Autumn Cottage Diarist

Another "Little Something" from the Arcade

A busy week so fars, not much time to write here - so I thought you would just like to see this little curio I picked up at the Antiques Arcade last week. Encased in a turned wood scroll box, it is a paper scroll about a metre long, depicting the waterfront in Copenhagen, sometime after 1912 - which is the latest date I can see printed on it.

I think it was sold as a souvenir from the Tivoli Pleasure Gardens, since the panorama starts from there, and the place name is also printed on a very faded label on the outside of the box.

For anyone who has visited Copenhagen - do you recognise any of the buildings? For the rest of us - just enjoy!

Six Men and a Little Lady

Aren’t these little clay characters fun? I picked them up last week in Hungerford, to add to my growing collection of similar figures.

They were produced for visitors to India in the last century and before – they certainly seem to have been popular items to bring during the time of the Raj when ex-pats took “home leave” or returned to Mother England for good.

I have several sets now – these are pleasing because each one has come with a little hand-written tag attached, describing their trade or station in life. (Alec’s Granny, who had been in India in the early 1900’s, knew the names of a set of 12 when I showed them to her, with no need for recourse to any tags at all).

From the left hand side of the screen, these are: “a singer”, “a water-carrier”, “a holi man”, “a punjapi girl”, “a cooli”, “a south india man” and “a Muslim”
Click the image for a closer look, or email me if you want even higher resolution.
What is it about “little people” that fascinates so much?

A Round Pound Day

It has been a very January day - you know the sort of day I mean? It has felt as if it was not ever really going to get light, staying dark, dank, and miserable. The rain lashing down all night, so that when I drove to Hungerford this afternoon, I very nearly turned back to take the “high road” rather than the country road route, there were so many flooded sections along the lanes.

The lights of the Antiques Arcade in the little town are always welcoming though – just wandering around the stalls there, with 40's music in the background is always enough to cheer me up - and today there were also treasures to be found.

I count my purchases in pounds rather than tens or hundreds these days – a far cry from the book dealing days when there were often two “00’s” at the end of my invoice – but this is just as much fun, in fact, I often think even more so, since the hunt is more than half the pleasure – (the finding of treasure is the other half! 

This is what I found today – a little, hand-painted saucer for one pound, (could it be Pinxton? Liz will know) and a lovely little ruby glass scent bottle, which was also a pound. Unfortunately, that has a broken rim – and a stopper which has dropped inside the bottle, but for just one pound, I could not resist the example of good quality enamelling workmanship. 

The other little item is a Victorian “cranberry glass” posy vase, in perfect condition, which sat in the window of the Red Cross charity shop – until it went in my bag! Perfect condition required four of my round pounds for that – but it would be many times that price in any of the Arcade stalls, and will be a nice addition to the jewel box glass in my windows. 

The young girl below holding a dove is a piece of Royal Doulton china – her head has been off and needs re-gluing – that is why she was, yes, just one pound! 

Another bargain at the Arcade are always the old Christies & Sotheby’s Saleroom catalogues that Martin Smith the book dealer sells again for one pound each. Today I spotted a catalogue detailing the sale of the contents of a house whose name I recognised – La Vigie – which amazingly is the “Monte Carlo Daily Photo” today. I knew that the couturier Karl Lagerfeld had lived there – this catalogue was dated 2000 – he apparently lived there until 1997, but the items being sold were all his. 

This catalogue is like one of the finest coffee table books, filled with beautiful pictures of “Lits a La Polonaise”, French furniture, Venetian chandeliers, and all sorts of objets – some exquisite, some that are definitely from the back bedroom. Like all the best house sales, it it shows something like a glorified jumble sale – but oh, what jumble! I couldn’t afford any of it – but all the ideas come for free – and for a pound, you couldn’t buy the catalogue new  – even those are £15.00. I did well on my Round Pound day!

Exquisite Mystery

Sorting books this morning (the story of my life!) when I came across
this beautiful paper item, taken from a Victorian scrap album which I
own, from the 1880's. Now note that the whole image, background
included, is only 7 x 11 cms. (Roughly 2.75 x 4.5 ins.) Click on the image for a closer look - it is well worth it.

