cast iron

The Greater Lansing Woman (a magazine, not a genus or species) has pulled together a list of ten things worth collecting. While any collector will scoff at such a list and provide their own Top Ten, these are online and inviting commentary — which I shall do hereforth. Their list doesn’t appear to be taken from any other source, and I think they put a bit of thought into it, providing anyone in need of a collection with something they can run with. Here we go:

1. Quilts. While I’m not a Guy’s Guy, collecting quilts sounds a bit lame to me — compare it to collecting carpet samples or throw pillows; a quilt is utilitarian, and is often hand-crafted from whatever the maker had on-hand at the time, removing any sort of basis for price comparison. However, as the Wifey and I discovered at a recent local auction, people get all stitched-in-the-ditch when handmade quilts are up for sale. Things I found unassuming (and might sniff once and leave at the foot of the bed if presented with one) were going for well over a hundred bucks each. They fall into the gray area between art and utility, and if there’s anything that demands a premium it’s items with more than one interested audience. Toss in the modern interest in decorating with real antiques, there’s also people looking for a hundred-year-old quilt for a stylish guestroom. Aside from inherent value and wide reach, if you’re a fan of soft and snuggly collectibles and teddy-bears are a little too creepy for you, quilts are right up your alley.

2. Cast Iron. The casual collector might be interested in collecting just what they like to see on their shelves, which works well — but a high-end cast-iron collector has to be a bit more careful. Replicas abound, and are quite difficult to detect due to the traditional manufacturing methods. You might even have the trouble of telling whether something’s original 19th century, was made in the early 20th century from the same molds, or a 21st century version made for the decorating market. Once you’ve got your appraisal skills fine-tuned, make sure to build some stronger shelves.

3. Dog and Cat Figurines. Like the cast iron, there’s such a wide range of items encompassed here. High-end collectors need to know their thing; casual collectors just need to limit their focus, lest they become known as the crazy lady with a den full of tiny, dead-eyed creatures.

4. Nancy Drew mystery books. I’m surprised this market isn’t already dominated by focus on the earliest of editions, but eBay sellers don’t seem to be obsessive over the edition number. Farah’s Guide is considered the premiere price-guide for keeping track of the 2,745(!?!) printings of Nancy Drew books since 1930. Between the books, a TV series and a recent movie, Nancy Drew has had more impact than just the books. Also remember collecting books makes you an intellectual, even if you never predicted how Nancy would solve the mystery.

5. Little Golden Books. Now, here’s a series of books that demand a premium based on their edition. Little Golden Books, between being beat-up by loving children, and now three or four generations of those loving children wanting to reclaim something of their childhood, makes these a desirable and increasingly rare commodity. There’s also the plus of those long-discontinued books with socially unacceptable topics, like Little Black Sambo, that mostly can only be found in private collections. If you like digging through boxes of colored-in kid’s books with loose boards, hit the rummage sales and you’re sure to find some charmers every weekend.

6. Christmas. The List here focuses on antique Christmas ornaments, completely missing the Hallmarkified modern Christmas collectibles market. This is a good collection for people without the interest or stamina to remember publishing dates or maker’s marks: collecting modern ornament series shouldn’t be overlooked. When it comes to the antique Christmas collectibles, though, you might want to note the care and safety required if you’re going to use it during the Season: the glass is very fragile, paper and celluloid decorations are very flammable, and the electrical items were (or have become, due to age) fire hazards.

7. Star Trek, Star Wars. They go from Christmas, which these days amounts to anything related to the last 1/4 of the calendar, to a rather specialized pair of collectibles. As far as pop culture icons go, these are two of the biggies in the past thirty years, especially to the rapidly-aging Generation X. This is also, strangely, a guy-oriented collectible (probably all the guns and busty characters), one of the few where a guy can devote a whole room to non-sports collectibles and not have his buddies nudge-nudge about it. “Hey guys, wanna come over for the game? Oh, and I got some great new carnival-glass candy dishes I gotta show you!” The ‘grown-up playing with toys’ stigma has faded in the past decades — especially now that those toys are worth a pretty penny.

8. Kewpie Dolls. This one surprised me, because it’s not a common collectible, but it’s got all the hallmarks of a good collection: common but not everywhere; a cultural connection that most people can identify; quality and age makes for a nice range of price; and a variety of styles to keep it interesting. With such a long production timeline and their share of knockoffs, research is always a good idea; a Kewpie price guide, is always a help.

