a blue enameled crown which hangs from …
Firefighter Medal with Deep Meaning
JR owns a vintage (1910-1920) firefighter brass medal, composed of a pin bar in the shape of an elongated bugle. A miniature fireman’s helmet accurately rendered dangles from it. They …
Silver Stirrups Helped Spread Culture
RF collects unique pieces of South American silver. He sent these photos of a pair of ceremonial lady’s silver stirrups, very tiny, and a solid sterling cuff bracelet. At four-and-a-half …
Meisterwerke of German Art Raises Questions
For years FR lugged around a pair of old, twenty-pound books, Meisterwerke of German Art by Carl Thonet Jutsum, 1883-4. He wonders if the collection of art pictured in these …
Donating or Selling China and Crystal
“ELIZABETH!! Where do I sell vintage China and crystal?” Well, the market doesn’t want MUCH of that stuff, but SOME folks out there do. There’s actually something for everyone. It …
Raise a Toast to this Ale Mug
PT sent me a VERY old cider or ale mug, which dates from (I believe) before 1820. In those days, what happened all around this large vessel? What did it …
William Shinn Not Worried About Outcome
PS owns a fabulous modernist thirteen by ten inch art pottery vase by Santa Maria potter William “Bill” Shinn (1932-2011). Did a native American ceremonial breastplate inspire this vase? The …
Scottish Snuff Mull Born in 1817
KM sent me a pretty little Scottish snuff mull, engraved Sheffield Silver Mounts, 1817. Large at over three inches, they sat on a table or sideboard to serve “all” who …
Reflecting on the History of Mirrors
Before the 17th century people without incredible money who wanted to know what they looked like, stared in a pool of water. The idea of mirrors, so ubiquitous today, was …
The Changing Nature of Art
Should it be, because we lived through a world changed by the pandemic, that the world of THINGS changed? I find it interesting that my pencil talks to me as …