Victorian Shaving Mug #5

Victorian Shaving Mug Private Collection

Another Victorian Shaving mug in our private collection

Victorian Shaving Mug #4

Private Collection

This is another Victorian Shaving Mug in our private collection. It's mostly pink and white and not as flowery as others.

Victorian Shaving Mug

Private Collection

Victorian Shaving Mug in pinks and greens. Shaving mugs  were used by men in Victorian times as part of their shaving ritual.

A shaving brush similar to the one in this photo was used to apply soapy lather to the face. There was usually a divider with one side having a narrow ledge with holes.

The soapy lather (a mixture of soap and water) would be brushed off where the holes were so that excess water would drain back into the mug.

Most shaving mugs are flowery and look more like they were meant for women but they were not.

Green Themed Christmas Tree Decorations

 We decorate two trees every year at Christmas. One is a tall 9 foot tree, the second is smaller 5 foot tree.

I try to choose a different colour scheme each year or rotate through my various colours or themes.

Every ornament is in a labelled box or tub - "Winged creatures", "Purple", "Green", "Vintage", "Accent colours"   You get the idea.

Ribbons are in two tubs so I can choose which colour(s) I want to intertwine with the ornaments.


This was my green and gold themed tree

Decorating Christmas Trees With Vintage & Modern Ornaments

 We decorate two trees every year at Christmas. One is a tall 9 foot tree, the second is smaller 5 foot tree.

I try to choose a different colour scheme each year or rotate through my various colours or themes.

Every ornament is in a labelled box or tub - "Winged creatures", "Purple", "Green", "Vintage", "Accent colours"   You get the idea.

Ribbons are in two tubs so I can choose which colour(s) I want to intertwine with the ornaments.

Here is my large purple and gold themed tree from 2008.

The tree below is my smaller tree.

Victorian Shaving Mug #3

Private Collection

 This Victorian Shaving Mug is shorter than most. It's mostly pink flowers.

Victorian Shaving Mug #2

Private Collection

Victorian Shaving Mug in pinks and greens. Shaving mugs  were used by men in Victorian times as part of their shaving ritual.

A shaving brush was used to apply soapy lather to the face. There was usually a divider with one side having a narrow ledge with holes.

The soapy lather (a mixture of soap and water) would be brushed off where the holes were so that excess water would drain back into the mug.

Most shaving mugs are flowery and look more like they were meant for women but they were not.

1906 Black & White Print by Frederick Morgan: Tug of War

Black and white print called "A Tug of War". It has been cut so part of the words are missing.

The original painting that this etching was based on had the signature bottom left "Fred Morgan"which is visible in the etching.

Frederick Morgan (1856-1927)  was a member of the Royal Society of Painters in Oil,  and was renowned for his beautiful oil paintings of animals and children. The sentimental and romantic Victorian style work which Morgan was also able to produce ensured that he was much in demand by advertisers.

 Dimensions: 16x20 inches

For sale: $150.00 + shipping (We require your zip or postal code to calculate shipping costs)

Under the print on the left side are the words "Supplement to the Family Herald and Weekly Star, Montreal Canada"

On the right bottom are the words "Produced by C. W. Faulkner & Co. Ltd. London En"

The print is not framed and is in fair condition but it would look wonderful in a nice frame and hung on the wall.

 Across the top left is written "Entered according to Act of the Parliament of Canada in the Year 1906 by C. W. Faulkner & Co. Ltd. London England at the Department of Agriculture"

Top Left

Across the top right is written "Copyright Entered according to Act of Congress at Washington in the Year 1906 by C. W. Faulkner & Co. Ltd London E. C. England, Printed in England"

Top Right

Stella Artois Draft Beer Handle

Here is a nice vintage Stella Artois Draft Beer tap handle. It has identical graphics front and back. It stands 11 1/2 inches high

The white handle has "Anno 1366" and a red star on both front and back.

The sides of the red top part of the handle have Stella Artois in white lettering.

At the bottom of the white handle, front and back, is a raised sticker "Imported from Belgium" and a nice gold graphic

Overall condition is very good. Price for Item #43 is $35.00 + shipping. Contact us at antiquehunterblog AT gmail.com

Vintage Cool Beer Tap Handle

This is a nice  Cool Beer Draft Tap handle to add to your collection. Condition is excellent and colours are bright.

The emblem on top reads "All Canadian Superior Lager" Finest Quality" on both sides.

Around the circular part it reads "All Natural. Cold Filtered. No Additives. No Preservatives."

 It is 9 1/2 inches high

The back of the handle reads simply "Cool Beer" with a maple leaf logo

Item #42 can be yours for $35.00 + shipping. Please contact us at antiquehunterblog AT gmail.com

Vintage Draft Beer Tap Handle Alexander Keith's

Vintage Draft Beer Tap Handle Alexander Keith's India Pale Ale.

This is a nice dark green beer tap handle for Alexander Keith's. It has a brass moose on top and a coloured moose on the handle itself. Graphics are on both sides.

It is 11 inches high and in pretty good condition.