9. Western & Cowboy Decor. Cowboy stuff has always been a popular decorating motif, as the article points out, but there’s a bunch more to western & cowboy collecting than just the decor: Marx’s Johnny West action-figure series, silent cowboy movies, comic books, Louis Lamour novels — and, depending on how they’re used, can count as decor if you’re that interested in defining your collection that way. As with the Star-Something collectibles, this is largely a guy-focused like of collecting, although moms (like my Wifey) are often attracted to it when setting up a newborn boy’s bedroom. The romanticism and fantasy-world of the cowboy, train-robberies and indian-oppression aside, appeals to a very deep American vein in many people.

10. My Little Pony. If all the modern-pop-culture collectibles seem to be boy-focused, here’s a shining example of where girls — sorry — women can relive their happy fantasies of childhood through their collections. My Little Pony is a long-running example (we bought a new one for my niece last month), but there were loads of these toys in the 1980s when marketers began to really catch on to the focusing of fantasy-toys, combined with colorful cartoons, marketed directly to young girls. Remember, pre-seventies the toys for girls tended to be fantasies of their own impending adulthood (Barbie, tea sets, baby dolls), so a chubby rubber pony with rainbow hair and a birthday cake branded on its butt is quite a left turn from a peeing baby doll. Rainbow Brite, the Smurfs, Popples, Care Bears, Jem — there’s so many to pick from, it shouldn’t be hard to pick a favorite and run with it. While girl play-time involved far less smashing with bricks and firecrackers than boy toys, they weren’t as careful as one might have ideally expected…not as many toys survived as you might think.

I had promised in previous articles, to touch on some of the odd items we have accumulated around our house. I had included the use of a wood worker’s tool bench we use as a kitchen island and decorative lighting around the house.

Vintage pieces that we use fall into two categories, useful or decorative. Some items fall under both titles with several serving a purpose for which they were not intended.

Not very original are the steamer trunk we use for a TV stand in our studio, or the window frame with inserted flower pictures. The trunk was purchased at an estate sale on the last day when prices were already 50% off the original tag. Since the trunk was locked and did not include a key, it was still sitting in place in the last hour of the last day, and that my friend is the time to ask for the best possible price. And I got the latch open when I got it home.

The frame came from an antique store in Iowa, where odd pieces were weathering in a back yard. The owner had architectural items, many in stone or marble, and we chose this piece and some broken cement figurines that adorn our yard. The pictures in the frame were all taken in our garden and provide a remembrance of summer during our long winters.

Also not my own idea, this dresser converted into a sink was our addition to the guest powder room. We took a three drawer dresser with swivel mirror and added a sink and faucet. The idea came from something I saw at the Kohler Design Center in Kohler, Wisconsin.

Blogger Deanna discussed the trials and tribulations of destroying an item to make something else. (See her insightful thoughts and the follow-up comments in her recent blog.)
That sort of thought entered our minds when searching for an appropriate piece of old furniture, and we found one with just the right damage on top, that would not show when finished. This one had drawer bottoms that also were broken out and on this installation the two top drawers are not functional.

Also in the powder room is this decoration on the wall. A stamped metal egret and leaves with scrolled strip metal, pond reeds, that once was attached to a metal screen door.

One last item in this room will show you the weirdness of our decorating. When I could not fine a suitable cover for the cold air return, Wifey found this one in our collection of auto stuff. It’s a radio speaker grill from a 50’s Pontiac 8. It’s placed at floor level – Sorry guys, if you haven’t seen it when you used the powder room, just ask the ladies if they noticed the grill when in the room.

Also sitting in our warehouse was this round grill work. I placed it over an existing exhaust fan to add interest to our kitchen ceiling.

The last piece I have for your inspection is a cast iron oval pipe beautifully decorated with a cast egret, definitely old and now used as an umbrella stand. We bought it on a trip to North-Central Wisconsin in the town of Abbottsford at an antique mall.

I was told it’s the commode base from a railroad private car. It has a flange on the bottom and bolt tabs inside the top. I added a flat wood base plate to make it useful for holding umbrellas.

I don’t have enough railroad knowledge to know if it was from a train car, if any railroad buff has a thought, I’d welcome a comment.
Wifey or I will continue to give you more decorating ideas for items you see in flea markets or antique shops. The type of items you can’t believe anyone would ever buy, let alone put to a useful purpose.
(Ask wifey about the Grandkids favorite antiques.)

