RS PRUSSIA VASE

RS PRUSSIA VASE

The wonderful thing about the fine art of collecting is not only finding the right pieces that suit your eye but also those pieces that suit your budget.  If you’re willing to spend a little more, then a remarkable treasure is a RS Prussia Vase.  This company’s mold designs were quite ornate and their porcelain was nothing short of exquisite.  With a little research you’ll soon discover that RS Prussia Vases are stunning pieces and come in many shapes, sizes and decorations.  While you might be spending a little more on a RS Prussia Vase, you won’t regret your decision to add one or more to your collection.

RS Prussia Vases became known as one of the premiere antique Victorian porcelains.  Production began in 1861 by Erdmann Schlegelmilch.  With the help of his brother, Reinhold, by the 1880s their RS Prussia Vases became very popular in Victorian America and Canada.  If you’ve been lucky enough to come across a RS Prussia Vase, then you probably noticed the company’s distinctive mark that honors their father, Rudolph.  That mark today is known as the “red mark.”  What makes RS Prussia Vases so highly sought after is their thin and high quality antique porcelain.  Over the years the company was recognized for the variety of decal or transferware decorations against a palette of textures and vibrant colors.   A plethora of RS Prussia molds are identifiable by their relief patterns of floral and geometric designs.  Some of the more popular are the iris mold, the carnation mold, swag and jewel mold, hidden image mold, stippled floral and point and clover.  Another sought after decorating theme depicts birds and animals as well as human portraits.  Scenic transfer designs and various landscape designs are also highly desirable. While bowls may be among the most available forms of RS Prussia’s wares, there is a plentiful supply of antique vases sure to capture your imagination.

RS Prussia Vases can be broken down into several categories relating to their size.  Very large vases are typically less than 20 inches high.  Large vases measure less than 14 inches high.  Standards measure less than 10 inches.  Intermediates measure less than 7 inches and finally, the miniature or small vases, coming in under 5 inches.   RS Prussia Vases produced between 1900 and 1910 are probably the most sought after by collectors.  Many of the designs during this period were classified as Art Nouveau and will simply take one’s breath away.

RS Prussia Vases and porcelain have been popular in the United State for over a century.  And while RS Prussia Vases popularity has begun to wane a bit recently, there’s never been a better time to start collecting.  While admittedly not cheap, RS Prussia Vases will most likely appreciate handsomely in the years to come.  Prices can range from hundreds to thousands of dollars depending on the individual item.  A good rule of thumb to remember is that the more ornate the pattern or deeper the relief mold, the more the vase will be worth.  Another heads up for the would-be collector are the large number of unmarked pieces that left the RS Prussia factories.  Hit the books and soon you’ll be able to recognize these pieces and you’ll get more for your collecting dollar, especially if you’re a budget-conscious shopper or dealer looking to make a profit.   Still, the signed RS Prussia Vases are the safer bet when it comes to holding or appreciating in value, especially those with the common floral themes.  Although they’re quite popular, floral motifs are also less expensive and less difficult to come by.   Among the many treasures we’ve discussed on this website, perhaps one of the most beautiful is the RS Prussia Vase.  It captures the beauty and artistry of antique porcelain flawlessly.

TIFFANY DAFFODIL LAMP

Tiffany Daffodil Lamp

          The Tiffany Daffodil Lamp has a rich style and superb design.  It is truly a lamp of all time. The lamp shade is rich in colors and flawlessly made of stained glass pieces.  The daffodils seem to come to life which makes the Tiffany daffodil lamp so well known.  Careful placement of each small piece of glass makes a design of daffodils growing in the wild.  It would be an honor to have the Tiffany Daffodil lamp sitting on an end table in your home to show all that came to visit.  The Tiffany Daffodil Lamp shade is made in a globe style that is a masterpiece all of its own.  The flowered globe style of the shade has the stained glass pieces running in a vertical and also a horizontal pattern.  It also has beautiful scalloped edges that soften the lines at the bottom of the shade.  The artic precision of the Tiffany Daffodil lamp is what gave Tiffany the name that is so well known.

