Academic memorabilia is a huge category of collectibles that we at Vintage Unscripted have not paid nearly enough attention to. Pennants, yearbooks, sweatshirts and sweaters, steins, barware, artwork, decorative objects…if you can slap a school’s name on it, someone already has. Sets of Wedgwood college plates and Nichols and Stone college captains chairs are particularly popular. This week’s fresh to market vintage has a small but mighty academic collectible, the paperweight from Framingham State Normal School. For a graduate of what is now Framingham State University, it’s a tangible piece of history from their alma mater’s origin story.
Of course, all of our fresh to market vintage are tangible pieces of history. That’s the whole point behind vintage and antiques, right?
Antique Framingham State Normal School Paperweight
As early as the 1820s, Massachusetts was concerned about how to best educate its children. In 1837, the State Board of Education was formed. Horace Mann was the first director. A wealthy person donated money to create public normal schools for the training of teachers. My small town was the location of one of the schools which trained men and women as teachers. The Framingham Normal School was devoted at first solely to the training of women teachers. Sometimes there’s so much history you can learn from a small paperweight!
Antique MA Glass Paperweight, $46.99
-Mary Ellen, Aunt Hatties Attic
Rhinestone Shoe Clips
If you think of the 1950s when you think of shoe clips, you would be right. Don’t discount these versatile accessories so quickly though. Any woman who has worn a pair of pumps or flats knows that one pair is never enough. But what if it were? What if you could change the look of those basic shoes in a flash? Therein lies the magic of shoe clips. These small decorative bits can transform a simple pair of shoes into something spectacular, and they never need new heels. This pair is unmarked but sparkling with clear rhinestones and rhodium backs.
Crystal Clear Rhinestone Shoe Clips, $24.95
-Pam, Vintage Renude
Vintage McCoy “Leaves and Berries” Cobalt Blue Vase
This footed stoneware vase is done in one of the classic McCoy designs…”Leaves and Berries.” It was manufactured in the 1930s and is unmarked. It measures 7.25+” tall & 4″ wide at the base and 3.5″ at the opening. It’s a bit taller and more ovoid than typical and has a touch of brown glaze to highlight the berry clusters on both sides.
Cobalt Blue Nelson McCoy Vase c 1930s, $250
-Linda, Selective Salvage
1970s Floral Crewel Embroidery
A good (or bad for that matter) crewel embroidery adds life to any decor. The proficiently stitched ones that are professionally framed, like this one, are special and their professional framing means changes are good they will last longer in better condition. But there’s something to be said for the ones that show more enthusiasm than needle skill and are taped to a piece of cardboard to stretch them and then are inserted in a dime store frame. Anything made by hand, even from a mass-produced kit is one of a kind, graced by the hand and creative spirit that made it.
1970s Flower Garden Crewel, $95.
-Laurie, NextStage Vintage
That’s a wrap on this week’s fresh to market vintage. Imagine all the uses for rhinestone shoe clips…on a pair of espadrilles in the summer, on a pair of Hokas when you don’t want to wear heels… And the Nelson McCoy vase is small, but it’s a showstopper. That blue is drool worthy.
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We’re Vintage Unscripted, not Goodreads, but that didn’t stop us from weighing in on some of our favorite romantic reads for Valentine’s Day.
