Category: All About

Just a Spoon.

10/15/2014

Just a spoon.

Or so I thought.

Awhile back, I was given a vintage spoon to research, I found the spoon on the internet and in the process discovered a lot about spoons and silver in general!

http://www.hoardersworld.co.uk/elizabethan-tudor-spoon-c1500-in-fine-english-pewter-293-p.asp

I have never really thought about the parts of a spoon before, but this particular spoon had a makers mark on the “drop” or “neck”, so I went looking for the makers mark first and when that dead ended, I began trying to think of other ways to approach this task. While trying to find words to put into the computer to help locate this spoon, I decided to dissect the spoon into parts. The following is what I found:

courtesy photo

A - bowl tip or rim

B - bowl

C - drop or neck

D - shoulder or heel

E - stem or transition

F - handle or thread

G – terminal or tip

This diagram of spoon gave me the era in which my spoon might have been made.

This is a diagram of the parts of a knife.

So, next time you start to take a bite of your cereal, remember...

Sometimes, even a spoon is more than just a spoon.

Leave us a comment and tell us what items have taught you

"There's more here than meets the eye".

Next time you want to identify a piece of silver the information will all be in one spot and your search will be shorter.

Happy Hunting.

-The GA Gang

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Grandma's Gate to Indian Screen Door

9/22/2014

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Three months after the opening of Grandma’s Attic in 2010 we were in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. We were going through antique shops to get ideas and find merchandise, when we came upon “the gate”! We snatched it up and brought it to its new “home”, because you don’t find a piece like that everyday!

For awhile we had it just leaning against a wall. Then we decided to put it up in the doorway between the back room and the front room of Grandma’s Attic. It is an older gate and someone had to have spent a lot of time arching the top. My thoughts were that is was a European gate because I have seen gardens in Italy and on the internet with similar gates. We didn’t know for sure where it came from or what it was used for, but we knew it was attention grabbing, we got price inquiries almost daily! It is a part of the character of Grandma's Attic.

Then in June of this year, a vendor brought in another gate set. This one had the exact same latch and was shaped the same, as well as having bars that are the same size as our gate. The person that sold the gate to our vendor said that the gate is from India.

That got me to thinking about an incident that had happened when I took a trip to India in 2009. We got up one morning and everyone was pulling clothes from the lines, closing windows and doors. Apparently, there had been a monkey alert. Roving monkeys had moved into our community and they are curious characters. The radio had announced the movement of the monkey troops around town.

It was then that I remember seeing two doors together-one was solid and one made with bars. These gates are normally placed in front of traditional wood doors, allowing air ventilation into a home, while keeping the roving animals out. This type of door/gate combinations makes perfect sense with the freedom animals have in India.

This started my internet search on gates from India. There is not a lot to find.

Courtesy Photo

I found this one ^, but it was not exactly the same.
I believe maybe there was a specific era that this type of gate was built in, and the lack of finding them on the internet is because India has changed the style somewhat in current years.

Well, that’s it then, one of the novelties of Grandma’s Attic has had its secret discovered! It is a set of gates from India that they use as their front and back doors.

We’d love to have you stop in and see our “Indian screen doors”!

-The GA Gang

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The Teacup's Secret

9/16/2014

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This is a beautiful little Japanese tea cup that we have in the store right now.

At first glance, that's all it appears to be, is a beautiful little tea cup,
but sometimes, looks can be deceiving!

If you finish your tea, and glance into the bottom of your now empty cup, you will notice that the bottom surface of the cup is uneven. Nothing too exciting, really.

Then you may think, "Hey, that looks a little like a picture. A face, maybe?"

And when you pick it up to give it a closer inspection, and the light hits the bottom of the cup, you see it! A very detailed picture etched in the porcelain at the bottom of the cup.

So, it turns out, what we really have here is a beautiful little Japanese tea cup with a LITHOPHANE in the bottom.

The word "lithophane" is said to have Greek origins, meaning "Light in stone" or "to appear in stone".

A lithophane starts out as a sheet of beeswax, then a picture is carved into the beeswax, then that sheet of wax is used to make a plaster of Paris mold, and finally Porcelain is poured into the mold and then "fired".

Where the porcelain is thinnest, more light shows through, thus allowing the artist to create a picture by thinner and thicker sections of porcelain creating a "three-dimensional like" picture, or lithophane.

I have read that the older lithophanes would start with the image in wax, then the artist would back-light the image and carve it on glass. Their work tables would be beneath a window, sometimes with a mirror underneath to bounce light up on the backside of the lithophane.

Sounds like tedious work, doesn't it?

Beautiful work though!

Lithophanes change in appearance, depending on the light source that you hold them up to.

A lithopane picture being lit by a window, would change throughout the day, as the light changed.

