Victorian Pictorial Brass Buttons and others

Brass picture buttons from the Victorian era are very collectible. These charming discs were stamped with images taken from everything from operas to children’s books, and animals. In fact, if you wanted to tell the world you were a fan of a work of literature, you’d sew buttons featuring scenes from the novel or story on your coat or shirt. Other picture buttons took their cues from nature (flora and fauna), the sciences (stars and moons), or mythology (cupids and fairies).

Black glass buttons from the Victorian era came next. When the Queen’s husband, Prince Albert, died in 1861, the monarch took to wearing black for decades. Much of England mourned with her, prompting a rise in the popularity of black clothing and jewelry. At first, black buttons were made out of jet, a fossilized coal found near Whitby, England. But jet was very expensive, so black glass was used as a replacement. Some black glass buttons were molded to create reliefs of plants and animals, or even detailed pictorials. Sometimes the buttons appeared to mimic fabrics; other times they were given a silver or iridescent luster to imitate needlework or crochet. Some black glass buttons were faceted while others were painted or enameled.

Another collectible type of glass button hails from Bohemia, which is now part of the Czech Republic. Between the wars, glass artisans made buttons in styles ranging from Art Deco to "realistics," which were buttons shaped like the objects they depicted

From the late 1800s through the 1920s, celluloid buttons were all the rage. Then came the Bakelite buttons, which were common in the United States from the 1920s through the 1940s. Bakelite buttons were sometimes carved and then embellished with a metal escutcheon in the shape of an animal or a plant. Others were decorated with glass sequins or costume jewels. The so-called "cookie" buttons were made out of long sections of laminated Bakelite that were then sliced into wafers, each one of which revealed a cross section of the lamination. Other types of Bakelite buttons were reverse carved and then dyed or painted from the back.

Of course, these types of buttons just begin to scratch the rich surface of this tiny collectible. Some collectors specialize in buttons in the Art Deco style, while others like the more modern look of Lucite or buttons cut out of shell. Still others collect based on themes—cats, dragons, Oriental imagery, famous men and women, etc.

Particularly noteworthy are the enamel buttons from the 19th and 20th centuries. Cloisonné buttons were the most difficult to produce because the process demanded that tiny threads of wire be soldered to a base. The resulting cavities were then filled with enamel and the button was fired.

We have a good selection of above mentioned buttons at way below going rates--an example would be that most of the victorian brass buttons sell in the $25.00each to $100.00each range on ebay and other sites. We purchased ours at a reasonable rate and want to pass the huge bargains on. Come see for yourself---- all the photos are just some of what we have available.

Vintage European grain sacks & American burlap produce bags. The new in thing in home-decorating.

Fabric sacks, like the kind traditionally used by European farmers up until the middle of the last century for carting grains to and from the mill, can be spotted all over the home this fall.
On pillows. On tables. On lampshades.


The two looks emerging include striped linen and printed burlap.

Historically, linen grain sacks were produced on the farm.
Family farmers would set aside land for growing hemp or flax. They would harvest it, soak it to loosen the fibers, clean and spin the fibers into thread and then weave the fabric (because in those times durable fabric was not readily available). From the rolls of fabric different textiles were created, including utilitarian grain sacks. The grain sacks were used for the harvesting of whatever they were growing.
They were really a kind of a workhorse. Imagine when the farmers were harvesting their wheat, they would put the whole wheat into the bag and bring it to the miller, and when the miller had ground their wheat ... the sack was returned to the rightful farmer. Grain sacks stopped being made around the 1930s.

The other popular style is made of machine-woven burlap, a coarse, twine-smelling sack printed with the logo and name of a farm, co-op or mill. Today, the front printed panels of burlap sacks are sought after for use in upholstery, decorative pillows, headboard covers, rugs, framing or displaying under a glass tabletop. It's really easy to layer burlap, linen and chunky cable knits to add a touch of Country style.

While these original textiles continue to be discovered in people's attics and basements, a number of reproductions have come onto the market. They can be found at Pottery Barn,Target,etc and VERY HIGH PRICED. (Example: pillow Pottery Barn $80.00---ooh-eeee)

To purists drawn to grain sacks for their history and beauty, there's no comparison to the real thing: the handwoven quality, from dense to a medium open weave, and texture, from velvet-soft to coarse.

Another idea is to mix or use cutter quilt pieces. This picture shows a mix of seed sacks and quilt. By the way "cutter" quilts are those that have problems like tears, stains and holes. Or how about quilt tops that are unfinished? This chair is normally on a roofed porch but photographs good in the yard.

We currently do not have any European grain sacks but we do have some good American burlap bags and quilt tops. The photos below show some of what we do currently have.