          Louise Comfort Tiffany is the man responsible for the creation of the Tiffany Daffodil lamp.  Tiffany made his first lamps in the late 1890’s.  He had a love for interior design and was also an avid gardener.  Louise Comfort Tiffany had the idea to use the small pieces of stained glass that were left over from the stained glass windows that he made.  The pattern for the lamp shade is drawn precisely out and the small stained glass pieces were placed according to the patterns layout.  It was a very long and tedious process to achieve the exact look of his artwork.  After careful inspection of every detail the lamp was soldered together with the copper foil used to bond the Tiffany Daffodil lamp.  The copper foil technique is used on all of the Tiffany lamps that Louise Tiffany created. 

          Over time, the Tiffany lamps that Louise Tiffany created seem to fall into seven unique and very characteristic categories.  The Favrile category was one of the first lamps to be grouped in this way.  The Favrile was a stamped label placed on each of his first artworks.  The Favrile label came to be known as handmade.  Louise Comfort Tiffany initials later replaced the Favrile trademark.  The Irregular Upper and Lower Border design had a trademark of an openwork crown.  It is suggested that this group of lamps simulates shrubbery or branches of a tree.  The Geometric category used geometric shapes like ovals, rectangles, triangles, and squares.  The many different shapes were used to create the lamp shades in this category. The Transition to Flowers category follows a design which might include butterflies, spiders, dragonflies or many of the different flowers found in a flower garden.  The Tiffany Daffodil lamp would definitely fall into this category.  The two subcategories are defined by the shape of the lamp shade, the flowered cone or a flowered globe shape.  All of the many categories that the Tiffany lamp shades came to be known by are just a small part in the designing of the Tiffany Daffodil lamp.

          The Tiffany Daffodil Lamp is just one of the many beautiful and splendid additions that any collector would cherish.  It is a treasure that will light up your home with real value.  Louise Tiffany created his artwork to be proudly displayed by anyone with an eye for fine art.  The combination of rich colors and the tranquil effect of the flowers in the Tiffany Daffodil lamp is an ingenious work of art.  The finely sculptured bronze base is used to support the Tiffany Daffodil lamp shade.  Louise Tiffany crafted some of the most magnificent pieces of art for the world to enjoy.  With so many choices of Tiffany lamps to choose from the Tiffany Daffodil lamp gets my vote.

ANTIQUE KEWPIE DOLLS

ANTIQUE KEWPIE DOLLS

Antique Kewpie Dolls have been capturing the hearts of collectors around the globe for almost one hundred years.  Beloved Antique Kewpie Dolls have been remembered in song, cherished by many, and now are highly sought after by treasure hunters everywhere.  Antique Kewpie Dolls, often referred to as “Kewpies,” were adored by little girls years ago because so often this was the very first doll given to them.  You’ll fall in love too once you’ve laid eyes on a precious Antique Kewpie Doll.

Antique Kewpie Dolls were first mere illustrations made by a woman named Rose O’Neill, drawing them for Ladies’ Home Journal in 1909. O’Neill once described how these Kewpies came to her — in her dreams. The name Kewpie, she said, was derived from Cupid, the Roman God of Love.  Rose O’Neill quickly realized her creations potential as toy dolls and soon her lovable creatures became paper doll cut-outs.  These were the first double-sided paper dolls produced in the United States.  Not long after, with their popularity growing stronger, Kewpie Dolls would soon find their way into the bedrooms and play houses of little girls everywhere.  Manufactured in 1912, Antique Kewpie Dolls were made in Germany.  Joseph L. Kallas designed the first Kewpie doll and O’Neill was so pleased she gave him exclusive rights to her beloved Kewpies.  Made from bisque, these dolls came in various sizes all modeled on O’Neill’s designs.  Kallas’ company, Came Doll Products, continues to make Kewpies and many other dolls to this day.    

Bisque Antique Kewpie Dolls are known for their molded and painted topknot hair, expressive painted eyes, and adorable smiles and in some cases, a pair of tiny blue wings.  Finding such a doll in good condition might easily fetch more than a thousand dollars.  These cute moppets have been produced in nearly every size imaginable — anywhere from 1 inch to 3 feet in height.  Antique Kewpie Dolls were also made out of wood pulp and chalk, though the bisque models tend to be the more highly prized.  Because of the Kewpie Dolls growing popularity, of course imitations flooded the market place.  The most popular of these knock-offs was a doll made from celluloid — what we now know is a highly unstable compound widely used during World War I. 

