Decorative china coffee or tea set made in Japan drips with gold and pink design

I've put this little tea or coffee pot set up on Ebay again to see if I can sell it.  It's a very decorative piece but basically it's a vintage reproduction Made in Japan as a copy of other vintage or antique tea or coffee services.  This has the little classic French medallion of rustic courtesans playing outside and the whole thing is painted in very bright rosy magenta tone and gold splashes of paint making it light up a lot in a cabinet case.

It has six cups and saucers, each cup about 3 inches high and saucer almost 4 inches across.  The tea pot or coffee server stands about 7 inches high and the creamer and sugar bowl are equally well proportioned and equally well gilded and painted. There's nothing wrong with this set except it says "For Decorative Use Only" stamped on the bottom in gold print, leading me to think that the paints have metallic or other elements in them that might leach into real coffee and tea.  So the set is for decoration only!

It's a shame really as it would be rather nice to have one's coffee served in this over-the-top antique copy coffee service!

At any rate I have partitioned it into two lots and put them up on Ebay for sale. One listing is for the six teacups with saucers and the other is the pot with creamer and sugar bowl.   I've written about them in social media before saying these may be useful for crafts purposes or for decorative uses.  I'm thinking of the people who make bird feeders out of coffee cups by glueing them to wooden posts or who make artful arrangements of coffee pots into water fountains and things.  I suppose I might do something like that myself if I don't sell them first!
Follow up Note:  No one wanted this after two years up on Ebay, so I donated it to a thrift shop, hoping someone would find it. 

Art Nouveau Pieces in Paris, France

 This lovely lamp was created by Louis Majorelle (1846-1940), an artisan from Nancy, France. It is a table lamp created in 1902-1904 by Majorelle and the Daum Brothers and is typical of the Nancy School of Art Nouveau pieces created for various architects and designers at the time.  It stands almost 18 inches high and is so totally stunning I just had to photograph it. It is in Musee D'Orsay, Paris France among a collection of other art nouveau/art deco furniture pieces.  Just super!

This bed was created 1898 to 1899 by Tony Selmershein (1871 to 1971) from Saint Germain En Laye, who created this "chaise de salle a manger" for the Savoy Hotel in Brussels.  It is wonderful and strange looking and was arranged in a room format for view in the Musee D'Orsay in Paris, France.

Monet's Giverny Garden Was Beautiful

 While in France recently, we visited Giverny where Monet lived. We especially loved the garden and it was blooming well. There were all kinds of brig

ht colored flowers and lots of paths and walkways through it. The best thing about it was that most of the flowers and plants were not exotic species but easily grown and common plants such as daises and roses.  It was a terrific two hours wandering through and here are just some of the views from there.

Lovely Orchids at L'Orangerie in Paris

We visited Paris, France recently and got a chance to visit some of the amazing museums there. One museum was the L'Orangerie right in the middle of Paris. We went there to see the lovely display of Monet lilies paintings.  But in the lobby area was a lovely display of orchids that I also photographed as they really caught my eye as they seemed quite unusual. They were on the reception desk shelf and looked like they got a lot of light.  Just wonderful! Just wish my orchid looked like this but right now it's now flowering as I think I overwatered it and it hasn't got much sun.....

  

Pretty glass acrylic drawer knobs make great decoration

Recently I took nine drawer handles off a bureau that had got damaged.  The bureau was pretty new and so the drawer knobs were in very good condition so I put them up on Ebay to be sold.  Unfortunately, one of the knobs was missing so of the five drawers I only had nine drawer knobs.  Nevertheless, they are for sale as I think they are very nice looking, about 1-2 inches in depth, and would look good on another bureau that might need refreshing.

I also think they could be used for crafts or decorative elements such as putting all the knobs on a piece of wood and using it as a beads and bracelet hanger. Or to arrange in a shape on a larger piece of wood, maybe that is painted, and have it be a sign of some sort. 

I've almost convinced myself to keep them and make something of them but since I really am into deacquiring things, they remain up on Ebay.
Follow-up Note: And they got sold about three months later! Hooray!  A crafter bought them, so I was very happy.

Beautiful Baccarat Crystal Champagne Flutes, about 9 inches high

 I acquired this box of a pair of Baccarat Crystal Champagne Flute glasses recently.  They are a little over 9 inches tall and sit in a nice big box of their own. They have the Made in France Baccarat etching on the bottom round of each glass so when you drink bottoms up you will see the label.  I think they are just beautiful and I would like to keep them but we don't drink alcohol anymore and so will never use them. They are in the original red lined box as sold at a Lord and Taylor shop (the sticker is still on the bottom!). The box has a lovely dark red colored sponge holder to hold these in storage.  So I sold them on Ebay as I won't use them.  Someone did snap them up at a good price and I'm so glad they did!

Cherubs and Chariots Seeking New Homes

  
Lately I've become a little intrigued about the level of detail on the Wedgwood dish collectibles I have put up for sale on Ebay.  All these little dishes and plates and trinket boxes have little scenes on them.  For instance little cherubs dancing, or cherubs dashing about in a chariot drawn by a lion, or an angel type figure who is riding a horse.

 In some cases it is really hard to figure out what these figures are really up to. Handing flowers to each other?  There's other detail too like borders of ivy type leaves and daisies and trees.  So much detail goes into these!  I once watched someone make a Wedgwood piece and after the firing of the basic shape they then press on the little decal type images and which also seem to be made of some kind of clay. The little white colored scenes placed on top of the blue jasperware china clay is quite remarkable and distinctive and is probably what makes these pieces stand out from all the other collectibles out there. Most of them seem to have a classical reference, such as to Greek or Roman mythology.  Hoping there are many appreciators of this stuff in Ebay land who will buy these from me.  I'm really not a collector of them and have no place to display them, so all the pieces are looking for new homes.

