This week’s fresh to market vintage reminds us of vintage movie titles. Not the movies, just the titles.
The love knot necklace reminds us of Love Story (1970), in which a rich Harvard law student and a working class art student marry…and stuff requiring multiple boxes of tissues happens.
The Fred Harvey book reminds us of The Harvey Girls (1946), the musical about a Wild West mail-order bride who says heck no to her suitor, becomes one of the entirely civilized Harvey girls at the local Harvey House restaurant, and joins in on their beef with the women who work at the local saloon. The Harvey Girls stars Judy Garland and Angela Lansbury and it makes us exceptionally huffy that they dubbed the singing voice of Angela Lansbury’s character. The absolute nerve.
You can’t say the name Harvey without thinking of the movie Harvey (1950), starring Jimmy Stewart as a sweetly eccentric man whose best friend is a six foot tall invisible mythological pooka rabbit. This causes great social distress for his sister who tries to have him committed to a sanitarium. Jimmy Stewart is as sweet as a bowl of jelly beans, even though it’s not an Easter movie.
And the orange clock reminds us of the title of A Clockwork Orange (1971), which in no way resembles the other movies or especially the cheerful little alarm clock. It’s set in a dystopian Britain, where a young man, incarcerated for a violent crime spree, volunteers for an experimental therapy to shorten his sentence and winds up stripped of his free will and defenseless against his victims and the government. Not cheerful at all.
The decoupage paper bowl in this week’s fresh to market vintage does not remind us of any movie titles. Thus, it presents an excellent opportunity for an aspiring filmmaker to develop a musical based on the art of decoupage.
Lacquered Paper Bowl with Decoupaged Design c 1920s
Celebrating Spring with a decorative lacquered paper bowl in a rounded star shape. It is painted a soft gold color with a lovely decoupaged floral design in the middle. The back is painted black. The piece was likely commercially made, but it could have been sold as a kit for home crafters back in the 1920s. One of the fun “who knows for sure” things that go along with collecting vintage.
Vintage Decorative Paper Bowl with Floral Design, $ 85
Linda, Selective Salvage
Love Knot Pendant Necklace
This sweet tiny pendant is meant to be a token of one’s love. Featuring a tiny pearl center on a gold metal base, the love knot is a symbol of endless love worn as a reminder of one’s passion for the wearer. Its diminutive size makes it a perfect gift for that first teen love. The history of the love knot goes back to ancient history. Egyptian, Greek, and Celtic cultures used the symbol, and of course the Victorians picked up on the trend. Love never goes out of style and the symbol continues to be used today.
Love Knot Pearl Pendant Necklace, $26.95
Pam, Vintage Renude
Fred Harvey Grand Canyon Album
Howard Johnson opened his first restaurant in 1929. Fred Harvey was way ahead of him, opening his first restaurant in 1887. Harvey is credited with owning the first restaurant chain in the US, mostly along the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe railway tracks. After he died, his son Ford Harvey spent the years between 1905-1935 turning the South Rim of the Grand Canyon into a world class tourist destination by building eight hospitality locations and even managing the mule rides. This folio of color prints came home with someone from a visit to one of those Harvey locations.
Fred Harvey Grand Canyon Album of Natural Color Prints for Framing, $15.
Laurie, NextStage Vintage
1972 Westclox “Mini Twin Bell” Alarm Clock
Unless you live in parts of Arizona, Hawaii or some of the US territories, you and your clocks sprang forward today at 2 am. If you’re analog, hopefully you remembered to turn the hands of your clock before you went to bed so you don’t go through the day dazed and confused.
Smart phones and watches are convenient, but they cannot compete on a vibes basis with a vintage alarm clock. This 1972 Westclox is new in the box–what a find. The orange face and faux bells (the bell itself is internal), the iconic 1970s typeface and the ritual of manually winding it daily are all part of the charm. Made for only one year, it was manufactured in LaSalle, Illinois.
This clock is available from Jim Thompson, the Alarm Clock Doc. His entire shop is filled with alarm clocks he’s restored. Each one comes with a warranty at least as long as the original warranty. Jim began restoring clocks as a hobby in the 1980s, but got hooked on alarm clocks when he restored a “Big Ben” in 1996. Since his retirement in 2000, he’s worked full-time as the Alarm Clock Doc.
1972 Westclox “Mini Twin Bell” Alarm Clock, Movement Serviced, New in Box, $105.
Available from this week’s guest Jim, Alarm Clock Doc
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