Hopalong Hollow....

Hopalong Hollow, where the Blueberries grow sweet, and the moss feels soft beneath your feet.

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Collections, Show and Tell

 
 Admit it, you collect something right? Some women collect jewelry, or clothes or shoes. I don't claim any of these as my pets, well, maybe the shoe part.  ( I just found the BEST little red MaryJanes!) But when it comes to antiques... therein lies my weakness.   I aquired this " habit" at around age 12, when my love of horses seemed to ride off into the sunset along with the Barbie dolls. ( YES, I was one of those little girls with a room full of plastic horse models, horse portraits, and every rendition of "Black Beauty" ever printed. I even had a bridle, even though I never actually had a horse).
 But having a mother with a penchant for the OLDE, led me to a life of addiction... yes ADDICTION... to the 19th century. If you would be so kind as to accompany me around the house. may I share with you a few of my favorite collections?
 I will start with Old games, puzzles, toys and blocks and books.
The graphics on late 19th century games are simply delightful.

 The games of Tiddly winks, Jack Straws and Lotto seem to have been very popular in the early 190o's.
The boxes  alone, are reason enough to collect these, but when the contents are still in the box, that is REALLY fun.
Directions are a must, since many of these games are as foreign to us as the games of MARBLES and JACKS are, to today's youngsters.
I love showing these to children, many of whom have never even played a board game!  (We grew up on Monopoly)

Displaying your collections properly and to best advantage is really important. In our house we use a lot of these long colonial style shelves with pegs.
Antique ABC blocks, ( which also have great graphics) are displayed in the old printers box.

The vintage storybooks are hanging off the wall in an old wire card rack.
 All these are in my studio ( which I recently moved from my tiny room, to a guest room twice as large) I am constantly inspired by the artwork on these items. Maybe it is one reason I love creating story books in an old world style.

  Now, here are the old crocks. Long before glass jars came into use, crocks held everything from preserves to whiskey. The crocks beneath are made by Heinz and contained not only pickles but preserves of every kind. 

Finding one with a label intact isn't easy . I only have a few of those.
  As I always say, presentation is everything, and don't those images of fresh fruits on the labels make you want to purchase a 5 gallon crock of strawberry preserves?
  I look for  antique canning labels with fabulous artwork on them. I just paste them on my existing crocks.



 Crockery was also used for butter churns, as seen here amongst the glass churn and the metal churn and butter molds. The cow is actually an antique cast iron doorstop.


I don't know how many crocks are around this house, but I do try to put  most to use, hiding non-vintage items like "sweet n low" packs, baggies, scouring pads, and the like. Since our house was built around 1890, we try to stay in that era, or earlier, with decor.

 And here, to show you that some things never change, they just get older... one of my favorite collections. HORSES.!!... but not like the ones I had as a girl!
These are made of plaster over wood. You could buy them in the 1910 Sears catalog for 49 cents and up, but they were imported from Germany. The Germans made marvelous toys back in the day, think Steiff.

This guy was in dreadful condition when I bought him, he was ready for the dog food factory. But I restored him well. He is actually made of some kind of animal skin (ICK) which was stretched and stitched along his body.  All his stitching had to be replaced along with his eyes, tail and mane, which I replaced with dyed flax. Now, he is ready for the Kentucky Derby!
This was my first little horse on wheels. He is covered in a felt-like fabric and I paid $75 for him long ago when I really couldn't afford it. (Gee I hope you are not bored yet, because we have to trot over to view the rest of the horse show!)
These charming little work horses are made of flat wood with paper lithograph atop.
And this lithographed horse pulling the workable wagon is joined by a metal WWI horse and a cast iron horse from 1890.
Where would we be without George Washington riding in on his trusyt steed?

And here is the head of a STICK horse, minus the stick, MY FAVORITE.
I could go on and on.... show you the cows, donkeys and sheep, but I don't want to BORE YOU TO DEATH!  Let's face it, half the fun of collecting, is showing your STUFF to other people- who like your STUFF as much as you do!

And this is how this collection is displayed, in our Front Parlor, on the way to the Keeping Room.


