Tuesday 31 May 2011

Photographs taken 31st May 2011 Berwick-upon-Tweed, England.

Red boat with reflection of clouds in water.
Boats with reflection of Georgian houses in water, Berwick-upon-Tweed.


Happy dog with stick, but no feet.
Nesting  blackbird.



Blue boat with 15th century bridge in background.

Interior red boat.


Monday 30 May 2011

Plant survival

A tiny plant makes its home in between stones in an ancient wall.  A survivor.

Saturday 28 May 2011

Monsieur, Comte d'Artois, King Charles X of France.

Early 19th century French creamware plate with portrait of Monsieur, Comte d'Artois. He was born 1757 in Versailles, France, grandson of Louis XV of the Bourbon House. He was crowned king Charles X of France and Navarre !824 - 30. He died in Austria 1836. 

Thursday 26 May 2011

Wednesday 25 May 2011

Monday 23 May 2011

Old jars, Numol and Moutarde de Maille

Numol was advertised as a body building food containing Lecithin, recommended for children and adults. The  smaller French jar contained mustard with vinegar.

Sunday 22 May 2011

Fashionable hats for gentlemen, the bowler and the homburg

Original round cardboard hat box Glasgow c1900.

A homburg is a stiff felt hat with a crease along the crown. It is popularly referred to as the 'Godfather hat', made even more popular by gangster films.  Homburgs were generally worn by upper class gents, and in America it is known as the derby.
Gilt paper label inside bowler.
The bowler hat was named after William and Thomas Bowler. It was created by James Lock the London hatters in c1850 for a farmer William Coke, thus it was also called the coke.  
Maker's name printed on silk lining inside homburg.

Saturday 21 May 2011

Olivetti portable typewriter, the Lettera 22, c1960






















The Olivetti Company was founded in 1908 in Ivrea, Turin, by Camillo Olivetti. Its first overseas plant  in 1930 was opened by Adriano Olivetti. The Olivetti typewriter is famous for its design, the Olivetti Lettera 22 was designed by  Marcelle Nizzoli in c1950.

Thursday 19 May 2011

Remington portable typewriter, the 'Quiet-Riter'

A Remington portable 'Quiet-Riter'.
Instruction booklets for the Remington Rand touch typing method and the  'Quiet-Riter'.

































The E. Remington manufacturing firm was founded in 1816 by Eliphalet Remington in llion,  New York. At first the firm manufactured firearms,  they were famous particularly for making rifle barrels which were known for their high quality and reasonable price. Remington supplied the U.S. Army with rifles for the Mexican-American war (1846-1848), and  went on to produce  breech-loading rifles and sewing machines. In 1886 E.Remington and Sons sold its typewriter company to The Standard Typewriter Company Inc., and included the rights to its name Remington Typewriter Co.
The heavy duty typewriter 'The Quiet - riter' was produced in the fifties and is famous for its miracle tab feature.  Bob Dylan used  a similar Remington for writing his lyrics.

Monday 16 May 2011

Antique floor tiles

3 antique floor tiles. Clockwise from top left,  -  mid 19th century encaustic tile with Christian fish symbol from Burford Church, (England).  Small 19th century tile with flower design, and French art nouveau encaustic tile of c1900. Encaustic tiles are hard wearing and were very popular in the 19th century for hallways and passage ways, many beautiful examples were made by Minton. 

Sunday 15 May 2011

The Gourmet Pie Cup, (or pie funnel etc) c1900

This pottery pie funnel c1900 with the rather pretentious name of  'The Gourmet Pie Cup' was made in England, it has a registration number and is patented. Pie funnels were also called pie ventilators, pie crust supports, pie preservers, pie cups, and pie birds (American). They were designed to stop pie juices oozing onto the floor of the oven, spilling onto the pastry, or to stop the pastry sagging. From c1880 every household would have had one or several pie funnels.  Prior to this date households would have had to use egg cups  pieces of bone or macaroni etc.  As well as pottery,  pie funnels were  made of glass, aluminium, and plastic, and sometimes made in the form of birds, elephants etc.  

Wednesday 11 May 2011

Just Onions

Painting of onions on a red cloth, by Tessa Bennett.                                                                                      

Tuesday 10 May 2011

3 French antique glass smoke bells

3 French antique milk glass smoke bells.  These were also sometimes made of brass and other metals. In the 19th century smoke bells were usually suspended above a hanging lamp to prevent soot from blackening the ceiling.

Friday 6 May 2011

Washing up, 3 changing pictures

3 sepia drawings in oil pastel depicting  the ever changing face of washing up.           By Tessa Bennett.                                                                                               

Thursday 5 May 2011

Staffordshire dogs with glass eyes

2 large Staffordshire china dogs,  sometimes called pot dogs - mantelpiece dogs, or Wullie dogs (in Scotland).  They come in many shapes and sizes, sometimes painted in black or rust on white, and are based on the King Charles Cavalier spaniel.  Queen Victoria popularised these spaniels, particularly with her famous dog called 'Dash'. They were made from c1840 to about 1900.  The dogs above have glass eyes which is unusual, and  have a haughty expression. They were made in the latter part of the 19th century.

Wednesday 4 May 2011

Native American D'Jelmako, Le Roi des Tireurs Aeriens, 1908

 
A souvenir portrait of the famous high wire shooter  D' Jelmako 1908.  Thought to be half  Native American and half French, D'Jelmako  was well known for his daring acts, and appeared on posters of the time as Le Blondin - Le Roi des Tireurs Aeriens. 

Tuesday 3 May 2011

Native Americans

A picture of Chief Hollow Horn Bear, a Sioux  Native American  in his magnificent tribal dress. The Sioux name derives from the French term that translates as enemy. 
A picture of Hector Crawley,  a Stoney (Nakoda) Native American. The Nakoda were a First Nation group indigenous to both Canada and the United States. The name Stoney was given to them by white explorers in explanation of their cooking habits.They are also known as Stone Sioux.  They are now located in Alberta and Saskatchewan
A picture of 2 Stoney Braves dressed in their magnificent tribal clothes,
Pictures taken c1900 - 10,  on the reserve around Calgary