framed

Isn't this pretty?

Even though it's from Portugal, and my antiques-dealing associates are always dissing Portuguese pottery.

oh, man

WHAT a cool 1950s shirt.

ok, I get that it looks not good on my mannequin, but there's not much I can do.

 nifty detail

\

 Remember when things were made in the USA?

nip head

Ivy Spivington hasn't appeared on the blog in ages, but I thought you'd like to see what she looks like after a particularly intense catnip event.

Embarrasing, no?

latest ashtrays

Actually, there's about five latest ashtrays, but I could only find three (my car is currently packed to the gills).

Anyway, here you are:

The National Hotel, Hummelstown, PA

Joe & Josephine

here's a link that will show you what it looked like:

https://ybcraftsmen.wordpress.com/2010/07/24/hummelstown-library-receives-art-donation/

 'Pizza pie at all times.'  

That should be true of every hotel and restaurant in the entire world.

=========================================================================

Nissley Bottled Gas, Ephrata, PA

No info available on the 'net about this business, but if you go to ask.com* and enter Nissley +Ephrata, lots of stuff pops up. 

=======================================================================

Palace Furniture, Clarksburg, WV

No longer in biz, but the folks in Clarksburg have been working to keep the building away from the wrecking ball.

the Tuesday Song of the Week

Don't let the snow ruin your day!

'Whenever God Shines His Light' - Van Morrison and Cliff RIchard

Aloha!

Direct from late 1960s Hawaii to you !!

TWO pieces 

nifty halter top

Fantastic palazzo pants (aka 'elephant pants') with hems measuring a full 35 inches!

In the Etsy store: www.etsy.com/shop/FriskyVintage

donkey

keychain!

SUPER well-made

and oozing with donkey-al appeal.

Wanna buy?

Get it here: www.etsy.com/shop/friskyvintage

1970s WILD

 shearling hat.

 You can find tons of early 70s photos of big international stars - including Elizabeth Taylor and Romy Schneider and Capucine - wearing the exact same style hat.

This one's in almost 100% original condition (only the label is a bit worn).

Wanna get?

Go here: www.etsy.com/shop/FriskyVintage

Get this! Get this!

Two MORE mahvelous graphics from my Zazzle dealie:

Bad comb, awesome graphic.  On mugs, hats, cards, notebook, etc. etc. etc.  None of which have the watermark that you see here.  Which is nice.

Go here: www.zazzle.com/the_olden_eye?rf=238225004668148127, and in the 'Search This Store' box, and enter 'comb' (you don't need the punctuation).

Now, you have to admit that this one is REALLY cool.  Who is that handsome mystery man?  And where did he get that neat tie?

He's on boxes, cards, shirts, mugs, and a bunch more stuff, perfect for gifting, and also getting.

Go here: www.zazzle.com/the_olden_eye?rf=238225004668148127, and in the 'Search This Store' box, and enter 'mystery (you don't need the punctuation).

history's most charming...

toothpick holder.

with a sailboat!

and a nifty handle!

The Four Seasons

In Mid-Century Modern glass tray form!

The Lady's Letter-Writer: Letter XXIII

Letter XXIII

A female Servant to her Suitor

Elizabethport, Jan. 3rd, 18--

Dear...:-- I am very happy to receive your kind letter, and to hear that you are doing so well.  My mistress is so satisfied with me that she has increased my wages, besides making me a handsome present of clothes.  I am in hopes that, with care and economy, we may both save us something, and not start into married life, as many do, without a farthing to help us.

As my mistress kindly permits me to go out on Sunday afternoon, I shall hope to meet you as usual at .... , till when,

                                           I remain, 

                                              Your affectionate,

                                                    ........  ..........

To: ... .....

cameo

DRESS!!

In silk!

Isn't it simply mahvelous?

Yes, I believe it is.

All hail

the king bank.

 His Highness needs money for the kingdom.

His highness is very pale, as are his attendants.

Your contributions may be put into the slot in the back of his whatever it is.

Bucks County

in fabric form!

A WHOLE BOLT of linen with a wealth of Bucks County, PA motifs.  

little girl, baby kitty

 Isn't this adorable?

baby kitties make for excellent baby doll substitutions*

The above is marked "Pat" in script under the chair, with a date of 1958.  I've seen a doll with her face, but I haven't been able to come up with an example online, since searching "Pat" +doll hasn't brought up anything useful.

*I got my first kitten a month or so before I turned age 8.  Naturally, being a little girl myself, I would dress her in doll clothes, and push her around in my doll coach.  She was very tolerant.  Her name was Cuddles, and in her 15 years of life, she became the greatest cat in human history.  

the Tuesday Song of the Week

Is this sweet?

'The World Is Waiting for the Sunrise' - Les Paul & Mary Ford

The Lady's Letter-Writer: Letter XXII

Letter XXII

Confessing a Change of Feeling

New York, June 4, 18--

My Dear Sir:-- I fear my avowal may give you some pain; but it is better to be sincere and open in matters where the happiness of another is concerned.

