Category: Vintage, Vintage, Vintage!

Hey, there’s a sale going on here!

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

2017 was a great year at Wisdom Lane Antiques. So great, in fact, that I wanted to share my gratitude with my customers…in the form of a sale!

Sales don’t have to be for merchandise that’s not moving.  Sales don’t have to be for items no one is willing to pay full price for.  Nope, right now at Wisdom Lane, I’m holding a “sale” on just-listed items.  Quality pieces that I’m pricing lower as a thanks for your continued support of Wisdom Lane Antiques.

You can see the full list of sale items here.

As always, thanks for shopping Wisdom Lane Antiques!

Hey, there’s a sale going on here!

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

2017 was a great year at Wisdom Lane Antiques.  So great, in fact, that I wanted to share my gratitude with my customers…in the form of a sale!

Sales don’t have to be for merchandise that’s not moving. Sales don’t have to be for items no one is willing to pay full price for.  Nope, right now at Wisdom Lane, I’m holding a “sale” on just-listed items.  Quality pieces that I’m pricing lower as a thanks for your continued support of Wisdom Lane.

You can see the full list of sale items here.

As always, thanks for shopping Wisdom Lane!

A good example of Czechoslovakian pottery

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

Pottery from the Czechoslovakian area in Europe is a great area to dive into and collect.  You can find great examples starting in the $10 to $15 area, and you can also find examples that are priced much higher.

You can find a wide variety of pieces on the market—cups, saucers, figurines, pitchers, creamers, sugars and even plates are a very small slice of what you can find.

One type of Czechoslovakian pottery (also called Czech pottery, a shortened name of the region it’s from) is this terrific hat pin holder from a company called ROYAL DUX.

royal dux

It was made from 1918 to 1930’s, and it has a cream background and a red trim, and it also has an embossed flower motif with pastel colors.

Royal dux marks

The marks that are on it are the DPM mark with an acorn at the center (this stands for DUXER PORZELLAN-MANUFAKTUR), and it also has an embossed mark that reads 11259 II (these marks help date the hat pin holder from 1918 to the 1930’s).

The hatpin holder is also the perfect size to be used as a small vase (or even a bud vase).  It would also look terrific on any table or even a desk.  It would definitely be the center of attention in any room that it’s in!

The vase can be seen in my Etsy shop here.  Head on over and check it out!

Different names of furniture that you might run across

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn Functional items, Furniture, Tips for the beginner, Vintage, Vintage, Vintage!, Vocabulary WordsLeave a comment

There are many different names of a certain furniture item (or a certain part of that piece of furniture) that you will run across.  There will be times that it will literally make your head spin on what the word could mean.

Over the years, I’ve noticed that furniture definitely has its own vocabulary.  This is especially true when you are dealing with items from overseas.  There are many places in Europe that have made furniture, so you will run across words that are from another language.

You never know what you may run across, and here are some of the words that you may scratch your head over:

Pietre Dure—this is decorative work that uses inlaid, semi-precious stones to depict scenes.  These scenes are geometric patterns, floral motifs, farm scenes, and many more.  More often than not, you will see this on a table top.

Lit de repos—this is a day-bed.

Gueridon—this is a small, round table. It was made to support a candlestick or even a candelabrum.  It could almost get away as being called a side table.

Gesso—this is made from a composition material, it’s often made with chalk and parchment.  It’s made in a size that is commonly applied to furniture, picture frames and even mirrors.  This is a base upon which gilding (or even silvering) was applied to.

Coquille—this is a seashell or scallop shape.  The shape will often be seen on the top of a table or chair leg.

This is just a small sample of the vocabulary words that you might hear.  What have you heard?

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).

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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.

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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.

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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!

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.

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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).

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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 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?

What are some of the benefits of getting an item appraised?

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn My Background, Tips for the beginner, Vintage, Vintage, Vintage!, Wisdom LaneLeave a comment

You have a piece of jewelry from your grandmother, your dad’s vintage comic book collection from his youth, or even a piece of furniture that you picked up at an antique mall.  You know that the piece has value, and you are not sure if you want to get an appraisal on it.

What are some of the benefits of getting an item appraised?

There are several benefits when it comes to getting an appraisal.  The first reason (and probably best) is that it helps tell you the value of the item that you have.

The second reason is that it helps clear up any confusion on what the item is.  You could have heard several stories from the family, and each story identifies the item (or items) completely differently than what it actually is.

Another reason is that the appraisal helps you know if your item is real or not.  A good rule of thumb is to try to find someone who appraises items on a regular basis like what you have.  This will help with both the value and authenticity of the piece that you have.

When it comes to jewelry, the appraiser has equipment that helps determine what the types of stones that you could possibly have.

Another good benefit on appraisals is that you could also get everything written out telling what the item is.  This will also help with insurance (if it’s needed on the item).

What other types of benefits have you run across when you got an appraisal on an item you have?

Here’s some fun facts about PEZ dispensers

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

One of the things that I remember having around during my childhood is a PEZ dispenser.  The Hulk, Garfield and even Spiderman were some of the dispensers that I had, and nothing could beat that cherry flavored candy.

PEZ candy was first produced in Vienna, Austria in 1927.  The candy was first advertised as a compressed peppermint sweet, and PEZ is actually an abbreviation for PfeffErminZ (that’s German for peppermint).  These candies came in a tin that looks like what Altoids come in today.

When the dispensers came about, they were not always called that.  They were called “regulars”, and they looked a lot like a cigarette lighter.  They dispensed an adult breath mint that were marketed as an alternative to smoking.

When 1955 rolled around, the dispensers started to have character heads on them, and this happened after PEZ was introduced in the United States.  One example of these character heads is this POLICEMAN dispenser.

pez man

As you can see, the dispenser should have a police hat on it, but has been lost over time.  Over the years, PEZ has made dispensers with and without feet.

pez feet

As you can tell from the picture above this great example has no feet, and you can see this dispenser in my Etsy store here.

What kind of PEZ dispensers have you had?