Where did lithophanes originally come from? Well, that seems to be a subject with differing opinions. Some say they began in the "Tang Dynasty" where people said there were "bowls as thin as paper with secret decorations in them".

That sounds very mysterious, doesn't it?

"The inspiration for the Japanese "geisha girl" lithophane mark seems more than likely to have come to Japan during their early contacts with the West around the turn of the 19th century.

All kinds of decorative pieces, probably mostly lanterns were made in this technique in Europe, with its popularity reaching its peak in the 1870's after which point they gradually went out of fashion."
-http://www.gotheborg.com/qa/geisha.shtml

I guess this is just one more lesson of "Don't judge a book by its cover" or "appearances can be deceiving".

In this case, the moral of the story would be,

even a tea cup can have a secret.

-The GA Gang

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What does "ihs" stand for?

7/22/2014

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Recently, we purchased a tray that caught my interest. It is glass with a cross and the letters “IHS” etched on the bottom. I asked the person selling the item what the letters stood for, they said that it stands for “In His Service”.

My findings are that this is a tray used to hold cruets-one with water and one with wine. It is from the 1950’s. It is used in the Roman Catholic Mass Sacraments. It is called the “Holy Eucharist” or “The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass”.

Eucharist means “Thanksgiving” in Latin.

This lovely plate needs to be reunited with some cruets that have glass cross stoppers.

Image borrowed from the Internet

Come check it out at Grandma’s Attic!

-The GA Gang

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All About :The Hitchcock Chair

7/16/2014

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When I hear the name Hitchcock I generally think of Alfred Hitchcock, writer and producer of scary movies. So it was easy for me to believe that Alfred Hitchcock could have been the maker of an electric chair, but "Hitchcock chairs" were actually made by Lambert Hitchcock,

not Alfred.

On a side note, did you know Alfred Hitchcock was scared of his own movies?

Alfred

Lambert

Alfred Hitchcock, the author and director, known as the Master of Suspense, arrived on the scene August 13, 1899. As a child, Hitchcock was sent to the local police station with a letter from his father. The desk sergeant read the letter and immediately locked the boy up for ten minutes. After that, the sergeant let young Alfred go, explaining, "This is what happens to people who do bad things." Hitchcock had a morbid fear of police from that day on. He also cited this phobia as the reason he never learned to drive (as a person who doesn't drive can never be pulled over and given a ticket). It was also cited as the reason for the recurring "wrong man" themes in his films. Mr. Alfred Hitchcock left us on April 29, 1980. Do you think Mr. Alfred Hitchcock may have sat in a chair made by Mr. Lambert Hitchcock? I guess we'll never know!

Now, back to the chair! :)

The Hitchcock chair was an early example of mass production. The frames are generally of birch, oak, or maple. The backs have a curved top with a broad gentle curved back-slat, then a broad slat that usually has a design such as; leaves, flowers, baskets of fruit or cornucopias. Below this, is a narrow crosspiece, connected to the sides, that is a continuation of the leg. The front legs and the stretcher between are nicely turned in spools, rings, or vase shapes. The seats are wider at the front and graduate back with straight sides and rolled or rounded edges in front. The front legs of some of the chairs have a ball on the bottom.

There are several types of back slats; “turtle-back,” “cut-out back slat,” - a curved back with spindles, “the pillow back”, eagles, cornucopias, plain, button back, and a crested back. The rarest of the back slats are the eagles, cornucopias, and the scrolls. About 1845, the “vase back” chair or “Urn chair” chair became popular. The wide vertical middle slat was shaped like an urn or vase. It was sometimes called “Fiddleback.” The top slats are called crest rails which are referred to as; “crown top,” “crest top,” or “pillow top.”

In the beginning the chairs resembled rosewood, because the first coat of red paint, applied by children, showed through the black, also used were the colors white and green. Later a lemon-yellow color and brown were used as a background colors. Seats were first made of rush, then cane, and then plank. They were usually painted black, brownish-black or dark green. They have yellow ochre pin striping with gold half-rings on the front legs. The stencils were painted with metallic colors like red, gold, blue and white. The designs can be found on the back and sides of the chairs.

They were marked on the back with stencil “L. Hitchcock, Hitchcocksville, Connecticut, Warranted” all in one line. Hitchcocksville would have been used when the furniture was manufactured in Boston, Massachusetts. Hitchcock chose his woods with care and allowed none to be used with knots or other imperfections. Later marks were “Hitchcock, Alford & Co. Hitchcocks-ville Conn. Warranted,” and “L. Hitchcock, Unionville. Conn. Warranted.”

