Magician Valentine

My sweetie is a magician, which of course makes me very partial to magic themed valentines. This large mechanical card from the 1950s features a magician and his lovely assistant, who floats high above the stage.

Carnival Game Valentine

This is one of the largest vintage valentines in my collection, measuring about 9 inches tall, and probably from the 1950s. It has a great mechanical feature: by moving the winged heart in the upper right corner, the target animals spin by. And isn't the little sailor a cutie?

Anthropomorphic Valentines

I love anthropomorphic toys and images (vintage Mr. Potato Heads are one of my favorite things to collect). Every January, I start trolling the local antique shops and online dealers looking for vintage valentines, and I'm always especially excited to find an anthropomorphic one. I don't know why they appeal to me so much; maybe because they just look so friendly, like little friends in unexpected places. Here's a sampling from my collection, mostly dating to the 1950s.

Fortune Teller Valentine

This large 1930s mechanical fortune teller valentine is
a really fun piece.

By moving the heart tab at the top of the card,

the scene in the crystal ball changes.  

"I see smooching in your future..."

Novelty Stand-Up Valentine

This is one of my favorite valentines, in spite of the damage to the figure's neck and the unfortunate scotch tape that someone put over his face in an attempted repair. He's quite large, about 9 inches tall, and actually stands up thanks to his bendable pipe cleaner legs. Totally cute and unique, he dates from the 1930s.

Antique Valentine Rebus Postcard

This is one of the most unusual antique postcard valentines I have. Dating from the early 1900s, it's essentially a rebus, and plays to the old adage that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach...

Creepy Cat Valentine

One of my vintage valentine collection subsets is "Creepy Valentines." It's really quite amazing how many weird and disturbing historical valentines exist out there. The creepiness usually comes from iconography that is no longer readily meaningful to us, as we'll see later on with some German postcards. But sometimes it's just strange design, like this:

  

In this spectacular example of a Creepy Valentine, a giant cat with real blown glass eyes and a moveable head (for extra horror) appears to be about to devour the small child who is obliviously offering him a sweetie...Made in Germany in the 1920s-30s.

Valentine Paper Doll

This amazing valentine was sent by an "Aunt Etta" to her niece 

back in the 1930s. 

When opened, it reveals an itty bitty paper doll   

with even ittier bittier outfits tucked in a tiny envelope. 

Thanks Aunt Etta, whoever you were!

 

Valentine Veggies

I love old postcards, vintage valentines, and anthropomorphic objects, so this fantastic item was a perfect find: a 1900s Raphael Tuck valentine postcard featuring "Mr. Carrot" and "Miss Bean". If you look closely, you'll see that the "fourteen carat gold" engagement ring is, in fact, made of carrot.

Candy Kid Valentine

Here's one of the most unusual valentines in my collection.

Dating from the 1930s, it features an actual candy (Necco wafer-type) in a lithographed wrapper as the head of the figure. It's amazing to me that this survived so long without being eaten by either the original recipient or a little mousie.

Bone Button Valentine

Here's a really unusual valentine I found this year. Dating to the 1920s, it features a bone button made into a little happy face...actually, the more I look at it, the less "happy" it appears, verging instead on "creepy," but still, a unique valentine!

Housekeeping Dolly Valentine

This large mechanical 1930s valentine has some damage, but the scene was so charming, I decided to overlook it. What a great image of a little girl and her dolly, doing the laundry...and I love the anxious expression on the dolly's face: she looks like she just woke up after a bender, thinking, 
"Holy crap! Where are my clothes?"

Valentine Time

Yay: it's Valentine Time! 
Vintage and antique valentines are some of the other things I collect,
so I'll be showcasing some of my favorites this month.

Here are two of my dollies and teddies trading valentines 

in a display case at my library, 

and some highlights from the display.

 

Antique "Coats & Clark Company" Paper Dolls

I'm always amazed when I find a fragile paper toy that has survived through long years of play, and this just may be the most amazing such toy I have. Made from the late 1800s through the early 1900s as an advertising premium by the J P Coats Company (now the Coats & Clark Company), this 6 inch  paper doll is really 12 toys in one.There's a different doll printed on each side of the figure, with 3 different heads for each doll concealed on a rotating wheel within its body. Beautifully lithographed, it's a charming toy as well as a very clever one.

Here is the first doll with her three different heads:

The picture below shows the changeable head mechanism.

Here is the doll on the flip side:

 

 

Pooped Postcard

I haven't been able to post much so far this month: been too busy (undecorating from Christmas) and sick (a wicked cold) and tired (from both). On my first antiquing foray of the new year, I found this vintage postcard titled "BOY! AM I POOPED!" that seemed a fortuitous find. Dating from 1957, it was sent by a couple of soldiers to a friend back home.

The message reads: "Hi Kilo. Curly + I went to the races Sunday. Had a big time. Got loaded as usual. Hope you are O.K. Will be down to see you one of these days. Your old pals (illegible name) + Curly."

I've said it before in my old postcard posts, but I have to say it again: everyone seems to have had such colorful names back in "the old days." I wonder what Kilo, Curly, and their illegibly named friend are up to these days...

Vintage Fisher Price Toys Christmas Ad

Here's one of my favorite vintage toy ads, from Fisher Price for Christmas 1967.
The Goldilocks and the Three Bears Playhouse (in center of ad) was one of my favorites when I was little.
And how cool is that funky aluminum tree in the corner?!

Have a happy holiday everyone!

Grandmother Stover's Toy Tree

This is one of my most favorite vintage Christmas decorations ever! It was made by Grandmother Stover's, an American company that manufactured dollhouse miniatures and tiny novelty items in the 1950s and 60s.
Measuring about 8 inches tall, it consists of a heavy cardboard die-cut Christmas tree strung with cords that are just loaded with charms, favors, and tiny toys, including a miniature harmonica, an itty bitty dexterity game, a roller skate, cups and saucers, a little tin streetcar, tiny dolls, and lots more.
The box the tree comes in is rather deceiving: it looks just like an old stationery package, thin and flat, and gives no hint of the amazing object within. In fact, I almost passed it over when I saw it in a pile of Christmas junque at an antique store, assuming it held old cards or handkerchiefs. It was a big surprise to open it and discover this amazing item inside.

Vintage Snowman Package Trim

Last week I found a big bag full of vintage 1950s Christmas package trims at a local antique mall. My favorite was this fantastic little 2 inch snowman, with a glittery paper body and plastic head. The back is marked "Made in Japan," and has a peel-off sticky part for attaching him to a package. He's just so cute!

Antique Christmas Postcards

Here are a couple of antique Christmas postcards from my collection. The first one features a great image of a toy-filled sleigh pulled by a rocking horse, while the second is a more subtle design, of Santa flying over a cozy village. Both are from 1906.

Old Photographs: Children With Toys

I'm always on the lookout for old photos of children with toys. They make nice accessory pieces to a toy collection, plus they're just interesting items in their own right. I usually set up a display of several at Christmas time. Here are a few of my favorites. (Click on the pictures to see them in more detail.)


This first picture is of my friend Ron, who can be seen here in about 1939 - 1940 driving his pedal car down a street in his Detroit neighborhood.


I don't know who this little girl is, but I love her bobbed haircut, funky boots, and stuffed doggie. Circa the 1920s.


This last picture is considerably older, probably around 1900. Two sisters in fancy dresses posed for a studio portrait, with another stuffed dog.