Today’s Kewpie Dolls are crafted out of vinyl and one of the more well-known manufacturers is the Charisma Company owned by Marie Osmond.  There’s nothing wrong with owning and loving a modern day Kewpie, but one should know what it is they are buying.  Obviously, a collector must be careful not to bid on a reproduction, thinking it is in fact an original Antique Kewpie Doll.  Most O’Neill Kewpies have labels, but to be sure you have a bisque original, Rose O’Neill’s name should appear on the bottom of the doll’s feet.  To learn more about Antique Kewpie Dolls, you can join various Kewpie Doll clubs.  There are also many books to help a new collector find the Antique Kewpie Doll of their dreams.  Two very good resources are Kewpie Dolls & Art With Value Guide and Rose O’Neill Kewpies and Other Works. 

Very few collectibles bring such joy and warmth as an Antique Kewpie Doll.  Rose O’Neill created timeless treasures that are as lovable today as they were a century ago.   Remarking about her adorable creations, O’Neill described her Kewpies as, “always searching out ways to make the world better and funnier.”  Track down an Antique Kewpie Doll for yourself and you’ll soon see why.

FRANKOMA POTTERY MAYAN DISHWARE

Frankoma Pottery Mayan Dishware
 

If you have a flare for the southwest and enjoy natural earth tone colors, you would love Frankoma Pottery Mayan dishware to grace your dinner table and enhance any meal. Frankoma Pottery Mayan dishware is a southwestern line of dinnerware that was founded by John Nathaniel Frank.  John Frank opened a pottery store in Norman Oklahoma and combined his name and the state he lived in to form Frankoma Pottery in the early 1930’s.  It was an art teacher’s life long dream to have his pottery in every home.  He moved his family and business to Sapulpa Oklahoma. After a fire that burnt his business to the ground he had to start all over again. His business really started to boom when he introduced Frankoma Pottery Mayan dishware in 1947.   Frankoma pottery Mayan dinnerware has many lovely pieces for the whole world to enjoy.

What makes Frankoma Pottery Mayan dishware unique from other Frankoma lines of pottery is its Mayan-Aztec design and wonderful colors.  The colors used by Frankoma Pottery Mayan dishware include wonderful earth tones such as Prairie Green, White Sand, Desert Gold, and Onyx Black.  The colors that inspired many of his pottery line are the colors found in nature. A little bit of Oklahoma is in each and every piece of pottery.  The vintage pieces can be identified by the Mayan Sequence around the edges of the pottery and by its trademark of random brushstrokes.  It has the look and the design of the Aztec from a time long ago. 

The most valuable Frankoma Pottery, the Pot & Puma, was made 50 years ago and can be identified by an “O” on the bottom of the pottery.  The Pot & Puma is a trademark to represent both the artistic and also the sculptures of his craft.  In order to find out the age of the pottery, look at the unglazed bottom of the pieces of his pottery.  A light tan color, or Ada clay, is an indicator of pre-1955 pottery.  A brick red or reddish color, know as Sapulpa clay, is post 1955 pottery.  An easy way to identify if your pottery piece is a Frankoma Pottery Mayan dishware is by the stock number on the bottom (Only for pieces made after 1955). The stock numbers begin with a number, which identifies the different style of Frankoma pottery, followed by one or two letters. If the stock number begins with a 94, the piece is the Wagon Wheel pattern; if it begins with a 4, the piece is Lazybones pattern; if it begins with 5 it is Plainsman; if it begins with a 6 it is the Westwind pattern; and 7 is the Frankoma pottery Mayan-Aztec pattern.

To find your own Frankoma Pottery Mayan dishware, you have many choices.  The vintage pieces are available on many auction sites that have antiques or collectibles.  Many other pottery replacement websites also carry an inventory of Frankoma pottery Mayan dishware.  For new pottery, Frankoma Pottery has a website where orders can be placed and pottery can even be custom designed.  The new pottery pieces are all dishwasher safe, microwave save and oven proof.  It is even used by celebrities like Food Network’s Paula Deen.