The height of the Hitchcock chair sales was in the 1920’s and 30’s. The earliest signature is dated from 1820 to 1832. From 1832 to 1843 the signature read “HITCHCOCK, ALFORD& Cl HITCHCOCKSVILLE, CONN WARRANTED” and from 1843 to 1852 the signature read “L.HITCHCOCK.UNIONVILLE,CONN. WARRANTED.” In the second variation of the stencils, many of the chairs have two backwards “N’s” in the word “CONN.” This is thought to have occurred because many of the laborers who worked on the chairs were illiterate. If the “N” is written backwards, your Hitchcock chair is not an original but a replica made after 1946.

These chairs are identified as “New Hampshire Hitchcock,” or “Sheraton Hitchcock” chairs. Hitchcock is best known for their “Boston Rocker.”

The Hitchcock chair was began in 1818 by Mr. Lambert Hitchcock of Barkhamsted, Connecticut. He established a cabinet and chair factory. He began by making parts that could be assembled later for the chair industry of Charleston, South Carolina. In 1825 he began making complete chairs. Mr. Hitchcock was born in Chesshire, Connecticut on June 28, 1795 and was the son of Revolutionary soldier John Lee Hitchcock. He came to rest in 1852.

We received a call one day from a gentleman wanting to sell us a chair. We asked to see the chair before we purchased it, so he brought it to us and while it was in the store a vendor came in and said, “Oh, you have a Hitchcock chair!” After some research and dickering, the chair now resides at Grandma’s Attic. Come and check it out and let us know if you believe it is a real Hitchcock chair.

-The GA Gang

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All About : Aprons

7/9/2014

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We saw this little story on Facebook the other day, and thought it was really neat, so we decided to add pictures and share it with you!

Hope you enjoy! :)

The History of Aprons

"I don't think our kids know what an apron is. The principle use of Grandma's apron was to protect the dress underneath because she only had a few. It was also because it was easier to wash aprons than dresses and aprons used less material. But along with that, it served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven.

It was wonderful for drying children's tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears.

From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven.

When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids...

And when the weather was cold, Grandma wrapped it around her arms.

Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over the hot wood stove.

Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron.

From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables. After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls.

In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees.

When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds.

When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men folk knew it was time to come in from the fields to dinner.

It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that 'old-time apron' that served so many purposes.

Send this to those who would know (and love) the story about Grandma's aprons.

REMEMBER:

Grandma used to set her hot baked apple pies on the window sill to cool. Her granddaughters set theirs on the window sill to thaw.

They would go crazy now trying to figure out how many germs were on that apron.

I don't think I ever caught anything from an apron - but love..."

-Author Unknown

-The GA Gang

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All About :The Chairs of the 1930's

7/2/2014

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Chairs designed in the 1930’s

·       1930        Palmio Chair by Alvar Aalto

·       1930        Barcelona Chair by Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe

·       1933       Cantilevered Chair No. 31 by Alvar Aalto

·       1934      Zig Zag chair by Gerrit Rietveld

·       1934       Standard chair by Jeane Prouve’

·       1935      Crate chair by Gerrit Rietveld

·       1935       Vilpuri chair by Alvar Aalto

·       1935      Chaise Lounge chair by Marcel Breuer

·       1936     Serving Cart by Alvar Aalto

·       1937      Wing spread Barrel chair by Frank Lloyd Wright

·       1938     Landior Spartana chair by Hans Coray

·       1938      Sling chair by Jorge Ferrari Hardoy

Alvar Aalto
1930 - Finnish - sleek curved lines

Cantilevered Chair No. 31

Vilpuri Chair

Serving Cart

Alvar Aalto

Stacking Stools

Palmio Chair

Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe
of Bauhause School
1930- 1933
German- American extreme clarity and simplicity

Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe

Barcelona Chair

Gerrit Rietveld
1934- Dutch - Simplicity in construction

Gerrit Rietveld

Zig Zag Chair

Crate chair and table

Rood-Blauwe Stoel

Jean Prouve’
1934 - French - "We like logic, balance and purity”

Jean Prouve’

Bahut Brazzaville

LaChaise Standard chair or Chaise Longue

Marcel Breuer Lajko
1935 - Hungarian – greatly influence the establishment of an American way of designing modern houses

Chaise Longue

Marcel Breuer Lajko

"Wassily"

Frank Lincoln “Lloyd” Wright
1937 - American - organic architecture

Frank Lincoln “Lloyd” Wright

Barrel Arm chair or Wing spread chair

Hans Coray
1938 – Swiss -known for the functionality and simplicity of his designs.

Hans Coray

L A U D I . C H A I R

Jorge Ferrari Hardoy
1938 - Argentinian -the most imitated chair in modern furniture history

S L I N G . C H A I R

Jorge Ferrari Hardoy

Do you have anything to add?

