Who, What, When, How...

For some reason, my brain remembers trivial information about a lot of things. I will admit sometimes the trivia pushes out important things like laundry or grocery shopping. Customers and Dealers ask me questions about antiques and collectibles all day long and sometime I know the answer, and sometimes I have a tickle in my brain and have to look it up. Google is great; it beats looking through all those books like in the old days. Don’t tell anyone my secret.

Here’s a typical bombardment of questions I receive in a day.

What are the doilies called that cover the backs of the chair?

Antimacassar, not Makassar. Makassar was a hair tonic in the early 19th century.

When is the Eastlake Furniture period?

1870-1890

How much is an 1824 German Bible worth with a detached cover and water damage?

About $25.

What is the difference between a crocheted and a tatted doily?

Tatted lace has a more uniform look and rarely has strait lines. Most tatting contains picots, small little loops.

How do you remove stains from stoneware dishes?

Soak in hot water and 2 denture tablets for 24 hours.

How can one determine the age of a weather vane?

Earlier weather vanes have more detail and later vanes are lumpier and lack detail. Sheep are the rarest and horses the most common.

What was the first collectible?

Stamps

When was the first Barbie produced?

1959

When did we change from saltcellars to salt shakers?

The same guy who invented Mason jars invented saltshakers in1858. But salt shakers didn’t come into use until 1910 with the wide use of Morton Salt.

What is transfer ware?

Artwork that has been transferred from a copper plate to special paper and then to a piece of pottery, china or ironstone.

My days involve these questions and sometimes a whole lot more. I wouldn’t change it for the world. Although the hubs frequently ask, “Are you going to the grocery store today?”

*image from Cultura Colectiva