Tuesday 3 February 2015

What price knowledge?

We were late to the Car Boot Sale on Sunday, as the weather was dire when our alarm woke us up - hailstones hurling against the window.  We had a leisurely breakfast and I priced up some bits and bobs to go to the Unit, and we arrived at the Boot sale about 10 a.m.  We came home with several books which are useful additions to our antiques guides.


An interest of mine, but not a subject I know a great deal about - yet.


Of course, this one was right up my street.  All the individual factories were catalogued, and the differences between their cottages noted - a Nerds book indeed, so well homed with me!


Carnival  Glass is largely unfashionable t the moment, but I am still interested in it.


Love that dresser.    Again, lots of info inside these covers.


Our central heating (which we have been without for over 3 weeks now after the boiler went kaput) is now being reinstated, and we have a much larger boiler installed (as of today) and some radiators replaced.  Tomorrow we will find out if it's all done in joined-up writing . . .  It has been PERISHING here, needless to say, with frosts, a little bit of snow, and the temperature in our bedroom has been a sunny 7 degrees C (45 F).  The two warm rooms (kitchen and sitting room) are just under 60 - but I'd rather they were more!  6 layers are the order of the day. . .

Whilst we are camped out in the sitting room awaiting the heating (doors open all over the show today and yesterday so normal routine ceased . . .), I have been starting a repair on an old cart bridle which was in a box of harness I got last week.  I thought it was in reasonable (but very well used) order until the bit fell down on one side . . .  I decided to try and effect a repair, and discovered that the stitching of the end of the cheekpiece and noseband (4 thicknesses of leather, two of those thicknesses being 1/4" thick!) had rotted away from age and horse sweat, so my little repair job has turned into a real challenge.  The biggest challenge currently being to remove all the old twiny cotton thread from each hole . . .  I know what the worst challenge will be - sewing it all back together again . . .  It's not really worth the effort, but I've started and so I'll give it a good shot.


Anyone good at Chinese?  I am trying to date this bowl I bought at auction last year.  I am hoping it is a goodish one and worth more than I paid for it!  That little lighter browny-orange mark (needs turning sideways a bit I think) may be a Good Thing . . .






It's probably just a 20th C export piece, but I would love to know.

Finally, one little treat for myself today, as although I have lots of pairs of earrings, my ears have been getting sore recently as some of them obviously have nickle-silver fittings rather than silver (or gold!)  and I bought myself a pair of silver dangly earrings today, ones with little iridescent glass beads on.  I found them in Origin Dyfed, which is the excellent craft outlet for West Wales artists, and where I like to support this local talent.  Sorry it's such a lousy photograph.


8 comments:

  1. That's what I tell myself Sue!!!

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  2. I like those earrings, I have to be careful for the same reason. An interesting collection of books and my goodness you've got your work cut out for you with the harness! :o)

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  3. I think I know what I would do with that harness .. but no here .. its a bit rude ..lol! All that work .. and 'they' wont want to pay a reasonable price for it .. looks a nightmare of a job.
    Hope you are feeling a bit warmer .. and the heating is working as it should.

    Vicky x

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  4. Oh, my, I do not like hail stones at any time! Hope you get your heating up and every thing cozy! I love the books you found! I have a vintage glassware and dish shop and also collect different pieces. It is great to find books that detail what a piece is. Love those earrings!

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  5. I tried posting earlier, but lost it twice after the central heating electrickery blokes were unplugging outlets downstairs (broadband included).

    Anyway, welcome Eggs In My Pocket. I will pop across to your blog shortly. Meanwhile, I prefer snow to hailstones, and am glad we haven't had too much of either recently, though it has been pretty cold. A degree or so warmer today, but you wouldn't know it yet. Your wee shop sounds interesting and I think one or two of those books might have been of interest to you too.

    Vicky - it's probably not really worth the effort in saving the bridle, as "they" will be sniffy over it anyway! Some of the rads are working but there are still 6 that stubbornly aren't. We've wound it up a bit to make sure the house warms up, but it will be back down to 15 deg. background heat from tomorrow.

    CT - I think I may rue ever starting the job but I like to rise to a challenge! I'm now half frightened to wear the earrings in case I lose one. Sigh!

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  6. Hi Jennie, Paul has tried to work it out, but it is difficult. You have to count the strokes in the character, and then look under the relevant number of strokes. So...

    L/H Zon/Son=a person; Nen=year; Sei=manufacturer.. Made in the Year Son, but unfortunately there is no number after the first character to specify which year.

    R/H Yo=sheep/goat; Jo=castle; Sei; completion or decorated??; Decorated by Yojo?

    So as a Chinese tea bowl, may have been decorated in a particular year by the Emperor Son.

    It's a start but what you need is a Chinese expert on pottery ;)

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  7. Thank you Thelma and Paul. I have to say, it's not my starter for 10!!! I shall copy out what you have written and try and learn some more. I can identify individual characters in the Chinese marks in my Millers antique guides, but am none the wiser overall!

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