Vintage Unscripted features a small glossary of terms you hear in the vintage world. It’s no competition for Google, but if you are reading one of our posts and one of those terms is used, it will link to the glossary to see a description of that word. This week’s fresh to market vintage prompted us to add a term to that glossary–“pot metal.”
The Art Deco bracelet just below here is made of pot metal. Pot metal is an alloy made of different kinds of metal that has a low melting point, is inexpensive and is fast and easy to cast. Zinc is usually the primary component, but the mix may also include lead, copper, tin, iron, aluminum and cadmium based on what it’s going to be used for. Pot metal was used a lot in the early 20th century for jewelry, toys, decorative items, tools and car parts. Pot metal jewelry was sometimes gold or silver plated to make it fancier but keep the reasonable cost. “Pot metal” is often used interchangeably with “white metal,” however “white metal” is actually an umbrella term for different sorts of alloys.
Now that you know the basics of pot metal, don’t forget to impress your friends the next time you’re vintage shopping by dropping it casually into conversation. You should also try and remember that Norton Brothers was one of the largest can manufacturers in the late 1800s and that Radio Shack is now a cryptocurrency company. You never know when the opportunity will come up to show off your eclectic vintage knowledge.
Art Deco Pot Metal & Paste Bracelet
The 1920s being my favorite time in history, this pot metal and paste bracelet fits right in with why I’m fond of this era. While not meant as precious jewelry, but clearly as imitation for those who couldn’t or wouldn’t want to afford the real thing, this bracelet is a great example of the times. Made of pot metal and paste stones it mimics the fabulous platinum and diamond jewelry worn by the wealthy women of high society. It has been well worn and loved as over the years some of the stones have been replaced. To me, that is a tell that it was a popular go-to accent for many an outfit. If only this beauty could speak, oh, the tales it could tell!
Antique Paste and Pot Metal Bracelet, $72.95
-Pam, Vintage Renude
1950s May Kissing Angels figurine
Welcome to the merry month of May! I am so happy it is here. We celebrate May 1st with May Baskets and a Maypole dance. It is also the month of birthdays, proms and graduations and of course love. We cherish our memories of our moms and grandmas and shower our moms this Mother’s Day with food, flowers, gifts and our kisses and hugs.
1950s May Kissing Angels Figurine, Made in Japan, $68.99
-Mary Ellen, Aunt Hatties Attic
Norton Bros Store – Tin, Teas, Coffee & Spices
Canning was a huge industry in the United States at the turn of the 19th century and the Norton Bros company was one of the biggest can manufacturers. In 1883, this company invented the semi-automatic body maker, which mechanically soldered seams on the side of the cans and increased production capacity to 2,500 cans per hour; a decade later it would reach 6,000 an hour. In fact, the headline on an article printed in the Feb. 21, 1894 edition of The New York Times read” $600,000 FIRE IN CHICAGO.; Hundreds Will Be Deprived of Work by the Burning of Norton Brothers’ Factory.” Obviously, the business survived because Edwin Norton rolled it into the American Can Company in 1901.
If you’re interested, you can read about the history of the canning industry in America here.
Antique Norton Bros Store Tin, $75
-Linda, Selective Salvage
1982 Radio Shack Catalog
Did Radio Shack ever imagine in their days as a prime retailer of computers and audio equipment that, one day, those industries would evolve and make it irrelevant? A friend pointed out to me how bittersweet it was to see all the computers, knowing what we know now. There was a time when buying an add-on FM radio, 8 track player or cassette player for your car, a stereo system for your LPs or getting bits and pieces for building electronics often started with a trip to Radio Shack. The history of Radio Shack shows resilience, reinvention and doing it’s best to adapt to current technology, which makes the rebranding into a cryptocurrency company in 2021 especially sad.
1982 Radio Shack Catalog, $30
-Laurie, NextStage Vintage
That’s this week’s fresh to market vintage. Depending on your mom’s style, the bracelet, kissing angels and Norton Bros. can might be a perfect gift. It’s also possible there are moms who would squeak with glee over a vintage Radio Shack catalog. It would certainly be an unexpected gift.
Written by four of us who all have our vintage styles, many of our Vintage Unscripted posts are unexpected. One day we’re giving you a pickle recipe, another day we’re helping you remember how you felt the first time you saw Tim Curry wearing fishnets and a corset in The Rocky Horror Picture Show. And that’s just last week. Never miss one of our posts by subscribing to our email newsletter. You get one email a week with links to all our posts, which makes it easier to read them surreptitiously at work. Just another way we are always thinking about improving the vintage life of our readers.
