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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. 

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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.  
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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.

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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. 
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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.
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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.
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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! 
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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. 
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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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This is the House That Dabbs Built

9/9/2014

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  This  Craftsman, Prairie style home with it's look as if it is rising from the earth,  is located at 205 W. Main in Anderson, Missouri. It was built in 1940.  It is 1,700 square foot, 3 bedroom and 2 baths.  It is on an approximate  23 acre lot and the estimated value in 2011 was 94,541.00.


It is the kind of house you would expect for a down to earth person like Dabbs Greer.  I have heard many stories of visits and waves by  Mr. Greer from  the porch of this home; to children headed to school or to people driving down main street on their way home.

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View of Dabbs Greer's former house here in Anderson, MO from up the hill.
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Side view of Dabbs Greer's former house here in Anderson, MO
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Another side view of Dabbs Greer's former house here in Anderson, MO
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Front view of Dabbs Greer's former house here in Anderson, MO
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Side view of Dabbs Greer's former house here in Anderson, MO
 There is tell of Dabbs Greer having a 1956 Chrysler light blue and white Imperial provided by Bill McCracken of McCracken Motors for him to take himself and lady friends around here in Anderson, Missouri when he was in town.  

We also know that Mr. Greer apparently had a interest in older vehicles and was honored by a car show at the dedication of Town Hole Park in his honor in 2002 .
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All these little things add up to tell you about a person's life. 

What do you know about Dabbs Greer?

-The GA Gang

For more info on Dabbs Greer, visit:
/dabbs-greer.html
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The Soldier's Deck of Cards

9/2/2014

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A deck of cards can be used in many ways both for good and for bad.  When I heard this description, it changed the way I look at cards...

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Old limited airline cards $4.95
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Furadan cards $1.00
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Rondo round cards $12.00

Now, it doesn't matter the shape of the cards, the age of the cards, or where the cards are used, when ever I see them, here in Grandma's Attic or at home, they will always represent the Bible and the seasons to me.    


Maybe, this will change the way you view a deck of cards too.

-The GA Gang

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"Why Dabbs Greer?"

8/26/2014

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So, you may be thinking to yourself, 


“If you have already raised the money to put Dabbs Greer’s death date on his head stone, why do you want to keep raising money to have a bench or memorial too?”

I will answer that question in a minute, but first, some exciting news!

On Friday July 25, 2014 at 5:10 p.m. at Peace Valley Cemetery in Anderson, Missouri the death date was placed on the headstone of Actor Dabbs Greer parents.  This took place seven years after his passing.  The date was placed on the headstone by Kodi Keene, son in law, to the owners of Premier Memorial.  His wife, Crystal, their daughter, Kaydance and myself were present for the event.

The Keene’s were there when I arrived with their equipment ready to place the date.   Glue was placed over the sight where the date was to be placed, then a stencil was placed over the glue.  Everything was measured for correct placement, stencil material was glued below the date then hammered so there were no air bubbles,or sand to get below the stencil.  Then the sand blasting began. The comma needed a little tweeking, so a little more blasting took place, then the death date was neatly and nicely in place.  It was a 25 minute process.  Thank you, Premier Memorial, for a job well done!

Now, back to your question, the reason the memorial matters to me, is because the headstone that has William Robert Dabbs Greer’s birth and death date on it, is actually the back of the headstone which he purchased for his parents in the 1980’s.

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The fact that he does not have his own headstone is what has motivated me to put up a memorial. 

Recently, a couple here in Grandma’s Attic, was wondering why the cast who worked with him on “Gunsmoke” had not come to the aid on this concern?  They recounted memorials raised in honor of the characters of Gunsmoke.  They started considering each person; James Arness, passed on June 3, 2011,  Amanda Blake on August 16, 1989,  Milburn Stone on June 12, 1980,   and Ken Curtis, April 28, 1991.  It seems the people from “Gunsmoke” are not around at this time.

