I thank Meggie for inspiring me for this post. I just love old stuff. The wee fellow above I bought about 14 years ago for $45 in an antique shop in Christchurch. You wind him up, he bangs the drums and clashes the symbols.
I also love Blue and White china. I am not sure if that is due to my Nana having a blue and white house, or if I just love the colour mix. Either way, when I was in Delft I loved it. Some of the china above is from Chezoslovakia...and in the corner (right hand) you can just see my great grandmothers china teapot. I am too scared to use it but love seeing it. It has a silver spout.
This is my Great Grandmother's hand crocheted tea cosy. My Mum has fitted it to modern-day insulation material but again, I don't use it too often other than to put on my head and dance about at parties. As you do.
Ah. My oldest dolls. Mary Christmas with the handpainted face. For years I thought she was a copy of my ol' godmother Lulu (her real name believe it or not) and I still have her (the doll that is) about but my kids were frightened of her so she took a rather dusty back seat. Next to her is Fatleg Molly, as you can also see she is staring to fall to bits and the bits of foam to the left of Mary belong to her. She is handknitted. And falling to bits. Jeez, they don't make wool like they used. This stuff must be only about 40 years old!!!
This is a doll that my grandparents bought back when they went round the world in 1955. She was bought in Port Said and they bought her for the first grand daughter they had. Now, my mum is their eldest child and she had just got married in 1955. When I arrived at the arse-end of 1960, this doll became mine. The next Grand daughter didn't arrive until 1977 and she is now teaching in China. Go figure.I named her Sally, the doll that is. When I first got her she was almost the same height as me. I used to play dentist and pushed in her teeth. They were made of paper. Her eyelashes also got a hammering when I played at eye-doctor. In 1994, when I moved to Christchurch and had my own daughter I decided to get her "restored". Some of her has been lost but overall she looks great. She is older than me, but shorter. I take some comfort from that.
I guess that anyway, in my "moment of Zen" - we go out of this world the same way we came in - bald and toothless. Just that on the way out, not so many people are that keen for you to sit on their lap!!
Cheers for the old stuff.
7 comments:
Delfware china is pretty well the only type I have time for I'm afraid - love the pretty blue windmills.
As for dolls and knick-knacks I own very few, and they've got to really earn their place in my tiny home, but it's fun to see yours!
I am not much in to things but I do love old toys because they have a human element to them I suppose. And those dolls are gorgeous.
I still have the toy rabbit (officially named Chloe but always called Hunna Bunna) that I was given as a newborn. I took her to bed every night till I was about 39 and she is in no fit state to be photographed - I had to put an old pair of tights over her to keep her stuffing inside. Poor Hunna!
As I mentioned before, G is a toy restorer - I will see if I can take some photos one day of some dolls/bears when they arrive at the Dolls Hospital and how they are after surgery!
Lovely post.
Thank you for posting your old treasures! I love the china, it is beautiful. I have a little jug & sugar bowl made in Czechoslovakia (sp?) I once bought in an Antique shop in Sydenham, for $5, & I love them as much as when I first bought them.
I lost track of all my old dolls, much to my sadness. I have kept all my daughter's but she is not very interested in them.
That Monkey is a gem! Thanks for sharing.
The drumming monkey is scary - mainly because it reminds me of the scene in Close Encounters when the aliens come and take the little boy away!
Poet, I agree but some other stuff has crept into the treasury over the years (usually from wellmeaning rellies!!)
RB, the woman who restored my Sally had a great collection of before and after shots. Its amazing what they can do, I wouldn't have the patience to do it myself!!
Meggie, Steve - that Monkey isn't half as much fun as the toy my brother has. Many years ago now my aunt (who lives in USA) posted him a Smokey Bear wind up chap, he smokes!!
I love old stuff. A friend of mine has a great collection of old toys in his basement. One entire room is just full of things from his childhood. Some day I would love to take some pictures of it all and post it.
Mike, that would be great.
Of course, the oldest thing I "have" is The Stud and he won't be photographed except for the tee shirts....(phew, that was close, blogger not having spellcheck and all I nearly missed out the "r"....)
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