I 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.

I just love the little verses and ‘mottos’ done by Buzza, and various other American companies. Most of these are from the 1920s or 30s, and are intended to be uplifting and inspirational. To some they may seem a bit ‘corny’, especially the younger generation. I have them scattered about the house. One is in the back hall (where our dearest friends and family enter, not the true ‘guests’.) It is called “To Our Guest” and adds the sentiment that they are also part of the family. Its purpose is to offer a welcoming statement to our home. It has a scene of a cottage, which is similar to our style of house, very comfortable and warm.

We have some in the guest bedroom as well. A favorite is called “While You are Here” and is so sweet!

Another one is dedicated to Mother. You see quite a few of these, and nearly all are complimentary and with a fond, loving message. I chose this one because of the heart shape around the verse. This whole room is filled with hearts!

Another one is to “My Dad.” I was especially close to my father and reading it brings fond memories and a smile to my face. They did not have any with a cribbage board and reference to a glass of beer, so this one had to do.

I have one that reminds me of a long-time friend who passed away about 5 years ago. It’s called Memory Lane. It takes me back to a simpler time, growing up together, not much stress, just good, clean fun.

One was given to us as a house-warming gift from the owner of an antique mall. We had a booth in her mall and through the years became friends. When we moved here, she came to visit, bringing this charming verse called The Path, by Edgar Guest. It has resided in the hallway ever since. (As my hubby will tell you, there are not too many nail-free spots on my walls.)

Many of these have beautiful graphics! Colorful scenes, some are called “fantasy prints” featuring ladies with wings, jesters, and silhouettes. Some have foils – these are especially difficult to find and if you do, they are priced pretty high! Their frames are generally bland. Probably because they were made in high volume and also so that their simple, painted wooden frames don’t distract from the message.

I show them to the grandkids who are from a high-tech age and probably think ‘grammy’ is a bit daft with all her doo-dads, collections on the walls and in curios and no computer games. But our older granddaughter has read them with me and likes them – so there is hope after all!

If you have a chance to frequent an antique mall or even a thrift shop, you’ll probably see one or two. They might make a nice house-warming gift, shower present or ‘no-special-occasion’ gift to someone who needs a little cheering up. You can find one with a lot of various subject. Some are actually quite religious. These old lithos are really a delight and bring a smile to almost anyone’s face. Try it, you’ll like it.
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I must have been about 9 or 10 when I got this framed horse print at a rummage sale. It’s one of the very few childhood purchases that I’ve actually saved all these years. Most of my doggie figurines, pink spaghetti ceramic cats, and toys were sold at family rummage sales years ago. And my Breyers went to my younger female cousins. But this print I saved.

Because it’s something vintage that I’ve actually owned a long time, it was one of the items I brought into the Trash or Treasure event to be appraised.

Susan Kime, Paintings & Prints Specialist at Ivey-Selkirk, had the pleasure of appraising the print. I was praised for keeping the label on the back of the print (if they only knew that we save everything at our house, they would know this only encourages the hoarding insanity), and from this label we learned the following:

Title: Early Speed
Artist: C.W. Anderson
Type of print: A Limited Edition Signed Original Lithograph
Print Maker: Associated American Artists

She wasn’t familiar with the artist — which only made me feel hideously old. After all, every little girl has to go through a horsey stage, so clearly her lack of familiarity with Anderson (whose books were published from the mid-30’s through the 60’s) was the result of having loved newer/younger horsey folks.

When Kime, the consumate professional, admitted she wasn’t familiar with the artist she looked him up in a magical art database for recent sales of his works. There she discovered that C was for Clarence, W was for William, and that my lithograph was worth approximately $100 to $150. Which I felt was rather generous for an artist most folks either have never heard about or have forgotten. (But it seems to be a fair estimation after all — maybe even low? Then again, as Dad says, it’s still there.)

But I won’t forget Anderson. And not because the print has been assigned a monetary value.

First of all, C.W. Anderson, artist turned author, is as much a part of my childhood years as Walter Farley. In fact, the Billy and Blaze series was read prior to Farley’s Black Stallion series. Of the few books I owned (versus those I read at the library), several were also by C.W. Anderson and I did keep those. And I add copies of his books whenever I spot them. So the lithograph is valued for sentimental reasons.

Second of all, Anderson’s work is beautiful. Many a horse lover will tell you that he was one of the foremost horse illustrators of the 20th century, so there’s artistic value in my print.

But the real joy in this lithograph by Anderson lies in what makes collecting fun for me.

When it comes to collecting, I generally don’t have a list or any other sort of scholarly approach. I sift through piles, stacks and racks of junk, until something — that elusive something — catches either my intellect or imagination. It would likely be easier to hunt if I had a list, or if like the crow that something was easily spotted by the eye, such as a sparkle in the sun, and I tracked it. But hunting that way it is rarely my style; nor it is necessarily my goal.

Truth be told, I like the sense of discovery of finding an object and the hunt comes in when I want to find out more. The best objects are the items I don’t know about and the stories I’ve yet to learn. Often I can be (nearly) satisfied with spotting something and spending hours researching it, following the trail (like Billy & Blaze!) of its connections to other persons, points and places — even to things I already own. Of course, if I had deeper pockets (which were not full of pet hair and lint from the washing process, but filled with dollar bills), I might not remain so content to live without these objects. But for now, as things are, I can be — or just have to be.

So when I took my C.W. Anderson lithograph down off the wall, carried it in to the appraisal event, and then returned home with it to tell you all about it, I once again had a reason to research Clarence William Anderson. And to do so was to discover him anew — this time, through more adult eyes.

Prior to his fine horse lithography, and his horsey books, Anderson was an illustrator who was clearly affected by, if not officially a part of, “the golden age of illustration”. This era is officially listed as having lasted from the 1880s until shortly after World War I, but as many of the great illustrators of this time continued to have or build great careers for another few decades, many consider its end to be 1960. Publications such as The New Yorker and The Saturday Evening Post are popular examples of such legendary illustrations and illustrators. Anderson himself did covers for The Saturday Evening Post. But, of course, my love of the risqué means I am more interested in The New Yorker…

From 1926-1934 Anderson had cartoons published in The New Yorker — and in 1935, Anderson published And So To Bed, presumably his first book. This work is clearly not for the kiddies. Thank goodness I’m no longer one.

And thank goodness I could discover something new. Even if this time I’m not so satisfied with just doing the research — I want to own this book. And perhaps a few of those New Yorker issues…

Hey, maybe I should start one of those collecting lists after all. Naw, like many collectors of C.W. Anderson’s works, I keep my eyes open for his name and snap up stuff when I see it… Adding the earlier non-horse items to my sifting and scanning is easy enough.

Now that I know it exists, I know what I’m looking for.

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