Wisdom Lane Antiques would love to wish everyone a Merry Christmas!
I hope that everyone gets everything that they wished for this year!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
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.
What are some do’s and don’ts when attending an estate sale?
You have decided to go to an estate sale that is near where you live. You are all ready to go, but what are some do’s and don’t to remember when you attend the estate sale?
Do look everywhere. This includes the attic, the shed and even the garage—I have found valuable items hiding in weird spots.
Don’t block driveways, other houses mailboxes or even fire hydrants. The best thing to remember is to be considerate of other people.
Do double check the final tally of your bill before you check out. This way you have enough cash so you can buy everything that you want.
Don’t shop from the “Hold” area. During the estate sale, there will be an area near the cash register that shoppers can store their items that they are going to buy. These items are considered sold, and I have seen people get very protective of the items that are on this shelf.
This is a small list of things to remember when you attend an estate sale. What are some of the do’s and don’ts that you have heard of for an estate sale?
Wow, what an interesting beer can!
The aluminum beer can made it’s debut in the late 1950’s and was introduced by the Hawaii Brewing Company. Since then, pretty much every brewing company has caught on and started to use them. Coors, Pabst Blue Ribbon and even Budweiser are some of the products that have been packed into this type of can.
Did you know that there have been errors along the way? Upside down labels and the lid missing the pop top are common errors, and I bet that I can produce an error that you have never seen—the label on the inside of the can!
As you can kind of see in the picture is that this is a Pabst Blue Ribbon can. When this can was made, there was a production error that caused the label to be on the inside of the can.
You can also see that there is no damage anywhere to the can, and it can still hold liquid. The crazy thing about this can is that it is the same size and holds the normal 12 ounces.
You can see this can in my Etsy shop here, head on over and check it out.
I have personally never seen an error like this. Have you ever run across one similar?
Does that dresser box look like a . . . duck?!?
Occasionally, you will run across an item that will make you do a double take. That is what I did when I ran across this dresser box.
When I first saw this dresser box, I didn’t think it was in fact a dresser box. Being in the shape of a duck, I thought that it was just a sculpture for someone to put on a bookshelf or even their desk.
I quickly realized that it was a dresser box when I picked it up. When I did, the duck also surprised me that it was made of pewter—I thought that it was pottery with a silver glaze.
The duck was made in about the 1950’s in Hong Kong and has a really cool stamped motif on the body of it. Not only that, but the eyes of the duck are also made of brass.
You can see this cool duck in my shop on Etsy here. Head on over and check it out!
Happy Thanksgiving from Wisdom Lane Antiques
Wisdom Lane Antiques would love to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and that you also have a great time with the entire family.
Make sure you save me a drumstick!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
What happened in 1890?
When I am trying to find some information on an item that I recently purchased, I run across some fun facts that happened during a certain year. Here’s what I recently ran across for the year 1890:
February 24—Chicago is selected to host the Columbian Exposition.
June 16—Stan Laurel (an English-born actor and member of the comic duo Laurel And Hardy) was born on this day.
June 20—The book titled The Picture Of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde is published Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine.
Do you know what was invented in San Francisco in 1890? The Jukebox.
It’s always fun for me to see these fun facts, I never know what I will run across. What fun facts have you run across?
What information is put on a maker’s mark for pottery?
There is a ton of pottery out on the market, how do you know what’s what? And how do you read the mark on the bottom of the piece to know what you have in your hands?
Figuring out the mark on pottery is pretty easy. Here are a few things to keep in mind when you are looking at a mark:
*With artists being hired on by the pottery companies to hand paint some items, the artist would sign their name to the piece as well. Collectors not only collect certain pottery lines, they also look for a certain artist. A word of advice on this though—if the piece is not signed by the artist on the bottom, then look at the area that is hand painted. The artist’s signature will not too far away from it.
*The name of the pattern can be on the bottom as well. The Frank Beardmore creamer’s pattern is called “A Sussex Homeland,” and the pattern is listed at the top of the mark on this piece. I have seen the pattern name both incorporated into the mark and standing by itself, so keep an eye out for it.
The marks on pottery are not that hard to decipher, it just takes a minute to figure out how the maker wrote it on the piece.
What kinds of pottery have you found something out by looking at the mark?
Wow, this bowl really helps keep food warm?
Over Time, there have been plenty of items that have fallen out of favor for one reason or another. It could be a different type of record player, radio or even a Television.
Take this child’s bowl that has been designed with a built-in container to hold hot water to keep the food stored in it warm.
It is still very functional, but with the advancements of electricity and the invention of hot plates or warmers (or even microwave ovens, for that matter) it has become easier to keep your kids food warm for them.
The bowl has a built-in spout with a removable lid so you can get the water in and out without having a problem.
All that you have to do is to pour some water into the spout and seal it up. After that, you are good to go. The bowl is kind of like the travel mugs that we have around today.
What kinds of items like this that have fallen out of favor have you run into?
Common etiquette to keep in mind while antique shopping
Whenever I am out and about at an antique mall or flea market, there are some basic rules of etiquette that I follow.
Here are a few of them:
Put items back where you found them. You picked up an item with the intention to buy it, and along the way you decided not to. That’s more than fine—make sure to put it back where you found it. Antique malls and flea markets have booths for dealers to stock with their items—this way the dealer gets their items back.
If you happen to bring a drink in with you, see if it is ok to bring it in with the people that run the shop. I have run across several shops that don’t allow food or drinks in the front door.
Make sure that you follow the golden rule of antique shopping—buy what you like when you see it. If you let it go, it might not be there when you come back for it.
And remember to watch where you walk and keep an eye on your large bags or purses that you bring with you. There is one rule that I have seen stores enforce quite a bit—you broke it, you bought it.
This is a small handful of the common etiquette that you will run across while antique shopping. What have you run across?
Wow, Homer Laughlin made that?
The Homer Laughlin China Company of Newall, West Virginia opened for business in 1871.
From then to now, they have produced dinnerware (and even kitchenware), and many of the lines are still popular to this day. Examples of these lines are Fiesta, Virginia Rose, Harlequin, Rhythm, Nautilus, Swing, Riviera and even Century.
Most of the dinnerware is marked by Homer Laughlin, so identifying a manufacturer is not a problem. Some of it features the name of the pattern as well, which helps out a lot. The HLC trademark is usually followed by a number series, the first two digits will indicate the year. So, if you do run across a Homer Laughlin piece that doesn’t have the name of the pattern on it, you can most likely narrow it down with the year mark.
I’m partial to the restaurantware that Homer Laughlin made (a piece of it can be seen in the first two pictures). I have always thought that the piece was made for extra ware and tare, so I don’t have to be so delicate with it.
What kind of finds do you have in your collection?
Wisdom Lane Antiques 