The earth has many beautiful secrets hidden within it.  Thanks to John Frank and his Frankoma Pottery Mayan dishware, we now have the ability to bring some of this beauty into our homes.  If you like to enjoy the natural beauty of the earth, especially the warm tones of the southwest, you must have Frankoma Pottery Mayan style dishware gracing your table.  The unique style and colors will brighten any kitchen and add some visual spice to any meal!

HUMMEL SPICE SET

HUMMEL  SPICE  SET

            The Hummel spice set will make any collector’s mouth water with envy.  The sheer beauty of each and every spice container is a link to the history of the enchanting artwork that was made by M. J. Hummel.  The Hummel spice set is a twenty-four piece set of spice jars.  Each of the spice containers are covered in an ivory glaze and trimmed in a magnificent 24K gold border.  As you look at each spice jar you will see that each container has a different Hummel work of art placed on one side of the spice jar.  The artwork is a picture of a small child in a setting that will melt your heart and warm your soul.  As you turn the Hummel jar around you will notice a history of each spice that is printed on every jar of the Hummel spice set.  It is a brief description of the spice and its origins.  The Hummel spice set has the cutest little lids that rest on top of each Hummel piece in the set.  The lids also have rubber seals around the rims so that the spices will retain there freshness and flavor.  If you pick-up one of the jars from the set just look at the bottom to ensure that it is stamped with the real M. J. Hummel trademark.  The M. J. Hummel spice set is usually displayed in a beautiful wood spice rack that holds all twenty-four spice jars to proudly display on any wall or counter top. 

            As you go back in time you will discover what makes the Hummel spice set such a valuable treasure to possess.  M.J. Hummel or (Berta) was born in Bavaria, Germany in 1909.  She started school at age six and amazed her teacher with her artistic talents for such a young girl.  When Berta became twelve, she was sent to Merianhoehe, the Institute of English Sisters.  With the religious influence of the Sisters at the school and the talented teaching of Sister Stephania in her art studies, Berta was becoming quite the artist.  At age eighteen Berta moved to Munich to get professional training at the Academy of Applied Arts. After graduating with top honors from the Academy Berta Hummel declined to stay and teach at the school.  Her love of god and the friendship of two Sisters helped in her decision to pledge her life to the Convent of Siessen.

            Berta has a love for children.  She enjoyed teaching her art classes to the girl’s at a school named St. Anna in Sauigau.  Many of the families that resided at Sauigau would have Berta paint a portrait of their child.  Is it possible that some of these portraits are the ones on the Hummel spice set?  As Berta finished her novitiate in 1931 she took the name Maria Innocentia Hummel.  Sister Maria Hummel continued to draw and her artwork was placed on cards and published in books.  Franz Goebel, is renowned for his fine quality porcelain company.  After tracking down Sister Hummel, Franz convinced the Sister to have her drawings of the children made into porcelain figurines.  An agreement was reached between the two parties and the papers were signed on January 9^th 1935.  It was the beginning of the first M.J. Hummel figurines.  The Hummel figurines quickly took the hearts of all who looked upon them.  They spread through out Germany and the US.  M. J. Hummel died in1946 at the age of 37.

            The Hummel spice set is designed from the artworks of a Sister who loved the children in her drawings.  She captured their youthful entices in her drawing that would become a collectible to cherish.  The Hummel spice set gives us twenty-four of her masterpieces to look at as we use the spices in the rack to enhance our meals and our lives.  God gave her this gift to share with the world.  It is truly a blessing to have a Hummel spice set sitting on a kitchen counter filled with the spices that make it so complete. 

DALVEY PLAYING CARDS

DALVEY PLAYING CARDS

 Dalvey is a well-known company. Dalvey is a name that stands for the utmost quality and craftsmanship. The Dalvey playing cards are very unique in appearance and styling. It is also one of the most exquisite accessories to own or to give as a gift that will last a lifetime. I have only seen the Dalvey playing cards once, while I was traveling on a trip. The playing cards were very odd looking at first glance because of their round shape and many markings around the edge. I soon discovered they were made to look that way. The Dalvey playing cards were kept in a beautiful stainless steel case made of the finest quality. When the case was opened and the cards put away, I noticed an atlas on the inside top of the case lid. I wondered if it was a trademark for a world class product.

