The Mysterious Glow of Vaseline Glass

 

QUESTION: My aunt recently died and left me several things, including two beautiful twin yellow-green glass vases. I don’t know much about them but someone said they’re made of Vaseline glass. Does that mean they use Vaseline to make them? Can you tell me more about this beautiful glass?

ANSWER: No, your vases aren’t made of Vaseline. The most common color of this type of glass is pale yellowish-green, which in the 1930s led to the nickname "Vaseline glass" based on its resemblance to the appearance of Vaseline brand petroleum jelly as was formulated and commercially sold at that time. 

The addition of uranium dates back to Roman times. Professor R. T. Gunther of the University of Oxford discovered a piece of glass containing one percent uranium dating to 79 C.E. in an excavation of an imperial Roman villa on Cape Posillipo in the Bay of Naples, Italy in 1912.

Starting in the late Middle Ages, workers extracted pitchblende from the Habsburg silver mines in Joachimsthal, Bohemia. This was then used as a coloring agent in local glassmaking. Austrian druggist Franz Xaver Riedel experimented with pitchblende and obtained a yellow substance later identified as uranium dioxide. He added it to glass and became the first major producer of items made of yellow-green uranium glass, which he named "annagrün" (annagreen), in honor of his daughter Anna Maria. By the middle of the 19th century, this new coloring agent became popular in both Europe and America.

Vaseline glass is also called "uranium glass." This mineral added to glass is what makes it glow bright green under blacklight. The normal color of uranium glass ranges from yellow to green depending on the oxidation state and concentration of the metal ions, although this may be altered by the addition of other elements as glass colorants. That bit of uranium in the glass also makes it slightly radioactive.

With improvements in mass-produced, affordable glass, the popularity of vaseline glass rose. During the second half of the 19th century, interest in the glowing glass peaked. The fashionable glass was appealing both in sunlight and in the evenings. Victorian homes were lit by gaslight, kerosene or candles, which produced soft light-The human eye sees yellow-green most easily since it is in the center of the spectrum of colors, so under flickering light con. lit ions, the Vaseline glass seems to glow.

Large glass companies like Fenton Glass and Mosser Glass made vases, tableware, tooth-pick holders, clocks, whimsies, shoes, hats, parasols, inkwells,. compotes, and more in Vaseline glass..But between 1890 and 1910, the middle class became more interested in pottery and porcelain. With the development of Incandescent lighting, the steady light frequency made Vaseline glass appear plain.

The government confiscated all supplies of uranium during WWII for the Manhattan Project and halted all production of vaseline glass for from approximately 1942 until the ban was lifted in November 1958. From 1959 onward, glass companies began making vaseline glass again. However, because of the expense to obtain uranium dioxide, production was and is still very limited.

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Articles section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the over 30,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about "Celebrating an Olde Fashioned Holiday" in the 2020 Holiday Edition, online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques and More Collection on Facebook.

Greetings to the New Year

 

QUESTION: I collect greeting cards. And recently while searching for some old Christmas cards I could purchase for my collection, I discovered some New Year’s greeting cards. I never knew that people sent cards at New Years. What can you tell me about this tradition?

ANSWER: People in the 19th and early 20th centuries sent greeting cards for a number of holidays, including Thanksgiving, Easter, Christmas, and yes, New Years. That was before modern communications made it easier to pick up the phone—or today a cell phone—and speak directly with the another person. Also, mailing greeting cards was inexpensive since the U.S. Post Office hadn’t begun its wild ride of price increases. And today, it’s also possible to send a digital greeting card through the Internet. But let’s take a look back at how the practice of celebrating the New Year began.

New Year's Day, also simply called New Year's, is observed on January 1, the first day of the year on the modern Gregorian calendar as well as the Julian calendar. But it wasn’t always on that day.

In pre-Christian Rome under the Julian calendar, the day was dedicated to Janus, god of gateways and beginnings, for whom January is also named. As a date in the Gregorian calendar of Christendom, New Year's Day liturgically marked the Feast of the Naming and Circumcision of Jesus, which is still observed as such in the Anglican Church and Lutheran Church. The Roman Catholic Church celebrates on this day the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God.