We waited a long time to find a house with a fireplace, and boy, do we enjoy it!
We just love having friends or family over on a crisp fall evening with a chill in the air. They enter our abode and instantly feel welcome and cozy. That’s because of our personal charm (chuckle) as well as the warmth from a wood fire! And the smell, it just makes you smile. It reminds you of an open campfire with friends singing songs and making s’mores! Due to of the fact that we use the fireplace quite often (one of the benefits of living in Wisconsin) we try to find unusual items to display and use on the hearth. One of our favorites is the tool and log holder. It is made of black ‘tin’ and has an Egyptian theme with the face of a Pharoah on the front. There is also a painted bird and the ornamentation on the sides is marvelous! It has a ding here, a little dent there, but it just adds to the character. Probably from the 1920s. The tools were found separately but seem to fit right in, both in terms of size and style.

Another fireplace tool we love is the cast iron match holder! It is shaped like a log and is very heavy! And it’s quite long. It holds the ‘farmer’s matches’ nicely but is thin and does not take up a lot of room.

We also love the brass andirons! They are definitely oldies, if not true antiques, found at an estate sale near Green Bay over 25 years ago. In our last house, we had a ‘faux’ fireplace, made of white marble and quite attractive. We purchased the andirons to hold logs in the front of the mantle, to give a ‘real’ look.

We recently found a foot-operated bellows! An absolute delight! It appears to have the original leather and still works when you use the pedal!

While on a trip to England, we found a lovely wooden bellows, probably from the 1890s or perhaps into the turn of the (last) century. These are so wonderfully decorated, and in super condition too. We will probably part with one of the bellows, but how do you decide? One is functional and so unique, the other one is ornately carved and so beautiful. Maybe enlarging the hearth is an option!

Another delightful “English-find” would be the fire dogs! Made of glowing brass and in a very unusual style. Almost “funky.” We believe they are from the 1880s-90s. You would rest your tools on these.

We also have a heavy-duty cast iron pail on the hearth. It was most likely originally an ‘ash bucket.’ This was bought at an estate sale at an incredible mansion on a lake in southern Wisconsin. The majority of items were very expensive but we could afford this and just hated to part with it. We often put potpourri inside and it seems to enhance the already delicious scents from the fireplace. In fall, it holds pinecones. At Christmas it’s filled with bright ornaments.

One of our all-time favorites is the wooden ‘cylinder.’ We found this at an antique store in southern Wisconsin, near the Illinois border. I loved it but did not know what it was for until hubby explained. It was for putting the decoration on wallpaper years ago! The pattern came from the metal pieces adhered to the wood and they would be printed onto the sheets! We use at as a ‘vase’ now, adding a spray of seasonal flowers or cattails, pods or reeds and such. Quite a conversation piece!

Yes, we just love our fireplace and the charming antiques we can display and actually use. It warms our hearth and our hearts!

I admit that I’ve always been unsettled by nutcrackers. You know the guys – stiffly standing wooden soldiers, decked out in some antiquated military garb, glaring down at the family from the holiday mantelpiece, just waiting for their moment to strike. I’m not sure where my general discomfort in their presence came from – maybe its their rictus, unseeing grins. Maybe it’s their mouths… designed only to destroy, topped gaily with handlebar mustaches (which are always a surefire indicator of evil). Maybe it’s the fact that I find nuts to be fairly disgusting and see no use in opening them, let alone having a creepy little man do it with his disproportionate incisors. Additionally, it seems like a majority (but not all) of the nutcrackers that I encounter depict soldiers of some kind, bayonet or musket in hand, and I generally disagree with arming eerie miniature humans, unless it’s with futuristic laser guns or web shooters. We all saw Child’s Play. We know what can happen.

Nevertheless, we’ve approached that nutcracker-centric time of year again, and instead of tightly closing my eyes anytime I see one, I thought I should perhaps find a deeper understanding of them, a ‘know thy enemy and keep it the hell out of my house’ sort of thing.

While all manner of humans have cracked nuts since both humanity and nuts began, it wasn’t until ancient Rome that a device was developed to perform the task, roughly around the same time as the hypothetical birth of Jesus Christ. This Roman artifact is now housed at the Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum in Washington, which features a staggering 5000 different nutcrackers. Most nutcrackers follow this lever-based design, in which the nut is placed between two pivoting surfaces, joined by a hinge, and subsequently crushed into submission with a little hand power. Of course, this amount of force and abuse would require nutcrackers to be made of a strong substance, such as a hard wood or metal, and being a functional item, many have not fared well over time, making nutcrackers that are both antique and functional rare.