Leave us a comment below, we'd love to hear from you! :)

-The GA Gang

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All About Antique"Cup Plates"

6/18/2014

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History teaches about the Boston Tea Party on December 1, 1773.

Tea is an important part of our history.

Awhile back, a vendor brought me some little plates and explained that they are “cup plates.” Cup plates are like coasters for tea cups; they were introduced to the tea society around the 1700’s in England and in the United States during the first half of the 19th century.

Photo credit: Harrogate Museums & Arts

Tea was originally consumed from “tea bowls.” In the 1700’s saucers were placed with the tea bowls. The tea was too hot to drink therefore was poured into the saucer to cool before consumption. Tea cups, at that time, had no handles. In order to drink the tea from the saucer two hands were needed, which made it necessary to put the cups down. The saucers were used to protect furniture from marks left by the tea cups.

Authentic Antique Cup Plate

Reproduction Cup Plate

In the 1750’s teacups with handles were introduced. It took a while to get used to cups with handles and saucers, but it eventually spread, and at that time cup plates were no longer necessary.

The vendor had authentic cup plates, as well as some commemorative cup plates-seven plates altogether. They are all between 3 ¼ and 3 ½ inches in diameter. They are clear glass and have decorative designs.

Authentic Antique Cup Plate

Reproduction Cup Plate

This is another good example of how to use your five senses when attempting to identify “the real thing.”

The vendor explained how to authenticate these cup plates;

Hold the plate between your thumb and forefinger then…

thump the end.

If it is authentic it will make a clear “ping” sound.
If it is not authentic it will make a “plunk” sound.

The weight of the commemorative plates is also heavier than the real ones.

The old cup plates are true antiques if you can find them. And now you will know how to tell if you have the real deal. They cost about $3.50 each.

Now, get on out there and hunt up some cup plates! :)

-The GA Gang

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Just a Spoon.

-The GA Gang

Grandma's Gate to Indian Screen Door

-The GA Gang

The Teacup's Secret

-The GA Gang

What does "ihs" stand for?

-The GA Gang

All About :The Hitchcock Chair

-The GA Gang

All About : Aprons

The History of Aprons

-The GA Gang

All About :The Chairs of the 1930's

Chairs designed in the 1930’s

Alvar Aalto
1930 - Finnish - sleek curved lines

Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe
of Bauhause School
1930- 1933
German- American extreme clarity and simplicity

Gerrit Rietveld
1934- Dutch - Simplicity in construction

Jean Prouve’
1934 - French - "We like logic, balance and purity”

Marcel Breuer Lajko
1935 - Hungarian – greatly influence the establishment of an American way of designing modern houses

Frank Lincoln “Lloyd” Wright
1937 - American - organic architecture

Hans Coray
1938 – Swiss -known for the functionality and simplicity of his designs.

Jorge Ferrari Hardoy
1938 - Argentinian -the most imitated chair in modern furniture history

-The GA Gang

All About Antique"Cup Plates"

-The GA Gang

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Categories

-The GA Gang

﻿-The GA Gang﻿

-The GA Gang

﻿-The GA Gang﻿

-The GA Gang

﻿The History of Aprons ﻿

-The GA Gang

Chairs designed in the 1930’s

﻿Alvar Aalto﻿ 1930 - Finnish - sleek curved lines

﻿Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe﻿ of Bauhause School1930- 1933 German- American extreme clarity and simplicity

Gerrit Rietveld 1934- Dutch - Simplicity in construction

Jean Prouve’ 1934 - French - "We like logic, balance and purity”

Marcel Breuer Lajko 1935 - Hungarian – greatly influence the establishment of an American way of designing modern houses

Frank Lincoln “Lloyd” Wright1937 - American - organic architecture

﻿Hans Coray1938 – Swiss -known for the functionality and simplicity of his designs.

Jorge Ferrari Hardoy 1938 - Argentinian -the most imitated chair in modern furniture history

-The GA Gang

-The GA Gang

﻿Archives﻿

Categories﻿

-The GA Gang

-The GA Gang

The History of Aprons

Alvar Aalto
1930 - Finnish - sleek curved lines

Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe
of Bauhause School
1930- 1933
German- American extreme clarity and simplicity

Gerrit Rietveld
1934- Dutch - Simplicity in construction

Jean Prouve’
1934 - French - "We like logic, balance and purity”

Marcel Breuer Lajko
1935 - Hungarian – greatly influence the establishment of an American way of designing modern houses

Frank Lincoln “Lloyd” Wright
1937 - American - organic architecture

Hans Coray
1938 – Swiss -known for the functionality and simplicity of his designs.

Jorge Ferrari Hardoy
1938 - Argentinian -the most imitated chair in modern furniture history

Archives

Categories