The Sand Man---Andrew Clemens

A 1970s fad and, more recently, an elementary school craft, sand bottles were a real, bona fide art form in the hands of Andrew Clemens, a deaf mute working in 19th-century Iowa.

Rivaling the realism of Victorian painting and lithography, Clemens’ remaining bottles garner thousands of dollars at auction today.

Working without glue, using naturally colored sand from Iowa’s Pictured Rocks region and tools of his own making, Clemens fashioned detailed images of (among others) George Washington, Old Glory, eagles, Native Americans, ships in full sail, steamboats, and flowers — often combining them with beautifully lettered names, dates, and greetings.

Using sand for decoration, however, was not his invention. A technique called marmotinto was employed in eighteenth century Britain to create temporary banquet table pictures for King George III, not to mention for hundreds of years previous by Tibetan monks making elaborate sand mandalas.

By the 1840s the making of permanent sand pictures had become a parlor craft among middle class women. Depicting cottages, cliffs, or churches, they were created by sifting sand — especially naturally colored sand from the Isle of Wight — over glue-covered boards.
These pictures were often made as mementoes of trips to the seaside. Those tourists who didn’t create seaside souvenirs often bought them, including artistically filled bottles of sand.

Sand bottles made by Choctaw and Sioux Indians a decade after the craft fad had run its course in the East, when examples made their way West. Using variegated sand, which they arranged in designs resembling their textiles, these Native Americans sold the bottles as souvenirs.

Soon settlers in the Dakotas, Oklahoma, western Illinois, and Iowa — especially members of the “cracker barrel clubs” that met in grocery stores, shut-ins, and the handicapped — began to imitate the Indians’ bottles. It’s not surprising, then, that an early Clemens bottle design read: “Filled By A. Clemens A Deaf Mute of McGregor, Iowa.”

Born in 1857, Andrew Clemens was the third son of German immigrants who settled in McGregor, Iowa, then a thriving transportation hub. At five, Andrew contracted the encephalitis which left him deaf and, eventually, speech-impaired. For six years, Clemens studied at the Iowa Institute for the Education of the Deaf and Dumb. It was on family trips to the Pictured Rocks region, a mile south of McGregor, that he discovered the sand that was to become the basis of his future fame.

Pictured Rocks sand is colored by the iron oxide in water dripping onto it from the limestone above. Shades range from pale pink to deep red, every shade of grey between white and black, as well as green, blue, and earth tones. Andrew Clemens would use 42 different colors of sand in his bottles. Twice a year, he and his brothers spent two or three days at Pictured Rocks, collecting sand in bags sewn by their mother.

Soon mail orders arrived, even from overseas — and Clemens moved from the grocery into his parents’ home, setting up in business for himself in their front room. There, probably for the light, he worked by the window — attracting the attention not only of McGregor’s townsfolk, but also of European tourists and local schoolchildren who tried, with limited success, to imitate him.

By then, his bottles had evolved past his early geometric designs into the complex motifs for which he became well known, with different pictures on the fronts and backs. Clemens only worked from a picture or model when he worked on commission — as with a bottle depicting the pontoon railway bridge at Prairie du Chien or one showing an early engine of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railway. He often reproduced a patron’s new home or commemorated a holiday or personal celebration.

For a short time, he even worked in a “dime museum,” earning $25 a week. Chicago’s South Side Museum, however, was more carnival sideshow than art gallery. A barker would break every bottle Clemens made — as soon as he made it — to prove the veracity of his “glueless” method.
Asked to participate in Chicago’s 1893 Columbian Exposition, Clemens declined for health reasons — the tuberculosis which caused his death, at 37, the following year.

Clemens began his bottles by rubbing the sand dry with the bowl of a spoon, creating teeny, uniform grains. His tool kit consisted of seven implements he had fashioned from green hickory. A tiny scoop, holding one-quarter teaspoon of sand and attached to a 9? hickory stick, introduced the sand into a bottle. To do the actual “painting” and to keep his pictures straight, Clemens manipulated two other 9? rods — one sharpened to a point, one ending in a hook.

As if to complicate an already delicate task, Clemens had to “paint” upside-down because of his bottles’ openings. He used four packers, the longest measuring a foot, to press the sand down tightly. A stopper overlaid with wax sealed the finished bottle which bore a round label on its bottom reading: “Pictured Rock Sand Put Up By A. Clemens Deaf Mute McGregor, Iowa.”

Depending on the complexity of its design, a single bottle could take as little as three weeks or as long as three months to complete. A truly complicated pattern occasionally required a year, not that surprising given the detail Clemens achieved, whether in a breaking wave or blade of grass.