The 17th century saw the birth of the screw-based nutcracker, in which a nut would be cracked open with the increasing pressure between a tightening screw and another surface. By the 19th century, nutcrackers had evolved into their most familiar and popular form as we know them today – those little men with the emotionless, cold visages. As with many functional items, their ergonomics and practicality was soon meshed with something of a more decorative nature, and today, form has overrun function and many nutcrackers don’t even crack nuts anymore. They are, however, very seriously collected.

Perhaps the most valuable and important nutcrackers are made by Steinbach, a name that has been hand-carving nutcrackers in Germany since the 1800s and for at least 6 familial generations. Many of their creations don’t sell for less that $200, and sometimes for more than $1000. Presumably, you’d need to buy a $5000 bag of nuts just so you’d have something worthy enough to crack in ‘em. According to German folklore, nutcrackers keep away evil spirits, and are more effective at doing so when they’re intricately carved and decorated. I’m not even a very evil spirit and I’m keeping the hell away from them, so I’d venture that they’re fairly effective.

Of course, my interest in nutcrackers in general piqued when I learned that nutcrackers based on Yoda and Darth Vader were actually made by Steinbach, and another one wasn’t too far off in the distance. And what’s this? There are not one but TWO Superman nutcrackers in existence? Fair enough, Christmas. You win this time. You always know how to stroke my geek-gland. Just like that, baby. Under the mistletoe. See, at least the Superman uses his impeccable pectorals to crush nuts instead of any kind of gnashing-toothy motion. That’s somehow far more acceptable.

Nutcrackers, and the collection of nutcrackers, can fall into a large variety of categories – figural, non-figural, cast iron, wooden, decorative, antique, functional, or just ones that don’t terrify you in the dim glow of Christmas tree lights when no one else is home and you swear you just heard one whisper about crackin’ YOUR nuts. I can’t fathom how an entire ballet was written around the theme of the Nutcracker, but I think that my upcoming rock opera, The Tape Dispenser, will be equally legendary. Keep an ear out for the first single, ‘I’m Adhered to You (But Only On One Side)’. It’s going to rock you to death, man, like Meatloaf’s ‘Bat out of Hell’. Except replace ‘bat’ with ‘tape’. And ‘Hell’ with ‘dispenser’.

A few print resources have explored the art of the nutcracker, as well as the pleasures and pitfalls of collecting them, such as ‘The Art and Character of Nutcrackers‘, and ‘The Nutcracker Lady’s Introduction to Nutcrackers‘, written for a younger audience, if you’d like to explore the nutcracker phenomenon further. Me, I think I’ve had enough.

This past weekend my folks were at our house for a visit and we all went to a local apple orchard, one of our favorite Fall traditions. After wandering around the orchard for a while, my family and I made our way over to the orchard’s shop and restaurant which features fresh, simply made food. One thing I like about this restaurant is that wherever there’s space available, there’s an antique. Old ladies’ boots, muffin tins, shoe horns and cheese graters adorn the walls while the floor space is taken up with washstands, apple-picking ladders and butter churns. Tucked away between two freezers full of pies was a monstrous black wood cook stove, the sight of which instantly sent my dad on a trip down memory lane. He recalled actually having a similar stove in the kitchen of one of his childhood homes and demonstrated how the wood was loaded in through a door at the front of the stove and pots and pans placed on the burners on top. I left the orchard with apples, apple cider, apple muffins, apple donuts, apple pie and an interest in learning more about that stove.

When I looked into it, I found that there is a demand for antique wood cook stoves and brand new wood stoves are still being made. Most of the old wood cook stoves still available today were built between 1850 and 1930. Not only do they make great conversation pieces when displayed in a home or business, but many people choose to cook with them, provided they are still in good working order or have been restored. Wood cook stoves seem to be popular with those who prefer the taste of food cooked over wood, want to save on gas or electric bills, or homesteaders who prefer to be self-reliant and not use utilities. Wood cook stoves can also be an additional heat source to help keep the home warm during cold weather.

While I doubt I could muster the patience to master a wood cook stove, I like the idea that although they seem so out of place in our sleek, stainless steel modern society, these beautiful cast iron behemoths still have a place in the world.

An older article about cooking with a wood cookstove