Item #41 for sale $30.00 + shipping. Please contact us at antiquehunterblog AT gmail.com

Antique Crayon Portrait: Woman in HIgh-Necked Calico Dress ca 1890s

Beautiful antique crayon portrait of a Woman with glasses and a calico high-necked dress.

Large framed ‘crayon portraits’ were made in the 1800s and early 1900s.
These were artistic photographs that resemble a cross between photographs and charcoal or crayon sketches.  

They can be monochrome or  have charcoal coloring.  This portrait is beautifully coloured.

The photographer began the process with a light photograph and then embellished it with chalk and crayons.

Mostly you will find albumen crayon portraits from the late 1800s.
Dimensions: 16x20 inches
Unframed
ca 1890s
Excellent condition

Item #15 for sale: $50.00 + shipping (We need your zip or postal code to determine shipping costs)

A great way to have an instant ancestor or just a nice piece of art to hang on your wall.

Vintage Luzianne Coffee and Chicory Tin

Luzianne Coffee Chicory tin

 This is a very nice vintage Luzianne Coffee and Chicory Tin. It stands 6 1/2 inches high and is red with a picture of a black Mammy carrying a coffee pot and cup on a tray on the front.

You can see that there is a slight splotch over the manufacturer's name (Wm. B. Reilly)

 The lid is scratched but fits properly and can be removed with no trouble.

Luzianne Coffee tin back

 The back is a farmyard scene with two roosters, a chicken and a barn. The graphics are very colourful and in great shape.

Luzianne Coffee tin front

The front has the words

To remove label soak in water water
2 pounds net weight
LUZIANNE
20c off 
Coffee and Chicory
Wm B  Reilly & Company Inc.
New Orleans

This is a sought-after tin to add to your collection. Price for Item #38 is $125.00 + shipping. We need your postal or zip code to calculate shipping

Interior

Inside of Lid

Bottom of tin

Crayon Portrait of Man With Mustache ca 1880s

Very nice Crayon Portrait (done in monochrome charcoal) of a handsome man with mustache in suit jacket, tie and stand-up collar.

ca 1880s

Dimensions 16x20 inches

Good condition, needs a frame

Large framed ‘crayon portraits’ were made in the 1800s and early 1900s.
These were artistic photographs that resemble a cross between photographs and charcoal or crayon sketches.  

They can be monochrome or  have charcoal coloring.  This portrait is monochrome.

The photographer began the process with a light photograph and then embellished it with chalk and crayons.

Mostly you will find albumen crayon portraits from the late 1800s.
Hang it on your wall as part of a collection of antique art and paintings

Item #16 For Sale: $50.00 + shipping (we require your zip or postal code to determine shipping costs)

Lucas Oiler No. 40 ca 1900

We have a nice Lucas Oiler No. 40 in our collection that we are offering for sale.

We consulted an expert and collector of Lucas Oilers for more information on this one. Below is his answer. 

The No 40 Lucas oiler dates from around early 1900's. It was part of Rolls Royce and Bentley car kits. I have seen one mounted under the hood of a 1912 open Rolls Royce. They came with a bracket for fitting under the hood and I also have seen one in a Bentley toolkit where it slotted into a shelf in the trunk. They go from $75.00 to $135.00 depending on condition.

Item #34 For Sale: $90.00 + shipping (we need your postal or zip code to determine shipping costs)

Crayon Portrait of Woman in Striped Blouse ca 1870s

Crayon (charcoal) portrait of woman in striped blouse or dress.

Dimensions:16x20 inches (known as a Mammoth)
Time period: ca 1870s

Large framed ‘crayon portraits’ were made in the 1800s and early 1900s.
These were artistic photographs that resemble a cross between photographs and charcoal or crayon sketches.  

They can be monochrome or  have charcoal coloring.  This portrait is monochrome.

The photographer began the process with a light photograph and then embellished it with chalk and crayons.

Mostly you will find albumen crayon portraits from the late 1800s.

Item #17 For sale: $50.00 + shipping (we need your zip or postal code to determine shipping charges)

On verso in pencil:

"Mr. Hoover
4 Conc.
--land"

"Crayon. Make dress black. This picture must be made well."

"Frame 12
Total $2.50 
Paid $ .50 
Balance $2.00"

Photograph Students Huntersville School near Middleburgh, Schoharie County New York ca 1913

Item #30

In my collection of 19th century and early 20th century photos is an orphaned 9x7 inch photograph of students and teacher at Huntersland School, Schoharie County New York.

The names of students were written on the back and while it was not dated, we can study the photo for clues. We can also check census records for the names of the students (a much easier task than using clothing and hairstyles for clues)

Also the photographer is stamped on the reverse: P. J. Messer so we should be able to determine when he or she was in business.

A search indicates he was taking photographs in 1915 but I don't have access to a book of photographers to find out the complete years he was in business. Research indicates he was born Philip J. Messer ca 1888 and died in 1939.

