Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Who is this man?

Well I do know who he is somewhat.


Last Sunday I was at my favorite Goodwill (the only one I normally shop) and was about to head my cart over to the cashier when I spied this heavy little turquoise sporting chalkware piece on the top of a display. For $1.99 I could not pass him up. What with his adorable black cowboy boots, the way he swings his hat in the air behind his head as he grasps the guitar -- he looks like he's just about to burst into song. Surely it wouldn't be Lady Gaga but something fabulous from the 50's like maybe some old Hank Williams or Ferlin Husky.

A couple of days went by and I had put him on the dining room table and picked him up again to give him a closer look since I brought him home. Carved on the inside of his arm holding the hat was a stamp that read, "Universal Statuary Co. Chicago 22, Ill  ©1954

It then occurred to me that I'm probably lucky that the Goodwill pricer-upper didn't notice the stamp on this piece or its price might have been much higher.

As any thrifter would, my curiosity got the better of me and I went to the web o' net and started to do some research on Universal Statuary Company. Clicking on that link will bring you to a little history on the small company that is no longer manufacturing these items. Each item produced had a low production rate so they can be quite rare. Some are also numbered as well.
Now that I've gleaned a little more history on chalkware and the company it made me realize how many pieces I'd passed by in thrifts. I'll definitely be keeping my eyes peeled now!

Do any of you collect Universal Statuary pieces and if so what ones do you have? Let me know in the comments!

The complete illustrations of the Queen of Hearts Cookbook

I'm not sure why I wanted to torture myself by scanning all of the illustrations in the Queen of Hearts Cookbook, but nevertheless I did and now after a fair amount of respite from standing up and sitting down and replacing the book with each new scan, I am  happy to report that for your viewing enjoyment, here are all of the gorgeous and cute illustrations from the cookbook.















Friday, April 8, 2011

My adoration for vintage cookbooks

The past couple of months the vintage cookbook gods have been smiling down upon me. Wonderfully illustrated books and little cookbook pamphlets have come springing out of the woodwork. Either that or I am digging deeper and searching much more efficiently. 
Yesterday a local and popular thrift store beckoned me - a store I am not too fond of as far as prices go but one I enjoy hitting once in a blue moon as the urge arises. Book prices at this particular store have risen and you will find most of the cookbooks have high prices stamped on them.

Here are a collection of some I've found just in the past few months. 

 The Congressional Club Cook Book
©1961
Congressional wives contributed recipes to the book and there is a forward by Jacqueline Kennedy. The book is rather heavy as the paper is high quality. And the graphics inside are to die for! Take a gander at a few below.






 Meals For A Crowd Can Be Fun!
© unknown (probably early 1970's or late 60's)
This cute 40 page booklet was published by the Ac'cent Company, Skokie, Illinois
Honestly I'm not sure how fun meals for a crowd could be. Sounds like it'd be stressful and a call for a bottle of Miltown!
I'm posting this as Miltown isn't used anymore for tranquilizing stressed out 50's moms but surely it saved a few kids from being locked in the closet or set out for the milkman!

 The lovely blue Metropolitan Cook Book with its bright graphics and oh so 1957 copyright. The booklet was published by the insurance company Metropolitan. Inside are precious little illustrations like the one below:



 Queen of Hearts Cook Book  ©1955 by the Peter Pauper Press
A King of Hearts Cook Book was also produced.



Favorite Sugar Recipes From Louisiana Plantations 
©1974 Louisiana State University
This sugar laden pamphlet promotes the usage of sugar cane in recipes. As a child growing up in Florida (and I'm still here!) we used to eat sugar cane that our father would bring home.



Even though I am a long time Floridian, I have yet to discover what is so superior about Florida meats. I've eaten alligator, shark and frogs' legs. Could that be the reason for the specialness? By the way, don't diss the frogs' legs, they are delicious!
©1965 by Favorite Recipes Press
These meaty booklet was used in fundraising efforts.


 
©1927 by the makers of Royal Baking Powder, New York
(This beautiful vintage booklet is actually my mother's as she's a vintage cookbook collector too)

Something was telling me to hit the local Loaves and Fishes yesterday to see what was sitting in the book stacks. I was getting tired of looking at books and thrifting but I made myself go inside and headed straight for the stacks. As I squatted down to get a closer view of the cookbooks, I found this. It made my day.




I hope you enjoyed looking at these wonderful photos. Please feel free to save them if you'd like. If you use them on your blog please just give credit as to where you got them. I love sharing graphics and you will see more graphics as the blog grows.

Welcome to my thrifting blog


For the past few years I have gotten quite the addiction to thrifting. I am out hitting the stores a few days a week in search of whatever piques my interests. And dear readers there are many things that do such: books (particularly books with vintage illustrations/graphics/typography) as well as vintage cookbooks, vinyl, Vera scarves and aprons, old salt and pepper shakers, vintage appliances, Universal Statuary pieces, vintage sheet music, vintage drafting instruments, old pamphlets and so much more. Something new is always bound to attract my attention at the drop of a hat. 

On that note, let's get started! I'm here to learn new things and discover uncharted territory and in the process I hope you will be too.

P.S. Happy thrifting to you!
~Chel