Many consider Clemens’ greatest work to be the 12-inch bottle with George Washington (on horseback) on one side, the Great Seal of Iowa on the other. The seal side also proclaims the state motto, “Our Liberties we prize and Our Rights we will maintain.”

For small bottles, Clemens charged $1. A pint-sized bottle with a more elaborate motif cost $5. A large bottle with lettering and fancy designs, however, could set a customer back $8, a lot of money at that time. McGregor’s children often asked $1 for their bottles but were delighted to get a dime.

Clemens made hundreds of bottles in his lifetime, but only a few dozen survive. Most recently, a Clemens bottle with a sailing ship on one side, “E.F. Parkhurst, Sheldon, Iowa 1887” on the other, sold for $12,075, while a bottle with a steamship/eagle and flag sides realized twice that. Although the auction house that sold “C. & R. Cox to Cora Sept 20, 1883,” prefers to protect the amount of the buyer’s successful bid, it too acknowledges that Clemens bottles can sell for as much as $20,000 each.

Tiny Plastic Toys--Cracker Jack

Although the Cracker Jack prizes were the smallest toys a child could play with, they were fun and made you use your imagination. I loved to eat Cracker Jack's but I couldn't wait to get to the prize inside. I kept a box full of them as a child, but they have been long ago lost or thrown out. Recently I found a tin full of them. Good memories, I couldn't help but smile inside and out. I dumped them out and began to sift thru the little treasures.

Some of the prizes I found were: animals, spinning tops, whistles, tools, key rings, sports figures, circus people, a trophy, and others. Some of the prizes were the kind that needed to be put together. Many of the prizes needed some assembly. Some were as simple as snapping two pieces of plastic together. “Look what I just made.”

About a year ago I had a bracelet made with Cracker Jack toys. It was constructed with a heavy elastic cord and safety pins. Each pin held a different Cracker Jack toy. I put it in the shop for $25.00 and it was gone very quickly. I was sad to see it go, but I could tell the person that bought it was thrilled.

Many Cracker Jack toys have no markings on them at all. Some of the markings are: The C. J. Co; Cracker Jack, C. J. C. O; The Cracker Jack Co, and Cracker Jack SP.


http://members.cox.net/jeepers/archives.html
A good website for Cracker Jack toy archives. Shows photos of toys and their names and meanings. Pretty cool.

Haggling – the dealer’s perspective

I found this article and it is right on so I decided to share.

Haggling over the cost of merchandise is a practice centuries old – a practice alive and well in the antiques market. For buyers, the temptation to ask for a better price is just too strong to deny. For sellers, coming down a bit on the price is often a good way to make a sale. It’s a practice that can benefit both buyers and sellers, but can, at times, be a bother and annoyance.

I understand the anger some dealers have over haggling. Not all customers are polite and some can be downright rude while trying to negotiate a better price. While I hope my columns anger no one, I do not apologize for what I’ve written about haggling. Like it or not, haggling has been a part of commerce for centuries, and it’s here to stay.

I’ve been on both sides of the haggling process. I consider myself primarily a collector, but I do have a retail sales license and have dealt in antiques for many years. I once had an antique shop. I’ve had booths in antique malls. I’ve sold antiques and collectibles on eBay and at traditional auctions. I’ve set up at antique shows and flea markets. I know what it’s like to be a dealer as well as a collector. Having been on both sides of the haggling process gives me insight into what it’s like for both the seller and the buyer.

I like to focus on the positive, but the negative is more instructive. Let me give you the dealer’s perspective by relating some of my less than pleasant experiences with buyers. Buyers can consider this a guide on what not to when seeking a better price.

At a recent flea market, I took some of the stoneware I’ve been culling out of my collection. Among the pieces was an eight gallon jug, circa 1890. I had bought the stoneware pieces long ago and wanted to clear them out, so I priced them very reasonably. The jug had a very small, old chip. In my area, such a jug in that condition is usually found priced at $45-$65. I priced mine at $38. One collector offered me $30 for the jug, nearly 25 percent less than the market price. A discount of 10 to 15 percent is about as much as a buyer can expect. I offered to come down to $35. In a rude tone of voice the collector announced, “Well it’s chipped! It’s not worth that!” She was entitled to her opinion of course, but I didn’t like the rude delivery. Needless to say, we didn’t strike a bargain. The lesson for buyers here is that rudeness will get you nowhere with most dealers.

