Big Nosed Bear

Possibly the cutest antique teddy bear ever. 

American, circa 1915.

Antique Show Report: Tons of Tiny Treasures

The first antique show of the season arrived this past weekend with the stormy spring weather. I gathered up my pocket change and went to see what treasures I could find. My budget was very limited this time, due to an upcoming vacation, so I tried to look only at very small things. Fortunately, there were a lot of very small things! I found:

Some antique dollhouse "tobacco felt" rugs. These 5 inch rugs were given away as premiums with cigarettes and cigars in the early 1900s. In the same booth, I also got a nice old dollhouse plate rack, complete with its plates.

Next, I got a bunch of dollhouse grocery items, all made of wood with paper labels. The largest can is 1 1/4 inches tall, and they all date from the 1920s-30s.

Pigs in Clover, an absolutely impossible hand-held dexterity puzzle from the 1950s, was next:

And my favorite find of all was a little vintage 1960s troll, 3 1/2 inches high, wearing his original outfit and shoes, with very unusual rooted, variegated hair:

Hi!

Park and Shop Game

For lovers of shopping and vintage board games, what could be a better fit than the classic  Park and Shop game? Park and Shop's origins date to the late 1940s, when civic authorities in Allentown, Pennsylvania worked with business leaders to solve parking difficulties in the town's shopping district. To overcome limited parking afforded by street meters, they created a then-revolutionary system of free lots surrounding shopping areas. Citizens would park (and walk) and shop. The system was such a success, it was made into a board game, later purchased by gaming giant Milton Bradley. There were several versions of Park and Shop over the years; this one dates from 1960.

The object of the game is to drive from home to the most strategically placed Park and Shop lot, then move your person to all the shops on your list, get back to your car, and make it home before anyone else.

You choose cards along the way that tell you what to do, like this one shown below: "You have 'created a disturbance' and have been arrested. Go directly to 'jail.' Stay two turns."

1954 Fisher Price Gold Star Stage Coach

Fisher Price made many wonderful wooden pull toys over the years, ranging from wiggly puppies to clattering rocket ships. One of the most detailed and elaborate is this, the Gold Star Stage Coach from 1954.

Measuring 15 1/2 inches long, the stage coach features a pair of pinto ponies who "gallop" up and down as the stage is pulled, along with a spring mounted driver who bobs energetically along. (The spring on mine is a bit sprung, which has made his hat pop permanently up. He looks rather like a startled cartoon character now.)

A strong box at the back of the coach opens, and can be used to store very tiny treasures. The top of the coach also opens, and small passengers can be placed inside.

Two wooden mailbags complete the stage coach's accessories. Even in Toyland, "the mail must go through!"

1950s German Dollhouse Grocery Shop

I just don't seem able to resist these German dollhouse shops. Just when I think I've seen all the varieties there are, another one turns up. This one, from the 1950s, is in a great modern style, a wonderful contrast to my antique versions.

 Measuring a whopping two feet wide, the wooden shop in a period-correct salmon pink color features a fruit and vegetable stand and an unusual pastry case.

The stand holds fruits, veggies, cheeses, sausage, and a rather macabre (by today's standards) pig's head, all made of chalk:

The pastry case is filled with tiny breads and cakes:

The shop came absolutely packed full of what to appear to be its original miniature boxes. My favorite is the "Wackel Peter" package:

There are only three drawers to this shop, which appear to be all it ever had. Kaffee = coffee, Zimmt = cinnamon, and, according to Google Translate, flaumen = flood. Hmmm. Ah, Google thoughtfully asks if I meant "pflaumen," and, if I look closely, I see what may be a "P" trapped under the left side nail, in which case pflaumen = plums, which seem much more likely than floods to be stocked in a grocery store. 

Two of the most interesting items in the shop were these miniature glass bottles of refreshing beverages:

 My family of 1950s Schuco teddy bears are just the right size (and vintage) for this shop. Looks like they're stocking up on cake (and pigs heads...)