Tag: vintage

A little Lefton Pottery history

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

George Zoltan Lefton was a Hungarian-born sportswear manufacturer, and he had a big passion for collecting fine porcelain.  From 1945 through 1953, the Lefton pottery company was importing many things from postwar Japan including (but not limited to) head vases, figurines, cookie jars, and salt and pepper shakers.

These items are marked “Made In Occupied Japan,” and the figures even sport a red and gold paper label that read “Lefton’s Exclusives Japan.”

Lefton contracted pottery companies around the world to produce ceramic items for Lefton.  These items are just as diverse as what they imported.

One of these really cool items that was imported is this 25th Anniversary Plate.

The silver decorator plate dates to the 1970’s and can be seen in my Etsy shop here.  Another item that shows how diverse Lefton is this great nappy.

You can see the nappy in my Etsy shop here.  As a matter of fact, you can see all of the Lefton pieces in my shop here.  Head on over and check them out!

Wow, those are great flower vases to decorate with!

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn Functional items, gift ideas, Glassware, Vintage, Vintage, Vintage!Leave a comment

Flower vases can be as varied as the flowers that they can hold.  They can be made of a wide variety of materials like pottery and glass, and the color combinations are limitless.  Blue, gold, red and green are just some of the colors that you will see.

Like the materials and the colors, the companies that have made vases are countless.  Hull, Hall, Fenton and even Stangl are just some of the companies that have made an example.

One vase that would look terrific just about anywhere is this one by West Coast Pottery.

This cool gray and maroon fan vase dates to the 1950’s, and it is mold number 901.  You can check this vase out in my Etsy shop here.

Another vase that would look great holding flowers is this one that was made by Fenton from 1970 to 1974.

The vase has the Drapery pattern on it, and it has a color called rose satin. The vase can be seen in my Etsy shop here.

Another company that made quite a few vases is Hull Pottery. They made a wide variety of vases like this one from the 1940’s.

It sports the ROSELLA pattern on it, and the pattern looks like it sports Dogwood blooms.  You can see this terrific vase in my Etsy shop here.

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

Wisdom Lane Antiques Store Highlight: Joe Mattson Signed Art Glass Vase

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn Functional items, gift ideas, Glassware, Vintage, Vintage, Vintage!Leave a comment

This Wisdom Lane Antiques Store Highlight features a terrific art glass vase that was made by Joe Mattson.

Joe Mattson

Joe Mattson is a self-taught glass artist, and he began working in glass in 1976.

The shapes, forms and even the patterns he makes in glass are like those of the Art Nouveau era from the early 1900s.  The items that Joe Mattson makes in glass are primarily one-of-a-kind pieces that he calls contemporary traditional glass.

joe mattson bottom

This terrific one-of-a-kind handmade vase has a white milk glass background with an orange zig zag pattern on it.  Not only that, it also has a flared top edge and a great hour glass shape to it.  I also like the fact that the top is not too small to where you can show off a good-sized bouquet of flowers in it.

joe mattson top

You can see this terrific signed Joe Mattson vase in my Etsy shop here.  Head on over and check it out!

What are some of the different types of marbles that you will run across?

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn Beginning to collect, Glassware, Tips for the beginner, Toys, Vintage, Vintage, Vintage!, Vocabulary WordsLeave a comment

Marbles are a fun area to collect with a wide variety of them to find.  There are so many different names out there, it can make your head spin.  Here’s a few of the names that you will run across:

Bennington—this type of marble got their name from Bennington pottery in Vermont.  They made some spotted pottery that looks like this type of marble.  Bennington marbles have a blue or even brown glaze, and the marbles aren’t completely round.  This is because Benningtons have a circular unglazed spot on them that is a result from it touching another marble while still wet with glaze.

Steelies—this is actually a ball bearing that is being used as a marble.

Peewees—these are very small marbles that measure less than a 1/2 inch wide.

Onion Skins—these are End of the day marbles in which colored flecks of glass are stretched while these are being made.  This is so the core has may swirls that resembles an onion.

This is just a handful of the names that you will run across when you are dealing with marbles.  What names have you run across?

Let’s take in the scenery…of the sea?!?

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn Fenton, Ruby Lane, Vintage, Vintage, Vintage!Leave a comment

Every once in a while, it’s great to take in some new scenery–it could be a new town, a park…or even the sea!

One of the best ways to help you capture this is this terrific vase by Fenton.

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This wonderful Burmese vase was produced in 1985 by Fenton.  Not only that, it is a limited edition–and it is number 220 of 950.  The vase features a SEA SCENE which has shells, star fish and a sea horse.

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The sea scene that is on this vase was hand painted by Deanna Barbour, and the vase has been signed on the bottom.  Not only that, it also has the original paper Fenton labels on the bottom.

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What a wonderful way to add a pop of color to any room!  You can check out this terrific find in my Ruby Lane shop here!  Head on over and check it out!

