Antique Microscope Slides

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INSPIRATION 2014 #26:  What a beautiful way to preserve and display specimens from nature!  Above are a few gorgeous examples of victorian specimen slides ~ their history and many more can be seen at Victorian Microscope Slides. The graphic labels and the hand lettering make these slides so interesting to look at ~ also makes me nostalgic for the days when penmanship was an important part of education.

Four Letter Humor

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INSPIRATION 2014 #20:  A friendly message cleverly wrapped up in a four letter word! Seemed appropriate today as I am feeling a bit behind with my "daily inspiration" as well as all the other things on my "to do" list!

Design by Gulshan Kishor and Mellin Paulo Bernardo.

Keeping in Mind . . .

INSPIRATION 2014 #4: Nice sentiment to keep in mind for the new year ~ as well as lovely typography.  I found this on Pinterest, but cannot find the source. If anyone knows who to attribute this to, please leave a link in the comments.

Walnut 2012 ~ Part 4

{tempting offering from West End Architectural Salvage}

If you've been following along for the last several posts, it is easy to see why the Walnut Antique Show is one of my favorites ~ there really is something for everyone. There is also a wide variety of dealers who display their wares in many different ways ~ from lovely vignettes like the one above, to items hastily scattered on a table top. You never really know where a treasure might turn up.

{vintage intercom/radio type system}

{beautifully designed speaker housing}

{antique cast iron book press ~ would love one of these!}

{painted cast iron squirrel doorstop}

{step used on a train that would be great in my kitchen!}

{unique baby swing that converts to a child's rocker ~ complete with dangerous pinchy springs!}

{wonderful folk art box made from matchsticks}

{lovely scales face}

{unique & beautifully designed clock face}

As I never leave an antique show without a few photos of graphics I like, Walnut is no exception ~ those below are some of my favorites. I especially love some of the most likely unintentional humorous names of products ~ one can tell they didn't use focus groups or worried about insulting anyone.

{wonder if this is what inspired Simon & Garfunkel?}

{Naturally, all bachelors are he men!}

{conveying all product info on a beautifully decorative label}

{Particular people DO care that their snaps are dependable}

Afternoon at an Antique Mall

{wonderful vintage thread display}

Most years when we travel to Walnut, Iowa for the annual AMVETS Antique Show, we usually stop in at the Enchanted Frog in Lathrop, MO to break up the trip a little ~ plus, who can knowingly drive by an antique mall and NOT stop?!

While the photos above aren't the greatest as they were taken through a glass cabinet, there was a large collection of Iroquois beaded pieces ~ pincushions, picture frames and even moccasins. As I have a small collection of this type of beadwork, I have found out that these were made by Indians to be sold at places like Niagara Falls as a souvenir. While I see these now and then, it isn't often I see so many at once!

I am always attracted to the graphics of the past as well ~ on this visit, it seemed like there were peacock motifs everywhere ~ above are two of the nicer examples. The color and design of the honey tin was also appealing ~ being a designer, I appreciate the time and effort that went into creating the beautiful packaging.

Despite its tattered appearance ~ or because of its tattered appearance, I really loved this Robin Brand candy label ~ the color was beautiful and it had just the right amount of dilapidation to appeal to me. I would guess that the candy label is from somewhere in the late 1800's to early 1900's ~ an era whose graphics are always so beautiful. But, I am also attracted to the more streamlined graphics popular during the 20's through the 40's as shown below on a powder box.

Another thing I always keep an eye out for are antique or vintage tools that I can use for various art projects. Not only can you sometimes find a great deal on a great quality tool, but many of these aren't even made any more. Below is a set of rubber stamps designed to be used for pricing in a store. These were fairly priced, but more than I wanted to pay ~ I thought the shape/format of the stamps was unusual though ~ rubber stamps are usually not mounted in this manner.

{vintage rubber stamps for making price tags}

{lovely pressed and perforated tin match safe with mirror}

{ancient (still accurate) barometer with great graphics}

As we found out later in the day, the barometer actually was still in working order ~ there was change ahead, but it was just a light rain this year, no tornado!

Crown Center Antique Show 2012 ~ Part 1

Time flies! The summer is more than halfway over and somehow I have gotten far behind with my posts ~ sorry for the delay. I suppose in some ways, it doesn't make much of a difference as I always do a post AFTER the event anyway and it isn't as if the antiques I post about will be out of style in a week or two! I do like to share what I see though, so I hope to do a better job of keeping up in the future. That said, here is Part 1 of some great items I saw while shopping at this year's Crown Center Antique Show in June ~ this year, nice weather ( a little hot), but no storms and most importantly, no flooding ~ both vendors and shoppers were happy about that!

