Saturday, December 29, 2012

A Victorian New Year

Happy New Year, dear friends!
I have another postcard/trade card illustrated post for you! 
(All ephemera is from my personal collection unless otherwise noted.)



As we listen to the bells ring out the old year and ring in the new while the clock strikes twelve...



let us prepare for our Victorian New Year's Day open house. 

(Over a century ago New Year's day, rather than New Year's eve, was the time for gala entertaining and Open Houses, usually held from noon until six p.m. Tradition held that all the ladies of a family, and all boys under the age of ten, stayed at home to receive callers while the gentlemen went out to pay visits.)

Look, our first visitors of the day are here. Oh, what fun!


(photo from Victorian Family Celebrations by Sarah Ban Breathnach)

I'm so glad they brought their precious children along, it makes for such a delightful and eventful day, and...


   
  
they can take part in our New Year's Day birthday celebration later when my husband gets back from paying his visits! 
(It really is my husband's birthday and my daughter turns 15 on the 6th.)



Speaking of paying visits, arriving next door is a sleigh full of bachelor's, they have come to drop off their younger siblings and pick up a few more bachelor's so they can go and pay visits to all the eligible young ladies in town!



Newspapers would even print lists of the homes that would be open and the hours they were receiving visitors. The only requirement for admission was a calling card.
The below card has a little flap that says "Only Happy Hours" with the name of the young man being August H. Rux. 
               (Hmmm...sounds a little romantic, don't ya think?)



and when you open the flap you see a cute little photo of the young man who has come to pay a visit.



Upon arrival the young man would be introduced to the eligible women of the household, under the watchful eyes of parents and relatives. 
Not surprisingly, the custom quickly became sport. Young men would try to rack up as many as 50 calls a day (being more interested in becoming intoxicated than in meeting their hosts' eligible daughters)! Young women would angrily collect calling cards as if they were butterfly specimens! By the late 1880's the hospitality of the day had been so abused that opening up one's house on New Year's Day to strangers was snuffed out by social disapproval. During the 1890's the tradition of New Year's Eve open houses evolved into "family calls" and receptions for invited guests only. After WWI, the custom of New Year's Day "calling" disappeared and New Year's Eve parties became the popular thing to do. 
(above info from Victorian Family Celebrations by Sarah Ban Breathnach)


With the New Year came wishes of prosperity, good fortune and good luck. Depicting as symbols of good luck on the above postcards are the steamboat's pilot wheel, a wishbone and a horseshoe.

Below is my New Year's greeting to you, the angels depicting each of you, my sweet blogger friends.



I want to thank each and every one of you for following and reading my blog this past year and for your friendship. I get so much joy and inspiration from reading your blogs, I hope you get that from mine as well. From my house to yours, have a blessed 2015!

I am joining the following parties, please come and join us.
HOME AND GARDEN THURSDAY with Kathy
HOME SWEET HOME with Sherry
SHOW AND TELL FRIDAY with Cindy
AMAZE ME MONDAY with Cindy
TUESDAYS AT OUR HOME with Maria Elena
INSPIRE ME TUESDAY with Marty
RETURN TO LOVELINESS with Kathy
WHAT'S IT WEDNESDAY with Paula and Patti

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Merry Christmas!

Please come in out of the cold and join me in Yuletide song as I show you some of my Christmas decorations...

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree, With lush green boughs unchanging-
green when the summer sun is bright, and when the forest's cold and white. 

(This is my feather tree that was featured in this years Victorian Homes Christmas issue.)
To see that post click here.

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree, with lush green boughs unchanging! ...


Deck the halls with boughs of holly, Fa la la la la, la la la la!


"Tis the season to be jolly. Fa la la la la, la la la la! ...


Joy to the world! The Lord is come. Let earth receive her King.


Let ev'ry heart prepare Him room, And Heav'n and Nature sing, And Heav'n and Nature sing,
And Heav'n, and Heav'n and Nature sing.

(the bird is an antique little paper booklet called "The Christmas Chirp". It has a really cute story inside. The hummingbirds and nest dome was an Ebay find several years ago.)

