Children's Antique Sleigh

This year's most extravagant Christmas present was something that turned up in a local antique shop, a picker's rescue from an old, old house. It took my breath away when I saw it, and so after some budgetary soul-searching, it lived in layaway for a few months, making it out just in time to go under the tree (and just before our big snowfall came.)

This children's sleigh dates circa the 1870s. 30 inches long, the little sleigh is all-original, with much of its beautiful stenciling still intact. What makes it really special is its shape. Nineteenth century children's sleighs sometimes came in novelty shapes, most frequently a swan; this, however, is the only one I've ever seen in the shape of a lady's shoe.

See the shoe? It forms the side of the sleigh, white with yellow and red outlining:

The sleigh has seen heavy use and was coated in coal dust from decades of cellar storage, but many beautiful details remain:

I've loaded the sleigh up with antique doll and teddy bear passengers, all ready for a ride:

German Miniature Wooden Toy Village

One of my favorite presents this Christmas came from an antique shop in northern Michigan, where it was found stashed in an old stationery box.

This wooden playset represents some 400 years of toymaking history. Little villages like this one have been made in Germany for centuries, turned out originally in cottage industries that flourished during the long cold winters in the Erzgebirge and Groden Valley regions.

Wonderfully naive and delightfully out of scale with itself, this particular village was probably made in the 1920s, with a few older and slightly newer pieces mixed in. The smallest item is a chicken, just 3/4 inches tall, while the biggest is a windmill at 3 inches.

This village has houses, churches, town halls, a windmill, fences, trees, animals, people, and a horse drawn wagon. Many of the pieces have traces of candle wax atop them, suggesting the village was displayed for many years in the Putz tradition under a tree lit with real candles, or perhaps on a Christmas candle pyramid or carousel.

Let's tour the town, starting with the front gate:

Beyond the town, farm animals rest in the pasture, while a family of deer graze in the forest:

For futher reading, an interesting history of wooden toymaking in this region of Germany can be found in the chapter "Adventures in Toy Valley" in the book Toys Through the Ages, by Dan Foley.

Victorian Scrap Snowmen

We got our first big snow of the season here on Christmas night, with a little more falling this morning. The drifts are up to my knees now. Seemed like a good time to post some of my stocking stuffers: these Victorian scrap snowmen, circa the 1880s-90s. The larger snowman is 6 inches tall, while his little friends are a wee 2.5.

 

Unlike the snowmen currently outside in the yard, these embossed paper varieties won't melt away, and have lasted for the past 130 years.

 

Pink & Green Peng Peng Bear

This funky teddy bear, just 5 inches tall, was handmade by one of my favorite artists, Peng Peng of Chicago. Wearing a pink dress made from a little sock, she is crafted from tie-dyed green and cream mohair and has tiny glass eyes. She reminds me of peppermints and wintergreen, and was a perfect Christmas present this year.

Antique Teddy Bear & Photographs

The first antique toys I began collecting years ago were teddy bears, and although my toy collection has become much more varied since then, I am still always in perpetual bear hunt mode. It's especially exciting to find an antique bear that comes with some provenance, like the photographs in this lot.

The bear is an unusual 10 inch American made ted, circa 1906-1908, with a handmade sweater coat. It came for Christmas along with a beautiful photograph of the little girls who originally owned it, and a picture of the house they all lived in, somewhere in Michigan long ago.

These three little sisters were the bear's first owners. Although the bear isn't in this cabinet photo, a doll and picture book are prominently featured.

 

And here's the house where they all lived. Can't you just picture them playing together on the front porch?