The practice of celebrating the New Year whenever that occurred dates back to 2,000 B.C.E. in Mesopotamia, when people celebrated it in mid-March around the time of the vernal equinox.

The early Roman calendar designated March 1 as the first day of the year. The calendar had just 10 months, beginning with March. That the new year once began with the month of March is still reflected in some of the names of the months. September through to December, the ninth through to the twelfth months of the Gregorian calendar, were originally positioned as the seventh through to the tenth months. Septem is Latin for "seven"; octo, "eight"; novem, "nine"; and decem, "ten.” Roman legend usually credited the second king Numa with the establishment of the two new months of Januarius and Februarius. These were first placed at the end of the year, but at some point came to be considered the first two months instead.

But in 567 C.E., the Council of Tours formally abolished January 1 as the beginning of the year. At various times and in various places throughout medieval Christian Europe, the new year was celebrated on December 25 in honor of the birth of Jesus, March 1 in the old Roman style, March25 in honor of Lady Day and the Feast of the Annunciation, and on the movable feast of Easter. No wonder the world seemed confused.

It was the custom among 7th-century pagans of Flanders and the Netherlands to exchange gifts on the first day of the new year. But as it turned out, European Christians also celebrated the new years on that date because  New Year's Day fell within the 12 days of the Christmas season in the Western Christian liturgical calendar.

However, it was the Japanese who originated the custom of sending written New Year’s greetings during the Heian Era, lasting from 794 to 1185 C.E. During that time, the nobility started to write such letters to people who lived too far away for the usual face-to-face New Year greetings.

Though the use of the Gregorian Calendar dates from 1582, when Pope Gregory XIII declared it to be used, it wasn’t until 1752 that Britain adopted it. 

The practice of sending New Year’s greeting cards probably didn’t begin in the United States until the 1870s. It took several decades before the practice of sending Christmas cards had caught on, and soon sending greetings for other holidays followed. 

The first cards were simple postcards, with a greeting printed on one side and a place for the receiver’s address on the other. But it wasn’t until 1915 that folded greeting cards, first created by Hallmark, began to appear.  

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Articles section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the over 30,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about "Celebrating an Olde Fashioned Holiday" in the 2020 Holiday Edition, online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques and More Collection on Facebook.

The Art of the Scrapbook

 

QUESTION: I’ve been into scrapbooking for about two years. Last year I saw several older ones at a local antique show. One was rather plain, but the other was quite elaborate. The dealer wasn’t sure how old they were, but they looked like they could have been from the late Victorian Era. I’ve always wondered when the idea of pasting pictures and other items into albums began. Can you give me a little history of scrapbooking? 

ANSWER: Throughout the 19th century, scrapbooks that closely resemble what we think of as a scrapbook today began to to be popular. 

Historians believe the first recorded use of the term “scrap book—referring to a book with blank pages into which a person pasted items—was in 1821. People wrote the term as two words, "scrap book" or hyphenated as "scrap-book," but over time, the two words morphed into one, as it appears today. But it wasn’t until 1879 that people started to use the term as a verb,” to scrapbook.”

The invention of the commercial printing press in the early 19th century was responsible for the popular practice of pasting pictures and paper mementos into blank books called albums. Recipients began to view elaborately printed greeting cards, calling cards, postcards, prayer cards, advertising trading cards, and other materials as novelty keepsakes. 

Newspapers went into widespread circulation as well, and readers clipped everything from family mentions to recipes to historic news stories to save.

The increased availability of printed material sparked a new trend. People began filling blank, bound books—previously used for journals or artwork—with clippings, cards and printed memorabilia. Some of these books contained a mix of personal journal entries, hand-drawn sketches, and watercolors, along with various scraps of printed material. 

One of the most popular forms of early scrapbooks was the placement of calling cards into albums. Calling cards had long been used as a form of social etiquette, especially in England. Elaborate rules dictated how people were to use these cards to make attempts at social contacts and to accept or decline them. They were also used as a way to politely extend social greetings after an event like a birth or wedding.  