I have two questions....how on EARTH was the background cut in such a
fine filigree? Today we would say "laser cut" - but in 1880?? Perhaps
punches? I don't know. What do you think?

The second question is - what is the subject matter of the image?
Dressed in white tissue, with what looks like a prayer book in her left
hand and with an almost sword like candle in her right, in what ceremony
is the beautiful lady taking part? Corpus Christi? A Christmas
celebration? Marriage? I think not the latter - unless she is becoming a
Bride of Christ? What are your thoughts on this?

And in case you are wondering what has happened to photographs appearing
here on blog, well, they have gone to the Great Delete Bin in the Sky
for now - I left my camera out in the rain overnight after photographing
the garden a couple of weeks ago, and now I am afraid that the camera is
no longer functional. Woe is definitely me, as my camera is normally an
extension of my hand - but until Santa has been paid, no new cameras
here!

Little Acquisitions

An outing to Goring with Liz is always the occasion for a browse around the Antique Emporium there. These are the little finds that I made yesterday - two dear little 1930's dolls dressed in Bavarian costume, a china bath and sink, and the tiniest doll in my collection. You can see the scale by the fact that the fifty pence piece in the picture measures 1 inch (2.5 cm) across. (And each of the items did not cost much more than that coin).

What amazes me is the fact that someone *knitted* the little dress that the baby doll sitting in the sink is wearing! I was told by the lady in the shop that it would probably have been on the same sort of knitting pins that she used "during the War" for knitting her own stockings - "until the Yanks arrived and brought packets of silk ones with them"!

These little babies will find a home in one of my 1/16th scale houses. Time to sort out and reorganise the 23 dolls houses that I now own, when I return from you-know-where - they need a more permanent display than where most of them are stacked in an outbuilding right now.

What is everyone doing in the mini world at the moment? I am planning to bring miniature glass back from Venice - and will need a room box at least to display it all. Hmm - I feel a winter project coming on!

Another Album

Another old photograph album - another magical mystery trail to unravel.

Here are just three of the forty-four photographs in an anonymous album
that I purchased for a few pounds a week ago. More images from India -
this time in July 1915 (dated but not named) - about the same time that
my grandfather was there.

Do you wonder with me who these people are? How old they are? What it
feels like to be dressed like this in the hot Indian summer? How long
they will stay in India?  Will any of the soldiers finally end up, not
in the sweltering heat of Hyderabad in July, but in the mud, bullets and
death of the European Western Front.

The colonial India of the British Empire is still in full flourish here
- although there is a War on in Europe, here they still dance around the
maypole as if in a leafy English village - albeit at "The War Fete" as
many of the photographs are labelled.

These pictures are "on hold" until my return from Venice - but who
knows, there may be another story, and other characters to explore in
future.

Easter Treasure Hunt

After another boot sale foray today, I never bring one of these treasures home without thinking "I wonder where this came from?".

Just look at this beautiful, engraved Caithness glass bowl - obviously a
trophy, awarded for a heavy horse ploughing competition over 25 years
ago - but was it not a treasured item in the home of the winner? What
story lies behind the disposal of that, I wonder?

The little Pedigree doll - who dressed and played with her? Who snuggled up to the dear little teddy bears? How many secrets were whispered into their ears at night-time, for only the toys to hear?

The handpainted cup - whose pride and joy was that to display, in the "best china" cabinet, brought out only on special occasions? And whose holiday to Switzerland was marked by the gift of exquisitely embroidered handkerchiefs, which will now grace the beds in my dolls houses?

Apart from the thrill of buying these items for just a pound or two each, I love to chat to the stall holders at car boot sales (this one was the annual Grand sale at our local hypermarket. Closed compulsorily only once a year, on Easter Day, they generously allow a Charity sale to take place in their car park).

I hear many stories of much loved toys and other items passed on as a result of their owners doing the same - with no families to hand down their treasures, or families who see them as just "clutter", these items come to me, and I keep them, and receive immense pleasure from them, as custodian, until such time as they come to be passed on again. Don't you think I'm lucky?

Yet More Lantern Slides

As I know so many readers have enjoyed earlier posts, here are just a few more images from the boxes of glass slides that I acquired last year, dating, I believe, from around 1870-1880. Two of these show some unknown village in the Engadine region of Switzerland, with a most interesting, combination "one and a half carriage plus back seat" coach - has anyone ever seen this sort of construction before?