Another piece I took to the flea market was a nice 1-gallon jar, circa 1900. It was a beautiful piece with a nice ochre glaze. I would generally expect to see such a jar priced at around $25-$35. I knew I’d probably paid about $8 for mine and priced it at $18. If it sold, it would be quite a profit for me and quite a good buy for buyer. A collector asked my best price. I offered her the piece for $15. She countered with $10, nearly 50 percent less than the asking price, which was already significantly below the value of the piece. I wasn’t willing to take less than $15, so there was no sale. In this case, the collector wasn’t rude, but her offer was unrealistic. Collectors shouldn’t expect dealers to give deep discounts. As a dealer, I’m also not fond of the counteroffer. When I’m asked for my best price, I give it. At that point it’s take it or leave it.

As a dealer, I’ve found myself on the receiving end of extreme rudeness from those who use such rudeness as a tactic to get a better price. Let me throw in a quick disclaimer here – the vast majority of collectors are very kind and polite. Remember, we’re exploring the negative side here. Over the years I’ve heard such comments as “That’s twice what that’s worth!” “In that condition, it isn’t worth anything!” “You’ll be lucky to sell that for half what I’m offering!” “It’s obviously a reproduction!” “That’s far too high!” Most often, the comments are made in a rude tone. I’m so accustomed to enjoying my encounters with buyers that the rude individuals are a bit of a shock. I find such comments insulting. I always try to price my items for a bit less than they can be found elsewhere. That way buyers will purchase from me and not the dealer next to me. I’m well aware damage detracts from value, so when a piece is damaged, I price it accordingly. When someone comes along and criticizes my prices or my integrity, I’m not inclined to give them a better deal. Rudeness will get a collector nowhere with me and I’m sure most dealers feel the same.

It costs a lot more to deal in antiques than most collectors realize. I used to set up at a nice flea market in Princeton, Ind., about 15 miles from where I lived at the time. I went there because it was close, spaces were reasonably priced, there were a lot of buyers and sellers, and the flea market was well organized. It cost me $35 for a spot for two days – very reasonable considering some flea markets charge as much as $150. I was also out the expense of gas for three round trips, one to set up, two to sell. That’s 90 miles of driving, not an insignificant cost with high gas prices. There was also my time to consider and all the work. It takes me several hours to unpack all my collectibles for a flea market and just about as long to pack them up at the end. Then there’s the work I did at home, cleaning, pricing, and packing – days worth! If you’ve never set up at a flea market, take the amount of work you think it takes a dealer to set up, multiply it by 10, and you’ll have it about right. Add to this the time and cost of gathering pieces to sell and you’re looking at a lot of time and expense. I think it becomes understandable then, that dealers are not pleased by rudeness or ridiculously low offers.

There’s nothing wrong with haggling for a better price. As a buyer, I often haggle. As a seller, I accept it. It’s a great way for buyer and seller to come together, but it’s not a pleasant experience when one party or the other gets rude. Don’t hesitate to haggle, but avoid the mistakes made in the examples above. If you do your chances of success will be much increased.

The collecting conundrum

by Art Elder

Have you ever wondered why collectors collect? The mystery has been studied by scholars through the years trying to answer this conundrum. Why collectors collect what they do is another fascinating topic.

It has been said that, as the human form developed, there were first hunters, then gatherers, followed by collectors. Almost everyone collects something – but why? One only needs to watch children to see they will pick up and put in their pockets just about anything they find that is bright and colorful. Perhaps that proves that in spite of our numerical age, all collectors are still just kids at heart. Or – possibly there is a hidden collecting gene in all of us that the researchers have not yet discovered! But wait – maybe it is just the basic survivalist instinct in all humans (and many other animals) to save for the hard times in the future. Perhaps it is merely the thrill of the hunt. Some ask if collecting can result from a medical condition or an addiction. After all, psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud once said that his collecting was an addiction, rivaled only by his craving for nicotine!

Collecting is usually pursued as an interesting hobby, although occasionally, some collectors are known to become obsessed. The majority of collectors ascribe the incentives and stimuli they receive from collecting to one or more of the following:

• The knowledge gained by learning about the items they collect.

• The networking with fellow collectors.

• The pleasure that they derive from finding and acquiring a new and much sought after object that fills a gap in their collection.

• Memories and recollections – particularly the fond memories of childhood – may frequently determine what a collector chooses to collect.

• Sometimes the collected item may have nothing to do with the collector’s childhood, but rather something that is discovered later in life, and is found to be particularly interesting to the collector. An example might be Civil War memorabilia.

Here are the views of three frequently quoted experts:

Marjorie Akin, an anthropologist at the University of California, Riverside, has studied the subject of collecting and wrote in her book, Passionate Possession, the Formation of Private Collections that people collect for a connection to the past and memories. Akin wrote, “Objects can connect the collector to the historic, valued past.”

