I wouldn't blame The Dish for running away with this Spoon!

Who wouldn't want to steal away with this charming Georgian sterling spoon? It's a coffee spoon with a perfect little 'B' monogrammed on the back. It's one of a pair purchased on eBay several years ago.

It's difficult to see from the photo, but the bowl is quite worn from years of use.

It's a sweet 5 3/8" - just right for a small cup of tea or coffee.


The hallmarks tell us it was made in London in 1825 - just imagine, someone could have used this spoon to stir tea while reading about Thomas Jefferson's death in the newspaper! And now it's used to stir my tea . . .

Collectors often overlook spoons because they're so plentiful. But, sometimes they're also so delightful and usually quite affordable - especially if monogrammed. If you're interested in learning more about English sterling, consider purchasing a copy of Jackson's Hallmarks - it's a lifesaver when you're antiquing (online or in real life!).

Thanks for stopping by and meeting my little spoon! What things have you collected that brighten your day?

Alma's Fishy Valentine!

Remember my friend from the past, Alma Boss? If not, you can check out her story here. In addition to many, many Christmas cards, Alma's scrapbook contained some very sweet Valentines. Here's my favorite:

It's not just the bold '30s graphics that I like, the inside is rather funny.

Most of Alma's Valentine's cards are more traditional, lots of pastel flowers bundled with lace and ribbons like this one from her friend Mildred.

And this one from her beau, Jack, of the Jonah card fame:

The message inside culminates with the phrase "you're swell" . . . somehow that's just more romantic than the modern equivalent "you're so hot".

And, in case Alma was the kind of girl who would check the back of the card, Jack purchased an up-and-coming brand - Hallmark. (I'm sure she wasn't that kind of girl, though, because that's just not consistent with being swell . . .)

Thanks for sharing this glimpse into Valentines Past and I hope your Valentine surprises you with something sweet tomorrow!

Happy Valentine's Day - back on Monday!

Alma Boss: The Ghost of Christmases Past

Last year I had a minor obsession with Alma Boss - a woman who lived in Kansas City in the 1920s-1940s. She's not a relative, I've never met her, there's no information about her on the usual internet resources . . . So, why does this Christmas make me think of her? Because I spent hours last fall with her scrapbook. In anticipation of Christmas decorating, I won a large scrapbook on eBay that was filled with vintage Christmas cards. My plan was to make a garland with cards from the '20s and '30s for our mantel (the garland turned out really well, but that's another story).

The scrapbook was somewhat intact although rather worn - lots of brittle pages barely held together (I don't have pics of it - you know how it is in the Pre-Blog World- you don't photograph every mundane detail of life . . .). Some of the cards were loose, but many were still glued to the yellowed paper and in the process of removing these from the scrapbook and sorting through the almost-three decades of cards, I developed an affection for Alma and for vintage cards.

The cards from the 1920s are just cards - no fold-overs. Many have vivid colors and are hand-bordered in gold. The 1930s cards are mostly folded with those distinctive graphics that are reminiscent of old film titles.

Animals are a popular theme on the '30s cards - or perhaps it's not a trend, but a reflection of Alma's pet doggie?

The cards from the '40s are especially poignant - like this one sent just days or weeks after the Pearl Harbor attack.

As I worked to undo Alma's careful gluing, I wondered about her life. Like most of us, she received cards from many of the same people year after year. I started to recognize the names on the cards - relatives who shared the surname Boss, friends whose cards reflected their marriages and growing families, possible beaus. Some people like the Madsens below had expensive cards with their names imprinted. Others wrote chatty notes, one especially funny one from a female cousin tells Alma to "get married if you want to gain weight - I now weigh 180 ha ha" - who would write that today? (Or perhaps it was a passive-aggressive insult during the lean depression years?)

