Comfort Food for the Eyes: Collecting Old Cottage Prints
02.19.08 By Val UbellI am not sure when I started collecting old cottage-type pictures. It was at least 20 years ago.
While at a rummage sale with my dear sister, I spotted the first one and said “that just makes me want to walk up the path, stroll past the little ducks in the pond and open up the front door!” She laughed and agreed that it was very inviting. We were in the process of painting our living room and I thought we could easily find a place for it. And so it began….
A few years later we took a trip to Maine and found a local flea market. Many of the items had an ‘ocean theme.’ Lots of lobster traps, fishing nets, plates that were commemorative and made mention of local establishments. Then I spotted another cottage print.
The frame was almost black, the glass covered with residue from a smoker’s habit, but you could still (almost) see the charm. A price of $5.00 so I did not even haggle! It, too, came to hang on our wall
A friend bought me a Thomas Kinkade plate for Christmas. She said that as long as I was ‘collecting’ cottage items, this would fit in. Well, with just two pictures, I did not believe I was collecting, but with this third one, it did seem to be the case. Thomas Kinkade is an absolutely delightful artist. His pictures have such light and life to them. Many of his pictures highlight an actual place while others are cottages with names like “Weathervane Cottage”
I purchased a few more plates for myself and then another picture or two. When we moved into our current home, my hubbie dedicated a wall to the collection. But it continued to grow.
Many of my pictures are ‘vintage’, from the 1930s or 40s.
They make you feel comfortable, like a bowl of hot chili on a cold Wisconsin night. To me it always seems that the folks who live in these homes are happier, almost care-free, and whistle a lot! And I do not want to learn otherwise.
I am lucky to be the proud owner of one print by R. Atkinson Fox. These are getting harder to find and priced higher than I can usually afford. He was an incredible artist and illustrator and painted under various pseudonyms. After viewing some of his works, you recognize them almost at once. Many have copied him but his style is quite distinctive.
While there is definitely some difference in cottage prints’ styles, framing and coloring, they do have a lot in common. There is always a sweet-looking home, most times some greenery or flowers are found in them, and often a pond with ducks or geese swimming around. The majority of times they are in pastels. They have not increased a great deal in price through the years. Perhaps people today, especially young couples setting up households, see them as old-fashioned, something grandma had on the wall. And it’s true. But they have a definite charm about them, an innocence.
You can still find many at antique and thrift stores. Often they are under $50 and when compared to costs of new prints today, that isn’t half-bad. The frames are generally quite simple, not wanting to detract from the subject matter. And they are rarely large, these accent pictures can fit in anywhere and in my house, they often do.
The next time you are considering a re-vamp of a guest room, bath or hallway, give some thought to these old prints. I am confident your guests will love them, and they’ll bring a smile to all who pass by.
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Article Tags: cottage, frames, prints, R. Atkinson Fox, Thomas Kinkade, vintage================
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February 21st, 2008 at 9:28 am
Those are beautiful!
February 21st, 2008 at 11:43 pm
Thanks - they are cozy - appreciate your reading my blog!