Good Hair Day

I recently discovered this box of British invisible hairpins/bobby pins at Value Village. Although priced at around $10, and not something I normally collect, I still couldn't resist. It's amazing these flimsy, little things were able to hold any amount of hair in place (I've tried them on my own hair without success). I believe this type of hairpin is still used on updos, but usually has an embellishment of some sort at the bend. And now that they've been photographed, whatever am I going to do with them?



I thought this would be a good time to include a photo of my grandfather's hand mirror. The wooden back must have been broken and glued at some point, but the bevelled mirror is intact. And look how wonderfully worn the handle is!

A Touch of Grey

Years go, when my dining room was painted grey, and matching the colour-scheme was important to me, finding a tablecloth with grey in it was a bonus.

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This lovely, heavy-weight tablecloth belonged to my grandmother, and was given to me by my mom. For years, I believed it was a piece of vintage fabric. It wasn't until I looked more closely and saw the "Harmony House" signature that I realized it might be a tablecloth. Click on photo below for a close-up of the signature and the lovely pink and yellow carnations:



"In 1940, Sears introduced the Harmony House brand as an interior-decorating scheme that used four basic colors that could be coordinated with each other..." Read more about it in the Sears Archives.

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The reds and pinks of the apples (or are they plums?) are still vibrant on this light-weight cotton tablecloth. I like how the fruit arches over the corners of the cloth.

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The cheery yellow squares and stylized wheat save this crisp, mid-weight vintage tablecloth from reminding diners of a rainy day.

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I'm not sure what kind of flower this is, but I love the leafy vine borders dividing the pattern.

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A Day in the Life

This 1959, unused diary (click on photos to enlarge) came from my Grandmother's home. The tiny, leather journal is in great condition and the pages are edged with gold. Inside, there's a list of birthstones, a 1959 and 1960 calendar, a few pages for addresses, and an astounding 3/4 inch by 2 inch space for each day's entry.



When I was ten, I received a five-year diary for Christmas. Like this one, it had only a few lines for writing, and for the next four years, I crammed it with all the wonder and heartaches of youth. My next diary (and every one thereafter) was much larger, with loads of room for my daily musings. I kept a diary until I was twenty-seven, then, I just stopped writing. Over the years, I've glanced through them, and have realized that my memory is crap -- people are mentioned, but I've no idea who they are. Diaries should devote space for a list of characters that includes the first and last names, and a bio of those we meet along the way.

From My Grandmother's Kitchen

A few years ago, my mother passed along a Johnson Bros. serving platter from my Gran's first set of dishes. Made in England, and most likely purchased in the early 1930's, the colours and gold trim are still bright. I thought the pattern was "Pareek", but after some research, I discovered it's actually called "Connaught". You can see why I was confused (click on photo to enlarge):

Checkered Past

The majority of my vintage tablecloths don't have tags. Is it a Wilendur? A Simtex or Startex? I have no idea. There are reputable sites that have helped me identify a few of my cloths: The Tablecloth Lovers Club, The Vintage Table, Sharon's Antiques, The Little Round Table, and more.

Today's featured tablecloths have both a checkered past and a checkered design -- I hope you enjoy!

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Gorgeous pink roses and olive-coloured leaves and border, with chartreuse and white (Harlequin) checks in the centre. This is a very heavy cotton, perhaps a blend, in excellent condition.

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A cheerful, yellow-checked tablecloth, littered with large daisies.

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A far more somber tablecloth with tiny, brown checks bordering brown and white roses (hmm ... or are they peonies?), daisies and dogwood.

Enduring Ephemera

Last year, I purchased a bag of vintage tags and labels at the Queensville Antique Mall. There are multiples of many of them, yet I still use colour photocopies of them for projects. As I mentioned before, I hate using the real thing. I really must get over that. To get up close and personal, click on each photo:


I especially like the Foreign Cheques/Money Orders tags from Canadian National Express, where "Telegraph and cable transfers [are] sold at lowest rates", and the Customs Declaration tags. One side of the Railway Express tag has a printed date of "193__".

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I have about 45 of the Prestige Hardware price tags (below, far left). According to the Internet, there's a business in the U.K. with the same name, but it's only a few years old. Many of the other tags in this batch are Canadian, so this particular Prestige Hardware may have been a located here.

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I can't find any information about the Cranley Book of Gummed Labels, but "British Manufacture" is written on the bottom of the front cover, and the package comes "with a piece of blotting paper". Neat.

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Lots of blank tags were included -- these probably date from the 60's.




There is a price sticker (just 10 cents) on the package of Dennison Handy Tags from a Canadian pharmacy called Koffler's Drugs. In 1962, it was renamed Shopper's Drug Mart (a huge chain in Canada, today).