Akin also includes four other reasons why people collect. The first is to satisfy a sense of personal aesthetics. Secondly, to please personal tastes. Third, to show individualism. Akin concludes the fourth reason is the collector’s need to be complete, and the sense of completion is one of the main drivers of collectors. She adds that collectors may choose a subject to collect because of the challenge there is to complete the collection. Akin said she has seen people cry out in relief once they find the final piece and their collection is complete.

Kim A. Herzinger, a Professor of English at the University of Southern Mississippi, and an award-winning author and avid collector, provides another twist on obsession with collecting. He wrote, “Collecting is a means by which one relieves a basic sense of incompletion brought on by unfulfilled childhood needs. It functions as a form of wish fulfillment, which eases deep-rooted uncertainties and existential dread.”

Herzinger adds that collecting may also become a passion. “Collecting, like most passions, has the capacity to let (the collector) live in another world for awhile. If I could tell you why passion allows us to inhabit another world, I would stop collecting.”

He adds that the collector becomes engaged in a kind of worship. “The collector is experiencing the kind of sensory transcendence that we most closely associate with religion or love. Like religion or love, the collection is a kind of security against uncertainty and loss.”

However, if these reasons seem too implausible or complex, then Kurt Kuersteiner, offers one refreshingly simple reason. In his published article, “Collecting Collections,” Kuersteiner wrote, “I believe the main reason people collect something is a basic interest in the topic.”

Walter Annenberg, former publisher, philanthropist, and ambassador to the United Kingdom said simply, “If it moves me, that was enough. Being moved is what collecting is all about.”

In reality, there are probably as many different reasons as there are collectors. Collectors are individuals. The debate over the reasons will go on and on, but the one truth that cannot be denied is that people will continue, whatever the reason, and they will continue to collect the items that interest them – whatever that may be.

It is reported that Albert Einstein once said, “Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted, counts.”

What Einstein meant in this fascinating quote can be interpreted differently. I prefer it to mean that, for a collector, what is important should be the personal attraction to the collection, and not its size or value. The enjoyment of the collecting process is what really counts.

Being--Going--Green

The Green Thing

In the line at the store, the cashier told an older woman that she should bring her own grocery bags because plastic bags weren't good for the environment.
The woman apologized to him and explained, "We didn't have the green thing back in my day."
The clerk responded, " That's our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment."

He was right -- our generation didn't have the green thing in its day.

Back then, we returned milk bottles, soda bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over and over. So they really were recycled.
But we didn't have the green thing back in our day.

We walked up stairs, because we didn't have an escalator in every store and office building. We walked to the grocery store and didn't climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go two blocks.
But she was right. We didn't have the green thing in our day.

Back then, we washed the baby's diapers because we didn't have the throw-away kind. We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobbling machine burning up 220 volts -- wind and solar power really did dry the clothes. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing. But that old lady is right; we didn't have the green thing back in our day.

Back then, we had one TV, or radio, in the house -- not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief (remember them?), not a screen the size of the state of Montana.
In the kitchen, we blended and stirred by hand because we didn't have electric machines to do everything for us.
When we packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, we used a wadded up old newspaper to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap.

Back then, we didn't fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut the lawn. We used a push mower that ran on human power. We exercised by working so we didn't need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity.
But she's right; we didn't have the green thing back then.

We drank from a fountain when we were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time we had a drink of water.
We refilled writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and we replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull.
But we didn't have the green thing back then.

Back then, people took the streetcar or a bus and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi service.
We had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And we didn't need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest pizza joint.

But isn't it sad the current generation laments how wasteful we old folks were just because we didn't have the green thing back then?

Please forward this on to another selfish old person who needs a lesson in conservation from a smarta-- young person.

Comments of 1955

I’ll tell you one thing, if things
keep going the way they are,
it’s going to be impossible to
buy a week’s groceries for $10.00.

Have you seen the new cars
coming out next year? It won’t
be long before $1,000.00 will
only buy a used one.

Did you hear the post office is
thinking about charging 7 cents
just to mail a letter.

If cigarettes keep going up in
price, I’m going to quit; 20 cents
a pack is ridiculous.

If they raise the minimum wage
to $1.00, nobody will be able to
hire outside help at the store.

When I first started driving, who
would have thought gas would
someday cost 25 cents a gallon.
Guess we’d be better off leaving
the car in the garage.

I’m afraid to send my kids to the
movies any more. Ever since they
let Clark Gable get by with saying
DAMN in GONE WITH THE WIND,
it seems every new movie has
either HELL or DAMN in it.

