This week’s fresh to market vintage is all new. All new to our shops, that is. None of it is new. It’s all vintage.
But what about when you find something vintage that’s still technically new, like the needlepoint book below that’s still sealed in plastic or a dress with the tags still on it, even though it’s from decades ago? Is it new? Is it new with tags (NWT) or new old stock (NOS) or new in box (NIB)? What determines when something vintage is new, as in the state it was in when it left the store?
That’s largely determined by the seller. If something vintage is still sealed in a package, it’s new but it’s also old. So a seller might describe it as new in box. And it’s not untrue. But as a buyer, you need to realize that that item didn’t walk out of a store (unless it’s a thrift store) five minutes ago. Chances are that item was bought by someone and they never got around to using it. It was stored in that person’s house for all that time. The seller might have done the hard work of cleaning off a lot of dust or airing out the staleness from living in a closet for forty years.
There are rare exceptions, like things that are found in the storeroom of an old store. Those really are new old. But items like that are scarce as hen’s teeth.
A vintage seller could describe something as NWTBPO (new with tags but pre-owned), but that’s an awfully long acronym to trot out. So perhaps we should keep doing things the way we are. We’ll describe it as NIB and you can think to yourself that it’s new in the box but it’s really pre-owned new.
One thing that’s easier to explain is that all our fresh to market vintage listings this week are new-ly listed. We’re willing to raise our right hands and swear on a stack of 1970s Sears catalogs to the veracity of that statement.
White Beaded Handbag w/ Mother of Pearl
While it’s not wedding season now, there are still nuptials all year. This vintage seed bead handbag is just the thing for a bride to carry. Created most likely in the 1960s, it is hand-stitched and lined in satin and retains its original matching mirror inside. If you don’t have a wedding coming up, it would look fabulous worn for a night out. Large enough to hold a modern cell phone and a few necessities it makes a real statement.
White Beaded Handbag, $35.95
–Pam, Vintage Renude
Nine Card Seed Co. Packets c. 1920s
I love this lot of unused packaging that was created for the Card Seed Co. of Fredonia NY in the 1920s. The graphics make these seed packets produced by the Genesee Valley Litho. Co. of Rochester NY nine small works of art.
Vintage Ephemera – Vegetable Seed Packets, $45
–Linda, Selective Salvage
Antique Revere Beach Souvenirs
Since 1895, Revere Beach has been a cool escape from the Boston area to enjoy the water and the various amusements. The ride via train or trolly allowed for a low cost family outing, and I’m certain that the ride was just as exciting as the beach for the children. A stop at one of the stores that sold souvenirs from the 1890s to 1914 would be a nice place to get a pictorial souvenir of a special day. Perhaps Mother has a collection of porcelain shoes. These were made in Germany until the Great War. You can read more about Revere Beach here.
Revere Beach Souvenirs, $79.99
-Mary Ellen, AuntHattiesAttic
Suzy’s Surprize Stitches Needlepoint Book
Needlepoint artist Suzy Murphy self-published a number of popular books of stitches for needlepoint. Books like this are invaluable in the library of a serious stitcher, you’ll never find a resource this good on a website. The comb binding is helpful because it allows you to lay the book open and study the stitch you are going to attempt.
Suzy’s Surprize Stitches, $60.
–Laurie, NextStage Vintage
That’s this week’s fresh to market vintage. We love vintage special occasion bags. We don’t think they should be saved just for special occasions, we think they should be used whenever the mood strikes you. And we have approximately 25 ideas on how to use those seed packets and we’ve only fired up half of our imagination. And of course, we love the Revere Beach souvenirs even though they remind us that we once again missed the annual sand castle competition there this year.
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This is not the first time Revere Beach antique view china has been featured on our fresh to market vintage. There were a couple of other pieces featured on March 19 of this year. View china can be found for many locations, including local main streets and notable buildings of many small towns. Keep your eyes peeled when you’re shopping for vintage. You never know what you’ll find in your own backyard.
