Author: wisdomlaneantiques

I've been going to auctions, antique malls, flea markets, etc. since I could walk. My lifelong love of anything vintage, old, or shabby (everything really is better with age) is now my full-time job.

Look at all of the different varieties of art glass!

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn gift ideas, Glassware1 Comment

Art glass is a great way to add some color to your home (or even just a room). Not only that, it comes in a variety of shapes and sizes for you to choose from. It could be a vase, bowl, or even something figural like a bird.

One such shape that would be great to decorate with is this terrific vase.

1

The color combination great–it looks like cream being poured into coffee. Not only that, it’s pretty big (it’s 12 1/2 inches tall). With this vase as tall as it is, it would look terrific on a side table or even holding some decorative flowers. You can see this vase in my Etsy shop here.

Another great art glass piece is this great statue.

2

The statue is in the shape of a squirell, and it could also double as a paperweight on your desk. You can see this terrific statue in my Etsy shop here.

Another form that you can find would be a candle holder, much like this one.

3

This great candle holder is in the shape of a rabbit, and it’s perfect for any of the samller candles. It would be great just about anywhere, especially the kitchen table (it’s low enough for you to see the person across the table from you).

You can see this in my Etsy shop here.  There are times when you will run across an art glass piece that has more than one function. It’s like that with this piece of Murano art glass.

4

As you can see, this Murano art glass piece could easily be a vase–and it could also be used as a planter or even a pen holder on any desk. You can see it in my Etsy shop here.

As a matter of fact, you can see all of the terrific art glass I have for sale in my Etsy shop here.  Head on over and check them out!

An advertising porcelain cup?!?

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn Advertising, Pottery, Vintage, Vintage, Vintage!Leave a comment

Advertising pieces come in a wide variety of shapes, styles and even what they are made of.  There are also pieces on the market that may take you a while to sink in that they are advertising pieces because they may be something like a porcelain cup.

One such piece like this is this great mug by PSAG Bavaria.  It may take you a second to realize that it is an advertising giveaway for the placement of CUDAHY’S REXSOMA (the manufacturer put CUDAHY’S REXSOMA on the inside of the mug near the top).

15

CUDAHY’S REXSOMA pharmacies had PSAG Bavaria produce this terrific mug in late 1800’s.  The mug is a white porcelain and has a rose decoration on the outside—which helps you not realize right off the bat that this is an advertising piece.

You can see the mug in my Etsy shop here, head on over and check it out.  What kinds of advertising pieces like this have you run across?

Head vases for everyone!

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn gift ideas, Pottery, Vintage, Vintage, Vintage!Leave a comment

Since I was a kid, I have run across head vases just about everywhere—estate sales, auctions and even garage sales.

There were a ton of this type of vase that was imported from Japan starting in about the 1950’s, and they were used by florists for flower arrangements.

Head vases quickly became popular with collectors for their variety of design motifs and color combinations.  Not only that, they are the perfect height for just about any type of flower.

Head vases still get made today, and there are some great examples on the market.  You can also easily find a head vase to fit just about any budget.

One example is this great one from the 1950’s.

3

This head vase isn’t marked, but it has a cool green hat and applied flowers.  I like how detailed the manufacturer got with this head vase.  You can see it in my Etsy shop here.

Another head vase that you can find in my Etsy shop is this great one from ARTMARK.

4

This head vase dates to the 1950’s, and what is great is that this head vase still has the necklace on it–a lot of the time the necklace gets broken and is missing.  You can see this terrific head vase in my Etsy shop here.

As a matter of fact, you can see the rest of the head vases in my Etsy shop here.  Head on over and check them out!

What are some of the vintage serving pieces that I may not find on today’s table?

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn Serving sets, Tips for the beginner, Vocabulary Words2 Comments

Over the years, there are new types of serving dishes that are introduced, and then there are times when a certain piece from a dinner set for the table that may fall out of favor.  What are some of the pieces that have fallen out of favor over the years that may not be on the table of today?

Cheese dish—this is a covered dish meant to store and serve a whole piece of cheese.  The bottom of this piece is a little larger than a butter dish, and you may see a small cutting board in the place of this today.

Cream soup dish—this is a two-handled bowl that comes with its own saucer and is meant to serve bouillon, a soup or even consommé (a clear soup made from a rich stock).  This type of dish could be confused with a sugar dish without the lid.

