Stovetop Bun Warmer

Recently I relisted a stovetop bun warmer in my eBay store.  In my search for more information about these items, I discovered that they’re no longer made as new items and the only way to get one is to buy a vintage one.  It may be a bit of a mystery to someone who has never used one as to how to use one.

Inner LinerStovetop Bun Warmer

I was lucky enough to have and use one in my early years of marriage.  My husband loved to have his rolls warmed and insisted that I use it regularly.  So here’s how it works.  You remove the inner layer and fill the bottom with about 1/8 to 1/4 inches of water.  Replace the inner layer.  If it floats or you feel pressure against the bottom, you’ve overfilled it.  Place the rolls to be warmed inside.  Open the vent at the top by turning the handle or sliding the vent cover open.  This is important, you’ll have a soggy mess if you don’t allow steam to escape.  Then place the whole shebang on a burner and set on low heat.  When the water hits a boil, you can check the rolls to see how warm they are.  It should take 5 or 6 minutes at a boil to steam and warm the rolls. 

The nice thing about these warmers is that you can put slightly stale buns inside and they’ll soften nicely and be edible once again.  This doesn’t work with “brick” hard rolls.  They are better used for bread crumbs.

Pink Ericofon

I recently listed an Ericofon on eBay and decided to do some online research on this uniquely designed telephone.  It is a design classic designed by L M Ericsson Company of Sweden in the 1940s and was first produced in 1954 and discontinued in 1972.

The first phones were produced for institutional use in hospitals.  They were used at patient bedsides as they could be lifted by the patient to the bed easily.  Imagine what it would have been like to reach or lift one of the heavy rotary phone handsets.  They were first sold for home use in 1956 in the European and Australian markets.  Ma Bell in America, resisted the Ericofon and as they had the monopoly and owned the phones, the introduction of the Ericofon to the American market was delayed.

Initially, the Ericofon was offered in 18 colors  in the North American market, selling  through North Electric (a telephone builder in Ohio), in which Ericcson had part ownership. When home sales of the Ericofon began to explode in the American market (sales exceeding capacity by 500%), Ericsson increased their holdings in North Electric to become the principal shareholder. Then around 1961 they transferred manufacture of the Ericofon for the American market to North Electric. At this time, North Electric narrowed the offering of colors from 18 to 8.

Popular among collectors, the Ericofon was produced in both rotary, dialless, and touch tone designs.

Source: Ericofon.com

Hint: Click on links for more information!

Nippon Salt & Pepper Shakers with Gold Decoration

Nippon porcelain is one of the most highly collected and sought after antique china. The word “Nippon” means “Japan”. Nippon china was produced solely for export to the US and the designs were inspired by European styles. This trade under this mark began in 1865 and ended in 1921. At that point the US enforced the McKinley Tariff Act which required that goods imported be “plainly marked, stamped, branded or labeled in legible English words.” Since Nippon was considered a Japanese word, the manufacturers switch to “Japan”.

Much of the antique Nippon china available has been hand-painted with ornate decorations that, ironically, the Japanese of the era considered excessive and distasteful. During the Meiji period (1868-1912) much of the Nippon porcelain pieces were decorated with gold. Much of this decoration was not very durable and wore away over the years, so it is common today to find Nippon china pieces with the gold rubbed off.

I recently listed a weather station which includes a barometer.  Since one doesn’t see barometers all that often, I thought I’d list a few facts about them here.

•  Barometers measure air pressure. As weather patterns move around the globe, air can bunch up in certain locations, causing greater air pressure than in others. By measuring those local peaks and valleys in air pressure, a barometer can tell you a lot about the weather patterns in the area.

• A high atmospheric pressure reading means a greater chance of clear, dry weather. When the air pressure is high, it means that the air is very dense. The density causes the air to slowly fall. When this happens, the air warms, which stops clouds from forming. Therefore, high pressure usually means clear weather.

• A low atmospheric pressure reading means there is a greater chance of rainy weather. When the barometer is low, the air is not dense. This causes columns of air to rise higher in the atmosphere, where they get colder. If the air is moist, this can cause clouds to form and rain to fall.

• Rising pressure usually indicates that the weather is clearing. Within the next 2 days, the sky will clear up and the weather will dry up.