In a world where social elites hid behind a wall of servants, people didn’t just drop in for a visit. Instead, a person would drop off a card with the corner folded to indicate it was delivered in person. If the recipient wished to receive a visit, they would send their card as a reply. A card delivered in an envelope, however, was a polite brush-off.

Like so many other things in Victorian times, beautiful floral designs and pastoral scenes decorated these cards. The desire to preserve these beautiful pieces of full-color printing and remember friendships led to the growth of calling card albums. 

The Victorians loved decoration—the more the better. They also were very romantic and loved sentimentality and keepsakes. To fulfill their desire for decoration, they used embossed paper images called scraps. 

Also called die cuts or chromos, scraps were small and colorful and sold in sheets by stationers and booksellers. Their diverse subject matter included flowers, trees, fruits, birds, animals, pets, ladies and gents, children, historical people and events, angels, transportation themes, and occupational motifs. People pasted them into albums and also used them to make greeting cards and decorated boxes.

The first scraps originated in German bakers' shops as decoration for biscuits and cakes and for fastening on wrapped sweets. Printers produced the earliest ones in uncut sheets in black and white, then hand colored them. Scraps appeared in Britain in the 1850s and soon became popular as decorative additions to Christmas cards. They were also used to illustrate historical as well as events of the time.

Early in the 20th century, young ladies and children of the middle and upper classes began keeping scrapbooks that contained collections of commercially produced scraps. They organized them thematically with a single subject for the entire book or with several themes arranged by section.

Sometimes, they added lines of poetry, personal notations, inscriptions by family and friends, and drawings. 

Stationery stores sold scrapbooks with tooled leather covers, elaborately embossed bindings, engraved clasps, and brass locks. Some scrapbooks contained printed decorations on their pages, as well as centered oval, circular or square sections into which people could paste items. Other albums held printed pages with theme-setting embossed decoration-like flowers or birds. Many scraps keepers made their own albums by pasting scraps over catalog and magazine pages.

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Articles section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the over 30,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about the Retro style in the Fall 2020 Edition, online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques and More Collection on Facebook.

Cleanliness is Next to Godliness

 

Unrestored Victorian bathroom

QUESTION: My husband and I recently bought an old Victorian house and would like to restore the bathroom to its original look. Except we can’t seem to figure out what that look was. There are so many variations. Can you help us figure out which antique bathing accessories to use and perhaps a little about the decor?

ANSWER: Before you can begin to restore the bathroom in your Victorian home, you need to find out its age and style. A series of revival styles—Italianate, Renaissance Revival, Rococo Revival, Gothic Revival, Victorian Cottage, etc.—captured the imaginations of Victorian architects and they not only designed the exteriors in styles but the interiors to match. 

Until at least the 1870s, daytime trips to the outdoor toilet or “privy” were essential regardless of the weather. Somewhere around 1800 in the United States privies began to move indoors, usually to an old clothes closet, from which the term “water closet” or “WC” originated.. At first they generally had an earth filled hopper that could be removed for cleaning. An easily opened window and a

Victorian outhouse

tight fitting door kept fumes from the rest of the house. Even bathing demanded only a wooden tub and a warm kitchen, when people bothered at all. Washing up at the bedroom washstand where water froze in the pitcher in the winter did little to encourage cleanliness.

Even in the 1840s, people denounced bathtubs as a foppish English luxury that would corrupt the democratic simplicity of the American way of life. Doctors warned of "rheumatic fevers, inflamed lungs and zymotic diseases."

People installed the earliest Victorian bathrooms into regular rooms in their existing houses. They fitted the fixtures into wood to make the room feel similar to a parlor or a bedroom. Everything felt like furniture, and the room was decorated as such, with paintings, wallpaper, wainscoting, fabrics, and rugs—everything that would have been  in a normal room, but with a tub, sink, and toilet.

Wooden Victorian bathroom

Eventually, the Victorians realized that maybe wood wasn’t the best choice for a bathroom, especially when they installed hot water pipes and tanks in houses towards the late 19th century. It was then that a fascination with cleanliness occurred, and rooms became tiled covered in linoleum for the less wealthy. Bathroom fixtures, such as sinks and toilets, became made of one piece of porcelain which was so much easier to keep clean. Homeowners considered white a clean color that they would know when to clean.

