Mother of pearl, known as MOP by collectors, is luminous, natural and beautiful. But did you ever wonder what it actually is? It’s nacre. Nacre is the inner lining of the shells of some mollusks: pearl oysters, fresh water mussels, some salt water mussels, some clams, turban snails and abalone. The composition of nacre is an inorganic mineral, aragonite, mixed with an organic binder, conchiolin. As you can tell from the earrings in this week’s fresh to market vintage, MOP glows. That’s because light refracts off its layered structure.
MOP and pearls are made of the same material, except one forms around a wee grain of sand and the other forms on the shell itself. Both form in layers. Can we take a moment to give some appreciation to the mollusks that are gifted enough to make nacre? Without them, we would have no pearls to clutch or MOP to glow in our jewelry.
Fresh to market vintage has other things you can appreciate as well, so let’s get started.
Set of Anchor Hocking Milk Glass Bud Vases
In a group, something ordinary can become special. These Anchor Hocking milk glass bud vases from the 1950s and 1960s were florist workhorses. Sturdy and reliably attractive filled with any kind of flower, they must have been everywhere because I stumble across them with regularity. Not exactly lyrically named, the #1071 continues to be a workhorse even now. They’re a milky white blank slate you can use in any season. Used in a group, they would make a mantel, sideboard or vignette anywhere spectacular.
Group of 5 Anchor Hocking #1071 Bud Vases, $25.
Laurie, NextStage Vintage
Silver & MOP Drop Earrings
These drop earrings would make a great gift for the upcoming holidays. The simple modern look works as well for everyday as it does for a night out. The silver French wires allow them to dangle just enough to catch the light on the mother of pearl inlays. With a teardrop shape they hang just below the earlobe and are lightweight and easy to wear. Have you started your holiday shopping yet?
Silver & MOP Teardrop Earrings, $29.95
Pam, Vintage Renude
Antique Painted Hand Mirror (c 1890s)
Wooden Vanity Mirror, $95
Linda, Selective Salvage
Antique Brewery Glass, Fob and Openers
Breweriana is a collecting category that has more options than McDonald’s has fries. The big umbrella of breweriana is collecting brewery or beer memorabilia, packaging and promotional materials. But the options under that umbrella…you can collect a single category like cans, bottles, steins, glasses, trays, bar displays or openers. You can collect by location or by era. You can collect by category x era. So many possibilities! One of the fascinating categories is pre-Prohibition, or “pre-pro.” Prohibition in the US ran from 1920-1933, thirteen long (not particularly dry) years.
This grouping of Nebraska breweriana has three pre-pro pieces and one from the prohibition era. All the pieces came from the estate of a well-known figure in the Omaha breweriana circle. Historical note: Nebraska was on the cutting edge of Prohibition, enacting it statewide in 1917.
The Wilber Brewing Co. Silitel beer bottle opener ($179.99) with its original envelope comes from Wilber, Nebraska. The brewery operated from 1901-1971. Siletel was their trademark brew, a Czech-style lager made with authentic Czech ingredients, which was only right since Wilber earned the title of “The Czech Capital of the US” in 1963.
The Fremont Brewery operated in Fremont, Nebraska from 1891-1917. While Prohibition was in force, they became the Fremont Beverage Co., producing a near beer called Freemo until 1933. They then reverted to a brewing company again for one short year before closing. The Fremont Brewery watch fob ($599.99) above dates from 1900-1917, when the stag was their logo.
The Fred Krug Brewing Co. has a longer story arch, founded in Omaha by German immigrant Frederick Krug in 1859. It grew to be one of Omaha’s big four breweries. Instead of switching to near-beer production during Prohibition, the company sat idle, revving up again in 1933 and selling out to the Falstaff Brewing Company in 1936. The Fred. Krug acid etched glass ($449.99) would have been used in saloons and beer gardens, it was too costly and fine to be given away as a premium.
The Prohibition era Te-To opener ($119.99) comes from another of the Omaha big four, the Willow Springs Distillery and Brewery. Founded as a distillery in 1866, the company bought a brewery to add to their offerings in 1902. During Prohibition, they produced malt for home brewing, sodas and Te-To, a near beer.
All the breweriana above is available from this week’s guest, Joel at Terrapin Treasures Omaha
Every time we dip into another category of collectibles, we see how cool it is and convince ourselves that we too should collect it. Luckily, a new collection isn’t something you can order up on Amazon and have dropped on your doorstep in 24 hours. It takes time, research, patience and a little serendipity to build a collection of things that have meaning for you, both because of their history and because of where you found them.
We like writing about collectibles because we get the thrill of learning about them. It’s not the same as owning them, but then again, knowledge takes up less space on shelves and doesn’t require regular dusting. Readers of Vintage Unscripted get to go along on that learning trip with us, which is why we suggest subscribing to our email newsletter. You get one email a week with links to all our posts from the previous week. And rest assured, your info is safe with us. We would rather replace our face cloth with a bar rag from the end of a shift on St. Patrick’s Day than ever share it.