James Arness, “Matt”, has his own toy, Amanda Blake “Miss Kitty” has a memorial wildlife refuge named after her, Milburn Stone, “Doc” has a Gary Hawk Painting from 1975, and Ken Curtis, “Festus Haggen” has a statue at the Fresno Educational credit union, and Dabbs Greer has The Town Hole park in Anderson, Missouri.  The only real difference is that Dabbs Greer does NOT have a headstone of his own. 

 Another customer suggested contacting the Actor’s Guild.  We have been contacted them, but they are not answering e-mails until September, so now we wait.

 Any help you can give toward a memorial for Dabbs Greer would be greatly appreciated!

What do you think? 

Leave us a comment below, we’d love to hear from you!

-The GA Gang

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Bonnie & Clyde in Our Area

8/20/2014

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  There was a season in my life when I lived in Michigan.  One summer, while I was there, I worked at Ford’s Greenfield Village and museum.  I loved exploring that place!  One of the things I found interesting was a letter from Clyde Barrow, of the infamous Bonnie & Clyde, telling Mr. Henry Ford how much he liked Mr. Ford’s V8 cars.  The following is a copy of that letter from April 10, 1934;
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       You may have noticed that the letter from Clyde to Mr. Ford has the middle name Champion instead of Chestnut.  And there is some question as to whether it was Bonnie who wrote the letter.  It is known, however, that Clyde used the middle name “Champion” when he entered Texas State Prison.

    I noticed that the letter was from Tulsa, Oklahoma.  I had attended college in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  Part of my family lived in Joplin, Missouri and they had mentioned that there was something attributed to Bonnie and Clyde located here.  Years passed and I thought that Bonnie & Clyde would make an interesting blog post, so I decided now would be a good time to check out those leads.  Sure enough, there is an apartment located at 3347 ½ Oakridge Drive in Joplin, MO, that Bonnie, Clyde, Clyde’s brother and his wife stayed in at one time.  There was a police raid on that apartment.  Here’s a picture of that apartment in 2014;

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  The following is an article about that incident from the South Homepage;

”On April 13, 1933, two police cars arrived at the rented apartment to confront the “bootleggers.” Immediately, the gang started firing, killing one officer and fatally wounding another. Leaving most of their possessions behind, they jumped into the car and sped away, stopping only to pick up Blanche, who had been trying to catch her fleeing puppy! In the encounter, W.D. Jones had been shot in the side, Buck had been hit by a ricochet and a bullet that struck Clyde had miraculously been deflected by a suit button!

Behind them were left a small arsenal, some of Buck and Blanche’s personal papers, such as their marriage license and his parole papers. There was a poem written by Bonnie and a camera with several rolls of exposed film. Many of the famous photos seen today of Bonnie and Clyde were taken from those rolls of film, which were developed by the Joplin Globe newspaper. Among them was the picture of Bonnie with a cigar in her mouth, enough that the press could use in helping paint a picture of a demented person when describing Bonnie. The facts are, Bonnie smoked Camel cigarettes, never cigars! Following the Joplin shootout, the Barrow Gang became big news.” 

This is a picture of Bonnie and Clyde in March 1933, found by police at the Joplin, Missouri, hideout, it came from a camera confiscated at that time, that belonged to Bonnie Parker.
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        I got out some maps and started marking the places that Bonnie and Clyde were spotted, confronted, and eventually killed.  They were said to have traveled by night.  It appears they traveled along Route 66 East and West (established in 1926) and Highway 71 North and South (also established in 1926).  That means that they were traveling all over this area.  Who knows? They could have even stopped in Anderson, Missouri where Grandma’s Attic is now located!  They were killed in Bienville, Louisiana.  The following is a letter authenticating the car that Bonnie & Clyde were killed in.
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                    For two years from 1931 to 1934 during the Great Depression (1929-1941) Clyde Chestnut Barrow (March 24, 1909 to May 23, 1934) and Bonnie Elizabeth Parker (Oct 1, 1910 and May 23, 1934) roamed this area, knowing they would die violent deaths.  Bonnie deeply in love with Clyde and Clyde bent on revenge toward the government, whom he believed had allowed him to be sexually abused in prison.