Early Victorian bathroom made to look like a regular room

When bathrooms became stand-alone rooms, they were usually located at the back of the house, as out of the way as possible, to deal with sewer smells. With the invention of the S-Bend sewer system, plumbing could keep the smells out, so bathrooms could be located anywhere in the house, often under stairs or in former dressing rooms. The bath and sink were commonly in one room, and the toilet in another.

Early clawfoot bathtub

Adam Thompson of Cincinnati created the first built-in bathtub—a lead-lined mahogany monstrosity that weighed a ton. And when President Fillmore installed one in the White House in 1851, people criticized him for importing a "monarchial luxury into the official residence of the Chief Executive of the Republic."

The clawfoot bathtub became popular by the end of the 19th century as hot water tanks became more prevalent. Prior to this, people bathed in tin tubs. Often, in early bathrooms, to get the furniture feel, bathroom designers surrounded tubs with mahogany.

Enameled cast-iron Victorian clawfoot bathtub

But a growing belief that cleanliness was next to godliness, made the permanent bathtub inevitable. In 1`886, Good Housekeeping Magazine noted, "Cleanliness of the body being essential to the health of the individual, it must be admitted that a bathtub should be looked upon. not as a luxury, but as a necessity in even the humblest home.” 

At the time, homeowners could choose from seven basic types of bathtubs—enameled cast iron, tinned and "planished" copper; molded earthenware, tin, or less durable wood or zinc. Although porcelain tubs were the best choice, they cost the most.

Victorian porcelain pedestal sink

For the adventurous there were also disappearing tubs that folded into what passed as a wardrobe, electric tubs that sent a mild galvanic "curative" shock through the water, and the combination exerciser and shower, featuring step-pedals to power the flow of water. By this time, the bedroom washstand had given way to an elegant porcelain sink set into a marbletop with high-rise brass faucets. The smelly "water-closet" had become the china flush toilet and a source of pride.

More than simply utilitarian now, homeowners expected their bathrooms to complement the interior decor of their homes. The housewife learned to coordinate her varnished wallpaper to the rug, the curtains and even the stained glass window. 

Antique fixtures—soap dispensers, towel holders, free-standing towl racks, fancy hooks, and tumbler and toothbrush holders—all evoke a specific era in bath design. Victorian bathroom fixtures were often ornately designed, sporting gilded metals, intricate shapes, and occasionally sculpted leaves or wildlife. 

Victorian gas lamp bathroom sconce

Lighting fixtures are another option for adding a Victorian look to a bathroom. Brass was dominant material for these, as its durability and availability made it a great choice..

Early Victorian bathrooms had gas lamps out of necessity. By the second half of the 19th century, these were wall mounted. Electrical lighting fixtures didn’t appear in bathrooms until the mid 1890s, and then only in homes of the wealthy.

Architectural antique shops are the best place to find authentic antique Victorian bathroom fixtures. Some are also available online. For those that can’t be found, there are plenty of excellent reproductions available online. 

The same can be said for floor and wall coverings. Both are available in reproduction at home stores in reproduction patterns and durable materials. To get a sense of what bathrooms looked like in the second half of the 19th century, search for old photos of them online and study their contents and design.  

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Articles section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the over 30,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about  world's fairs in the 2020 Summer Edition, online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques and More Collection on Facebook.

As a River Flows, So Does Flow Blue

QUESTION: My mom loved collecting odd pieces of old china. She died recently and now I have her collection. Among the many pieces are some with designs that are all dark blue and blurry. Are these mistakes or are they some sort of china I’ve never heard of?

ANSWER: No, those blurry pieces are not mistakes. They’re what’s known as Flow Blue. And while many people call this type of ceramics “china,” it’s actually pottery not porcelain. Beginning in 1820, potters in Staffordshire, England, began making it as a way to provide a more affordable alternative for middle-class people who coveted the fine blue and white porcelains being imported from China. As dinnerware, it enjoyed its greatest popularity between the mid-19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. And as an antique, it has gained popularity in recent years.