Three things to consider when you sell an item online

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn Selling tips, Tips for the beginner, Vintage, Vintage, Vintage!Leave a comment

When I first started to sell online, there were some things that I found out pretty fast.  Here’s a few of them:

The weight of an item matters.  This will be a major factor of how much shipping and handling that you charge for an item.  The weight will be a combination of the box, packing materials and the item itself.  A good rule of thumb is to find a box that is a little bigger than the item to you are shipping, but not too big—it will definitely cost you more.

There are restrictions on what items can be sold.  Each website that you sell on will tell you what you can and CAN NOT sell, and each selling website will tell you when you set up your seller’s account.  If you already have seller’s account, you can find this pretty fast in the HELP section of the website.

Use social media to your benefit.  Facebook, Twitter and even Pinterest come in very handy when you want to spread the word that you have listed an item—I usually include a photo when I am on one of these sites so people can also see what’s for sale.

This is just a few of the things to consider when you sell an item online.  What other things have you found out?

All the different colors of glassware can make your head spin!

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn Beginning to collect, Glassware, Shopping tips, Tips for the beginner, Vintage, Vintage, Vintage!, Vocabulary WordsLeave a comment

Whenever you are shopping for vintage glassware, hearing all of the different colors of vintage glassware can make your head spin.  Here’s some of the colors that you can run across:

Ice blue—this is a very pale color of blue, and it can have a pastel iridescence if it is on a piece of carnival glass.

Vaseline glass—this is a glass color that has had uranium salts added to the molten glass mix.  When you look at this type of glass under normal lighting, the glass will appear to be yellow or even a yellow green.  When this glass is hit with an ultraviolet light (a blacklight), the glass will fluoresce in a very bright green (it looks like it could be glowing).

Reverse amberina—this is a type of glassware that is the opposite of amberina.  The central part of the glassware is red and it blends out to yellow at the edges (amberina is yellow at the center and it turns red at the edge).

Amber—this type of glass can vary from almost a yellow to a brown.  The best way to visualize the color of amber that is used when jewelry is made.

Horehound—this type of glassware is an amber color with a gray hue to it.  Some collectors call this color of glassware “Root beer”.

This is a small sample of what you can find on glassware.  What other colors have you run across?

Great examples of glassware serving pieces that you can find

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn Functional items, gift ideas, Glassware, Serving sets, Vintage, Vintage, Vintage!Leave a comment

When it comes to finding serving pieces for the table, you can find some great glassware items in a wide variety of shapes and sizes.  Tumblers, creamers and even plates are only a few examples that you can find.

One terrific example that you can find is this milk glass creamer.

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Not only is it made out of milk glass, this terrific 1930’s creamer also sports a silverplate handle and spout.  To make things even better, it has a hand painted and embossed floral motif on it.  You can see this creamer in my Etsy shop here.

Another great serving piece that you could find is this great nut dish.

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This great nut dish was made in the 1950’s by Westmoreland, and it sports a light blue satin mist color.  The dish also has an enameled floral motif on it, and it could also double as a candy dish.  You can see this dish in my Etsy shop here.

Cruets are perfect for your favorite salad dressing, and they can also be great to display on any table.  This pair would be perfect to do both.

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This pair was made by Hazel Atlas in the 1950’s, and they sport a frosted look with a hand painted floral motif on them.  You can see them in my Etsy shop here.

As a matter of fact, you can see all of the great glassware serving items in my Etsy shop here.  Head on over and check them out!

Make sure you tip your waitress!

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

Tip trays have been around for many years now, and they can be found with a wide variety of advertising on them.  It could be an advertisement for beer, a company or even a soda pop company like Coca Cola.

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In 1914, Coca Cola made the tip tray pictured above.  As you can see, it has a picture of a Victorian Era Woman in a bonnet or hat.

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This advertising tip tray was made out of tin. Tip trays like this one are a rarity to come by with the original paint, since the coins they meet every day tend to wear most of it off.  To top it off, the paint on the edges of the tray get worn off pretty fast as well from being handled every day.

You can see this terrific tip tray in my Etsy store here.  Head on over and check it out!

Vintage furniture pieces that you may not run across everyday

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

When you are out and about shopping for vintage items, you will run across some vintage furniture that you may not know what it is.  Here’s a couple of pieces that you might run across:

Tallboy—this is a piece of furniture that incorporates a chest of drawers with a wardrobe on top.  The tallboy was considered to be the wardrobe of the 1700’s.

Highboy—this is a piece of furniture that consists of a double chest of drawers (it’s also known as a chest-on-chest).  This piece of furniture has a lower section that is usually wider than the upper section.

Pie safe—this is also referred to as a pie cabinet, pie safe cupboard, or even a pie chest.  It is a piece of furniture that is typically used to store pies.  The cabinet will have sections that consist of either pierced metal or screen to help the pies cool.  In the past, some people also stored meat, perishables, and other items inside of their pie safes.

Hoosier cabinet—this is also known simply as a “Hoosier”.  It is a type of cupboard (or even a free–standing kitchen cabinet) that also serves as a workstation.  It was popular in the first few decades of the 1900’s.  This was because most of the houses did not have built–in kitchen cabinetry.

This is just a few of the vintage furniture pieces that you may not run across everyday.  What other pieces have you run across?