You think you know something, and then it surprises you. Vintage milk glass is way up the list of decor workhorse essentials; reasonably priced, widely available, fits multiple aesthetics, looks good in any season. And then, don’t you know, it turns up in a cocktail ring! What? Yes. Just below in this week’s fresh to market vintage, you’ll see a cocktail ring that will knock your socks off.
It’s probably not the same milk glass as your favorite E.O. Brody vase, but it’s close enough. If you do an internet search on “vintage milk glass jewelry,” don’t do it with your credit card close at hand. There are some stunners out there.
The other things in this week’s fresh to market vintage are very nice, but none of them would be as useful as that cocktail ring if you want to swan into a cocktail party looking posh or draw every eye in the room as you hold an old fashioned.
Antique Gath Brand Cigar Tin c. 1910
I’m not a fan of tobacco but I definitely appreciate good old tobacciana. This antique “Gath” brand cigar store tin dates to the 1910s and features interesting graphics on all four sides and the top. The slogan on both sides reads “THE PEN IS MIGHTIER THAN THE SWORD”. I have no clue what the advocacy for a non-violent approach has to do with cigars, but I agree wholeheartedly with the sentiment.
Green Gath Cigar Tin, $95
Linda, Selective Salvage
Milk Glass Cluster Ring
As a jewelry seller, I rarely change my own jewelry, ironically. But occasionally I will add a few fun pieces when going out. This ring is one of those items made just for times like dinner with friends. It’s not serious or expensive, it’s simply fun. This style of ring known as a cocktail ring was meant to be bold and showy. Something large that would catch one’s eye and perhaps sparkle under the dimly lit evening light. If this particular ring was ever worn, it shows no signs of use. Someone needs to take it out for a night on the town. Perhaps that someone will be you.
Cluster Cocktail Ring, $21.95
Pam, Vintage Renude
1969 Reader’s Digest Condensed Books
Reader’s Digest Condensed Books are iconic. For some of us, they were essential reading material. For the younger some of us, they are awesome decor. And there are those of us in the middle of that Venn diagram who the loved to read them the AND use them as decor now. With their colorful spines and decorative covers, they really are something special. They are also quick capsules of mid century and later popular reading. Not to give away inside information, but we happen to know there’s a Vintage Unscripted blog post coming up about them sometime this month.
Set of 4 1960s Blue Reader’s Digest Condensed Books, $32.
Laurie, NextStage Vintage
Pyrex Friendship Casserole #475
January calls for cozy throws, good books, hot beverages and casseroles, the ultimate comfort food. It doesn’t matter what’s in the casserole, it just matters that it was baked in the oven and made the house smell like heaven while it was there. It’s a well known fact that everything made in a Pyrex casserole dish tastes better.
This Pyrex casserole dish #475-B with its lid, #475-C, in the Friendship pattern is perfect for cozy January. Designed by Gregory Mirow, it was produced from 1971-1974. Mirow also designed the blockbuster Butterfly Gold and Butterfly Gold 2 patterns. The internet refused to yield a biographical sketch of Mirow, but it seems a reasonable supposition that he is the same Gregory Mirow that authored many pattern and motif reference books for Dover Books.
The Corning Museum of Glass website has a section specifically for Pyrex, you can read more about the Friendship pattern here.
Pyrex Friendship 2 1/2 qt. Casserole Dish with Lid, $110.
Available from this week’s guest Ashley, Sallys Antique Market
Does the Pyrex Friendship casserole and the thought of it full and bubbling in the oven make your mouth water? Allow us to direct you to our post on Hot Dishes from the Minnesota Centennial Cook Book. Ain’t nobody knows a hot dish like a Minnesotan knows a hot dish.
Our posts aren’t always hot dishes, although we do love a good vintage beef between companies from back in the day. But you never know what we’re going to serve you, and that’s why you might want to subscribe to our email newsletter. You get one email a week with links to all the posts from the previous week. And we swear upon a stack of Betty Crocker cookbooks that we would sooner relinquish our cans of cream of mushroom soup than ever share your info.
