Fresh to Market Vintage: 09/25/2022

This week’s fresh to market vintage is for time travelers, stretching from the Victorian era to the 1980s. The Victorian era was technically from 1837 to 1901, but for sellers and collectors, it more describes an aesthetic than a time period and can be stretched to describe items made in the 1910s. Then there’s the lucky souvenir trinket from the 1901 Pan American Exposition. It’s a leap to get from 1901 to the 1960s for that fabulous glow-in-the-dark necklace. And another shorter hop to the 1980s for the dress with the shoulder pads of power.

Imagine how cool it would be if we could time travel. Would we be selling future vintage from 2060? We couldn’t call it vintage though. How about futurage for things 20 years in the future? And futurtique for things 100 years or more in the future? Meh. Those are pretty lame names. Let’s leave it to the time travelers to decide what it’s called.

In the meantime, this is what we call fresh to market vintage…

Victorian Hand-Painted Glass Pitcher

Offering an antique Victorian hand-painted clear glass pitcher. The stylized floral painting features purple irises blooming with both green and gold leaves. This would be a lovely accent piece in a contemporary home or a country cottage.

Antique Iris Motif Glass Pitcher, $95

-Linda, Selective Salvage

1960s Fluorescent Green Bead Necklace

Is it too early to think about Halloween? If you’ve been in a big box retailer in the last month or so, you know the answer is no. As much as I don’t want to rush the holiday season, it’s around the corner. The nice thing about this vintage 1960s necklace is, once Halloween is over, you can still wear it all year round. No one will be the wiser. Unless of course, you happen to head to a disco. Then all bets are off.

Fluorescent Green Plastic Necklace, $24.95

-Pam,  Vintage Renude

1901 Pan American Exposition Souvenir

On this day in 1901, people who could travel to Buffalo, NY to visit the Pan American Exhibition knew they only had one month left before it closed. My favorite website about this historic event invites all to  “Do the Pan” the way 1901 visitors did. Through their words and pictures, see what they saw. Bring the child in you to the sunset hour when the “Rainbow City” became the “City of Light.”

The Exhibition was open to the public for 6 months, from May to November. One could procure all sorts of mementos at booths, and this 1901 Indian Head Penny set in a stamped aluminum surround promised good luck with a trinity of penny, horseshoes and a four-leaf clover. It appears to have been used for a while but also stored for part of its 121 years of life until it came into my hands.

I hope you will visit this wonderful website and read for yourself all that it has to offer. I was shocked and saddened to read that President McKinley was assassinated at this very exhibition on September 6th and died days later. Of course, I knew he had been shot, but I guess I was unaware as to where. For the people of Buffalo and the country, a huge event that opened with spring’s bright promise closed with such tragic sadness in the autumn.

Lucky Penny Souvenir, $49.99

-Mary Ellen, Aunt Hatties Attic

1980s Quilted Black Dress

This quilted and sateen panel dress is everything great about 1980s fashion. The padded shoulders for a broad silhouette, the pleated sleeves that taper along the length, the fitted bodice, the pleated skirt, the sweet Peter Pan collar. And pockets, side seam pockets. What more could you need? Although there is no label, the quality is beautiful. It could be this was sold at an off price store so the label was removed.

1980s Quilted Black Dress, Size Small, $72. 

–Laurie, NextStage Vintage

That’s this week’s fresh to market vintage, set firmly in the past with appeal that will last into the future. We hate to pick favorites, but that little lucky horseshoe is quite special. How did something that small manage to get handed down for over a hundred years? Of course, that fluorescent necklace…and that painted pitcher…and that 1980s power dress…yeah, they’re neat. Like always, we try and feature things that are cool in their own way.

We try and write things that are cool too. The world of collecting and selling vintage is wide and interesting, and we like to think our posts are too. Never miss a post–subscribe! You get one email a week with all our posts. Like did you see the one about Schafer and Vater ceramics or the profile of designer and ceramicist Sascha Brastoff?