News — vintage sleuthing

Sometimes an object crosses our path that impels us to dig around on the internet to see if we can find out more. The internet can give you all kinds of information...if you persist until you string together the right searches. Curiosity doesn't carry a pocket watch, so once you start time stands still until you find out all you can. We call that diving down the rabbit hole.  IMPELLING OBJECT: Brass reproduction plaque of a man with a horn and the word "fire" in tiny letters above his head WANT TO KNOW: Who is the man and what does this plaque mean?...

  When you speak of Regency romances, the first name you think of is Jane Austin. Which is only fair because Austin wrote romantic novels about the time in which she lived. We recently received a client's vintage Georgette Heyer hardcover and paperback collection and set out to read up on the author. I would describe my knowledge of romance writers as good enough to survive the category on Jeopardy, but hardly more than that. So we started investigating... Georgette Heyer was a much beloved British writer of historical romance and cozy mysteries. The bulk of her books were written in the 1930s through the...

The need to get their brand in front of people for whom it might resonate is why so many companies invest in promotional products. Beer, wine and alcohol makers have spent centuries handing out useful products like glasses, coolers, fancy decanters, t-shirts and more. One of the most charming of those products is the pub jug--a ceramic pitcher that bartenders proffered full of water for those who wanted to add a splash to their whiskey or cocktail. Without touching on the debate over whether or not it is good and proper to add water to your whiskey (earlier this year, scientist declared that water is...

Sometimes an object crosses our path that impels us to dig around on the internet to see if we can find out more. The internet puts lots of information at your fingertips, but can be fickle in terms of giving you what you want to know. But sometimes you just can't let go, you need to keep digging. So you hold your breath and dive down the rabbit hole on an internet research adventure.  IMPELLING OBJECT H.A. Johnson & Co., Boston, Mass preserves crock, turn of the century age WANT TO KNOW What was the H. A. Johnson Co.?  Here's what we found on our rabbit hole...

This sturdy modern salad set crossed our path with no labels, no makers marks, nothing to go on to identify it. That meant it was time for some vintage sleuthing. OBJECTS: Five pieces of heavy high quality glassware in a modern cracked ice or rock textured pattern. Thick glass, nice design lines. CLUES: Pieces are tableware, design is something like ice crystals or rock crystals or something like that. Most likely from the 1970s or 1980s based on style. Using those first impressions, we played a game of Google search word salad. FACTS: Hoya in the city of Hoya, Japan...