            The Dalvey playing cards are derived from all ages of history and many cultures around the globe. Cards can be traced back to China. It was thought that sometime in the 10^th century, the playing cards were used for entertainment and passing the time. The earliest versions of cards were very different from that of cards today. Many cultures around the world had a hand in the evolution of the Dalvey playing cards. Some of the characteristic of the playing cards came from Europe, Italy, Germany and France. The early European cards had a fifty-two card count in the deck. They had four suits, but had very different symbols on the cards. Europeans also used royalty for the figures used on the highest cards in the deck.

The Italians had a playing card that was hand painted with the utmost detail. The cards were very expensive and required a vast amount of time to make. The shape of the cards where round very much like the Dalvey playing cards. The cards resembled a small, precisely hand painted saucer. The circular shape of the cards aided in the ease of holding a large amount of cards, as well as ‘fanning’ them out, so they can only be seen only by the viewer. The hand painting of the cards later became a problem due to the rough texture on the cards. They were hard to shuffle and pass out to the other players. Later in time, the Germans figured out how to engrave the cards for manufacturing to produce vast amounts of the playing cards, which in turn, lessen the cost of the cards. The cards were printed on paper and were tested for their durablity. The plastic coating on the cards came at a later time. The German cards had symbols of acorns, bells, leaves, and hearts that were later made into hearts, clubs, diamonds and spades, just like the Dalvey playing cards of modern times.

            The Americans soon discovered the playing cards. The cards begin appearing in all parts of the country. The Americans’ contribution to the deck was adding the joker. Maybe it was for one more chance to get that better hand in poker. Many of the card games that we still play today originated from games from centuries ago. The Dalvey playing cards are very similar to the round cards that were used by early travelers. Their circular shape and elegant travel cases helped the travelers carry their cards with them on long and short journeys alike. The round shape also helped in the ease of picking up the cards if they were dropped on the floor or table. The card game of poker is the game that comes to mind when we think of American card games. One can just picture a group of men sitting in a saloon with a hand of cards. This could have been the earliest version of the Dalvey playing cards. There are so many different card games to choose in playing. Anyone can vision a time when cards playing was a way to past the time and enjoy the company of others. One can also vision children playing cards on a wooden floor, which helped offset the time when chores were not needed to be done; however, they always had time for a quick game of rummy before lights out. 

          With all the centuries and cultures adding to the development of the playing cards, the Dalvey playing cards are truly a world-class card.  We should have no doubt in our mind that the Dalvey playing cards will continue to be cherished for many, many years.  To sum it all up, the Dalvey playing cards have a certain style and charm, which plays a part in the HAND on my HEART and is a DIAMOND in my eye that will SUIT me for a lifetime. 

VINTAGE BULLARD HARD HATS

Vintage Bullard Hard Hats

The art of collecting is all about finding those rare treasures that catch the eye when a guest enters your home.  Vintage Bullard Hard Hats are just such a unique item. Vintage Bullard Hard Hats are like a time capsule that will accent your home and won’t go unnoticed. Vintage Bullard Hard Hats make a bold statement and have a rich history that represents a real slice of Americana that will become a savvy collector’s most prized possession.

You can trace the history of America’s growth as a country with a vintage Bullard Hard Hat.  A hundred years ago, the hard hat didn’t even exist.  The steel helmet Edward Bullard, the founder of Bullard Hard Hats, brought back home after serving in World War I was far more than an interesting keepsake.  In fact, his war-time headgear would become the inspiration for a revolution in worker safety.  For two decades, starting in 1898 and based out of San Francisco, Edward Bullard’s father had been selling his wares to brave men working in gold and copper mines.  The miners would wear leather headgear that looked more like caps professional baseball players wear.  Obviously, they didn’t provide much protection from falling debris.   But in 1919, Edward Bullard found inspiration, patenting a “hard boiled hat.”  Thus, the Bullard Hard Hat was born.  Later that same year, the U.S. Navy asked the Bullard Company to develop protection for shipyard workers.  As you can see, vintage Bullard Hard Hats roots run deep.