I read the other day where some
scientist thinks it’s possible to put
a man on the moon by the end of
the century. They even have some
fellows they call astronauts
preparing for it down in Texas .

Did you see where some baseball
player just signed a contract for
$50,000 a year just to play ball?
It wouldn’t surprise me if someday
they’ll be making more than the
President.

I never thought I’d see the day
all our kitchen appliances would
be electric. They're even making
electric typewriters now.

It’s too bad things are so tough
nowadays. I see where a few
married women are having to
work to make ends meet.

It won’t be long before young
couples are going to have to hire
someone to watch their kids so
they can both work.

I’m afraid the Volkswagen car
is going to open the door to a
whole lot of foreign business.

Thank goodness I won’t live to
see the day when the Government
takes half our income in taxes. I
sometimes wonder if we are
electing the best people to
government.

The fast food restaurant is
convenient for a quick meal,
but I seriously doubt they
will ever catch on.

There is no sense going on short
trips anymore for a weekend. It
costs nearly $2.00 a night to stay
in a hotel.

No one can afford to be sick
anymore. At $15.00 a day in
the hospital, it’s too rich for
my blood.

If they think I’ll pay 30 cents
for a haircut, forget it.

Cookbooks

This is an exclusive excerpt from the Antique Trader® Collectible Cookbooks Price Guide

What makes a cookbook collectible?
It’s a question we are often asked, and one for which the answer depends on who’s collecting and why. Besides those who just want to find great recipes and make good things to eat, there are those who collect books based on value, and some wanting to preserve or explore a culture, a style or a place. Others just love reading interesting cookbooks (as some do novels).
Collectible is in the eye of the beholder, whereas value, in simple terms, is more a measure of how much one is willing to pay for it.
The special charm of collecting cookbooks is that there is an enormous range of sub-categories of interest, making most cookbooks desirable, though not necessarily valuable.
*******************************************

1955 by Margie Blake









****************************************
Ida Bailey Allen
The original domestic goddess, America’s Mrs. Allen, nee Ida Cogswell, was born in 1885 and has been credited with bringing nutrition, world cuisine and formal cooking to thousands of average housewives (it is also said that she invented the marshmallow-topped sweet potato casserole). An avid cook, “domestic science” professional and a practicing dietitian, she was the first woman in history to bring food to the masses using all available media outlets: in print, as the author of more than 50 cookbooks, including The Best Loved Recipes of the American People, and as a contributor to more than a half dozen major magazines (Good Housekeeping, Parade); on the radio, as the host of a popular radio show; and on TV, acting as television’s first female food host on Mrs. Allen and the Chef.
Confessing that the radio was “a fearsome thing,” she nevertheless went on to pioneer a popular radio show for homemakers and founded the “National Radio Homemaker’s Club,” which surprised her with its overwhelming success and delighted her with the way it united women while they “kept house.” Her power to influence was demonstrated one Christmas when she suggested that women could wear red Christmas dresses to please their children, and stores reported a surge in requests for red holiday garb.
Mrs. Allen was also the queen of the sensible kitchen, penning some of the first books dedicated solely to budget cuisine, cooking for two and efficient timesaving meals.
**************************************

1943-1957
*****************************************
Peg Bracken
As a working mom in the ’60s, Bracken struggled along with her female coworkers and friends to balance home and work. The result was several comedic books in the “I Hate to ...” series. The refreshing look at the challenges of housework for a working woman presents her angst with a frank humor that is still hilarious.
The original I Hate to Cook Book manuscript—a truly funny and revealing look at the changing domestic roles of American women, as well as a collection of easy recipes—was turned down by many male editors who worried it would offend women. It went on to sell over 3 million copies. Sassy and smart, Bracken’s cookbooks are destined for the collector’s shelf.
Advertising executive, copywriter and self-described humorist, Bracken died in 2007 at the age of 89.
***************************************

1950
**************************************
Betty Crocker
The ubiquitous Miss Crocker, arguably the most famous American culinary icon, was actually invented in 1921 when a General Mills ad in the Saturday Evening Post elicited over 30,000 responses requesting recipes and asking for baking help. Who was the perfect person to answer all these letters? A homey sounding first name was added to the last name of company director, William Crocker, and Betty was born, a bouncing 30-something homemaker, filled with good cheer and cooking savvy. An authoritative yet friendly signature for signing the letters was chosen from employee handwriting samples via a company contest.
Morphing in her image portraits from a grey-haired baking expert to a contemporary cookery professional, Betty has sold over 60 million books since her full-length debut of the 1950s Betty Crocker’s Picture Cook Book. The book set the standard for all of Betty’s (and many other authors’) future works, which were designed to make cooking easy, accessible, fun and unfussy, as she reliably remains today.
Betty Crocker’s contributions to American cooking are so prolific and iconic, a recent “biography” of Betty documents her success.
********************************************
Manufacturers’ booklets and pamphlets
With the introduction of processed foods in the late 1800s, food manufacturers cooked up a new way to introduce their brands in a national marketplace: advertising pamphlets and booklets. Appliance and cookware manufacturers (mixers, refrigerators, stoves, pressure cookers, etc.) also found informative, inexpensive recipe booklets an effective way to instruct and inspire new users on the successful use of their products. For more than a century, these little publications have served as a mainstay promotional tool for introducing products and building brands old and new.
*********************************