        If you are traveling the old Route 66 or old Highway 71 you could be traveling the road Bonnie and Clyde travelled! 

If come by MO Exit 10, off new Highway 71 and old Highway 71 in Anderson, Missouri, stop by and visit us! We’d love to meet you!

Enjoy your exploring!

-The GA Gang

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10 Must-Haves to Set up a Flea Market Booth

8/13/2014

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Thinking about getting a booth at a flea market/antique store? 


Well, it's a little like the children's book If You Give A Mouse A Cookie.  


So, let's get started, first thing's first...If you want to start a booth, you'll need:

1. Merchandise

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The first thing you need to have a booth at an antique store/flea market is stuff to put in it, right? This may seem obvious, but it can be a challenge to keep your booth full. For some people, it is the reason that they want to have a booth, maybe they want to clear out extra items. For others, they just enjoy hunting for the items to fill the booth, and for some people they love the hunt and that's *why* they need to clear out the extra. ;)  Spend some time checking out what your item should cost, take into account who will be your customers and the community you will be servicing, then you can better choose what items to take to your booth. Then when you give the booth some merchandise, you will need some...

2. Tags

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 ...tags to go with it! 

Tags/tickets let the buyer know how much you are asking for the item.  I suggest larger tags 2 1/2 x 5 inches for larger items such as table and chairs, dressers etc...  Small tags seem to get lost on these items.  

A tag size of 2 1/2 inches by 1 1/2 inches is a good size for everything else.  If you go smaller it becomes hard for the buyers and clerks to read, 

thus leaving an opening for  dispute.  

Write the description, your vendor number and the price very clearly.  If it is hard to read there can be confusion on the item or the price.  The shop/store needs to be able to read your vendor number so your item can be matched with you so that you get paid.  

Also, a short description on the tag is very helpful for two reasons; 1) if the tag should get separated from the item, it will make it easier to match them up and 2) if the tag has been placed on the wrong item.  For pricing books, {inexpensive paperbacks} placing a tag over the bar code works well.  If it is a table book or hard back, a bookmark with the price, vendor number, and description helps to keep from damaging the book with tape,  you could always place a string through the middle and tie it completely around the  book and attach the tag to it.  

If you are pricing material items such as pillow, quilts, curtains, etc., try using a safety pin to attach the tag to the material.  

Attaching prices to paper magazines or newspaper is also best over the label with scotch tape.  

Be sure to attach the tags securely to each item.
The next thing you will want in your basket of tricks is...

3. Tape

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You will probably want to have different types of tape on hand for different items.  Scotch tape is the most widely used and works well on most items.  It works best on glass, plastic, and pottery items. 

Masking tape works best on wood items. 
Also, if the item is being placed outside masking tape tends to stand up to the weather better than Scotch tape.   

The best way to attach a tag is no tape, if possible.  

***Bonus***

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Easy way to attach a price tag: Pull the tag through the center of it's string.

4. Pens & Markers

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Here at GA, we like the looks of a Sharpie pens writing for the 1 1/2" X 2 1/2" inch tags/tickets.  We like to use a black marker for the larger card stock type tags.  A good black ink pen works great as well, we just find that the thick gel ink shows up nicely and makes for a more professional looking tag. 

5. Measuring Tape

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A measuring tape is of great value in the upkeep of a booth, trust us, you'll be shocked at how much you find use for it!  


It is used to check spaces in the booth and for loading vehicles.   It is used to measure the sizes of items to place that information on the tags/tickets.  We get phone calls asking us to measure items all the time; the height and/or length of a dresser or table.  The height of the shelves or if they are adjustable.  What is the size of the quilt, will that over-sized couch fit in my car, etc... You get the picture.  