Hark! The herald angels sing, ...


"Glory to the newborn King! Peace on Earth and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled."
Joyful all ye nations, rise! Join the triumph of the skies. With th'angelic host proclaim,
"Christ is born in Bethlehem!"

(The above manger scene is Hallmark, 1988 and 89. The camels are bone china. The vintage angels are an auction find and are like a paper mache material and marked Germany, they are very delicate and so sweet!)

Angels we have heard on high, Sweetly singing o'er the plains;


And the mountains, in reply, Echoing their joyous strains:


Gloria in excelsis Deo, Gloria in excelsis Deo! 
Come to Bethlehem and see, Him whose birth the angels sing.
Come adore on bended knee Christ the Lord, our newborn King.

(the above manger tucked in the branches is a Sunday School craft that my son made when he was little)


Away in a manger, no crib for a bed, the little Lord Jesus laid down His sweet head. 
The stars in the heavens looked down where He lay, the little Lord Jesus, asleep in the hay.


(below is a message from me, not a song)

In the midst of all the hub bub and chaos of the season 
let us not forget that this little babe was born to save the world. 
Jesus is the reason for the season.

And now for the last song of the night.

We wish you a Merry Christmas, We wish you a Merry Christmas, 
We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

(Antique postcard from my collection.)

Glad Tidings we bring to you and your kin.
We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!


I am linking up to the following parties...
AMAZE ME MONDAY with Cindy at DWELLINGS
INSPIRE ME TUESDAY with Marty at A STROLL THRU LIFE
A RETURN TO LOVELINESS with Kathy at A DELIGHTSOME LIFE
TUESDAYS AT OUR HOME with Marie Elena at OUR HOME AWAY FROM HOME
HOME with Sandi at ROSE CHINTZ COTTAGE
WHAT'S IT WEDNESDAY with Patti at IVY AND ELEPHANTS
TREASURE HUNT THURSDAY with Pamela at FROM MY FRONT PORCH TO YOURS
HOME AND GARDEN THURSDAY with Kathy at A DELIGHTSOME LIFE

Monday, November 26, 2012

Antique Pier Table


Oh! I am so excited! Last weekend I went to an Estate Tag Sale and bought this beautiful Pier Table. I had looked for one a couple of years ago to put in my foyer/front hall area but when I couldn't find one I settled with an antique hall stand instead. These tables are hard to find so when I saw there was one at this sale I knew I had to get it if the price was right. And guess what?! THE PRICE WAS RIGHT!! Yippee!
So here it is, I think the side view is so pretty. It is Empire style and dates back to 1840-60 or so, is my guess, if you know differently please let me know. These tables are often mistaken as being just a hall table but the mirror has a purpose. It was for the light. The low mirror reflected any available light and helped to illuminate a dark foyer or hallway. The mirror also reflected the pattern of the rug or tile and helped make the room appear larger.

                   

Since I did not have room for it in the foyer area I decided to put it here. And here is why...I read in my "Collector's Guide to Victoriana" book by O. Henry Mace that a "pier" originally referred to the columns that supported the ends of an arch. In nineteenth-century architecture, the term was used to describe the part of a wall between two windows or other openings. Items intended for placement on that wall (pier tables, pier mirrors) were given the name as well. So I thought this spot would work. See the reflection of the rug in the mirror below.     
   
               

I didn't know what to put on the table and then I remembered that I had bought these two tea light lamps for my Titanic table setting and thought they might look good there. I wanted a pair of something, not just one and I like argand lamps with the hanging lusters and the frosted shades but do not have any so this is the closest to that as I could get to. So what do you think, do you like these on it or...


do you like this arrangement on it. They are the things that I had on the parlor table that used to be in this spot.


You know what happens when you buy another piece of furniture don't you? Everything has to be moved around and a little bit of redecorating has to be done! And sometimes you think, why did I even buy that? Well I wasn't thinking that this time because I love this beauty!!!
So anyway...the parlor table that was there got moved here with almost the same stuff on it.



And the table that was in that spot got moved over here...