Potters used cobalt oxide pigment to create the darker hue of flow blue. The porous earthenware absorbed it and blurred when the pottery glaze fired. Although it blurred by itself, potters discovered that it could be made to really flow by the addition of a cup of lime or chloride of ammonia during glaze firing. This had the additional advantage of covering over printing faults, bubbles, and other defects in the pottery. As a result, some flow blue is so blurred that all details are invisible.

Josiah Wedgwood first produced Flow Blue around 1820. But it wasn’t until 15 years later that mass production began. Since flow blue was a decidedly Victorian era phenomenon, its production fell into three time periods.—early Victorian from 1835 to 1850, mid-Victorian from   1860 to 1879, and late Victorian from 1880 to 1900. During the early Victorian period, the most popular styles imitated the Chinese porcelains. But they were largely inaccurate depictions of the Chinese designs, mixing Chinese, Arabic and Indian motifs. Scenics and florals were also  popular during this time.



The mid-Victorian period brought greater creativity to Flow Blue wares, as potters mixed styles and ornamentation became elaborate and varied. Also during the mid-Victorian period, styles began to mix and merge with one another. So, there were things like Oriental-style plates with floral, Gothic, or scenic borders. Other elaborate motifs, like scrolls, pillars, columns, urns and wreaths became quite common. The pieces themselves included toilet wares and teapots, plates and platters, vases and garden seats, and even dog bowls.

Flow blue designs of the late Victorian period exhibited a marked Art Nouveau influence, with stylized florals and beautiful symmetry.

By the end of the Victorian Era, there were thousands of Flow Blue patterns. Though most Flow Blue wares came from English potteries, those in Germany, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and the United States all made it as well. The most noted English potteries included such names as  Wedgwood, Grindley, Davenport and the Johnson Brothers, while in the United States, Wheeling, Mercer, and Warwick. 
By World War I, U.S. potteries were producing most of the flow blue for the domestic market, causing English potters to close up shop since these wares had never been popular in England. The desirability of the ware waned in both countries between the wars, but interest picked up again in the U.S. in the 1960s.

Antique dealers determine the price of Flow Blue wares mostly based on their pattern, color, and rarity. Patterns range from Blue Danube to Iris and Classic Willow. Especially sought after ones include Amoy, Cashmere, Scinde, Shell, and The Temple, as well as the La Belle pattern by American maker, Wheeling Pottery Company.

Collectors are always on the hunt for the early patterns from the 1840s. Unusual items such as rare shapes, egg baskets and egg cups, large sized platters and early tea and coffeepots command high prices. Egg baskets with eggcups will fetch over $1,000. A single eggcup in a rare pattern can fetch over $400, whereas a not so rare one would fetch maybe $65. Rare coffeepots could he worth over $2,000, and large turkey platters from the 1890s, $600 to $800 if the pattern is right.

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Articles section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the over 30,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about  world's fairs in the 2020 Summer Edition, online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques and More Collection on Facebook.

Getting the Word Out Victorian Style

Trading card scrapbook.

QUESTION: I recently purchased a scrapbook full of brightly colored cards displaying advertisements for various products. Can you tell me about these types of cards and about how old they might be?

ANSWER: You seem to have stumbled on a scrapbook full of advertising trade cards. While
T.V.  commercials, as well as magazine and Internet ads  promote everything from cars and medicines to food products, during the latter part of the 19th century, trade cards did the selling.

In the 1890s, manufacturers focused their advertising efforts nationwide. Although the Industrial Revolution gave them the know-how to mass-produce consumer goods, they needed a way to show off their new products. At the time, magazines were just beginning to show ads. A new inexpensive method of color printing called chromolithography appeared in the 1870s and paved the way for trade cards. Reproduced by the millions, these colorful handouts flooded the country, becoming at once an effective business device, as well as folk art. Companies mailed them. Merchants gave them to their customers. Traveling salesmen distributed them door to door. And consumers saved them, often trading them with friends.