It is also helpful to know the measurements of common household items, such as beds:  Twin size 39" x 75", Full size  is 54" x 75", Queen size 60" x 80", King 76" x 80." 



Seriously, a good measuring tape is worth it's weight in gold! (Or at least the room it'll take up in your basket/box/purse!)

6. Duster & Paper Towels

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We all know that Flea Markets are known for being dusty and dirty, there just seems to be something about all of this "old stuff" that oozes dust.  This doesn't have to be true, however!  We dust and clean items and areas, all. the. time.  We sweep and vacuum, especially when we are changing around a booth.  And since rust seems to sell right now, and it leaves a trail wherever it goes, there's some more dirt that needs swept up on a regular basis! 

It can definitely be worth the effort though! I have dusted pieces that have set for quite some time and soon after,  that new shine or luster caught the attention of a buyer.  

Also! Polishing that silver can make all the difference. If it's not selling tarnished, try polishing it! That may be just the push someone needs to buy that piece they've been eyeballing! 

Sure, that mirror may be peeling but, that doesn't mean that  the rest of it shouldn't sparkle like a Windex commercial!  I would be hard pressed to count the number of people who have expressed to us how much they appreciate the cleaner environment that we strive to keep! 

In saying this though, don't stress too much about it! Cobwebs show character, right? Oh, maybe not. 

7. Hangers

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The picture above shows a few ideas of how to hang items in your booth.  It all depends on the type of wall that you're working with.  Peg board is a nice way to present smaller items.  The drapery hanger works so well on chicken wire type walls.  We also used floral wire for hanging items.  These are just a few to get you started, let your creativity shine through! Hanging things up on the walls gives you a way to create height and draw people's eye up to the things on the top of your booth.

***Bonus***

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Impromptu "hanger" for flea market booth when you don't have wire, etc. on hand!

8. Goo-Gone & Razorblade

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This is to try to save you from some embarrassing situations; please always remove the ticket that shows how much *you* payed for an item, from the item!   You may have gotten a bargain on that vintage bowl and believe that you can sell it for $15.00, but if your $2.00 sticker is still on the bottom of the item, we have to honor that price.  Goo Gone works wonderful in getting old price tags and writing off of dishes and other plastic/glass items.  The razor blade is also great for removing stickers. If the dirt is really stubborn, goo gone and  the razor blade together should do the trick! 

9. Tools

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You  never know when you will need that hammer, nails, or hanger to hang a picture.  The scissors come in handy for removing tags, especially if you are marking items down and want to replace their tags, it can really save you some time if you cut the tag instead of untying it.

10. Staging Props

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These are staging items.  They are not necessary, but they sure are helpful!
  
If everything's at the same height, that means the items in the back will most likely get overlooked-add some height!


  You can also use props to show an idea for how the item can be used, present its use in a new way, etc.! All of these things add up to help your items catch the attention of the customer.

That concludes our "Top 10" list for today, I'm sure it'll keep growing and changing as time goes on! Go get yourself a booth and sell those extra items laying around the house or enjoy the thrill of the hunt for a bargain!

Just remember, 

having a booth is a business and if you want to make money 
you have to work at it...
Change the items to new spots at least every two weeks and give the booth a complete overhaul as often as possible, when things look different, those frequent shoppers will be more inclined to give everything a once over again! 

More frequent shoppers+more frequent thorough searches of your booth
=more frequent sales for you! 

We definitely don't have all the answers and we would love to hear your advice and suggestions, but we do hope this can be a help to you!

So, what would you put on your "Top 10" list? 

Leave us a comment below!

-The GA Gang

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Carnival Clocks

8/6/2014

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We recently received a really interesting clock in the store, that is shaped like a horse and buggy. As the clock runs the whip in the coachman’s hand whips up and down.  The clock was made by United Metal Goods Mfg. Co. Brooklyn, NY, Model No. 701.
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Clocks like this are considered “schlock’s” in the clock industry.  Also called carnival clocks in the antique world because they were given away at fairs and /or carnivals.  Even though they have titles like “schlock’s” and “carnival” as I researched these clocks, it was repeatedly said that they “keep good time.”  The clock companies found a market to sell their merchandise and their quality keeps on ticking.

