This and That: A Blog

Giving you a break this week from the ephemera!  Here are some items found a various spots around town. Japanese earthenware from 1955-1965 from St. Vincent de Paul.  Not a big bargain at $5.  (So much glare from the windows...) A cast concrete froggy who looks like he's enrapturedly praying to his froggy god (or he sees his beloved passing by).   He's from the Goodwill Bins. Salt cellar with cobalt blue glass insert and period-appropriate spoon (not original to the cellar) from St. Vincent de Paul for $4.  The garland motif, ball feet, and openwork design were popular around 1880-1910.  The liner is possibly German or Austrian.  Its deep blue protected the silver from corrosion caused by the salt.  The spoon is marked “850 S" which is Continental silver, 85% silver.  Sterling silver is 92.5% and marked 925. The spoon is also most likely German or Austrian from the same date period.   The frame is not marked, it might be s...

There was an estate sale down the street last month.  The photos online didn't show much of interest, so I skipped the first day, a Friday.  Saturday my son and I were driving around to sales and figured we'd stop in.  I'm glad we did.  While he didn't find anything (well, he did, but decided he didn't have room for more cameras!), I did!  Salt and pepper shakers.  It was half-off day so I didn't hold back. My second pair of Kasin Molded Products atomic/space ship shakers with bullet or ball point tips. My other pair is yellow.  1950s-1960s, these were the company's most recognized product.  Bagged together with a boring 1960s aluminum pair I didn't keep, these were just 50¢.  I can't seem to get into the pepper to clean it! Top: Lobsters!  1950s-1960s.  Actually my second set of lobster shakers.  $1.00 Middle: These late 50s to early 60s Japanese made dog and cat were $1.50. Bottom: Souvenirs of Mexico, these are missing the h...

Cee's Fun Foto Challenge The Crayola Box of 8 - Black 

Cee's Fun Foto Challenge The Crayola Box of 8 - Green 

 St. Vincent de Paul put out a lot of new donations!   As you can see, there were a lot of postcards, and some old photos. The red bag held the non-paper items.  Seven of which were dogs. The Rio Hondo (El Monte, CA 1939-1950s) hound, top, was a bargain at just $1.75. The middle pup is from Ceramic Arts Studio, one they made between 1951-1954.  The company was based in Wisconsin and closed in 1956.   The bottom dog is unmarked, probably a midcentury Japanese import. While reminiscent of Rio Hondo, these are Hagen-Renaker , another southern California pottery.  These are three of their "miniature early" figures, made between 1949 and 1952, when they were still in Monrovia. The company was started by John and Maxine Renaker in their garage in 1945, where John set up a kiln by running a garden house from the kitchen's gas stove. Their daughter now runs the company.  I'd heard of Hagen-Renaker before (their little figures are sold glued to paper ...

 I found what I think are some nice things to share this week!   First, from St. Vincent de Paul, my first salt and pepper shakers in the nodder form.  They're the cutest shakers I've ever seen!  I was happy to pay $8 for them.   They are older than I expected, made in Japan by the Takito Company (1880-1948) between 1935 and 1945. Moving on the a Goodwill store.  A Makonde, Tanzania, carving from mpingo (African blackwood). The dark wood isn't painted or stained, it's the heartwood, the pale is the sapwood, the live outer layer under the bark. It's about 6" high and probably made in the 1960s. In the 70s they began using power tools, and this shows chisel marks. There are several different types of these carvings, this is the Binadamu, realistic human figures representing everyday people.  I only paid $3.88!  Now to the Goodwill Outlet, or Bins. A fabulous birdhouse! It's folk art, most likely done in Connecticut or upstate New York, pa...

 A few cute things from a few St. Vincent de Paul trips.   A cute little bone china pup made in Japan c. 1950s-1960s.  Someone donated a few small dog figurines, but the manager priced most at over $6 due to them being "original" so and so made.  Not worth it.  These 4" ceramic fish were just 75¢ each and puzzled me when I bought them.  What are they?  Whistles!  Or to be specific, "edge-blown aerophones," like fish-shaped bottle flutes. Yes, they work just like blowing across a bottle, or playing a flute. Which I did, played the flute, for years.  My father was completely unable to play a flute, or even make a noise blowing on a bottle!  These are Japanese made, sold as good-luck items, from around 1960-1970.  Red Wing Pottery salt and pepper shakers in the Lexington pattern produced roughly 1941-1957, in their hand-painted dinnerware era. The two different shapes through me, and the manager.  She had them displayed in se...

    Cee's Fun Foto Challenge   Photos of Your Hobby Oh, dear... my hobby?   Thrifting.   Second-hand stores.  Yard sales.  Estate sales.  Church rummage sales.  Goodwill Outlet bins.  Free piles on the curb after weekend garage sales. I am a collector of many things, but predominately: Salt and Pepper Shakers Dogs Postcards Stamps Last, but by far the least, I thrift artwork!   If you aren't familiar with my Tuesday posts, they are a feature I call Tuesday Treasures, where I share my latest thrifted finds.  Tomorrow will actually be five pieces of art found at St. Vincent de Paul and Goodwill. 

 I had a birthday last week, and all my presents were pre-owned, either thrifted or from eBay, which often doesn't offer the bargains you'll find thrifting, but still secondhand. You may remember this from a post on my lost blog.  One of my sons bought this for me in July from Goodwill.  It's matted and framed, I usually omit including those in post photos. Untitled rainy cityscape on newsprint by California artist Mary Pedri (1912-1908)  According to the label on the back of the frame it won an award at a festival in 1963. A friend gave me these early 1950s salt and pepper shakers.  They are Bonzo the Dog , a very popular cartoon character in the 1920s, one of the world's first cartoons, and inspiration for mass marketed merchandise.  His artist retired him in the 1930s, but had a second wave of popularity, especially in Japan, in the 1950s.  Without the Internet and image searches they would remain just strange little dogs!  I was surprised when...

 I did go to the flea market on Sunday.  The temperature that day was only in the 80°s, sunny with a breeze.   I browsed inside first.  The first seller I saw had postcards, but unfortunately he wanted $5 each!  I bought none.  I didn't find much else inside.  I got a pair of Japanese lusterware salt and pepper shakers, a pair of 1950s promotional giveaway Mr. Peanut for my son, and a 1940s glass "Mopey" dog.  The dog would have held little multi-colored candies.  On to the outside, which was one of the fairground parking lots.  I didn't realize until I got home that other than the glass dog all I bought were salt and pepper shakers!  That's because in the last row I went down outside I found sellers with nothing but shakers!  They had inherited them, and were still unwrapping them for the first time.  They, and I, oohed and aahed as they took them out, and I got a first grab at them!  Not really, no grabbing, bu...