Next time we do a show and tell... I will bring along my Southern Belles,

  and all the wooden birds and pewter teapots.
 
What do you collect and HOW do you display it? Do you have a blog post showing your ideas? Let us know!

21 comments:

  1. Jeri ~ Your have some wonderful collections and ways of displaying them.

    Your home is filled with antique beauty and charm.

    FlowerLady

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  2. I love your old cupboards mostly. The sweet antique toys you have found are priceless. I love the horses and buggy.

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  3. Oh my goodness! Jeri, I could linger here forever... I love everything shown, but I must admit the horses are one of my favorites, and the teapots! I will come back again and take a second look... Your home is truly you!
    Thank you so much for sharing.
    fondly,
    Penny

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  4. Your "stuff" is wonderful. How fun to learn what other people collect.

    I guess I collect something unusual. I collect dead bugs...friends and family give them to me and the only stipulation is that they didn't kill the bugs just to give them to me. Then I either make or collect special little boxes to contain them; some are cardboard I've sewn and covered in wallpaper. Some are tiny Shaker boxes I've made and painted with milk paint. Some are enameled or covered with Swarovski crystals or cloisonne. Some have been made by my grandchildren - those are really special. Anyhow, I save these little insects and use them to teach my grandchildren (and anyone else who will listen) about the value of insects, pointing out their various features such as long antennae or legs. It is so much fun to enlighten folks about bugs and insects.

    I have an absolutely gorgeous housefly with iridescent wings who resides in a crystal encrusted frog. The grands get a kick out of him. There's a little quote I put in the frog that says, "God in His wisdom made the fly, and then forgot to tell us why."

    Sorry to be so long winded...I could go on for hours about my collection of bugs and insects and their value to humankind, but I'll stop now.

    I love your blog, your art and your books. I think we must be kindred spirits and I wish we lived near one another so we could visit.

    Love from Diane in North Carolina

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  5. Jimmie, I too love to collect bugs, in fact, I was just taking photos of a preying mantis who came to call!(then I set him free in the garden) Personally, I would love to see your bug collection, it sounds just marvelous. I think some bugs are almost jewel-like and even that lil fly had his bit of beauty!

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  6. Wow! You do a great job displaying your treasures!
    Thanks for sharing-you've given me a few new ideas...

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  7. I love your collections.
    One thing I collected years ago were Noah Ark's. Eventually they became very popular, every baby's rooms had them. I finally stopped, it go too modern.
    The best one I bought is made by Eldreth Pottery and I found it on Ebay dirt cheap!
    some day I need to do a post on my collections of them. the fill a jelly cabinet and part of one bedroom, even with a matching quilt. Oh and a board game or two.

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  8. Oh how FUN and cheery are all the collections Jeri!(I think I'll have to come back again to look some more)! They are all displayed so wonderfully, each collection is like it's own seperate portrait! I especially like your crockeries, but George is my very favorite!!

    I am having so much fun re-displaying all my "habit collections" at the new "old" house!!
    Many Blessings, lots of Hugs and plenty of love, Linnie

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  9. Hello again... Anything vintage makes my heart sing.. I am looking at all the wonderful books! Oh, and the games... I remember Tiddley winks!
    I love the way you have displayed the vintage storybooks on the old wire cared rack.. Great idea..
    Penny

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  10. I could NEVER be bored looking through someone's vintage book & toy collections - and yours are particularly gorgeous, I mean, can anyone ever have enough horses on wheels? I think not.

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  11. AHHHHHHHHHH! DO YOU KNOW, that I still have a JONES for the horse collection? OK, when I was a kid, I just wanted one thing: one of those pony heads on a stick with the little wheel at the end? THAT'S ALL...but I never got it. Fine. I used my mum's broom to pretend I was the COWGIRL of my dreams. But never got one. BUT I FINALLY got to ride a white horse twice and to this day love the beasts. I SO LOVE your German horse and those antique models are THE BEST. Oh Jeri, what fun, and what a NEAT and orderly collection you have my friend!!!! FABULOUS and cozy is Hopalong Hollow!!!! Off into the sunset now on my stick pony, Anita

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  12. You have such great antiques in your collections. I love the old story books Jeri. We grew up on board games too. Checkers was the only game I could get Grandpa to play and he loved playing it. Dominoes was another favorite game. But I have to admit we had some great fun on rainy days playing "I Spy" or Find the Button. LOL!