There is very little info on line about the United Metal Good Mfg. Co., of Brooklyn, NY.  It appears that Abraham Levy was the founder of The Sessions Company which was a division of United Metal Good Mfg.  The first "carnival clocks" accredited to the company are from 1905.  The height of their fame was in the 1930’s and 40’s.  They incorporated in 1931.  Mr. Abraham Levy died in 1961.   In August 1968 United Metal Good Mfg. Co. bought Sessions and then at the end of the year both companies closed completely.



That makes the age of carnival clocks between 1905 and 1968. 
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 The one that arrived here was titled “The Hansom Cabriolet” (cab).  There is quite a history that goes with the Hansom cab.  It was designed and patented in December 23, 1834 by Joseph Hansom, an architect.  It was originally called the Hansom “safety cab.”  It was designed for speed and safety with its low center of gravity.  It was the first horse and carriage fixed with taximeters.  It was in 1869 that it was set up in New York City and Brooklyn New York to provide transportation.  The cost was .30 cents for one mile or .40 cents for two people for one mile.  


For you Sherlockians, did you know that the Hansom cab was the taxi/cab of choice by the fictional character Sherlock Holmes.  It would speedily and safely get Sherlock to the crime scene.
 This taxi was the cause of the Great Horse Manure Crisis of 1894.   It seems that the horses produced 15 to 35 pounds of manure per day and 2 pints of urine.  It was becoming a major issue in England where this cab was originated.  The last horse-drawn cab license was issued in London in 1947.
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http://www.sherlock-holmes.co.uk/society/hansom-cab.html
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Mr. Joseph Hansom went on to become a famed architect. This is a picture of St. Beuno’s College near St. Asuph in North Wales, of which he was the architect.  He was also architect to several churches in the Great Britain area.
Carnival glass is another item found in antique shops that was given away at fairs and/or carnivals. The first piece of carnival glass was a Fenton piece in 1908.  No wonder it was such a draw to go to the fairs with all the fancy dishes and accurate clocks being given away.  
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I wonder, if it was on the midway, at the pie contest, or in the livestock shows these items were given away. 

What do you think? :)

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All About :The Barcode

7/29/2014

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Remember our post on using your five senses to identify if something is truly vintage or an antique? 


Well, here's another way to use your eyes:

Symbology - 

"A way of identifying the age of some items when antiquing and flea marketing"

One symbol I like to use to tell the age of items is...



the BARCODE.
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The barcode is a series of lines in distinct patterns accompanied by binary numbers (two numerals to represent all real numbers) below the lines.  The barcode is generally in a rectangular shape.
The barcode began in commercial use on June 26, 1974.  The first product scanned was a packet of Wrigley’s “Juicy Fruit” gum bought by Clyde Dawson and scanned by Sharon Buchanan at 8:01 a.m.  (A display of this moment of time is on display at Smithsonian Institute).
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http://barcodingblog.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/first-upc-barcode.png
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http://angelikaschneider.com/graphic_design.html
          Knowing a little bit about the barcode and when it began is a good way to identify the age of an item.   Items such as; books, VHS’s, magazines, cards, boxes used for products like coffee or butter, old tins, signs, band aids tins, or patterns, will have a bar code.  If these items do not have a bar code they were made prior to 1974 or from another country.
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So, what do you know about barcodes? 

Leave us a comment and tell us about it! :)

-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”.
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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”.
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Eucharist means “Thanksgiving” in Latin.
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This lovely plate needs to be reunited with some cruets that have glass cross stoppers.
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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?  
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Alfred
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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! :)
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    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.”
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 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.
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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.” 
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 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.”   
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 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. 
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                        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! :)
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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.
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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...
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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.
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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. 
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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.
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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.
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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.

