Easter Egg Lithograph

Egg-shaped lithograph. Publisher unknown. Circa 1880’s- 1910.

Price:  $5.00           Size:  2 and 5/8 x 4″

Well! Holidays catch me behind lately with posting, so this one was for Easter, which was yesterday. (Happy belated.) This is a pretty cool one, one you don’t see everyday, and obviously someone else thought so, too. It was found in an antique store in Nevada:  In pink on white, a couple of decorated bands and then a sunburst at one end and star-shape on the other (on the star I keep flashing back to the drug store, circa 1960’s, begging my mom for one of those plastic balls that always seemed to have a similar design at each end). The egg is cracked to reveal a new day dawning (in general and for Easter) on a lake scene in the mountains……with a small, simple house and a much grander church, gleaming and beckoning from the other side of the water. It’s really not very high-end work but it’s the idea that makes it. Is that supposed to be a figure of a person, standing, looking out across the water? And note the use of the shadows on the egg, to give it dimension.

Madison Hilbert’s Specimen of Penmanship

Penmanship example, circa late1910s to early 1920s.

Price:  $12.00         Size:  About 3 x 2 and 1/4″     

Here’s an unusual find from an antique store. And it may be hard to pin down a date for this piece of paper. (How did it survive all these years? Luck or destiny. But, somebody obviously cared – note the corners that were so nicely trimmed.) Anyway, in looking at the writing style to try to get a time-frame, that capital “H” by Madison is the fanciest of his letters. Can we find this particular style to correspond with a to-and-from-ish date? After multiple searches…..ummmm, no. Well, maybe it’s possible, but it would be quite time-consuming to undertake. (I guess it’s not like clothing.) But, if Madison Hilbert was born in, say 1900, how many possibilities are there (in case he’s on your family tree)? One, born in December 1902, Philadelphia, and a couple of James Madison Hilberts born in 1906 (Indiana and Tennessee). These ended up to be the only possible matches found from years 1850 all the way up through 1940.

Sources:  Historical Society of Pennsylvania; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Historic Pennsylvania Church and Town Records; Reel: 242. (Ancestry.com).

National Archives at St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; WWII Draft Registration Cards for Indiana, 10/16/1940-03/31/1947; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 147; Box: 348. (Ancestry.com).

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/211147248/james-madison-hilbert : accessed 9 May 2022), memorial page for James Madison Hilbert (1906–1993), Find a Grave Memorial ID 211147248, citing Brick Church Cemetery, Hagerstown, Wayne County, Indiana, USA ; Maintained by Lola Pitman Snyder (contributor 47100876) .

La Grande Roue, Paris, Circa 1900

Black and white view of La Grande Roue. Paris, circa 1900.

Price:  $3.00

There are a number of postcard views of this, La Grande Roue, though this is not one of them. It’s actually a printed card, postcard size, with nothing on the reverse. At the time of its construction, this mammoth wheel, measuring 328 feet tall (100 meters) was the largest in the world. It was disassembled in 1920. The buildings in the neighborhood really put the giant into perspective. See this Wikipedia link for some very interesting facts about the passenger cars.

Source:  Grande Roue de Paris. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grande_Roue_de_Paris (accessed October 25, 2020).

Félix Potin Calissons Box Top

Cardboard box top for Calissons from Félix Potin, Paris, France. Circa 1880 to 1910.

Price:  $17.00           Size:  About 8 and 1/2 x 3 and 3/4″

For the collector of antique items from the French company Félix Potin or for the collector of antique pastry ephemera, in general:   A cardboard box top from a box of calissons. A calisson is a french pastry with a distinctive shape that’s made from ground almonds – below are some beautiful examples:

And how nice that this box top has hung around this long, over 100 years and counting. Imagine the lovely presentation the pastries had made as a gift for someone, or just as a treat for the one who bought them. The date of the item is estimated to be from around 1880 to 1910 due to its gorgeous Art Nouveau style border. In the center is displayed an aerial view of the cookie factory that was located in La Villette, Paris, in the 19th arrondissement. The weight of the box, or perhaps just the pastries, was 500 grams or just over one pound. Scrawled across the top is,  “guides de la machine”  (machine guides) and another word, difficult to decipher. Whether this was somehow related to the factory (maybe written by someone that had worked there) or is evidence that the box had held small machine pieces after the cookies were gone, or is from something completely unrelated, we may never know.