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  13. What joyful collections! It was fun looking closely at each photo. You do have a wonderful way of displaying your treasures.

    Over the years I've collected so many different things, but I still love pretty teacups and saucers, teapots, and dishes especially English. I also have a thing for apothecary jars and old clay pots. Various pieces play starring roles in my photography from time to time.

    Have a wonderful day!

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  14. Your collections and the way in which you display them are lovely! I am tempted to ask where you find the time to keep them all so perfectly dusted? I don't really collect anything in particular, certainly not as far as the interior of my home is concerned, but I do have a passion for white towels. Guess that doesn't count though :)

    I am an avid "collector" of bits of wood/driftwood, rocks and stones to use in my garden, so much so that wherever we go, I am always on the lookout for one or the other to bring back home. Again, that's not quite in the same league as your collections and its actually a bit of an obsession of mine that occasionally drives my husband round the bend.

    You have the kind of home that I'd be contented to lose myself in. Really lovely, Jeri!

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  15. Dear Jeri,

    Aw, the good old days and Breyer Horses. :) I still have a few of mine that my children haven't broken. But I think that yours may be just a LITTLE bit more special; just a little. . . . George Washington still looks magnificent!

    Thanks to eBay, my collection of old children's books and magazines has grown over the ages, too, and I treasure the crocks I've inherited from my grandma. I wish they sold jam in big crocks these days, instead of teeny weeny jars!
    Not very cost-effective for a big family, for sure.

    Love,

    Marqueta

    p.s. How could pretty things ever be boring?

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  16. Dear Cousin Jeri,

    What fabulous collections displayed! We love them all and collect many of the same things! It must be something about the Starr family! Our Uncle O. E. Taylor (whose grandmother was Sarah Starr Taylor) was known for his love of collections and antiques and according to the paper his collection was like a rare museum! O. E. was quite the character, during his time he was the oldest fireman in the state, and at a firemen's gathering gave a rousing recitation "with zeal and fervor" of "Paul Revere's Ride" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow that brought down the house! O. E. would have loved your horse and Gen'l Washington, as his grandfather served under Gen'l George Washington! Love the dolls, love the horses, the old games and books, your old crocks with labels, and your pewter teapots!

    Your Cousins,
    Diane and daughter Sarah at the Corgyncombe Courant

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  17. Dear Dimity Doormouse,
    I would love to have that recipe and yes, the Mistress did use an axle.. Sadly, she did not listen to me when I told her to make the holes bigger in the wheels. She PUSHED them on and the rest is history... won't move an inch... Lesson learned.
    Darby

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  18. I tiptoed in and looked
    around and my heart filled
    with joy at the sight of
    old books and toys and the
    tender heart that must have
    put them gently on their
    shelves... they are called a
    collection? hm? I thought
    perhaps the fairies left them at the door, or tucked
    around the farm, knowing
    that the lovely lady of the
    scissors and brush would
    discover them and give them
    a loving home...they look
    so content and proud to be
    there....who wouldn't be?
    You can send George to our
    house for Christmas
    under the Williamsburg tree
    and I will return him to
    you for Independence Day...
    Bless your beautiful heart~
    Gentility

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  19. I love all of your collections and want to see more! It's so fun to snoop through other folks houses and look at all their fun stuff! hee,hee,hee.
    xx, shell

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  20. Hi Jeri,

    What a wonderful collection you have and just adore your home.
    Everything is gorgeous and love the way you have displayed all the treasures.
    The old books and dolls are beautiful.

    Happy week
    Hugs
    Carolyn

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  21. I love when you show your "stuff"....for you have such wonderful collections! My daughter Olivia was all about her horses...she tolerated barbies, had nothing to do with baby dolls, but her horses...that was her love!
    I can't wait to see your southern belle collection..that's my greatest love...I'm sure you had an inkling;)
    Warmest autumn thoughts..and hoping for some fireplace weather,
    Christie

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