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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

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Cantilevered Chair No. 31
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Vilpuri Chair
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Serving Cart
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Alvar Aalto
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Stacking Stools
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Palmio Chair

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

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Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe
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Barcelona Chair

Gerrit Rietveld
1934- Dutch - Simplicity in construction

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Gerrit Rietveld
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Zig Zag Chair
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Crate chair and table
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Rood-Blauwe Stoel

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

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Jean Prouve’
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Bahut Brazzaville
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LaChaise Standard chair or Chaise Longue

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

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Chaise Longue
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Marcel Breuer Lajko
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"Wassily"

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

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Frank Lincoln “Lloyd” Wright
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Barrel Arm chair or Wing spread chair
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Hans Coray
1938 – Swiss -known for the functionality and simplicity of his designs.

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Hans Coray
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L A U D I . C H A I R

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

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S L I N G . C H A I R
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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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Jar Re-purposing Project

6/25/2014

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At the swap meet last Saturday, we bought four cute glass jars with wood tops from a swap meet vendor. 


Each of the lids had a chicken sticker on it. 


We decided the jars would make fun display items for the counter, so we pulled off the stickers and replaced them with our own. :)
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First, we used our favorite photo editing site, Picmonkey, and designed a new "sticker" for the jar tops, based on what we were going to put inside-in this case; marbles, jars of honey, Zotz candy, and A&W Root Beer Jelly Bellys. 
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After we printed off the new "stickers", we took 1/2 Elmer's glue and 1/2 water and mixed up a "Modpodge" type glue.
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Next we made sure the labels were going to be the right size for the lids...
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Then it was time to paint a thin layer of our glue on the backside of the paper and press it down on the wooden lid.
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We could have left it just like that, but we decided since the jars already had a "vintage" feel to them, that we would paint a thin layer of glue on over the top too. This smears the ink a little and gives it an aged look.
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We wiped the glue off around the edges so we weren't left with a dried crust on the wood. :)
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Once they were all dry and filled with the goodies, we were finished! 


Voila! Vintage inspired jars with an old fashioned candy store look! :)
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Stop by and tell us what you think! :)

-The GA Gang

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All About : Celadon &“A Single Shard”

6/25/2014

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My introduction to this type of pottery was from a children’s book, 
“A Single Shard”.  


It was written by Linda Sue Park and won the 2002 Newbery Medal.  It is a story of an orphan and his dream to become a potter, set in the 12th century Korea. 


In the story, the pottery made by the master potter was “Celadon”.  The shard mentioned in the title is a shard of Celadon. 


I began to wonder “What does it look like"?


That’s what got me started on this blog post. :)
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Not being very familiar with the term “shard”, I decided to look up the definition; “a piece of broken pottery, especially one found in an archaeological dig; a pot shred, a fragment of a brittle substance, as of glass or metal, or a small piece or part.”
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Celadon is usually a pale green with a hint of blue, a glossy appearance and smooth texture.  It can be any shade of that color from a very pale yellow-green or gray green to deepest jade-green color.  It has a subtle beauty and elegant simplicity. 
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Molded(Incised) Celadon
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Plain Celadon
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Inlaid Celadon
Celadon glazing was perfected during the Koryo dynasty of Korea which dates from 918 to 1392 AD.  There are three design types; inlaid, incised(or molded), and plain(called Mu-ju).  Celadon in Korean means “green”. It is referred to as “cheong-ja” in Korean. There is also a brown Celadon which is called “bun-cheong” or brown porcelain, as well as white.
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These Celadon items are for sale in Grandma's Attic
Celadon is beautiful pottery but the book A Single Shard made it mean so much more to me than just a piece of pottery from Korea.  A Single Shard is a very moving story, it will bring Korean Celadon alive for you.  Come on in and see these beautiful pieces of pottery and visit your local library to check out A Single Shard, then let me know what you think of it! :)

-The GA Gang

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