What's in the basement?

I've been living with so much inherited stuff for so long that I no longer see it. While looking at pictures I'd taken in the basement to use as examples of my mother's selective pack-rat hoard I was surprised by what I hadn't noticed. There's a lot more to be done before presenting it here but I had to show off a little something that vintage decorators will appreciate.

My home's original kitchen cabinets were moved to the basement during a mid-1960's renovation.

Edited to add a picture of the Youngstown wall cabinets.    

1950's Christmas decorations

I took a few quick photos before taking down the tree and un-decorating the house.

1950's variety stores, popularly referred to as five-and-dimes, sold a fascinating assortment of inexpensive products. My mother frequently took me to one of these stores when we lived in Newport, RI. (I think it was Kresge's but 55 years later I'm not 100% certain.) The wide wooden floorboards creaked as customers walked back and forth and there were long aisles of glass counters set on sturdy wooden bases. I can still remember the lingering smell of wood polish. I have some interesting vintage jewelry from the 3/$1 bin but will save that for another time.

Most of these creche figures were purchased at what-I-think-was-Kresge's for less than $1 each and were made in Italy. Four smaller angels were a Christmas gift from relatives. The original cardboard stable was falling apart after being used for 4 decades and I reluctantly retired it to a high shelf. This replacement is adequate but doesn't have that distinctive vintage appeal.

Three Napco ceramic angel figurines. Santa is a mystery. He appears to be made of papier mache covered with wax. There are no identifying marks and so far my online research hasn't turned up anything like him. Any ideas?

This Royalite snowman is illuminated by a small interior light bulb. It appears that he needs a good cleaning but the "dirt" is actually scratches on his legs and stomach. The red plastic boots were a popular '50's novelty that originally contained candy.

A trio of plastic reindeer with Rudolph in the background. 

Years of incorrect storage corroded my old figural glass ornaments and they are now kept safely in a china cabinet. The mushroom, vase and table lamp- and a Santa that's too fragile to hang- are all that remains of a large collection that was destroyed when my dad accidentally dropped the box they were stored in. It was a sad day, indeed. The angel is almost as old as I am. And the cats are modern tree lights.

 

I frequently use eBay as a reference for determining an item's age and manufacturer and was surprised to find that many of the decorations on this page are available there.

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year.

As a child I was fascinated by this mid-1950's Christmas card. The sky is made of shiny threads and I thought it was breathtaking.

Christmas 1949 - 1952

I remember looking at photos of my mom when she was a child and thinking, "Wow! That was a long time ago!" Now the same can be said of the black and white pictures that my dad lovingly placed in an album that he created to chronicle my childhood. That was a long time ago.

I've selected Christmas photos that show vintage toys and games from the late 1940's and early 1950's.

1949, Salinas, California. Yep. Long time ago. 

How did we survive the obvious dangers of toys like this one? Oh the horror!

   

In 1951 we moved to the east coast. Snow! These were taken Christmas Day in Newport, RI. 

This trio of pictures are minuscule and difficult to align on the scanner. There was a particular camera that took tiny pictures and the best were selected to be enlarged. Weird. 

In 1952 we were still living in Newport. On Christmas morning I was recovering from chicken pox and had to unwrap my presents in bed. My mom used a wringer washer just like the toy in the picture. Only bigger. I still have the Sweet Sue doll.

Taking official Christmas pictures to send to relatives had to be delayed. I don't know how much later this was but my spots were gone, the tree was still up and all the presents had been magically transported downstairs.

On the left: my mom and me.

Daddy and me.

The hemp rug was eventually stored in the garage, got wet and sprouted. 

                   My grandmother Mimi made this outfit from orange quilted material.   

It was memorably uncomfortable.  
     

My dad tried to take "professional" photos. I hated the bright spotlights and didn't cooperate. 

******************

These pictures raise a very important question:

What in the world happened to my bangs?

Mom's family

Every time I search through family photos I rediscover an old favorite. This is a photographic portrait of my mother's family in the late 1800's.
There's so much to love about this picture. The typical Victorian parlor. The men's mustaches and women's hairstyles. The unmarried ladies dressed in white.
The middle woman-in-white is my grandmother, Mimi. I inherited the amethyst brooch that she's wearing.  

Ack!

While working on a nostalgic Christmas post I discovered that the last time I had published anything to my blog was over a month ago. It must be the time of the year... I've noticed that some of my favorite bloggers have been unusually quiet. My excuse: writing is enjoyable but the same can't be said for scanning/uploading/saving pictures. So I've been procrastinating. Yeah, that's it.

The next entry will be done by Christmas. I ran across some pics taken in the early '50's that show me opening gifts from Santa while confined to bed. Merry Christmas and Happy Chicken Pox!

Hoover model 27 instruction booklet

Dealing with life's little annoyances has kept me from blogging. The following is an entry I had been working on a couple of weeks ago and only lacks a picture of the Hoover model 27 that lives in my basement.

In the late 1940's my parents bought a Hoover Model 27 vacuum. I was only going to show pages from the instruction manual depicting happy '40's housewives and did a little research about this particular vacuum. I wasn't able to find a complete Model 27 manual online and am including the whole thing as a reference for others.

 

The photos are amazing and amusing. So is the advice to vacuum every carpet every day.

The tools were >>>LOST BY MAYFLOWER VAN LINES<<< when we moved here.

 

I remember what a hassle it was for my mother to empty the dust bag.