Sleuthing Out Si Non Est Satis Mementot Paupertatis
HT sent me a large 18 inch charger in a style of glaze called faience. We see the motto ‘Si non est satis mementot paupertatis’ emblazoned on it. This translates …
Silver Overlay, a Political Issue?
TS owns a cocktail bottle collection and sent photos of two silver overlay on glass decanter bottles. One features a heavy design of thistles, referencing Scotland The other features a …
For the Love of Hollywood Regency
A pair of lamps I appraised at a Road Show in Pennsylvania made me think of Dorothy Draper and Billy Haines. In their hey-day, the mid 1930s through the 1940s, …
Chew on this Silver Baby Rattle
SM sent me a simple little silver item with three bells on the bottom, and a whistle at the top, about four inches long, slightly chewed on. He asked, “what …
Pandemic Lessons About Objects
The adrenaline rush of a short-term disaster, such as the Thomas fire, is the kind of crisis we have trained for. But we haven’t trained for THIS Pandemic disaster. In …
Oak Dresser FREE or NO?
SS sent me a turn of the last century Golden Oak dresser, in Quarter Sawn Oak, with a serpentine front. It looks like a dresser but the drawers hardly slide …
Antique Trunks
JE sent me two very interesting leather covered domed antique trunks, complete with leather straps. This prompted me to write about something everyone seems to have, a steamer trunk. We …
A Big Little Books and Disney
KM sent me a treasure from his mother’s childhood. A tiny little newsprint book, in a somewhat worn condition: Mickey Mouse: The Mail Pilot, Big Little Books #731 (Disney file …
Vintage Couture: It’s Back!
As woman who loves flashy clothes, when EJ emailed me a photo of a 1980s “CD de Christian Dior Robes de Soir” ball gown, with huge shoulder pads and sixteen …
Grace Howell Gentlewoman Painter
Another fabulous piece in MMG’s art collection, signed Grace Howell in the 1930’s, caught my eye. In the first two quarters of the twentieth century, a career female artist member …