Royal dishes for pins, rings and other things

The other day I came across a couple of rather battered looking biscuit tins among the things my now deceased  mother-in-law had given me. I fully expected them to be filled be photos and souvenirs upon opening, but oh no, it was yet another set of what I call Royalophile little trinket and commemorative dishes. I sort of grouped them by what they were about and at least three of them were about the marriage of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spenser back there in July 1981.  So I've dutifully photographed them and posted them up on Ebay for sale as I really don't know what else to do with them. I'm not a collector of these items myself and I'm hoping there's a at least a few persons out there in Ebay land who would want these. They are all quite pretty and have interesting images on them and some are gilded. They are all made in England so I am fairly certain she acquired them while on trips to the old country.  The best use of them is probably as pin dishes (like glue a magnet on the underside!) or as ring catchers beside the kitchen or laundry sink. Or maybe use them as soap dishes?  Natch, I have put up the biscuit tins for sale also on Ebay!
Follow up Note: It looks like I've sold all of these on eBay now. Very happy they found new homes!

Lincoln Logs, cool vintage toy that doesn't require a screen or batteries!

Among the several things hubster has given me to sell on Ebay from his childhood are these wooden Lincoln logs. So far, all I've done is photograph a pile of them but I'm thinking I should build something with them and photograph them so as to add to the number of the photos that one is allowed to put up with item for sale.  They seem like a lovely vintage toy and easy to play with for children of many ages. And they don't require a keyboard, a screen or batteries or a wall outlet to plug into. Hmm.... Should be posting these up on Ebay soon. 

Wedgwood Jasperware is So Cool

Among the little collection of blue and white Wedgwood pieces that I've been selling up on Ebay are some trinket boxes.  One of them is this round one with a ribbed base and some classical relief scene on the lid.  Most of the pieces are somewhat like this, with strings of leaves around the rims and scenes of women and men in togas or Greek robes carrying lamps, or playing instruments or groups of fat little cherubs dancing or chasing each other.   I have about four trinket boxes in various shapes and they are all quite intriguing and delicate.  I also have a bud vase and some plates and a little cup.  Most of these are stamped or indented on the bottom with the Wedgewood label and say "Made in England."   Apparently they are  made of some kind of china called Jasperware which was created by the original Wedgwood company.  There's also numbers and letters on them such as "B" or "W" or "64" o "63" which may be the years they were made. I haven't done much research on these marks but just write them into the description in the Ebay listing, in the hope that there is someone who wants to buy these and may be more expert than I, will be able to figure out more about them.

.

Little Walli Pewter Figures Lost and Fallen Over

I'm really liking these two little pewter figures. One is a little guy who fell over with his skates and the other is the little guy who is lost, looking.  I looked them up and they are vintage figures designed by a guy called Walli Ortman in the 1970s for the Hudson Pewter company.  Apparently this company stopped doing business in 1978, so these little figurines are that old, presumably.  They actually weigh quite a bit each and have a great heft so I can see using them as paperweights.  The little one with one copper skate is missing his second skate and the little guy with his hand to his eyes has two little copper buttons. The nice thing about these is that they are signed.  About three inches high they are quite delightful. I have them up for sale on Ebay but definitely enjoying them before they go.

A Dozen Cups

My  mother-in-law left me a baker's dozen of wonderful American China tea cups made by a company in Crooksville, Ohio, probably made in the 1930s or 1940s. They are a lovely cream color and have delicate handle and a raised vine type frieze around the rim of the saucer and around the bottom of the cup.  Such lovely detail!

They are wonderful to look at and serve a lovely cuppa tea. Of course, I have them up for sale on Ebay  but these are going to be really hard to let go of as I keep

thinking I will have a tea party and need them.  It's the English person in me who can't let go of these. But I'm hoping there's someone else who really wants them and will buy them

 

Clinton Impeached! Washington Post 1998

Yes, this was actually a Washington Post newspaper headline on Sunday December 20, 1998, whem the U.S. House of Representatives approved charges of perjury and obstruction of justice by then President William Jefferson Clinton. We have this newspaper up for sale on E-bay but will have great difficulty actually sending it off as it is such a hoot to have this.
The photo on the front shows then President Clinton with his closest inner circle, including John Podesta and Hillary Rodham Clinton.
It's worth noting that the U.S. Congress did not follow through with the impeachment process.
I have this newspaper in the original plastic bag that it came in at the newsstand, so it really is a piece of history that I've put up for sale on E-bay.

Washington Post Paper in original plastic bag

Woodstock Music Festival Seems Like a Long Time Ago

Among the items we acquired recently is a Life Magazine Commemorative Edition on the 35th Anniversary of the music festival, Woodstock.  This now iconic music festival was held August 15-18, 1969 in upstate New York and attended by thousands.  The Life Magazine commemorative has many of their original photographs from the first issue about Woodstock, including photos of colorful buses, Grace Slick, Janis Joplin, children playing in the dirt among others, including the fields of trash left behind afterwards.

Janis Joplin

I didn't go to this festival, although I did go to others somewhat like it, but I knew many people who did go to Woodstock and they all came back home very glazed and glassy eyed saying how cool and awesome it was.  They went on about the great music and who they saw there.

The Life Magazine commemorative has a list of the singers and performers but I have a feeling they left a few people out.  I'm selling this Life Magazine on Ebay, under my seller name mugsim7, as we decided we have too many old papers and books and magazines here and we just hoping there is someone who would like this one.

Grace Slick