Bullard Hard Hats also played an important role in the building of one of America’s most significant landmarks: San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge in 1933.  This was the first construction site in America that required all workers to wear hard hats, taking the workplace to new heights of worker safety.  Later, in 1938, Bullard designed and manufactured the first aluminum hard hat that would become the benchmark for head protection.  In the 1940s, the aluminum construction was replaced by fiberglass.  Then in the 1950s and 1960s, Bullard Hard Hats began using thermoplastics which would replace the fiberglass design because the groundbreaking material was less costly and better suited to modern day construction sites.  In 1982, Bullard Hard Hats changed again.  One of Bullard’s major clients, Bechtel Corporation, felt that the hard hats didn’t have the proper suspension for often dangerous fieldwork.  Bullard Hard Hats introduced a revolutionary new industrial helmet, marking the beginning of a new age in protection and safety.  Owning a vintage Bullard Hard Hat will transport your home back in time.

Don’t worry; vintage Bullard Hard Hats aren’t just a one-size-fits-all collector’s item.  They are well worth your time to seek out because they often differ from one another, embodying unique and personal touches as well.  Many construction workers throughout the years have decorated their hard hats with stickers commemorating job sites and union memberships as well as distinguishing which hard hat belongs to whom. Vintage Bullard Hard Hats have become an iconic image of the American construction worker, with its long, storied history tracing America’s transformation into the modern age.  Never dull, a treasure hunter will find that vintage Bullard Hard Hats also come in a variety of colors, signifying different roles the person wearing it may have held.  The color white is for supervisors.  Blue for technical advisors.  Red for safety inspectors.  Yellow for workmen.  Green can signify workers who are new to the job.  Having a vintage Bullard Hard Hat on display will set off any room or shelf and quickly become one of your most talked about treasures.

GOTHIC PEWTER TANKARDS

GOTHIC PEWTER TANKARDS

Sure to catch the discerning eye and become a valued treasure, Gothic Pewter Tankards are wonderfully crafted, beautiful and a great way to make your collection like no other. For the smart and distinguished collector, Gothic Pewter Tankards make a bold statement because Gothic Pewter Tankards have a rich history and can reflect anyone’s budget, taste and style.  Gothic Pewter Tankards may sometimes be confused with beer steins, but as you’ll soon discover, they are so much more.  To begin your search, let’s go back in time to the Gothic age.

What is Gothic you may ask?  Generally when you hear the word Gothic it pertains to a literary style of fiction, a type of architecture, personal item or dress from the late 18th and 19th centuries.  Often in works of that era, grotesque, mysterious and medieval elements were utilized and that’s no different with Gothic Pewter Tankards.  However, don’t be mislead.  Gothic Pewter Tankards are breathtaking in their myriad of designs and centuries old craftsmanship.  Obviously what makes them so unique is the pewter itself.   

Before the mass production of glass and china, pewter was the primary material used in tableware.  Workers throughout the ages have sculpted and molded functional works of art with this beautiful metal alloy.  Today, Gothic Pewter Tankards are still created using traditional techniques passed down through generations.  Traditionally, pewter is between 85 and 99 percent tin, with the remainder consisting of anywhere between 1 and 15 percent copper that acts as a hardener.  Older and lower grades of pewter sometimes contain lead and these pieces can be identified by their bluish tint. However, modern Gothic Pewter Tankards are mixed with tin and copper but don’t contain lead, employing antimony or bismuth.  Physically, pewter is a bright, shiny cousin to silver but is much less expensive.  But be warned, pewter will tarnish to a dull gray over time if left untreated.  Gothic Pewter Tankards aren’t for those who don’t like to polish every now and then.    

To make sure you find the Gothic Pewter Tankard you’re looking for we should spend some time elaborating on what a tankard is.  A tankard by definition is a large drinking cup, featuring a single handle.  It’s this handle that many times will be the signature piece that makes a Gothic Pewter Tankard truly special.  Etchings will often be found on the side of the large cup and can reflect the tankard’s gothic roots or from which country it was made in.  You can bring a piece of Scotland, or Wales, or England into your home when you find the Gothic Pewter Tankard that’s right for you.  Another distinguishing characteristic you’ll often discover on many tankards is a glass bottom.  History tells us that the glass bottom was used as a means to refuse the King’s shilling and not serve in his army or navy.  The drinker could see the coin in the bottom of the glass and refuse the drink, thus refusing to be a member of the King’s military.  

