How Old is This!

I spotted this pushup candleholder at a sale at an old church in Clearwater. At first it looked like just another brass thing from India but upon closer examination it appears to be very old. I reached this conclusion by the wear, patina and construction. Any help with this would be appreciated. The area around the push up device is black with wear. It is stuck in place by old wax which I have had no success in removing.

A Couple Great Finds this Weekend

Memorial Day weekend was a good one for us. I showed a couple of items earlier but thought I would save these two unusual ones for last. The first is this frosted bottle that held I can only guess what. From the design and construction my feeling is it was made around 1900 and held a feminine product of some sort. It may be European. I have seen reproductions of these but this is the first time I have found a real one. It is large, around eight ounces so I don't think it held perfume! It is what my wife would call a very romantic piece!

These two are California Angels. Not retired baseball players but a pair of cherubs marked Santa Anita Ware, California. They have a lovely white glaze and nice detail. I wish I had these when I did the post on Califonia Pottery last week. They were made somewhere in the middle of the 20th century, most likely in the 1960s.

Thanks to Efusjonweave and Faithful 5252 for becoming my followers. Please come back soon. My next post will be about finding unusual wall art!

Two Weekend Finds

My wife was very happy that right before leaving a church rummage sale I spotted this large pink depression glass bowl that was wrapped in plastic. Because of the wrapping no one saw it! A great 5.00 find to add to her collection of pink glass! It has a cherry blossom pattern that can't be seen in the picture!

This black and white flour tin is around 100 years old. It has a lot of rust but will look good in the right place. It is 14 inches high with a latching top and two bail handles.

Meanwhile back in Frogpatch Abigull Van Bird wrote an article in the Frogpatch Dispatch that smoking should be banned within one mile of anything green. I agree!

These are weeds!

I spotted these with binoculars from my terrace, growing along the bay here in Clearwater, when I was trying to identify the sqwawking birds that wake me every morning. I went doem to the water and cut some and my wife had me place them in this antique ironstone pitcher. They look nice on the vintage iron table outside. I think the white ones are Queen Annes Lace but I do not know what the purple one are. The white flowers were on six foot tall plants. I never found the birds however. I am sure they will be waking me up at daybreak.

Thank You Yvonne for becoming a follower of my blog! I am honored!

Save a Plant

Every now and then I go to the local Loews store and in the back of the nursery there is a section where they put plants that look like they have arrived at deaths door. I picked up this little Lantana plant for a dollar, stuck it in an empty pot and put this little guy in charge. I told him if it did not grow and get flowers he would become a Travelocity trainee. So far the plant has gone from wilted to standing. I will post its progress through the hot Florida summer. I wonder what color it is?

Using Vintage Glassware

At the end of prohibition in 1933 the country was in the midst of the Great Depression. People were now allowed to legally indulge in the consumption of alcoholic beverages and did they ever! Distilleries and breweries rushed to get product out the door to meet the demand. Glass manufacturers produced fancy glassware in feel good colors that was often used in promotional giveaways. Today it is known as Depression Glass. After the U.S. became involved in the second world war, the golden era of cocktails was born and lasted through the early 1960s. Companies such as Heisey, Fostoria and others produced glassware tailored to a well heeled public that is today referred to as Elegant Glass. Here is a picture of an assortment of glassware that dates from the 1930s through the 1970s from our personal collection that we have accumulated over the years. Many delicious concoctions have been enjoyed with them.

California Pottery

California Pottery refers to Art Pottery from various companies in the mid 20th century. The most common and familiar are the brightly colored pieces from the 1960s that are usually marked simply Calif. with a letter and number. The example pictured was picked up at a yard sale in NJ a few years ago and is now for sale in my Etsy store. The most common colors are orange and turquoise. A few years ago I found a six piece chip and dip on a Lazy Susan in pink and black. It fetched a good price on eBay. My wife would not let me keep it! She is not a big retro fan!

American Pressed Pattern Glass

Very attractive and made in hundreds of patterns from the middle of the 19th century through the first part of the 20th century American pattern glass is the bargain of the antique world if you are looking for clear pieces. The colored ones are pricey and hard to find but the clear patterns are readily available at affordable prices and add a nice vintage touch to any table. In this picture are four pieces that we found recently. The compote is signed with the Higbee Bee mark and is called Thistle. The vase appears to be flint glass as it is much clearer than the rest although it dose not have the characteristic ring of most early flint. These pieces were all found at yard sales and rummage sales for less than 10.00 each. I think I paid 5.00 for the little pitcher at a sale right on my street.

Thanks Chris for being my first follower. Please email me at frogpatch@gmail.com if there is anything you would like to see!

Collecting Florida Kitsch

I went to a Florida Kitsch show at the Biltmore Hotel in Florida a couple of years ago and was shocked at some of the prices that these items commanded. Some I must admit were not kitsch. Webster decribes it as "made for the mainstream or non discriminate." There were some lovely old advertisements such as charming fruit crate labels and airline ads and some real art from the Highwaymen, a school of Florida painters. But for the most part it was kitsch. I looked around my place here in Clearwater and realized that I had unconciuosly built a tacky collection myself.

In the hall closet was this green and gold serving piece made of the part of a palm leaf that attaches it to the trunk from the late 1950s or early 196os. (pictured above left) In the china closet was a Flamingo Thermometer that my wife must have bought without my knowledge on a trip here from New Jersey years ago. They still sell these, along with alligator heads and coconut patties at those stands with all the plastic oranges outside. This tin with the palm trees was made in Ohio for the Florida Market and once contained cookies. There were a couple old postcards and two flamingo prints that hang on our wall in the dining area, one of which is shown here above left .Just when I thought I was done my wif drags out the epitome of Florida Kitsch. A 1950s vintage Florida tablecloth. Life could not become more kitschy!