Chromolithographic trading card.

Although most were about the size of a playing card, others measured up to 3 x 5 inches. The typical card featured a colorful picture on one side and a sales pitch on the other. Frequently, the manufacturer left a blank space for a merchant to add his name and address.

Two-sided trading card

Die-cut trading card.

The most common trade cards are flat pieces of colorful cardboard, however even more popular are die-cut cards—those cut in the shapes of the objects they advertise. Particular favorites include such varied subjects as pickles or teacups. Some are two-sided, with a different scene on either side, each of which promotes one of the company's products. Others fold or have movable parts.

Metamorphic trading card.

Metamorphic cards have flaps that fold out to reveal pictures different from those seen when closed. Some cards encourage the viewer to open the flap to discover what happens next. One titillating card pictures a woman sitting in a bathtub with her knees visible. When opened, the card reveals her serving drinks to two bald men.

Cards with movable parts are fragile and often in poor condition. Unfortunately, few of these cards with all their parts intact have survived decades of wear and tear. Hold-to-light or see-through cards are even more fragile. The picture changes or words come into view when the card is held up to the light, completing the advertisement.

At the Philadelphia Exposition of 1876, manufacturers put thousands of these bright little pasteboard salesmen into the hands of a product hungry public. Grocers handed them out for every imaginable product, from soup to soap! Manufacturers inserted some cards right into packaging. People saved the cards with a passion, pasting them into scrapbooks.

Arbhuckle Brothers Coffee trading card.

As their popularity grew, trade cards evolved into trading cards which manufacturers frequently packaged as serialized premiums in products such as cigarettes and coffee. Arbuckles' Coffee, for example, offered  a 50-card series of states and territories.

Medicine trading card.

Some of the products most heavily advertised by trade cards, included those involving medicines, food, tobacco, clothing, household goods, sewing items, stoves, and farming tools. Two of the most popular categories were medicine and tobacco. In the late 19th century, claims made for patent medicines weren’t  regulated by law, and trade cards advertising these medicines often promised miraculous results.

Tobacco companies inserted trade cards into cigarette packs as stiffeners to protect the contents. Allen and Ginter in the U.S. in 1886, and British company W.D. & H.O. Wills in 1888, were the first tobacco companies to print advertisements. Several years later, colorful lithographic illustrations began to appear on these cards which featured a variety of topics ranging from sports to nature. By 1900, over 300 tobacco companies produced thousands of tobacco card sets. Children would often stand outside of stores to ask customers who bought cigarettes if they might give them the trade cards in their packs. By the 1950s, trading cards boy began to collect sports, military, and automobile cards contained in packs of bubble gum.

The popularity of trade cards peaked around 1890, and then almost completely faded by the early 1900s when other forms of advertising in color, such as magazines, became more cost effective. The more common antique trade cards sell for about $1 to $15, depending on quality and condition.

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Articles section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the over 30,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about  world's fairs in the 2020 Summer Edition, online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques and More Collection on Facebook.

The Sad Truth About Sadirons

QUESTION: Recently, I purchased an old iron at a local flea market. On the top of the heavy iron base is molded the word “sadiron.” Was this the brand name or a name people called this type of iron?

ANSWER: A flatiron pointed at both ends and having a removable handle is commonly referred to as a sad iron. First used in 1738, it became a regular household item by the mid-18th century and continued in use until the last decade of the 19th.

From research, historians know that the Chinese started pressing cloth using hot metal before anyone else. At the same time, Viking women used simple round linen smoothers made of dark glass along with smoothing boards to iron cloth. Others used hand-size stones which they rubbed over woven cloth to smooth it, polish it, or press it into pleats. And while some may have dampened linen first, it’s unlikely that these women heated their “smoothers.” Later glass , called slickers, slickstones, or slickenstones, had handles. It wasn’t until the late Middle Ages that blacksmiths began forging smoothing irons, heated by a fire or on a stove, for home use.

People began to call these flat smoothing irons “sad” irons, based on the Old English word “sad” meaning heavy, dense, or solid. Although most of these irons were small, they were very heavy, thus women looked forward to ironing day with some distain, knowing the drudgery it entailed.

