Regular readers of this weekly fresh to market vintage post can testify that we are prone to yapping about doing research, combing the internet and books like a detective to find out more details about a piece, whether just to satisfy our curiosity or to write an accurate description. What we talk about less is when we whip out our lab coats and use science to figure something out.
Vintage plastics can be notoriously hard to tell apart if you’re not a collector. There are so many. Some of them look so similar. You don’t want to say something is bakelite unless you know it is. Our post about identifying bakelite has some helpful tips to help make a final determination.
Knowing what fiber anything handmade is made from can also be tough to suss out just from touch and appearance. Sometimes, if you can gauge the era by color or style, you can make a reasonable guess. Our usual way to know if something is wool is to wash it. If it comes out 3x smaller and felted, oops, it was wool. Don’t be us. Use your inner scientist and experiment with a burn test instead. Different fibers react in different ways when burned.
The scientific method is not necessary for everything in this week’s fresh to market vintage. We have a high level of certainty that the little Linda shoe lasts are made of wood and the get yer sleep poster is made of paper.
Bakelite Dome Earrings
Halloween is over, the clock turning back, with Thanksgiving and Christmas seemingly around the corner. These Bakelite earrings are the colors of fall. Root beer brown with a bit of caramel and chocolate. Most likely made in the 1930s by the style of clip-on backs. Not at all ostentatious, adding just the right touch to a fall outfit. Hint: they would make a lovely holiday gift too.
Root Beer Bakelite Dome Earrings, $24.95
Pam, Vintage Renude
Wooden Child’s Shoe Lasts, Marked “Linda” (c 1959)
Harkening back to the days when regular people’s shoes were made by hand. This matched pair of shoe lasts were a common cobbler’s tool and were designed to make a child’s size 10 1/2 C pair. Because the name on the forms is “Linda”, I assume the end product was a beautiful pair of little girl’s shoes.
Pair of Vintage Child-Sized Shoe Forms, $40
Linda, Selective Salvage
1965 Health Poster – National Tuberculosis Association
The American version of the National Tuberculosis Association was founded by a group of doctors in 1904 in Atlantic City, NJ. In 1907, a social worker who wanted to raise funds for her local sanitarium designed Christmas Seals, which were sold for 1¢ each. Sanitariums were necessary as a place where tuberculosis patients could be isolated to not spread the disease as well as to receive the supportive care needed to help them get well. There were not any effective treatments for tuberculosis until 1952. This 1956 poster, used in schools, was given out when TB rates were dropping and sanitariums were not needed since patients could be cared for at home.
In 1974, the National Tuberculosis Association was renamed the American Lung Association and broadened the umbrella of diseases it focuses on.
1956 National Tuberculosis “Sleep Tonight – for Pep Tomorrow” poster, $40.
Laurie, NextStage Vintage
1970s Granny Square Afghan
Nothing feels better than snuggling up under a hand crocheted afghan. The colors reflect the 70s era, but that green is anything but avocado. It’s so luscious and vibrant. Granny Squares like this are inherently comforting. Whether they’re made from chosen colors or created as a way to use of yarn leftovers, each little square is has its own personality. This cheerful beauty would even make an overcast gray day bearable.
Vintage 1970s Granny Square Throw, $58.
Available on Etsy from Golden Daisy Home
That throw is soooo inviting on a Sunday. Curl up on the couch, pull it up over your head and peek through it occasionally to see if anything is going on that makes it worth leaving your cocoon. No one will even know if you’re streaming a movie on your phone under there as long as you use your earbuds.
Another thing you could be doing under the granny squares is reading all the Vintage Unscripted posts from the previous week. We make it easy. Subscribe to our email newsletter and we’ll send you one email a week with links to each post. Rest assured we would sooner survive a blustery raw rainy day without a cozy blanket, a grilled cheese sandwich on Wonder Bread and a bowl of tomato soup than ever sell your info.
