Do you do you read actual books with pages or read on a device or instead listen to audiobooks? Although our wonkishness wants to regurgitate all the statistics we found, we’re going to limit the data drop to a few not surprising stats. Adult who read books divide fairly evenly, with about 31% reading print books and 30% reading both print books and devices. Other interesting data points are that people under 29 are more likely to read digitally and people over 60 are more likely to read print books. What does this have to do with fresh to market vintage, you ask? Plenty, this week anyway.

With the gift giving season ahead, some of us gravitate towards giving books. And you can gift an e-book to someone who reads on devices, or give them an actual print book, but it can be awkward if you guess wrong which they would prefer. So what about giving them something literary that isn’t a book at all? This week we have two literary gifts, a wall tile inspired by a children’s book illustrator and a decorative plate with art by a writer/cartoonist. Non-vintage literary gifts gifts also abound, including book related socks, tote bags, tees and jewelry. So for the bookish sort on your list, instead of worrying if they’ve already read or will like a book you select, consider expanding outside the pages.

Or give them socks or a hat. Because who doesn’t love socks and hats? With that thought, we present this week’s fresh to market vintage, which is 100% sock and hat free, but still eminently giftable.

Florina and the Wild Bird Wall Tile

I am a retired children’s librarian, and I really loved talking with people who collected children’s books. Some were collected by author, others by illustrator. I found this tile of a sweet girl with a blue head scarf and a bird in her hands, and I just knew I needed to do research on her. I deciphered the  back to find what was an homage to Alois Carigiet, a Swiss graphic designer who worked with the author Selina Chonz.

I close my eyes and can call up Pippi Longstocking and other images from my reading as a child. I just know somewhere someone who had Florina and the Wild Bird read to them at bedtime in the 1950s will have fond memories rekindled by this tile.

If you want to read about another children’s book illustrator, I have a post on Kelly Oehsli here. 

Wall Tile of Selina Chonz Book Cover, $59.99

-Mary Ellen, Aunt Hatties Attic

Wire Wrapped Pendant Necklace

I’m old enough to remember when wire wrapped jewelry was a popular hobby. There were classes in how to wrap wire in a multitude of ways to enhance polished stones of all sizes and shapes. Craft fairs were filled with booths selling all manner of whimsical designs. Just because we’ve moved on doesn’t mean these pieces shouldn’t be seen and worn. They are still tiny works of art and beautiful in their own right. The artists who made these pieces will most likely never be known as they are unmarked. This one in particular caught my eye due to its simple but elegant design and beautiful colors.

Wire Wrapped Granite Pendant, $45.95

-Pam, Vintage Renude

Antique Hand Thrown Stoneware Pitcher

I have several friends who are talented potters, so I have a deep appreciation of the art. I also love pitchers, so this little gem that dates to the early 1900s hit all the right buttons for me. It features an abstract, random pattern and a deep green glaze applied over yellow clay.

Green Glazed Yellowware Pitcher, $110

-Linda, Selective Salvage

James Thurber Dog and Turtle Plate

Author, cartoonist and playwright James Thurber was a fixture at The New Yorker magazine from 1927 until the 1950s, contributing both short stories and cartoons. Tangential fact, it was E.B. White of Charlotte’s Web and Stuart Little fame who facilitated him joining The New Yorker as an editor. His writings and cartoons are known for their quirkiness and wit. I became a fan in high school in Newtown, CT, where he once lived and where his house is a registered historic site. Dogs were one of his favorite subjects, many of them like the houndish fellow on this plate.

Art Works James Thurber decorative plate, $48.

–Laurie, NextStage Vintage

That’s this week’s fresh to market vintage. That green pitcher would look killer filled with holiday greens, and we would be delighted to find the wire wrapped pendant in our stocking. We’re sorry we’re pushing the notion of Christmas gifts so early. But it’s been on our mind. We were blinded by a display of eggnog at the grocery store. Eggnog! We hadn’t even had our first frost and the food industry thinks we should be buying eggnog! Have you ever…

…considered subscribing to our Vintage Unscripted email newsletter? It includes links to all our posts from the previous week and arrives every Sunday. Unlike eggnog, it’s never too early or too late.