Aspic servers–these are used to serve aspic, which is a clear jelly that is made from broth. Generally, aspic is used to accent the serving of meat, and it is a lot like cranberry sauce. The aspic server has a curved and sharp end for the cutting and serving of aspic.

This is only a small sampling of what you can find.  What have you run across?

A cross between a cigar humidor and a…FURNACE?!?

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn Enamelware, Functional items, Vintage, Vintage, Vintage!Leave a comment

There are times when you actually stop and scratch your head when you run across an item, and this is definitely one of those times.  Have you ever seen a cross between a cigar humidor and a furnace?

Yep, you saw that right—this piece is a cross between a cigar humidor and a furnace.

0

1

This enamelware piece is made as a cigar humidor and is decorated as a furnace.  You could also say that this is a great salesman’s sample for L’ISLET FURNACE (the company that made the furnaces was based in Quebec, Canada).

2

3

4

The great thing about this item is the fact that you could use it a number of different ways—as a pencil holder, change holder, or even a container for the kitchen.  The uses can go on and on!

You can see the cigar humidor in my Etsy shop here.  Head on over and check it out!

What to remember before you refinish a piece of furniture

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn Functional items, Furniture, Tips for the beginnerLeave a comment

You finally found that piece of vintage furniture that would look great in your house or apartment.  There are some things that you need to remember before you refinish the piece.

The first thing to remember is that you could be messing with the value of the piece.  With antique furniture (like items in the Chippendale era for example), there is a sizable chunk of the value of the piece invested in the original finish.  I’ve seen the value drop up to 50% when the piece of furniture was refinished.  A good rule of thumb on valuable pieces of furniture is to refrain from doing anything major yourself (dusting it off is more often the way to go).

The second thing to remember is how much it will cost to refinish and repair the piece.  I have seen furniture at auctions, flea markets and estate sales that need a good amount of repair work to go along with the refinishing.  Replacing legs, chair seats or even table tops could drive up the cost quite a bit.

The last thing to remember is how much time it will take to do the refinishing.  Over the years, I have seen a refinishing project take up to a week because of the number of steps in the process.  If you don’t have much time to begin with, you may want to stick with just stripping the old finish off and putting on some new stain.

What types of furniture have you refinished?

A fun find that proves you never know what you will run into

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn Pottery, Sale at Wisdom Lane Antiques!Leave a comment

Every one in a while, you will run across a fun find that proves you never know what you will find while shopping for vintage and collectible items.

This is definitely one of those items.  I ran across this folk art item at a local garage sale and immediately fell in love with it.

0

As you can tell, this folk art sculpture is in the shape of a head.  It dates to the 1980’s and it looks like someone took quite a bit of time sculpting it with all of the facial features (plus all of the time it took to make sure this sculpture didn’t fall apart).

1

What is also great about it is the glaze that was applied to it–it looks like someone had a lot of fun decorating it.

You can see this great sculpture in my Etsy shop here.  Head on over and check it out!

What are the different types of manufacturing for enamel advertising signs?

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn Advertising, Beginning to collect, Tips for the beginner, Vintage, Vintage, Vintage!Leave a comment

Just about every area of antiques and collectibles can be divided into several different sub categories.  It could be collecting the denomination or country of origin of coins, a certain glass company or pattern, or even a certain type of manufacturing process like majolica pottery.

This is true for enamel advertising signs, and one of the ways you can do this is the style of manufacturing of the sign itself and how it can be displayed.

The first type is a flat one-sided sign.  This style has advertising on just one side of the sign, and this would be perfect to attach to a wall or the front of a building.  With only one side having the advertising, the back will have just one color of enameling.

The second type is called a flat two-sided sign.  This style has advertising on both sides of the sign, and most of the time this type of sign will be in a stand or frame of some type to help see both sides.

The third type of sign is a flanged two-sided sign.  This type of sign has a built-in 90-degree angled mount on it that allows the sign to come out from a wall or even a side of a building.

The next type of sign is called a curved sign.  This sign will have a curve in it to go around items like a telephone pole, a street light or even the corner of a building.

Another type are gasoline pump signs, and they will advertise the brand of gas that it is.  Not only are there gasoline pump sign examples for automobile gas, there are also some examples known for marine and aviation gas known as well.

The last example is called a neon porcelain sign, and this type has neon lights on it.  This type of sign can light up and you can see the sign better at night, and the most notable type is on a movie theater.  You could also find this hanging in a window of a business.

What types of enamel advertising sings have you run across?