Thursday, August 28, 2008

Favorite of the Week - 1920s Cookbook Full of Handwritten Recipes and Old Food Clippings





This is such a wonderful vintage cooking find. It is an old book called Good Meals and How to Prepare Them, and research indicates that it was published in the 1920's. The spine of the book is delicate, and the cover is worn loose -- but the book is full of old handwritten family recipes and recipes clipped from old magazines and newspapers. Most of the recipes tucked into the cookbook seem to date from the 1920's to the 1950's. What a treasure for anyone interested in food history or vintage recipes!

Sold on eBay - $9.99 - to a collector of vintage food history.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Favorite of the Week - Eloise Wilkin



I love Eloise Wilkin. She is absolutely my favorite children's book illustrator. Her illustrations for me blend nostalgic baby boomer imagery and the joy of childhood. As a child, the Little Golden Books she illustrated were my favorites. (I still have these books and I treasure them!)

Eloise Wilkin was born in Rochester, New York in 1904. She was a trained illustrator, a wife, the mother of four children, a doll designer, and a star of the Little Golden Book community. She often illustrated books written by her sister Ester Wilkin, and she also worked with Jane Werner Watson. She passed away in 1987. Some of the books she illustrated are still in print, and others are out of print and quite collectible. (One of my best early sales on eBay was a lovely copy of the Little Golden Book The Twins.) I highly recommend the lovely Maud Hart Lovelace (author of the Betsy-Tacy series) book that she illustrated, The Tune Is In the Tree.

I always try to keep a few Eloise Wilkin books in my bookstore. Here's a link if you'd like to take a peek:

Friday, August 15, 2008

In Praise of Old Recipes





I love old recipes! One of my favorite personal possessions is a pair of recipe file boxes full of recipes given to me by my mother, grandmother, aunts, cousins, friends over the years. So many happy memories -- and so much fun to cook these favorite dishes again.

I love to find file boxes full of vintage recipes. While I enjoy looking at them myself (I love food history), I also love to share them with other people who will enjoy them as well.


I have 5 of these treasures listed right now. They were from a local estate sale and they contain recipes from the 1940s to present, both handwritten and clipped from magazines and newspapers. I was with my estate sale friend and we went into a basement sale. Everything had to go -- and there were boxes and boxes of vintage cookbooks, handwritten notebooks, and recipe file boxes. I felt like I had discovered treasure! (And yes, I bought many boxes from the sale -- they will appear in my auctions in the next few weeks.)


Some diverse and interesting finds here! A few of my favorite recipe titles in these boxes include: Hundred Dollar Cake, Amish Bread, and Hershey Chocolate Pie (Polly's). As you can see, I like to bake!



Favorite of the Week - Hawaiiana! - Pohaku Kiln Figurine



I've never been to Hawaii, but I would love to visit there someday. I love the beach, and beautiful outdoor settings (especially warm weather ones!). This is my first time to list some vintage Hawaiiana and I am looking forward to seeing what happens.





I found this charming little Pohaku Kiln figurine at a local estate sale. I would date this as 1940s to 1950s. It's a white glazed clam shell, open to show a little hula dancer and ukulele player inside, surrounded by coral and seashells. I love it! What a fun little mid-century souvenir.

Sold on eBay - $8.00 - to a collector of Vintage Hawaiiana.

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Favorite of the Week - Vintage Valentine - Girl Knitting with Kitten's Help

Okay, I'll admit it -- other than vintage children's books, my favorite thing to list is vintage Valentines! I lucked into a big box of them recently (I'll be listing more the next few weeks) and they are fun to look at, read, and learn about. This cute little Hallmark Valentine card is from the 1960's. I love the '60's look of the little girl with her ponytail and retro dress. She is knitting as her kitten "helps." The card reads, "I'll string along with you, Valentine." CUTE!

Here are a few of my vintage Valentines:
http://search.stores.ebay.com/Birdhouse-Books_vintage-valentine_W0QQfcdZ2QQfciZQ2d1QQfclZ3QQfromZR10QQfsnZBirdhouseQ20BooksQQfsooZ1QQfsopZ1QQsaselZ81052548QQsatitleZvintageQ20valentineQ2aQQsofpZ0

Friday, August 1, 2008

Favorite of the Week - Early 1960s Sailor Dress Pattern


How cute is this dress design? I love sailor dresses and this dress has such a wonderful early 1960s retro look.

I sell a lot of vintage patterns on eBay. I do well with 1940's - 1960's -- especially:
* designers
* unique and harder to find designs
* children's clothes
* wedding dresses
* costumes
* toys and doll clothes
* embroidery transfers

This pattern sold, but I have many more in my store, if you'd like to take a peek!