The latest item highlight from Wisdom Lane Antiques is this terrific silverplate souvenir tumbler.
The tumbler features several terrific scenes of Washington DC, and two of the scenes on it are The White House and Mount Vernon.
It is also dated May 7, 1901 on the bottom of the tumbler. Not only that, the tumbler is also marked GERMANY.
This terrific souvenir tumbler can be seen in my shop on Etsy here. Head on over and check it out!
During the Victorian era, you could find a serving piece for just about anything. Olive forks? Got it. Cake servers? Yep, got that too. But have you ever run across a red tomato server?
These items are great. Tomato servers come in two different variations, one for red tomatoes and one for green. Why in the world would you have a different one for each type of tomatoes? Its simple really when you think about it. The red tomato servers have the openings built in for all of the juice from the tomato to drain through the server and not onto your tablecloth.
The server for the green tomatoes does not have the openings for the fact that the green tomatoes are not as messy and don’t need the openings. You could even use the green tomato server for fried green tomatoes.
Currently in my Etsy shop, there is a red tomato server that was made by the William Rogers Company. Its made of silverplate and sports the LA FRANCE pattern. You can see the piece here.
The Victorian era truly did make a ide variety of serving pieces for the table. What items have you run across while shopping?
I can see it now—as you are walking through a store in a local mall, you pass by the perfume counter and you see this sitting on the counter. It really makes you stop and takes notice.
What is it? It’s an advertising piece for ESCADA SENTIMENT men’s cologne. This store display is in the shape of a massive cologne bottle.
This bottle is made of glass and it has a plastic lid and atomizer. Both the lid and atomizer are removable, and the store display has the same artistic / triangular shape as the normal bottle.
Just how big is this? The store display measures 14 ¾ inches tall including the lid and 5 inches at the base.
You can see this terrific find in my Etsy store here.
Wow, what a great store display! Have you seen anything like this before?
While shopping at one of the local antique malls in my area, I happened onto something that could be a very good thing. It happened to be an R S Suhl shaker, or even possibly hat pin holder.
With the price being right, and some wear being present on the bottom of the shaker, I went ahead and bought it. When I went to find out what I could about the mark (so I could list it online), there was a little voice in the back of my head that was saying that something was not right.
And then I found a shaker just like the one that I have. I was thrilled! I started to read what was posted online about it, and sure enough, that little voice I was hearing was right. The thing was a reproduction and possibly even an outright fake.
The lesson I learned? A little research and knowledge can go a long way in the long run.
Several years ago, I picked up this brown and white enamel plaque that has a portrait of a woman on it. When I purchased it, I was told by the dealer that it was a decoration off of the front of a stove that was made around the late 1800’s to the early 1900’s.
The dealer also said that they thought it was enameled copper.
Ever since the day I got it, I have been poking around to see what exactly it is. The first thing that I ran across was a picture of Queen Elizabeth during her Diamond Jubilee of 1897. The picture was pretty close to the image on the front of the plaque.
Another thing that really threw me for a loop was that I saw another listing on the internet that said these plaques were used on a front door of a house.
Bottom of front Is it really a decoration for a stove or a door? Was it really made of copper? If it was off of a stove, what brand was it on? If you know what this is, feel free to drop me a line. I would love to know is what this was used for.
Occasionally, you will find something for sale that makes you stop for a second in amazement. It could be just about anything—something like this ESCADA SENTIMENT store display.
ESCADA SENTIMENT By Escada is a men’s cologne that was first sold in 2002, and it was more commonly sold in department stores.
This store display bottle was found on the countertop of the fragrance department in department stores that sold the fragrance. The bottle is a large glass bottle with a cranberry color, and it has a plastic lid and atomizer. Both the lid and atomizer are removable, and the store display has the same artistic / triangular shape as the normal bottle.
The store display is huge—it measures 14 ¾ inches tall including the lid and 5 inches at the base.
Since this was a store display, it was more than likely sat with similar display pieces to show off what the store was selling.
I love the shape of the bottle—it looks like it came out of the Art Deco era with the front having a triangular shape and the geometric shapes of the back.
This is one type of store display that you can find—what other types of displays have you run across?
I am always on the lookout for things that are unique. I ran into this extremely cool tray a couple of years ago, and I immediately fell in love with it.
At least 30 years ago, a person in their garage needed a nut and bolt tray. They reached for the nearest item, which happened to be a Gargoyle Mobiloil 5-quart oil can that was made by the Socony Vacuum Oil Company.
Whoever made this tray really did a good job. They took their time and rolled the edges so that you won’t get a cut, and the compartments appear to be pretty close to being even as well. It is insanely well-made and the tray borders on tramp art—you could even call it Garage Art.
When this tray was made, it is obvious that money was extremely tight. Everything had to either be used until it was worn out or be remade into something else that was just as useful. That’s how this tray came about.
The skies are the limit when it comes to finding a use for something like this. It could be used on a desk to hold office supplies; it could hold pocket change and even your car keys.
What kinds of remade items like this have you run across while out shopping?
Wisdom Lane Antiques 