First, some wonderfully beautiful tins. The first grouping illustrates gorgeous graphics and color, while the second tin shown is lovely because of the lack of color ~ I am always drawn to neutrals for some reason. I'd love to start a collection of sifters like those shown below ~ again, I guess it is the simplicity of color and patina along with the variety of graphics that appeals to me.

{good start for a sifter collection}

{cute child's Schoenhut piano with lovely graphics}

While I wasn't wild about the actual views that came with this set, I do think the box it was packaged in is beautifully designed. I was a bit curious as to what the Magic Lantern itself would look like ~ all that was being sold were the package of slides.

While we are on the subject of packaging, above is a set of stays (I think) that I was tempted to purchase just because I liked the way they look in their box. While I was sorely tempted, I held back and satisfied myself with a photo instead. Below is another example of some packaging I admired ~ very clever way to showcase the product while presenting it in a unique fashion. Since there is so little of this sort of thing done today, I guess that is why the old pieces are so intriguing to me.

I had to include the bowties as well ~ not that there is anything special about how they are packaged, but I just liked the variety of patterns and colors together ~ I am having a bit of remorse about passing these up ~ but then again, my dogs don't get invited to that many events that require formal attire, so I just couldn't rationalize the expenditure.

{any of these would have looked great on either my black or wheaten scottie!}

Stop by tomorrow ~ Part 2 will be posted ~ I promise!

Fabulous Finds ~ Cigar Box & Contents

Finally got a few photos taken today ~ here is my favorite (and fabulous!) find from the KC Flea Market I posted about previously. I bought this from a dealer (Jerry's Vintage Treasures) who was selling fine and expensive china, so it was rather a surprise to find this crunchy and dilapidated cigar box resting on a table amongst all the fine goods.

Despite it's tattered appearance, I just love the box as is. The graphics are just beautiful and the added labels are also very intricately designed. Notice that the top of the box is printed to look like wood even though the label was applied to a wooden box of a similar color. While the sides must have been totally covered at one time, now the paper labels are only partially present as shown below:

Best of all is what I found inside ~ can you guess? ~ post your guess in the comments if you dare! (Knitting group, shhhh!) The photo above provides a clue of sorts. I will post photos of the contents later this week, so stay tuned!

A Miscellaneous Mix

{rustic vignette at Good JuJu}

Don't know where the time has gone ~ had hoped to post this several days ago, but have gotten rather behind! (again!) As I didn't want to go back on my word, here is an odd mix of things I found interesting at a combination of antique malls (Lone Elm Antique Mall & Sentimental Journey Antique Mall) and Good JuJu in early June. I realized that I didn't end up with very many photos this time around, so went for quality rather than quantity. As there are lots of shows coming up, I'm sure I will have more to share in the following weeks.

{Adjust-o-Matic assemble-it-yourself cardboard dress form at Good JuJu}

Even though the dress form above is a little misshapen, I thought I would post a photo anyway since I think these are so neat and you don't see them often. I love the name "Adjust-oMatic" and the graphics on the piece ~ it is put together by the customer using metal brads. I have one of my own that is just the top portion, but is in better shape that the one shown above. I also bought one on ebay a long time ago that is vintage new in box ~ when I get some extra time I will have to get some photos taken and share ~ these make a great sculptural piece to use in a display or as an interesting piece in your home.

{Cast Iron Antique Pasta Machine from 1906}

{Vintage Penn's pen nib tin with wonderful graphics}

{Interesting tool display ~ would have been great if the tools were present!}

Well, please stay tuned for more to come ~ I will get that Surtex follow up posted ~ but have to take care of other priorities at the moment before I can get to that!

Back in the Saddle Again!

{saddle decorated with nails or tacks along with a flour bag with some pretty spiffy graphics}

So sorry for the time it has taken me to post something new, but I am back in the saddle again (pardon the visual pun, but it will buy me another day to prepare the other photos!) - finally!

Later this week I will share some more photos from my most recent antique/flea market jaunts as well as a recap about the Surtex trade show where I exhibited my work for the first time. I wish I would have been able to document and blog about my experiences leading up to the show while it was happening, but I just couldn't squeeze it in. It has been an extremely busy, tiring, but exciting last couple of months, so slowly settling back to normal life and getting caught up on all that got left on the back burner.