To speak plainly, then, I feel that my sentiments in regard to yourself are no longer what they were.  While my esteem for your character remains unshaken, I still cannot blind myself to the fact that I do not cherish that affection which a wife ought to feel for her husband, and without which the married life is one continual scene of torment and vexation.  You will not, I am sure, give me credit for acting from mere fickleness -- especially as I do not at present entertain a partiality for any other; -- but you must pardon me when I express my firm belief that all correspondence between us had better cease, and that such letters as have passed between us should be returned at the first convenient opportunity.

Assuring you, that as a friend I shall constantly remember you with esteem, 

                                             I remain, my dear sir, 

                                                            Your's very faithfully,

                                                              ....... ........

To: ....., Esq.

angels

or cherubs...

 

... belt buckle!!

Have you every seen anything so marvelous?

Probably not.

Here's the back.

shout out from Serbia

circa 1972.

 

When I was a kid, I just assumed people in commie countries spent all their time in dark rooms, being miserable and wondering when the secret police would come calling.

To my utter astonishment, a prof I had at college, who began life in Czechoslovakia (Hi, Mr. Cibulka!) told a story of when he, his parents and siblings were out on the balcony of their apartment eating popcorn. (Communist popcorn??) And a strong smell wafted out onto the balcony, smelling strongly of popcorn.  However, it turned out, their apartment was on fire.*

The above name is a place name in Serbia.  (or, as stuff you'll find from around 1900, 'Servia.')

*Since the late 1980s, the Far Northeast part of the City of Bothersome Love has been attracting Russians fleeing Russia.   For some reason, either the novelty of living in a unit sans five other families, or cooking over something other than a kerosene stove, they constantly had fires break out in their units.  Like, constantly.  I know this because a) it used to make the news, and b) I knew someone who worked across the street from the fire house that serviced that area.

Just thought you'd find that cultural tidbit interesting.

BEAUTIFUL orchids

in print hankie form!

 

Now, having been in business, like, forever, I've found probably a few thousand print handkerchiefs over the years...

but this is in the top five prettiest.

PRESENTING...

My

    FABulous

         ZAZZLE store!

    http://www.zazzle.com/the_olden_eye      

the Tuesday Song of the Week

This is quite the toe-tapper:

'Afrikaan Beat' - Bert Kaempfert

The Lady's Letter-Writer: Letter XXI

(I'm very sorry that I didn't post a letter last week.  Mea culpa.)

Letter XXI

To an accepted Suitor

Yonkers, April 12, 18--

My Dear...:-- Your kind and affectionate letter gave us much pleasure, especially as you state that it is your intention to come down next mid-summer, and that you purpose settling here.  I can assure you, we shall be on the tiptoe of expectation for your arrival; what delights dear father and mother the most is, that you propose settling in the country, as in that case we shall not be deprived of seeing each other, and they will be partakers of our pleasures, which could not be, had you made up your mind to reside in New York.

I have received your pretty present, and will repay you for your kind remembrance of me, with a token more acceptable than money when I see you; until then, my dearest ....., 

                                      I remain,

      

                                            Yours, affectionately,

                                                         ........ ..........

To: ....... ......., Esq.

What's the word?

Thunderbird!

What's the action?  Satisfaction!

(that's all I can remember of the jingle.)

The above are cufflinks.

Amazingly, there's a commercial on YouTube with James Mason waxing rhapsodic over the charms of Thunderbird.  

But so far, no one's posted that great commercial with Laurence Olivier talking about how much he enjoys drinking Night Train.

shout out from the Golden Age of

Earth Tones,

i.e. the early 1970s.

 

these are, believe it or don't, candle holders

When I was a kid, I knew people whose homes* were decorated in brown and gold,

or rust (and sometimes eye-searing orange) and tan.

The house I bought, in which zilch had been changed since Richard Nixon's first term, had an avocado and harvest gold decor.  I still have the avocado rugs, and the appalling wallpaper, but the harvest gold stove was replaced three or four years ago.

Another popular style in my nabe was (bo kitchy) Spanish.  Everything black and red, lots of wrought iron, and bulls and bullfighter stuff on the walls.

Then there was the Italianate version, which was all WAY over the top lamps and furniture, inspired by the styles of one of the more insane branches of the Medici family.  At least the colors were nice.

the Tuesday Song of the Week

Let's get happy!

'H.A.P.P.Y. Radio' - Edwin Starr

busy

Like, really busy.  

One of the busiest early Januarys I can recall.

Going here, going there,

Doing this, and later doing that.

But not only that.

I lost someone I loved to pieces.

She was another PAWS* volunteer, who worked with me taking care of the cats at the local PetsMart on Monday mornings.

Her name was Sandy Green.

Sandy was an elderly lady, soooo sweet and soooooooo loveable and funny.  

You couldn't spend two hours a week (the length of our shift) with a nicer person.

We got word that her son had gone to her apartment on New Year's Day, and found her gone.

I will always remember her, and I'll always, always miss her.  

Hopefully, Sandy, I'll see you again.

*PAWS = Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society