• The lower the barometer drops, rainier and windier weather is usually on its way. This is especially true if the weather is already bad. Barometric pressure often drops quickly right before a storm.

Barometers sometimes have markings with labels like “rain” or “clear weather” on them to help you understand the reading that you are seeing.

“>

“>

“>

Hint: Click on links and images for more information!

Designer Bonnie Cashin

Designer Sketch for Coach Mailman Handbag

Bonnie Chapin Sketch for Coach Bucket Bag

During my research for last week’s article, I discovered Bonnie Cashin and fell in love with her fashion. She was one of a kind and designed clothing and purses to die for. Here’s some more on her:

• From Handbags ”In 1962, the Coach company hired Bonnie Cashin. Cashin breathed new life into the company. She was considered a pioneer in American sportswear due to her use of industrial hardware and organic materials such as leather, wool and jersey. Cashin is credited with both the brass toggle hardware on Coach bags and the Coach duffle bag. Riding the success of Cashin’s creations, the company ran its first ad in The New Yorker in 1963.”

1964 Coach Advertisement

1965 Coach Handbag Advertisement

1965 Coach Handbag Advertisement

• A Passion for Fashion gives a personal look at Bonnie Cashin fashion from the perspective of Stephanie Lake, her chronicler.
• Bonnie Cashin Foundation features history,a gallery and shopping opportunities. 
• Chic is Where You Find It exhibit photos.
• Reproduction Bonnie Cashin handbags by Coach.

Recently I listed a Coach® Handbag for sale. And to tell the truth, I had a hard time listing it for sale. I wanted to keep it for myself.  You see since the 1980s, I carried a Coach® handbag back and forth to work each day. I chose the versatile “City Bag” and had it stuffed full of those essentials a working professional needs each day. I loved it because it was stylish without being over the top and very functional. All those zippered pockets and the secure top flap made everything stay in it’s place. I carried the same bag for years because it lasted. The leather became more beautiful the more wear it received.

Vintage Coach Handbag

So I decided to look up the history of this company and found several versions on line. All agree that Coach® is the designer of prestigious handbags, as well as briefcases, luggage, and other fashion accessories. The company made a name for itself by making and selling high quality merchandise in traditional styles. “Classic American style” is what the brand claims to be about. For this reason, Coach® is one of the best-known leather brands in the United States.

A Quick History

• In 1941, Coach® was founded as a family-run business in Manhattan, making small leather goods.
• In 1960, Miles Cahn noticed the distinctive properties of the leather used to make baseball gloves. He adopted this type of leather to make bags that would wear longer and take dye better. This sturdy style of cowhide purses quickly became the company’s signature product.
• In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Coach® began using mail order to sell their bags while opening their first specialty stores.
• Coach.com was launched in 1999, giving tech-savvy shoppers a convenient way to purchase their favorite items.

A genuine Coach® bag is an investment piece that will last for many years. Collectors flock to them because of their quality. I found a forum for vintage purse collectors that has a lovely photo gallery of vintage Coach purses.

For those of you new to the world of re-purposing lingo, “cutters’ are damaged tablecloths that crafters and others use for sewing projects. Often “cutters’ have big holes or stains making them hard to sell as a collectible tablecloths. But these still have value to creative crafters who are constantly coming up with new ideas on how to salvage the best parts of these textiles. You can buy “cutters’ on Etsy, eBay and from dealers who buy lots of tablecloths.

Cutter Tablecloth Listed on eBay by RosesButtons

Here a a couple of tips on what to look for:

• Look for where the stains or holes are. Usually projects utilize the patterned or embroidered portion of the fabric. You want to have enough of these portions free and clear to make your project.
• Look for bleached out areas or large frays (larger than a quarter). These weaken the fabric itself and indicate that the material may be weakened and won’t last in your project. So unless you plan to back the fabric in your project, you may want to skip that tablecloth.
• Look for cloths that haven’t been cleaned. Sometimes you can use a soak to improve the stain so that you can still use it in your project.
• Please don’t use a collectible vintage tablecloth as a cutter. These Hint: Click on the links and photo for more information!

On Sunday, I’m listing a vintage Fisher Price toy and thought I’d give you a little background about Fisher Price and it’s toys.