As you can imagine, adding one or a series of Gothic Pewter Tankards to your home will make for many an interesting conversation.  As you begin to dig around, you’ll find Gothic Pewter Tankards range in price, size and of course by brand, but you can’t go wrong.  Uncovering a Gothic Pewter Tankard that’s as unique and varied as your individual tastes won’t take long.   What are you waiting for?

SCHATT AND MORGAN CELLULOID HANDLED KNIVES

Schatt and Morgan Celluloid Handled Knives

    Here’s an item that’s as unique as it is stunningly beautiful — a Schatt and Morgan Celluloid Handled Knife.  Schatt and Morgan Celluloid Handled Knives are historical gems that date all the way back to the turn of the century.  By the 1940s and 1950s these knives were no longer being manufactured which makes hunting down a Schatt and Morgan Celluloid Handled Knife a real find.    Schatt and Morgan Celluloid Handled Knives first became world renown for their amazing attention to detail at the end of the 19th Century.  The Schatt and Morgan Cutlery Company is founded in

Gowanda, NY in 1890, eventually becoming Queen Cutlery.  Queen Cutlery is still housed in the original Schatt and Morgan factory and many of the delicate hand processes and operations employed by Schatt and Morgan are being used to this day.  Skilled craftsmen are essential to build a “factory knife” by hand and, while it doesn’t lead to mass production or extremely low prices, the results are beautiful, functional knives.  This tradition of excellence goes back to the days when Schatt and Morgan Celluloid Handled Knives began gathering a wide variety of loyal customers.    You’ve probably seen Celluloid and perhaps have mistaken it for plastic or mother of pearl.  But the defining quality of a Schatt and Morgan Celluloid Handled Knife, the Celluloid handle itself, has a more humble beginning.  Celluloid is a man-made material that was commonly used for knife handles for almost fifty years. Celluloid was the world’s first successful thermoplastic substance.  It was developed and patented just after America’s Civil War by Alexander Parkes.  Made from a combination of tree resin, camphor and a nitrate/cellulose substance, the new material — Celluloid — was given a name made up by Parkes.  Early on, Celluloid came in only two colors and had rather limited applications.  The white version was used mostly in knife handles like the Schatt and Morgan Celluloid Handled Knife and trimmings for horse harnesses.  A flesh color was used for denture bases.  Within a few years of its introduction, Celluloid was being made in most colors.  Imitation ivory, coral and tortoise shell versions were also being used in costume jewelry.  Extensive dressing table sets — combs, hand mirrors, hair receivers, boxes  — were soon being manufactured.  But Celluloid’s greatest use was in the fashion industry, where artificial collars and cuffs became the standard.  Even dolls were made from this fascinating substance.    So as you can see, the Celluloid you’ll find on a Schatt and Morgan Celluloid Handled Knife can be clear, come in many different colors, or perhaps will have swirled patterns in it for extra decoration.  Schatt and Morgan Celluloid Handled Knives hit their peak in the 1920s and 1930s, but by mid-century Celluloid’s day was about over, as modern plastics came to the forefront.

    While a fascinating treasure, it’s worth noting that vintage Schatt and Morgan Celluloid Handled Knives require great care as the Celluloid can be problematic in its upkeep.  The lighter or clearer the color of the Celluloid, the greater the tendency for the material to break down, causing the steel blade of the knife to decompose or rust.  Still, a Schatt and Morgan Celluloid Handled Knife or collection of them is well worth the extra effort and upkeep.  Heavy oils and protective waxes will help ensure that your Schatt and Morgan Celluloid Handled Knife stays one of your most valued keepsakes.

Hello world! SINDEE99′S OLD TREASURE COVE

Welcome to WordPress.com. My user name is Sindee99 and I am here to share some stories and some articles of interest. I hope to enlighten and share some of the wisdom I have gained over my fifty plus years of life. So check in often and see if you can be inspired by what I have to share with you.

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Sindee99