The lady in the next image is peering through the windows of a Toyshop - how I'd love to be able to see inside along with her!

The black and white images are taken in Venice. The photographer seems to have signed the slides ..."E.R. Fasnacht" (anyone know of him?) and has captured wonderful images of the back streets and backwaters, as well as a shot of the famous horses atop St. Mark's from quite an unusual  angle.

More images when time permits scanning and manipulating!

More Lightbox Discoveries

I've had more discoveries with my scanner and lightbox today - this time, revealing images from boxes of old magic lantern slides that I purchased in an old antique shop in Marlborough last year. They are mostly taken in Switzerland (these two images are labelled "In the Engadine") and in Venice. Many of them are hand coloured. The photograph above shows a group of women gathered around the village pump, engaged in washing garments, while the lower image looks as if it is taken during market day?

I suspect, again from looking at the dress, that these may be earlier than the photographic plates in the last blog entry. I suggest a date of 1870's - 1880's ? Any fashion historians reading who might enlighten me further?

More images will appear intermittently - this could definitely become addictive!

This Week's Tiny Treasures

A very satisfying few days for discovering miniature treasures.

Firstly, at the beginning of the week, I "ran away" for the afternoon
with my good friend Liz (regular readers will know that we often run
away together when something or other prompts an escape!). We took off
for our usual haunts - antique shops and pubsforlunch and this time I
came up trumps.
Buried in the depths of one of my favourite antique hunting grounds I
espied the roof line of what I knew to be a "Princess" dolls house -
made by Triang from the 1930's as a replica of "Y Bwthyn Bach" - the
play house given to Princesses Elizabeth (now Queen Elizabeth II) and
Margaret Rose "from the people of Wales". I was beside myself with
excitement at spotting such a treasure - and even more excited when I
saw the very bargain price. Although it has mostly replacement windows,
the house is in extremely good condition, and just waiting to receive
all my 1/16th scale furniture which I have collected for many years.

In addition to this find, I also made another very pleasing discovery
today, while returning from lunch in one of my favourite little market
towns, Wootton Bassett in Wiltshire. This is still a delightful place,
unmarred by large chain stores (which generally make most towns now look
much the same as each other). This town is full of character, lovely
Georgian buildings, the picturesque 17th century Old Town Hall (which
now functions as a museum) and lots of old coaching inns and charity
shops, both of which receive much of my custom.

Heading back to the M4 motorway, I spotted a sign for a "Craft Village"
at Wroughton. We decided to take an hour to browse around there, and I
was more than pleased that I did. I was first daunted by the large
undercover play area for children, but soon saw that this offered
somewhere to entertain "little people" while grown ups could browse
around the craft units. There was a scrapbook/stamping/card makers
supply store, a "paint your own pottery" unit, a sugar paste artist -
all with work areas where classes seemed to be taking place - and then,
Oh Joy! - a charming Miniatures shop which just sang to me to enter.

What is it about some places that just invites you to want to walk
through the door? I am always enticed, of course, by the sight of dolls
houses and all manner of mini items, but there was something more than
that here - I'm sure its the glow of enthusiasm emanating from certain
proprietors, and this was certainly the case with this little shop.

Called "Finishing Touches", the owner, Sue Shea, has made a speciality of creating many hand crafted items, especially finished tableaux that can be popped straight into a dolls house and look as if they have always been "lived in" - just like that. A piece which particularly caught my eye was a hall coat stand, complete with pretty hat, packed parcel and a basket of flowers - just delightful.

Sue is a true enthusiast - within minutes, we were oohing and aahing together about my "Princess" find, chatting about the Marlborough Dolls House Fair (yes, I've missed it again, by just two weeks!) and drooling over the perfection of the Reutter porcelain and the Glenowen furniture, from both ranges of which she stocks numerous items - along with the best priced and most varied dollshouses that I have seen in a long time. Sue is also an expert miniature florist - some of her arrangements were just gorgeous.

Though small, (and only recently opened) this little shop is perfectly formed, tremendously friendly and already on my list of places to run away to with Liz!

Finishing Touches is at Studley Grange Craft Village, near Wroughton, in Wiltshire