too short a weekend

Aghhhh, it was just too short a weekend.  It flew by...way way way to quickly.  It was a nice weekend, nothing out of the ordinary...ran around with sis on Saturday, did a little junkin, found a few treasures, had lunch with sis and we laughed until we ached and then laughed some more.  Caught dinner and a movie with my honey and watched athletes win Olympic medals. Any way you look at it, it was lovely and that is why I didn't want it to end. So I write this post at 9:41 pm, before I get ready to pack up my laptop bag for work tomorrow, finish up laundry and then call it a night.

Not a lot to select from this Saturday's pick.  It happens and probably because everyone was out shopping for school clothes since we had a tax free weekend.  Still what I did find I was very pleased with.

 Found this lovely french 2/3 yard long print from 1894 called String of Pansies that was beautifully framed and mounted on a secondary frame background of pale yellow velvet.  Very 1950-1960s.  Normally, I would reframe this type of antique print so it was in a period frame, but this contemporary framework is first class and really showcases the print so I decided to leave it as is.

 

This is the second week I have found a pretty wool needlepoint and petite point picture.  Lovely needlework.

 

 A few pieces of antique Wedgwood soft paste from 1897-1901. 

A lovely set of the same antique Wedgwood of a deep saucer and double handled bowl for broth or tea.

 

Here is the find of the day.  Actually a pair of these marvelous engravings by Thomas Nast for Harper's Weekly. This one dated 1897 and beautifully framed. 

 

The second engraving is of Boss Tweed and dated 1870 also by Thomas Nast for Harper's.  Sorry about the photos for this post.  I forgot my camera and had to use my iphone.  

A pretty vintage, Newport Silver candelabra that unscrews at the top and becomes a single candlestick. 

 

Two antique silverplate serving ladles.  A lovely little gravy/sauce piece that is from an obscure silver manufacturer (Plymouth Silver Co) and a big, soup/punch ladle from William Rogers.  Both are highly decorative.

 

Pretty little antique plate with a transferware picture of Marie Antoinette.

 A pair of turn of the century cut crystal decanters.  They have a delightful shape with pretty toppers and look like an I Dream of Jeannie bottle.

The one bottle was wearing a pewter, Steiff sherry tag. I priced the Sherry tag separately and put it in my locked showcase.  This type of item tends to walk if you don't lock it up.

 

This was a find from last weekend when I visited the Flowery Branch Antiques Market. Beautiful, hand knitted/beaded late Victorian bag.

 

Found this at my local Goodwill for 88 cents. Love these pretty little things.

 

This was my big find at Flower Branch.  A huge and very heavy, silverplate over copper footed serving piece.  Late Victorian, it was filthy and black and filled with Civil War shot and a baseball sized cannon ball.  I offered the dealer $15.00 for it and they sold it to me because they didn't think it would clean up.

 It cleaned up beautifully and had 90% of the original silver.  Can you see the dent in it?  That is wear the Civil War cannonball sat for years accordingly to the dealer.  The ball fit in the dent beautifully and no matter how much I begged, they would not sell me the cannonball.

Hard to believe that school as already begun for our county and that always means fall is not far behind.  Gotta start planning for that seasonal transfer.  So, I'm calling it a night and wish blessings to you and those you love. Sea Witch

My Favorite Santa - Thomas Nast

I adore the classics, old school, the woodcut and pen and ink drawings that illustrators so lovingly created during the Victorian era.  There are thousands of Santa's on posters, products and storybooks, but it is the Thomas Nast Santa that I love best.  To me, nothing typifies Santa Claus better than Nast's classic illustration of that happy old elf.

Thomas Nast was born on September 27, 1840 in Landau, Germany. Following the tradition of thousands that immigrated to America, young Nast, his sister, and his mother came to the United States in 1846 while his father followed four years later. Following their arrival in new York, Mrs. Nast enrolled her two children in public schools. While his sister was able to make the changes, Thomas found it difficult to adjust. In addition to not being able to speak English, he disliked school work. This continued for many years.

A neighbor made candles and crayons for a living. He would give Thomas reject crayons. As a young boy, Thomas would spend hours drawing.  He could not stand to do a minute of school work. Finally, when Nast was 12, the school master talked to his parents into pulling Thomas out of regular school and enrolling him into an art school. Three years later, at the age of 15, he had to quit art school due to financial problems. He sought employment.

It was difficult enough for a 15-year-old to get a job but it was more difficult since Thomas could not read or write. Since he was short and fat, manual labor was also out. The only skill he had to offer was his ability to draw what he saw. In those days there was a rigid apprenticeship established to obtain a job as an illustrator. One just didn't get hired for that sort of job without being an apprentice first -- except for Thomas Nast, however.

By sheer guts, Nast walked into the offices of Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper and asked for a job as an illustrator. Finally, tiring of not being able to get past the receptionist, one day he waited for the right moment and slipped past her and marched into the publisher's office and requested a job as an illustrator. Frank Leslie viewed the young man's request as absurd. It just wasn't done that way. In jest, Leslie gave Nast an "assignment". It was to go down to the Christopher Street Ferry house in lower Manhattan during the rush hour and draw a picture of the crowd boarding the ferry. To the publisher's surprise, Nast returned the next morning with the completed drawing. Leslie was so impressed that he hired Thomas Nast on the spot!

Nast became one of America's greatest political cartoonists and was the inspiration behind our Country's political parties mascots.

Thomas Nast is best known for his Christmas drawings. His first appeared in Harper's Weekly for Christmas of 1862 and his Christmas drawings mark the first appearance of Santa Claus as we know him today. Prior to this, Santa had passed through a series of stages beginning with a more religious-type figure.

The inspiration for how Nast's Santa should look came from Clement Moore's poem 'Twas a Night Before Christmas. Still lacking reading skills, he had his wife read to him while he prepared his drawings and engravings. On one occasion, Mrs. Nast read Clement Moore's poem to Thomas. That was all it took for inspiration.

The next 24 years saw Nast produce 76 Christmas engravings that were signed and published. Nast used Moore's poem to put it all together in visual form; a sleigh, reindeer, jolly old elf, filling the stockings hung by the chimney, and so forth.

In addition, Nast used his own imagination to expand upon the theme. He was the first to establish that Santa's home was in the North Pole. In this way, Santa didn't belong to any one country -- he became a citizen of the world. The concept of Santa having a workshop and elves to help him were also Nast's idea. Prior to his engravings, all children received gifts from Santa. Nast conceived the idea that bad children didn't get gifts from Santa. The custom of sending Santa a letter is also due to Thomas Nast.

Thomas Nast brought Christmas to a large audience through his engravings. The result of the impact that these drawings had on American's is astronomical. In Europe, Christmas was observed for centuries on December 6. By the late 1800's when Nast's Santa Claus gained popularity, Christmas Day was legally established as December 25 in all states and territories in the United States. In addition, an extended school vacation during this period became a custom. We owe much of the established traditions of Santa Claus to Nast.  Have a lovely afternoon.  Sea Witch