On Mondays, women washed both clothes and bedding. They reserved Tuesdays for ironing, a chore that took all day and tired them as much as washing.

At home, ironing traditional fabrics without the benefit of electricity was a hot, arduous job. Women had to keep their sadirons immaculately clean, sand-papered, and polished. They also had to keep them away from fireplaces to avoid getting soot on them and had to regularly grease them lightly to avoid having them rust. Beeswax, applied to the underside of an iron, prevented it from sticking to starched cloth.



Women needed to own at least two irons—one for ironing and one for re-heating—to make the sadiron system work well. Large Victorian households with servants often had a special ironing-stove on which to heat the irons, fitted with slots for several irons and a place to set a water jug on top.

With no way to control temperature, women had to constantly test to see if their iron was hot enough by spitting on its heated underside. They learned the right temperature by experience—hot enough to smooth the cloth but not so hot as to scorch it. So they wouldn’t burn their hands, they had to grip the handles of their irons with a thick rag.

On April 4,1871, an enterprising women named Mary Potts of Ottumwa, Iowa (Yes, that’s right, the place where the fictional character, Radar O-Rielly, hailed from on the hit T.V. series, “M.A.S.H.”), received a U.S. patent for a lighter sadiron with a detachable wooden handle, which remained cool while ironing. Women could purchase several iron bases which could all be heating on the stove while she ironed. Women loved the idea.

She received another patent for an iron with a hollow body which could be filled with a material that didn’t conduct heat, such as plaster of Paris, clay or cement. In her patent, Mrs. Potts claimed that these materials held the heat longer so that women could iron more garments without reheating their as often.

Mrs. Potts exhibited her new sadiron in the 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia. She prominently featured her picture in advertising for her new iron.

Learn how sadirons were cast by reading "Iron--The Material of the Industrial Age" in #TheAntiquesAlmanac.

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Article section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the other 24,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about vintage games in the 2019 Holiday Edition, "Games, Games, and More Games," online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques and More Collection on Facebook.

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow

QUESTION: I have the opportunity to purchase a collection of about 30 snow globes. Are these collectible, and if so, is this a wise investment?


ANSWER: While many people call these little snow wonders snow globes, others call them
water domes, water balls, snow shakers, snow storms, snow scenes, blizzard domes, and snow domes. They have delighted children and adults for more than a century.

In the late 1930s, Hollywood drew attention to snow globes by featuring them prominently in a number of films. In the movie “Heidi, “ starring Shirley Temple movie, the curly-haired child peers into a snow globe of a miniature cabin. And in the film classic, “Citizen Kane,” Charles Foster Kane drops a snow globe with a replica of the sled known as Rosebud onto the floor as he dies.

Collectibles experts believe French glass paperweight makers first crafted them during the early 19th century. They were basically decorated glass paperweights filled with water and white powder. But they didn’t catch on until they appeared at the Paris Universal Exposition in 1878.

Snow globes containing a miniature model of the new Eiffel Tower became a much sought after souvenir at the International Exposition in Paris in 1889, thus becoming the first souvenir snow globe. These snow-filled domes also became popular in Victorian England. By the early 1920s, they made their way across the Atlantic to the U.S. where the Atlas Crystal Works produced many of them from that time period.

The U.S. Patent Office granted  Joseph Garaja of Pittsburgh a patent for new method of manufacturing snow globes. His process required assembling the globes under water, thus eliminating trapped air. His invention allowed the snow globe industry to go into mass production, dramatically lowering the prices of snow globes. His company, Modern Novelty of Pittsburgh, supplied plastic-based snow globes in every size and shape to retailers around the world for several decades.

In the 1950's, one manufacturer decided to add antifreeze to his globes, so they wouldn't freeze during shipping. However, public outcry against this procedure forced the company to abandon it.