1959 Fisher Price Wood/Plastic Toy

Company History:

According to Wikipedia, Fisher Price was founded in 1930 by Herman Fisher, Irving Price and his wife, illustrator and artist Margaret Evans Price and Helen Schelle.  The name Fisher-Price was established by combining two of the three founders’ names.  Fisher-Price’s fundamental toy-making principles centered on intrinsic play value, ingenuity, strong construction, good value for the money, and action. Early toys were made of heavy steel parts and ponderosa pine, which resisted splintering and held up well to heavy use. The details and charm were added with colorful lithographic labels. Mrs. Price was the first Art Director and designed push-pull toys for the opening line, based on characters from her children’s books. 

In 1931, the three founders took 16 of their wooden toys to the American International Toy Fair in New York City and they quickly became a success. The first Fisher-Price toy ever sold was “Dr. Doodle” in 1931.  In the early 1950s, Fisher-Price identified plastic as a material that could help the company incorporate longer-lasting decorations and brighter colors into its toys. “Buzzy Bee” was the first Fisher-Price toy to make use of plastic. By the end of the 1950s, Fisher-Price manufactured 39 toys incorporating plastics.

During the 1960s, the Play Family (later known as Little People) product line was introduced and soon overtook the popularity of earlier toys. In 1969 the Quaker Oats Company bought Fisher-Price. In 1991, Fisher-Price regained its independence from The Quaker Oats Company and became a publicly traded company. Two years later, in November 1993, Fisher Price became a wholly owned subsidiary of Mattel.

This week I had this experience on my RosesButtons site. On Wednesday, I listed my collector buttons as “buy it now” instead of at auction as an experiment. And wow! Here it is Friday, and two of the four are sold already!

So, that makes me wonder if I shouldn’t do more initial listing as “buy it now” instead of as “auction” listings. So I created a poll to ask you what you think. I’ve listed the main types of listings that I do as Roses Sundries. And you can tell me what you think.

Buy It Now or Auction??

I will respect your privacy and you don’t have to give any information you don’t want to give. But if you’d like a personal response, please include the information that I need to do so.

I recently listed a banjo ukulele and before I did so, I consulted a local ukulele player that I know about what it was. My question was “Is it a toy?” Her response was “No, it’s a banjo ukulele”. Well, with the correct terminology in hand, I googled “banjo ukulele” and discovered a whole new world. New banjo ukuleles, banjo ukulele instruction and music are readily available.

Banjo Ukulele

Here are the highlights:

• It isn’t known who invented the banjo ukulele, although some sources credit a Hawaiian by the name of Alvin D. Keech with the invention of the banjo ukulele, in 1917 or 1918. He trademarked the name “Banjulele.” But, banjo ukeleles exist that were made by John A. Bolander in California, with a patent date of 1916.
• Banjo ukuleles produced more volume than did the ukulele. This made them very popular.
• Banjo ukuleles are about the same size as regular ukulele and are tuned the same.
• Most banjo ukuleles have a pot size (head diameter) of between six and eight inches. Most modern banjos have eleven inch pots.
• During the 1920s and 1930s banjo ukuleles were produced by most of the banjo makers. They were manufactuered by the thousands, and the majority of them were inexpensive instruments, often retailing for $2.00 or possibly even less.
• Banjo ukuleles parallel banjo construction, on a smaller scale, in terms of overall construction. They are almost always fretted.
• Most are built of wood with metal accoutrements, although the mid-century “Dixie” brand featured banjo ukeleles made from solid metal.
• The neck typically has sixteen frets: shorter than a banjo, but longer than a standard soprano or concert sized ukulele.
• Banjo ukuleles may be open-backed, or may incorporate a resonator.
• The banjo ukulele is commonly tuned GCEA (“C Tuning”) or ADF#B (“D Tuning”), with a re-entrant 4th string. The ADF#B tuning often produces a more strident tone, and is used for this reason. Both of these tunings are known as “my dog has fleas” tunings (5th, Tonic, Maj 3rd, Maj 6th).

Sources:
banjoukes.com
Wikipedia
For Strings,bridge,vellums
UK History site

Hint: click on links for more information!