Below, a wonderful article clipped from The Wichita Price Current dated October 30, 1899 about Félix Potin. Bravo, Félix!

Sources:  Félix Potin. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F%C3%A9lix_Potin (accessed October 23, 2020).

“images of calissons” Google.com search (accessed October 23, 2020).

“The Biggest Grocer’s Shop In The World.” The Wichita Price Current (Wichita, KS) October 30, 1899. Monday, p. 5. (Newspapers.com).

Les Bonnes Nouvelles de la Marelle

Vintage envelope, made in France. Date unknown. Publisher:  La Marelle.

Price:  $2.00        Size:  5 and 1/2 x 3 and 1/2″

This one reminds me more of an underwater scene from a fantasy world:  mushrooms growing from the sandy ocean floor, “seaweed” gently rolling…. butterflies navigating a gentle current…..letters grouping together to form words….

But anyway, all are appearing on the front of an unused envelope put out by La Marelle – a French publishing company that produces work by various licensed artists, on stationery, travel bags, mugs, earrings and other items. (La Marelle translates as hopscotch.)

1950 Victoria 10th International Salon of Photography

Print of notice of photography show, October 1950.

Price:  $4.00            Size:  4 and 1/8 x 4 and 3/4″

A third in a short totem pole theme, an ad for the 10th International Salon of Photography that was probably one of many that were printed and handed out around town, at the event, or both. According to the article below, from The Victoria Daily Times, the show had both a color and black and white section. The color slide show included  “exhibits of photographers from many parts of the world”  featured 187 slides and was held in the Esquimalt Community Hall on Sturdee St., in Esquimalt Township, British Colombia.

And on the back of the ad there appears the following, a signature? which was darkened in Photoshop. Was it from anyone famous in the photography world? (Just kidding…..or maybe not.)

Source:  ” Color Photo Exhibit.”  The Victoria Daily Times. (Victoria, British Columbia) October 28, 1950. Saturday, p. 22. (Newspapers.com)

At Play On The Doorstep

Card, lithograph with initials G.R. for artist, publisher or lithography company. Circa 1880s – 1890s.

Price:  $5.00        Size:  4and 3/4 x 3 and 1/4″

Here’s some gorgeous color in the midst of a series of mostly black and white photos….A rooster and chicken attend two children at play on the doorstep of the children’s cabin home; the wooden doorstep being the perfect place to set up the little toy house and trees and people….There is no advertisement or identifying writing on the back, but someone had loved this small lithograph. It was found in an antique store in Salinas, CA. The initials G. R. (or R. G.?) that we see in the lower left corner, may be for the artist, the publisher or the litho company, but we’re betting they were for the artist.

An Easter Message Just For You

Easter greeting card. Circa 1930s – 1940s.

Price:  $5.00         Size:  Folded into four sections, 5 and 1/4 x 3 and 7/8″

This card is prettier “in person” (huh? lol) with the shimmering gold tone when you hold it at an angle. No publisher name or any writing on it at all, other than the inside printed verse:

“Thinking of you?

Well I guess!

Always wish you happiness!

Like to see you?

Would I? Say –

That would be a real joy today!”

An tAonach Gaelach (The Irish Fair)

I had this little Useful Irish Phrases card hanging around since the days of studying Irish, so thought why not put it up here? I will never forget being stunned listening to my first instruction cassette tape (yep, lol, the days of cassettes) as hearing certain phrases on the tape hit me with a really strong déjà vu feeling, as if I’d spoken the language in the past. This card is from former teacher and friend, Mike.

Ringing The Bell

Victorian Era card. Circa 1870s – 1890s

Price:  $3.00        Size:  3 and 15/16 x 2 and 3/8″

A trade-type card that never got stamped with owner info. Very beautiful design – a sturdy-looking little boy or elf-type guy. What’s he doing exactly? Flower-wrangling 😉 comes to mind. A made-up term. Not that it matters, but the best guess is he’s ringing the bell-like flower (to call someone, across the misty, dreamy-looking expanse that would have held advertising.)