1943 Guide to good meals under wartime conditions of rationing and food shortages
*****************************************
Charity cookbooks
Charity cookbooks are commonly referred to as fundraiser or community cookbooks, or as “spirals.” Regardless of what they are called, charity cookbooks are collections of recipes that have been published in America as fundraisers, for over 140 years, by churches, schools, service groups and other fraternal and cultural organizations.
While there are many commercially successful cookbooks that began as fundraisers, like The Settlement Cookbook and Junior League cookbooks, there are many more that were published in very small quantities or that were created by the hands of volunteers themselves, using whatever methods and resources they could muster (typewriters, mimeographs and copiers).
Cover and interior art is sometimes commercial clip-art, but the more endearing examples feature the artistic expressions of inspired volunteers, as is the case with the charity cookbook Like Mama Used to Make. There are many qualities that make a fundraiser cookbook desirable, not the least of which is the preservation of regional recipes. Also, look for books that are older (pre-1940s) and feature:
Local advertisements
Contributors noted by name
Anecdotes or historical information
Photos of local buildings
Handwritten recipes
Contributions by celebrities
Unusual or interesting bindings
Handmade or have exceptional illustrations

The category of charity cookbooks offers a special appeal for collectors, telling the personal stories of different eras, cultures, regions and the people who contributed to them. As you read through the recipes, essays, poems and anecdotes, you get to know the communities and the period in which these books were created.
****************************************

1967 Includes Sonny&Cher,The Monkees,The Hermits,Rolling Stones,and more.
*************************************

Focus your collection on a particular sub-category or passion. This might be anything from a collection of cookbooks from your region to a collection about confections, cakes or cocktails. From a buyer’s point of view, focused and complete collections are more desirable than a disparate gaggle of books. From a collector’s perspective, it will make your treasure hunting more manageable.

The Clue of The Broken Locket

Excerpt: Nancy caught a glimpse of Ruth Brown disappearing into the car. Her suitcase was handed up after her.
Nancy flung herself out of the automobile, intending to board the train herself. But she was to late. It began to move, rapidly picking up speed.
"Don't try to board!" Bess called frantically, fearful lest Nancy recklessly might attempt it.
"There goes Ruth Brown again", George groaned. "Such Luck!"
Nancy lost no time in bemoaning the situation. She turned and ran into the station,but was back again in an instant, hurling herself into the driver's seat.
"That woman bought a ticket to River Heights!" she informed them tensely. "Are you girls game for a speedy ride?"


********** ********** ********** **********
Did you read the Nancy Drew Mystery series as an adolescent? I did and what a way to get involved in a good mystery. Especially since the detective Nancy Drew was a teen that always solved the mystery. I really can't remember how I was introduced to the Nancy Drew series but I sure was hooked. I spent many an hour one summer at the library reading these books, lost in the mystery and trying to solve the mystery before the book did. I so enjoyed being in the world of the story, I never shared the discovery of these books with my friends because I didn't want them to spoil my time lost in that world. How selfish !!! The funny part is apparently the character rubbed off on me because many friends made the comment that I should grow up to be a detective. To this day I still love a good mystery when I have a chance to read one, which isnt often enough.
Well I've finally matured enough that now I am ready to share the joy of these novels. I recently aquired these and have them available in the shop. I have the early copies from the 1930's thru the 1950's. These editions are interesting because the wording and language are what we would consider old fashion. These Novels were updated and rewritten thru the years for a more modern perspective. I enjoy and prefer the way they were originally written. Come by,get one or more,enjoy a good easy read or share with a young one near and dear to your heart. I guarantee you/they will enjoy and possibly become temporarily lost in them like I did.

