Category Archives: Thrift Stores

Weekend Finds – Spring 2019

It’s been a while since we did a post on our weekend finds. As we advise in prior posts, hit your local thrift stores and flea markets often. The stock rotates constantly and one never knows what one will find.

I found this mint condition Dunbar Tumble Up, also known as the Bedside Water Carafe, at the Goodwill. It was manufactured by the Dunbar Glass Co., Dunbar, WV sometime between 1930 and 1940.

The Dunbar Flint Glass Co. operated between 1913 and 1953. “Flint” was dropped from the name sometime in the 30’s. In the 20’s, they specialized in producing hand blown refreshment sets made of thin pink or green glass – sometimes lightly etched.  The green is an odd almost a pale olive hue.  The colors cobalt, yellow, ruby, amethyst and topaz were introduced to their line in the 30’s. The factory closed in 1953 and the building was lost to fire in 1954.

The base of the tumbler (drinking glass) doubles as the lid to keep dust and debris out of your water at night. This Tumble Up is a later design and is considered more difficult to find due to the factory closing. It incorporates innovative design changes such as the tumbler sliding inside the neck of the carafe rather than over the neck as most sets do.  By doing this, residual water dripped back into the carafe and not onto your deco furniture. Another tweak is the addition of pouring lip to help prevent drips and spills.

Trenton Pottery "Ball and Buttress" or "Crossley" vase.

The Ball and Buttress or Crossley vase (from the author’s collection)

Call it “Ball and Buttress” or “Crossley”, this deco vase came from the Golden Nugget, Lambertville, NJ. It is part of a modernistic line produced in the 1930’s or 1940’s by The Trenton Potteries Co. in Trenton, N.J.  This is a large and heavy piece at almost 7″ across. Some sources indicate George Crossley designed the shape as part of the 1930 “Tepeco” line made by MCM and later incorporated in 1935 as part of the Trenton Potteries line. I can’t find much information on the Trenton Potteries Co.

George Crossley mined clay in the Blue Ridge mountains of Pennsylvania and between Toms River and Whiting, NJ from 1905 through 1950. His company, located in Trenton, NJ, specialized in brick, pottery and terracotta ware. American clay was considered inferior to English clay. Crossley felt that part of the problem was the immediacy that Americans demanded.  English clay took weeks if not months to process and mellow to remove grit. In comparison, American clay,  handled less and processed quickly, results in a grittier texture. He felt that in time, new processing methods would diminish any significant differences between the two.

Possibly from the 1930’s but most likely from the early 1960’s is this Bohemia lead glass basket; part of the Ingrid collection. This piece was another Goodwill find. I believe the design is by Frantisek Pazourek (1905-1997) for the Curt Schlevogt Factory. The lilac glass has a design of a woman holding Cherubs / Putti.

The Czech Republic produces Bohemia lead crystal glass. The terms crystal and glass changes according to the country.  “Crystal” is used by the Czech Republic to denote high quality glass products containing at least 24% lead oxide. Only then will they refer to it as “lead crystal” and be labeled as such.

We have found so much more on our adventures and we’ll share those with you soon. Keep on hunting and remember: Antiquing is the ultimate in reusing, recycling and renewing!

Chris and Anthony                                                                                                                                (The Freakin’’tiquen Guys)

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The Right Shade for the Lamp

It is no secret that I love vintage Art Deco lamps. And over the 2017 Holiday season with time off from work Chris and I hit the local antique and thrift stores. We did have some luck in finding a “treasure” at a bargain price.

 

Greenovation, Rochester, NY

Greenovation on East Main Street, Rochester, NY. Image from Facebook.

Our first stop was Greenovation on East Main Street in Rochester, NY. Located in the former Vietnam Veterans Thrift Store, Greenovation is a combination thrift / antique store. While Chris and I have not have the same consistent luck at Greenovation as we did with the former occupants, we still get an excellent find now and then. This time Chris spotted a great Art Deco / Machine Age table lamp in need of some TLC. I have to admit that when Chris showed me this lamp, I was not enthusiastic about at all. The chrome looked pitted and stained and the black cast iron base was rusting.

 

Chrome and cast iron machine age lamp from the 1930's.

Chris taking the lamp to get rewired at Top of the Lamp in Victor, NY.

There were cobwebs on the underside of the base and in the light socket. We knew if we bought the lamp it would need rewiring, the rubber power cord was crumbling and the plug had melted. Now the moment of truth, how much? Because it was the Thanksgiving weekend Greenovation was having a “black Friday” sale and everything was 75% off. The lamp had a price of $30.00, but with the discount it came to $7.50! No matter what I thought of the lamp originally, at that price I wouldn’t have left the store without it.

After getting the lamp home, Chris started to clean it up. To his surprise, what we thought was pitting and rust was just dirt and tar stains from heavy smoking. The lamp started to come back to life. A little Turtle Wax on the base helped to bring back some of the original crackle paint finish. Now time for rewiring. In the nearby town of Victor, New York is The Top of the Lamp, not only a great place for lamps and lampshades, but also a great lamp repair shop.

Because the lamp is large, we had a three-way socket installed. I have no way of knowing if this was true of the original socket, but I assume it did. With the lamp repaired now it needed a shade that would be period appropriate.

 

Detail of the socket on the moderne lamp.

Moderne lamp socket detail.

 

Created in the mid-1900’s the Illuminating Engineering Society (I.E.S.) studied the relation between illumination and good eye sight. The I.E.S. designed lamps in the 1930’s that gave glare free light for reading as well as providing general room illumination. To do this a glass diffuser is the solution that I.E.S. came up with. These diffusers softened the glare of the light downward, while sending light up toward the ceiling to illuminate the room indirectly.

 

I.E.S. ad from 1935 in the Toronto Globe.

December 20, 1935 I.E.S. advertisement, Toronto Globe. Image from Proquest Historical Newspapers.

 

So now we needed to find a milk glass (called opal in the 1930’s) diffuser. Chris lucked out and found one for $5.00 at a small antique store near Clinton, New Jersey.

 

Milk glass diffuser.

Waffle pattern milk glass diffuser. Image from laurelleaffarm.com

But never use these diffusers for shades. I’ve seen them used for shades in period films, all I can say about that is . . . WRONG!!!!

 

The Aviator, 2004

The Aviator (Martin Scorsese, US 2004) Starring Leonardo DiCaprio. Set decoration by Francesca Lo Schiavo who wasn’t aware that diffusers need lampshades. Image from the DVD.

Finding a period 1930’s lampshade is almost like seeing a unicorn or big foot. On the whole they just haven’t survived. Dark Drum shades were popular in the 1930’s, usually with contrasting stripes. Today it is easier and cheaper to get a solid color shade than have one custom-made with stripes. So a simple black drum shade was our choice, since it would only send the light up and down, not out.

 

 

So if you have an Art Deco lamp in need of a shade,  remember diffusers are not shades. Try to be sensitive to the lamp’s time period. And simple is always better.

 

Anthony & Chris (The Freakin’, ‘Tiquen Guys)