Yesterday's Hoarders

I'd like to give thanks to those pack rats of the past who, long before hoarding became prime-time television, hated to toss anything. Me? Other than my few vintage goodies, I toss, donate and recycle as much as I can. Historians and vintage hunters of the future will curse me and my kind.

So, because of yesterday's hoarders, I can share these with you:

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A half-pint milk bottle, surrounded by old milk bottle tops. I purchased both at the Queensville Antique Mall last year where, I think, the lot of tops went for about $5.

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My parents passed along these Canadian meat ration tokens and handy dispenser. There's so many of them, it makes me wonder why my grandparents hoarded the tokens -- didn't they ever serve meat during the war? There are lots of these tokens available on eBay, going cheap. Click on the photo for a closer look.

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A handful of old bingo cards. I haven't been able to date them,

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Valentine Foldees were popular in the early 60's. I purchased these, for a few dollars each, at the Queensville Antique Mall, just because they were a cool reminder of when I was a little girl. Who knew they'd be collectible? I have seen the Babe Ruth cards listed for $100 to $150 on eBay, but I've not seen anyone bidding for them.

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The deck of Old Maid playing cards may be incomplete, but I remember having the exact same set. Dealers must love people like me -- those who will buy anything that reminds them of their youth.

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A couple of old Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) tickets. One is a "scholars" (student) fare that sold 7 for $1.00. I can't make out the TTC Chairman's signature, so am unable to date it. The other, an adult ticket priced at 4 for 25 cents or 16 for $1.00, is signed by William C. McBrien, Chairman from 1933 - 1954. If you're looking to date your own tickets, here's a list of past chairmans.

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Remember when War Amps issued these little, metal-trimmed key return tags? Nowadays, they're simply plastic (what isn't?). This one is dated 1965. My dad found the toy car in our front garden, many years ago, but the poor driver is missing his head (a real safety issue -- even back then).

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And, finally, some tokens and coins (front and back) my mother gave me. My favourite is the silver token from Fran's Restaurant, celebrating it's anniversary with an offer of 50 cents toward the "purchase of any dinner or plate order". Fran opened his first restaurant, in Toronto, in 1940. I have no idea when this token was given out. Click on the photos to see the fine print.

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Pressed Glass Goodies

A pressed glass cake stand, from a thrift store, and covered cheese dish, from my mom -- both are lovely, and I hope to actually use them one day. Because of a repaired break (hardly noticeable), the cake stand was only a few dollars. I would love to collect this stuff, but I really haven't the space -- far better to collect buttons, I think, though they're not much good for serving food.

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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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):

Measuring Up

A vintage hatter's rule and plastic tape measure

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I'm not sure how old this pocket tape measure is, but my grandmother passed it along to me about 25 years ago. Encased in plastic, the metal tape measures 68 inches, and has a holographic image of a dump truck and the words "Sand" and "Gravel" on the front that alternate as you tip it back and forth (click on photos to enlarge). The truck also dumps its load when the word shifts to "Gravel". There was once a company name on the opposite side, but it's worn away and now only an "M" remains.

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This 5 inch hat ruler is a neat little haberdashery item that I bought last year, for only a few dollars, at a garage sale held by my local SPCA. Made of boxwood and brass, it was used to measure the inside of a man's existing hat. The brass fixture slides out to 9 inches for those men with big, Charlie Brown heads.




The opposite side of the ruler has a table listing the corresponding sizes, head and hat measurements (click on photo to enlarge). I measured my head with a cloth tape (22 inches), and I'm a size 7 1/8, and would fit a size 23 hat. I'm sure this will come in handy some day.

I've A Notion

Although I don't collect vintage sewing notions, a few do come my way (click on photo to enlarge). I almost convince myself that I'll add them to a project, but like much of everything else I have stored away (other than tablecloths), I hate to use them -- because once you do, they're gone. I really should resolve to use everything before I die, or at least, give it away -- I wouldn't want my husband or daughter to have to deal with all this stuff. The cowboy fabric was a cool find, but I haven't the slightest idea what I'll do with it because I don't sew. Hmm ... writing this blog has made me realize that I should focus on just a few collections, instead of this "if it's vintage, I'll take it" attitude.

Button Tin Treasures

A few years ago, my mom gave me her wonderful stash of old buttons -- the same buttons I would endlessly sort through when I was young. These are a handful of some of the glass, china and other pretties from her tins, as well as a couple of second hand store finds (click on photo to enlarge).