Today, most of the world's snow globes, made mostly of plastic, come from China. But before World War II, the Germans and Austrians made them mostly of glass. The snow found inside has been produced from many materials, including bone chips, camphor and wax, ground rice, pottery flecks and porcelain.  In time the glass became thinner, so manufacturers began to use flecks of gold foil. Currently, makers use white plastic or metallic glitter for snow. In addition, each globe contains distilled water mixed with a little glycol to slow the movement of the flakes.

Today, you’ll find snow globes combined with a wide variety of souvenir-type items, including  drinking glasses, salt and pepper shakers, sugar containers, soap dishes, ashtrays, calendars, thermometers, banks and pencil sharpeners. They can feature landmarks, World's Fairs and other  historical events, as well as famous and even infamous characters from the past.

Snow globes are usually inexpensive, however, they have sold for as high as $1,000. Vintage souvenir snow domes sell for a modest $8 to $25. And while some collectors might mix old and new snow globes, most prefer vintage ones from the late 1930s through the 1970s. Souvenir snow globes from the 1960s and 1970s hold their value best, so if the ones in this collection date from that period, you should have a good investment, provided you don’t pay too much for it.

You also need to see the potential of adding to this collection. You can get a head start with it, but only you will be able to judge what direction you want to take it. Buy only vintage ones. Make sure the water is high and clear and that any decals that may be attached to the base of the snow globe are securely attached and in one piece.

To learn more about snow globes read "A Look at the Wintry World Inside" in #TheAntiquesAlmanac.

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Article section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the other 24,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about vintage games in the 2019 Holiday Edition, "Games, Games, and More Games," online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques and More Collection on Facebook.

Locating Parts for Antique Furniture

QUESTION: I have a Chippendale mahogany bookcase/secretary that is missing a finial. Do you have any idea where I can locate one?

ANSWER: Finding parts for pieces of antique furniture can be a quest in itself. But before you decide to restore a piece, you first have to know how old it is. A piece of furniture dating before 1830 is considered a fine antique. As such, it has special rules for restoration. First, you cannot replace more than 60 percent of it without it being declassified as an antique. Replacing anything on it will definitely lower the value. In fact, doing any sort of restoration usually hurts the value, unless it’s to restore the integrity of the piece.

Restoring furniture made after 1830 is another matter. A piece must be at least 60 percent original to have any value. If more has been done to it, then it's just another piece of used furniture.

As time goes on, even pieces dating from the mid-19th century will be scrutinized closer when it comes to restoration. However, generally the fine antique crowd tends to avoid anything Victorian, looking upon it as used furniture. Replacing parts and restoring a piece of Victorian furniture can actually enhance its value. But the replacement has to be of the finest quality and the restoration done right.

The date when this bookcase/secretary was made wasn’t specified. If it were an authentic 18th-century Chippendale piece, replacing that finial would have to be done by a professional cabinetmaker and restorer. This could cost several thousand dollars, but when the piece may be worth half a million in the first place, that’s a drop in the antique bucket. The cabinetmaker or joiner would have to hand-carve the missing finial to create an exact match to the original.

If—and that’s a BIG if—a replacement could be found from an identical bookcase/secretary, that would also work. But since 18th-century cabinetmakers all customized details like finials on their pieces, the chance of finding one is a million to one. The only way to make sure is to find a bookcase/secretary from the same cabinetmaker that’s beyond restoration and use it for parts.

On the other hand, if the piece were from a later period, which is probably is, it may be possible to find a finial floating around in a antique or junk shop. But you can’t just go to a home center and pick one off the shelf.

The first place to start looking is in antique shops that specialize in selling furniture. This could take years of browsing. But parts have been known to service in the least possible places.

You can also turn to a cabinetmaker who specializes in making replacement parts for furniture. This, again, could cost a bit since each part has to be handcrafted and that takes time.

Finally, there area a number of places on the Internet to find replacement parts. A lot of them sell mostly replacement hardware, but some, like antique furniture repair and refinishing companies, do make parts to order. McLean’s Refinishing, of Watkinsville, Georgia, stocks old furniture parts and has access to reproduction and replacement parts.

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Article section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the other 24,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about antique clocks in the Fall 2019 Edition, "It's That Time Again," online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques & More Collection on Facebook.