And the table that was there got moved upstairs to this spot...


                                   
And this table that was there had to go! Off to the auction house it went and will be sold on Dec. 8th. It was my least favorite table. The marble didn't really go to it, I just found it later at an auction. It's a little big for the table and is stained so it will be sold separately. The wood top on the table is pretty though, so it should sell well without the marble.
   
                  
 
You know how I was saving my money for that sideboard, well I spent it all!!! BUT...by selling the above table and a few other things and from selling the lamp pictured below I will have more money then I had before I bought the pier table!!! How lucky is that?!
                                     
                  

Because I had to redecorate a little bit I had this wondering velvet table scarf with no place to go so it went here on the piano for now. Doesn't look too bad.



AND, I had these two seashell art boxes that needed a new place to go. The round one got booted out of the parlor and the dresser looking box got booted off my dresser when I bought that dresser tray. So, I thought and I thought, and decided to put them in my seashell bathroom! Imagine that?! And with all the inspiration I get from looking at other blogger's beautiful vintage linens and how they display them so nicely, I decided to add some to this, what was once boring, cabinet. So here it is...



and up close...



I'll still need to add some more pretty lacy and tatted hand towels though.



While out flea marketing the other day I found this gorgeous antique Moser glass vase! And it was only $12!! I couldn't believe it!!



And I got these dainty looking hankies with the nice embroidery. I like the white butterfly one the best. They are housed in my bathroom cabinet on the top shelf in the shaving mugs for now.




I also got this little souvenir pitcher. It is not antique or Victorian by any means but I liked it for $2. I have been to Hannibal, home of Mark Twain, so many times that its not even funny! But I do love going there. Victorian's liked to collect souvenirs to set around in their parlors, they were good conversation pieces. So you know me...if Victorian's had them then I had better have some too!



Well that is all for today. Thank you so much for your visit and I do hope you will leave me a comment! Have a great week!

Monday, November 19, 2012

The Turkey, the Black Bird and the...Robin?

Hello blogger friends! I know you are probably wondering what's up with the different birds in one title. Well, I wanted to do a Thanksgiving post and a post on robins so I decided to combine them into one and add the black birds. So here we go...

When it comes to Thanksgiving, it's the turkey who get's all the attention, right?
These postcards are from my personal collection and are actually the only turkey things that I have so I tried to fancy them up a bit by displaying them in front of the centerpiece on my dining room table. (along with the black bird!)





Here is where the trusty ol' black birds come in. I know, I know you are getting tired of seeing them! I have used these birds for Halloween,  Autumn and now Thanksgiving! 

Tucked in amongst my faux fruits and veggies is the same rose bud that I shared with you in my last post on the Rose Chintz china.

And then there's the black bird display in the parlor...

You will be glad to know that the black birds will be put away come this "Black" Friday.
So this is where "little robin red breast" comes in... 
The weather has been so nice here lately that the robins are just having a hay day in my bird bath and I was even lucky enough to capture them in the act. I just think they are so precious with that little white ring around their eyes. 



With Christmas just around the corner I wanted to share with you a few of the legends on how the robin got its red breast.

One is connected with the tradition of the burning of the Yule log during the 12 days of Christmas. The robin was believed to have first carried fire to the earth, thus its connection to the Yule log. As the story goes, in the process the robin singed its breast and forever after had a red breast. 

And for those who preferred the religious connection, the robin was said to have plucked a thorn from Christ's crown, accidentally pricking its breast and staining it forever. 
So whatever the belief, the robin could not be omitted from the Christmas decorations of the Victorians. 

This is it for today, but I do want to wish each of you a Happy Thanksgiving. And may we all remember to...




God bless you and yours!

I am joining the following parties...
TUESDAYS AT OUR HOME with Maria Elena
WHAT'S IT WEDNESDAY with Patti
TREASURE HUNT THURSDAY with Pamela
HOME with Sandi
HOME AND GARDEN THURSDAY with Kathy
INSPIRE ME TUESDAY with Marty
TUESDAY'S AT OUR HOME with Maria Elena
LET'S TALK VINTAGE with Bella