There are so many intriguing people between the pages of Alma's scrapbook - like her friend Opal Howard who faithfully sent Christmas and birthday cards for over twenty years, including this card below that appears to be hand-painted. Inside is simply her name written in plain calligraphy. Her cards show that she eventually married and then did not have time to paint her own cards!
I also found the Klein family interesting - for about 10 years Joe Klein always sent Alma a Christmas card. Then he married and he and Mrs. Klein sent the Happy New Year card seen below (note the Hebrew phrase). This was the last card from the Kleins to Alma . . .

Alma's scrapbook also contains birth announcements - a few with heartbreaking notes of the child's subsequent death. As you would expect, she preserved birthday, get well, and cards for other holidays. And on a more personal note, Alma appears to have had a love interest named Jack. He sent the card below which must have been more humorous then than now . . .

What's not visible in the photo is that Alma wrote his name 'Jackson' in the bottom right corner. There are probably 40 cards from Jack - Christmas, Easter, Birthdays, Valentines. He always signed the cards 'Jack', but Alma frequently noted his name as 'Jackson' - perhaps she felt the nickname Jack was too casual or undignified? Perhaps this is why he remained a beau for twenty years? It's obvious they had a close relationship because most of the cards have little notes or references that are meaningless to outsiders - we can only guess what he meant when he signed as 'The Hi Hat' or 'Your X Sheik' or modified a card meant for a Boss to read Bossy (again, perhaps a clue to their relationship)!

For Easter he always sent flowers as recorded by Alma on the cards. Tulips were a favorite and thanks to Alma's meticulous notes we know how many he sent and the colors. So, what happened with Alma and Jack? As I unpacked the cards again this year, I was reminded of their story. Did they marry? Was there another scrapbook that chronicled Alma's later life? What happened to all her friends? How did her scrapbook end up at an estate sale and then on eBay? I may never know what happened to Alma, but I can enjoy her beautiful Christmas cards and hope she'd approve of them decorating our mantel . . .

Give It Up for the Josef Elves!!

If you saw these elves in person, you would really give them a standing ovation.

These cheery little elves were made in the '50s or '60s by a company called Josef Originals. (They are best known for their birthday dolls.) Several years ago a friend found a few of these while cleaning out an estate in preparation for a house renovation. They did not appeal to her (one woman's kitsch . . . and all that) and since I liked them, she gave them to me . . . and thanks to eBay, that was just the beginning!

We were not familiar with these elves and wouldn't normally collect this type of knick-knack, but our original two elves were just so cute that we did the natural thing - looked on eBay, and discovered that there was a whole collection so over the years we've purchased . . .

and sold . . . and upgraded, until we have almost all the elves and with one exception the ones we now have are in great condition.

The one above is the exception - he's broken and chipped and has a stain on his face (or her face - who can say with elves?). But, whenever we've seen this one (The Sitter), he's broken due to the precarious manner in which he sits (notice that his seat today is a stack of miniature cupcake cups).

There are two rare ones that we'd like to own - one is stirring something in a large mixing bowl (I believe the bowl is an acorn cap!) and the other is pouring tea into a tiny cup - unbelievably cute! And as we all know, cute comes with a price - and so far we've been outbid on the few that have surfaced on eBay. (The more typical ones go for $10-20 in good condition. Broken and poorly repaired ones can be snapped up for under $5.)

The ones with labels are more valuable to some collectors. As a side note - the picture above is closer to the actual green color - in many of the pics the green looks faded and dusty (they are, in fact, very clean!).

And here's a picture we like to call "Elves on Camo". So now you've met the Josef Elves - I hope the pictures capture their whimsical nature. They are one of my favorite Christmas decorations and always bring a smile. (Be careful if searching for these online - Josef made other types of elves that are pretty scary . . . some have 'real' troll-type hair ~ shiver~!)

And if you have little ones who would appreciate a non-breakable elf, check out the Elf on the Shelf book. It's a fun book with an elf doll - the elf hides each night and your child can find him in the morning. We know kids who get almost as excited about the elf as Santa!

Have an elf-tastic weekend!