If you are in the market for Florida Collectible do not look in Florida as they were usually purchased by tourists. The pictures came from a flea market at Monmouth Racetrack in New Jersey. The tablecloth from an estate sale in NJ also. I am not sure about the others except for these postcards. They were purchased here in Clearwater. They were never mailed.

Meanwhile back in Frogpatch, Billy Bob Bobcat says he is planning on opening a day spa! Says he needs to get his nails done! I think he has been watching too much real housewives.

Little Cabinets With Drawers

Some people call them sewing cabinets, spice cabinets or even screw cabinets. Whatever you put in them thats what they are for. I will want to put fish hooks and sinkers in the long one but I am sure my wife will have another idea to overrule me! What ever their use they are extemely popular items to sell! I particularly like the old paint on the white one. These were both recent yard sale finds!

You Never Know What You Will Find

While digging through piles of pictures at a local thrift store I came across this original oil painting that was marked $5.00 the frame appears to be from the 1950s because of its minmalist look. On the bottom left corner of the frame waqs a little round folded price tah that my wife spotted as we were checking out. It was selling for $250.00 50 years ago. I have tried to research the artist but I am unsure of the spelling in the signature. If you can make it out please let me know! The picture is very well executed. Look at the lighting, shadows, motion and texture. I have always found artwork to be the most challenging when it comes to research. The experts want to be paid for their info and are wrong very often. There are website that are helpful but you have to be a paid member to research there. I have several pieces that are sitting in a closet for lack of information!

Tax Dollars at Work These municipal workers, in Clearwater Florida, are waiting for two others to finish digging a hole by hand that will take a couple hours. Do the math

You Have To See This

This was in the Antwerp Belgium Train Station. 200 dance to the Sound of Music.

Look What We Found

No matter how many years I look for vintage and antique items I never fail to come up with a stumper. Look at this stemware. This glass is one of seven that were purchased at an estate sale in Neptune New Jersey. At the same sale we found items as old as 1860 through the 1950s. To of the glasses are slightly smaller than the others. The actual color of the stem is a graywhite.If anyone can tell me anything at all please email me a www.frogpatch.com

Recapping the New Days of the Week

Last week I thought that the medieval names of the days of the week should be updated and I came up with some suggestions.

Monday I thought should be a work optional day where employers should reward you with a Bloody Mary just for showing up. I want to change the name to Someday as that is the day we are all looking forward to unlike Monday.

Tuesday is the first day of the week when most people actually get work done. I thought Oneday would be a great name for it because everyone is going to accomplish something great one day and now they have a day just for that!

Wednesday has to get that cliche of hump day disassociated with it. The Germans simply call it Mittwoch or Mid week. I like that, so I will follow suit and call it simply Middleday.

Thursday is that day that sits just to the right of the center of the work week. It is not the weekend yet encourages some thought of it. It is kind of just there. So I will call it Thatday. We all remember that day.

Friday is one of the Big Three. It is a day of great anticipation and around three in the afternoon people start emailing friends. Playing music on their desk tops and stop paying serious attention to their jobs. If you are a saleperson and you call on a customer late that day, you have no life. It was originally named for the Norse God Frigg. I do not think Friggday sounds to good. I want to name this one Yayday as that is what everyone says a quitting time!

Saturday rocks! It is by far the best day of the week. Lucky 7. On this day you still have one more day off ahead to sleep late if you wish. I have renamed this Whattaday.

Sunday I left as is because changing the name would cause to many problems. Besides being named after the sun is a good thing.

So here they are in order. Sunday, Someday, Oneday, Middleday, Thatday. Yayday and Whattaday. Enjoy your new week!

I Missed Two Days

I was overwhelmed on Friday so I had no chance to post. Please accept my apologies and take this flower as a token of my regrets. It was one of those days where I had to run here and there and by the time I was done the day was also.

So lets talk about Friday! Friday is such a popular day that Robinson Crusoes sidekick's mom even named her son after it. That created a whole occupational group in the 1950's called Gal Friday which in the liberal 60's became Guy/Gal Friday, changed to administrative assistant soon after. The saying Thank God it's Friday became simply TGIF and from that sprang a national restaurant chain. The actual origin of the name was in honor of the Norse goddess Frigg. Imagine if we called it Friggday. When I was little I thought this was actually Fry Day as all my Catholic friends ate fish on that day.This one really needs a new name. Because it is the day that precedes Saturday and is one of the trinity of good days it should have a cheerful name. I think we should call it Yayday because Yay is what most people say at the end of their workday.

Now it is Saturday, the Mickey Mantle of the week. Good old number 7. Even its number is lucky. It is the Sabbath for the Jewish people and just a day that rocks for anyone else that has the day off. There is that great "I am off tomorrow" feeling that lasts all day and late into the night. Back in the 70s the only show that ever kept people home on Saturday Night exploded on the scene. SNL as it is fondly known today is still going strong over thirty years later. This day is named after Saturn. That is way too days of yoresque. I think we should call this one Whattaday because what a day it is.

Now we are on to Sunday. I think this one should be left alone or all the kids that go to Sunday school will be wandering around lost all week. Too many churches would have to change their signs and blue laws and liquor laws would have to be rewritten. Remember the song Sunday will never be the same? We do not nee Spanky and Our Gang to become prophetic do we? So we will leave Sunday alone. After all it is a day of rest for many of us and is named for the Sun which is a good place to rest in on Sunday.