********** ********** ********** **********
Did you know the author name Carolyn Keene is a pseudonym (AKA). Many different authors became involved thru the years including daughters of the publisher. The first author was Mildred Wirt Benson and here is a brief biography:
As the author of the original Nancy Drew series of mystery novels, Mildred Wirt Benson (aka Carolyn Keene) shot to fame penning thrilling tales concerning a fearless and stylish teen detective who never failed to get to the bottom of the case. Born in Ladora, Iowa, Benson was the first person to receive a master's in journalism from the University of Iowa, in 1927. As a reporter who never backed down from a challenge, the future author laid the foundation for a literary creation that would enthrall generations and inspire numerous adaptations even after Keene herself halted writing Nancy Drew adventures. Paid 125 dollars per tome and receiving no royalties for the books or their resulting spin-offs, Benson continued to write novels (including the Penny Parker mysteries) and work as a reporter, all the while bound by an agreement with the publisher to keep her identity as the originator of Nancy Drew secret. Though her shrouded identity remained uncovered for years, she was finally revealed as the originator of the series when one of the publisher's daughters attempted to take credit and Keene was forced to testify in 1980. Working tirelessly well into her nineties, the tough writer wasn't slowed by failing eyesight, and even returned to her desk a day after being diagnosed with lung cancer in 1997. After going into semi-retirement in 2002 (at the age of 96), Benson died shortly after being struck ill at her Toledo Blade desk.

One Hundred Years Ago 1911

The year is 1911 --- One hundred years ago.
What a difference a century makes!
Here are some statistics for the Year 1911:

************ ********* ************

The average life expectancy for men was 47 years.


Fuel for a Ford Model T was sold in drug stores only.


Only 14 percent of the homes had a bathtub.


Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.


There were only 8,000 cars and only 144 miles of paved roads.


The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.


The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower !


The average US wage in 1910 was 22 cents per hour.


The average US worker made between $200 and $400 per year ..


A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year,
A dentist $2,500 per year,

a veterinarian between $1,500 and $4,000 per year,

and a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.


More than 95 percent of all births took place at home .


Ninety percent of all Doctors had NO COLLEGE EDUCATION!
Instead, they attended so-called medical schools, many of which
were condemned in the press AND the government as "substandard."

Sugar cost four cents a pound.

Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen.

Coffee was fifteen cents a pound.

Most women only washed their hair once a month,
and used Borax or egg yolks for shampoo.

Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from
entering into their country for any reason.

The Five leading causes of death were:
1. Pneumonia and influenza
2. Tuberculosis
3. Diarrhea
4. Heart disease
5. Stroke

The American flag had 45 stars...

The population of Las Vegas , Nevada , was only 30!!!

Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and iced tea hadn't been invented yet.

There was neither a Mother's Day nor a Father's Day.

Two out of every 10 adults couldn't read or write and only 6 percent
of all Americans had graduated from high school.

Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter
at the local corner drugstores.

Back then pharmacists said, "Heroin clears the complexion,
gives buoyancy to the mind, Regulates the stomach and bowels,
and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health!"
( Shocking? )

Eighteen percent of households had at least one full-time servant or domestic help .......

There were about 230 reported murders in the ENTIRE U.S.A. !

Some generic info about vintage TOY ROBOTS you might not know

This tin plate, circa 1960s Robotank-Z space robot is fully functional with flashing lights and retracting machine guns. In mint condition with original box, the robot is marked "Made by T.N. Made in Japan."




1. Toys were being made in Japan before World War II broke out, but it was after the war ended that Japan seized the opportunity to use industries like toy manufacturing to strengthen its struggling economy

2. The first toy robot (a windup) is believed to be Japan’s Robot Lilliput – believed by some to have been made as early as 1938, while others think it was in post-war1940s – this was quickly followed by the unveiling of the more well-known Atomic Robot Man. This robot was given out at the New York Sci-fi convention in 1950.

3. The design of many Japanese robots of the 1950s was significantly influenced by the world’s fascination with space exploration, at the peak of the Space Race.

4. For collectors toy robots bring their own challenge of authentication – as many robots made in Japan have an American company logo – which doesn’t accurately identify who made it

5. In 1950, prior to the electronics and toy push, only 1 percent of products imported to the U.S were made in Japan. In 2010, 6.4 percent of U.S. imports came from Japan – with automobiles topping the list.

6. Japan’s toy robot makers were “going green” long before it became the movement it is today – and at the time it was out of economic necessity that they would use tin cans cast off by plants used to make tuna cans or powdered milk cans, to make smaller toy robots

7. One of the pioneer companies of Japanese toy robot production was the Tokyo Toy Industry Group.

8. Japanese toy makers were the first to use battery-operated motors in their toys – taking toys beyond clockwork operation

Standing 12 inches high, this marked Made in Japan robot has a host of special features. As the space man walks his chest pops down and a video action screen appears then closes.