Antique Children's Christmas Book

Christmas books for children comprised a very popular publishing niche in the Victorian and Edwardian eras. One of the loveliest I've ever found is this, Christmas Joys for Girls and Boys, printed in Bavaria by Ernest Nister Condon, and released in America by E.P. Dutton and Company, New York, around 1908.

(click on the images to see them in greater detail)

The large format picture book, 12 by 10 inches, was printed on an "Untearable" material which was unfortunately not "Unchewable", as little mousies have nibbled away at its edges (see upper right corner...)

Thankfully the illustrations remain undamaged. The gorgeous, richly colored full page spreads depict classic scenes of Christmas, with a profusion of toys.

A beautiful dapple grey rocking horse and his teddy bear rider can be seen on the left side of this image:

In the next illustration, children conduct their Christmas shopping by sled. Check out their haul of wonderful toys!

On page three, happy children have just unloaded their stockings. The blond girl on the left has received a beautiful doll:

The center of the book features a two page spread of a children's holiday "Fancy Dress Party." I think they're playing the old game of "Blind Man's Bluff". My favorite costumer is the boy in the middle, dressed as a teddy bear:

"Presents for the Poor" highlights a little rich girl's Christmas charity efforts. Note the vintage limousine and chauffeur visible through the open doorway:

Page seven features "The Christmas Basket," a cornucopia of antique toy treasures to make the collector's heart flutter. I spy several dollies, a tin litho automobile and steamship, a train, and a platform horse!

"The Christmas Tree" is loaded with toy presents, and on the floor sits a beautiful bear-on-wheels:

The book ends with an image of Christmas crackers being pulled at a sumptuous holiday dinner:

Kitschmas Decorating

Kitschmastime is in full swing at my place...kitschy holiday decorations from the 1950s and '60s currently cover every available surface. It's my belief that you can't possibly ever have enough of this fabulous stuff...

Kitschmasland.

A funky-looking Santa in his equally funky red house,
under an aluminum tabletop tree.

Is this the Cutest Little Snowman Ever? Yes.

And these are the Cutest-Ever Gnomey/Elfy Guys.

  Glass balls: the latest roofing trend, circa 1950.

A close runner-up for Cutest Snowman Ever 
resides on this vintage package trim.

This little gnome/elf guy has unfortunately been afflicted with Pinecone Body Disorder,
commonly seen in many mid-century Christmas decorations. 
His friend below has the same affliction. 

These two adorable snowperson shoppers may be 
Holt Howard Company products.

The "Yuletide Electrified Santa Chimney House"
features some remarkably colorful packaging.

 This bizarre feature of the "Yuletide Electrified Santa Chimney House" was apparently its big selling point. Unlit, the viewer sees Santa's molded plastic head protruding from the chimney. He looks a bit worried to me, like he's afraid he's stuck. When lit, our worst fears are confirmed: the cellophaned image of Santa in the chimney becomes visible through the cut-out window.

More Christmas Present Peeks

If you read yesterday's post, you'll know that I've peeked at my Christmas presents (well, they came via eBay, so I had to open them and give them the once-over, you know...) Anyway, here's the next batch of present peeks. Can you guess what they are???

Christmas is Coming!

Yay: it's December! That means some fabulous new toys are coming soon! Actually, they're already here, via Santa's partnership with eBay, and I've peeked. Well, I HAD to peek "to make sure the toys were okay," otherwise, how could I be a responsible eBayer, and leave prompt, positive feedback for our sellers? Anyway, that's how I'm justifying the peeking. Here's a couple of glimpses: can you guess what they are?

$1 Baggie Dollhouse Find

At a recent antique show, rooting around in a dealer's box of bargain-priced "junque," I found this baggie full of broken dollhouse furniture, priced at just one dollar. (It doesn't look like much here, but just wait...)

The pieces were clearly very old, German-made circa the 1890s-1910. On a closer, surreptitious inspection, I discovered all the bits were there, and they weren't really broken, just unglued. Over the past century, the animal-based glue dried out and gave way.

It was the work of a couple of minutes for the pieces to be reassembled, and ta-da: here they are!

The 4 inch tall chair is made of red stained, gold gilt trimmed wood and pressed cardboard, while the faux wood grained sideboard  is in a much smaller scale at 3 1/2 inches, and fits perfectly into my hard-to-furnish 10 inch tall dollhouse.

Not a bad find for a buck!