Teacher Stanley Heason, Huntersland School

Back row left to right: Judy Shufelt, Eula Sison, Hattie Conklyn, Ernest Utter, Hazel Laraway, Walden McCumber, Mildred Laraway, Ruth Cook

Second row: [? can't read] Becker, Minnie Heason, Ros-- Coons, Mae Acker, Grant Laraway

Front row: Beatrice Spencer, Manyard? Laraway, - Cook, - Shufelt

CLUES

Census records on Ancestry indicate that Stanley (the teacher) and Minnie Heason were the children of George & Isadora Heason and lived in Middleburgh New York. Stanley was born ca 1890 and Minnie ca 1901. Minnie looks to be about 12 years old in the photograph, giving us an estimated year when it was taken of circa 1913.

Next I found Manard Laraway born in 1905 living in Middleburgh. He looks to be about 10 years old in the photo so that would give an estimated year of 1915 for the photo

* Grant Laraway was born ca 1902 and is in Middleburgh
* Walden McComber was born ca 1897 and lived in Middleburgh. I'd estimate he is no more than 16 years old in the photo, dating it to ca 1913

Hairstyles of the girls suggest pre 1920, perhaps around 1915 or so.

Clothing is a mixture of periods and I suspect that may be due to a number of reasons - some children may not have had current fashions to wear. Older students, girls especially, might have known it was picture day and parents may have suggested they wear mom's best Sunday dress or skirt and blouse. This would put those girls in earlier fashions. Some children could be wearing older siblings hand-me-downs.

However we can look at one distinctive feature - the V-necked yoke worn by three of the younger girls, then do some research to find out when this style came into fashion. That would allow us to determine an earliest date when the photo was taken.

We should also note the below-the-knee knickers that the young boys in the front row are wearing. One also looks to be holding a newsboy style cap. This helps confirm an estimated timeline for the photograph of 1910-1915. 

Item #30 For sale: $20.00 + shipping (we need your zip or postal code to determine shipping costs)

Mennonite Drying Rack

Mennonite Drying Rack closed

 This is a very nice antique Mennonite drying rack. It's quite large, and the bracket with the spokes moves up and down the part that is bolted to the wall.

This allows you to set your spokes at any height you want.  We use it for drying winter hats, mitts and scarves but I want to move it and use it for drying my herbs.

Drying Rack open  & at half-way height position

Bracket that moves up and down

Cabinet Card Copy of 1862 Civil War Soldier CDV

F. A. Pratt 1862

This is a very nice cabinet card of F. A. Pratt, a Civil War soldier. It is a  copy of an earlier 1862 Cartes de Visite.

The man is Captain F. A. [Franklin Amos] Pratt. He was born in Connecticut circa 1836 and was in Battery M, 1st Connecticut Artillery during the Civil War.

He is found in the 1880 census for the city of St. Louis Missouri and this cabinet card was done in St. Louis in 1890.

In 1870 he was in Hartford Connecticut.

Item #31 For Sale: $95.00 plus shipping. Contact us at antiquehunterblogATgmail.com for shipping costs

Closeup of period handwriting on Cabinet Card F. A. Pratt

My research indicates he is almost certainly the Franklin Amos Pratt born in Waterbury, New Haven, Connecticut in 1836 to Francis and Emiline Pratt. He is found with his parents and siblings in the 1850 census for Waterbury. By 1900 he was in Montana and is buried in Mountain View Cemetery, Livingston, Park County, Montana

His Civil War history is as follows:

HDQRS. SECOND VOL. BRIGADE ARTILLERY RESERVE,
November 17, 1863.
CAPTAIN: I have the honor to make the following report of the part taken by the several batteries composing the Second Volunteer Brigade, Artillery Reserve, in the late action:
In compliance with order received from headquarters Artillery Reserve, November 6, 1863, Battery M, First Connecticut Artillery, Captain F. A. Pratt, marched from the camp of the Artillery Reserve, near Catlett's Station, at 4 a. m. of the 7th instant, and reported at General French's headquarters near Germantown, and proceed thence to Kelly's Ford, where it took position, and soon afterward opened fire on the enemy, with good effect, as will be seen by the report of Captain Pratt, a copy of which is hereunto attached.

[Source: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies]

Numbers 16. Report of Captain Franklin A. Pratt, Battery M, First Connecticut Heavy Artillery, of action at Kelly's Ford.
KELLY'S FORD, VA., November 12, 1863.
SIR: I have the honor to make the following report of the part taken by my battery in the action of the 7th instant at Kelly's Ford:
In compliance with orders from headquarters Army of the Potomac, the battery moved from the camp of the Artillery Reserve, near Catlett's Station, at 4 a. m. of the 7th instant, reporting at the headquarters of General French, near Germantown, at daybreak, from which place it moved at the rear of the First Division, Third
Corps, by way of Morrisville, to Mount Holly Church. When near the latter place I was ordered to move at once to a position on the road about 500 yards to the left of the church, and 1,500 yards from Kelly's Ford, which it commanded with the plains beyond. As I came up there was a scattering musketry fire at the ford, and the enemy were throwing forward infantry from the woods into the rifle-pits and buildings on the opposite bank. Being directed by General Birney to "open on them as soon as possible," the battery was soon in position, and the second to open fire.
The enemy being under cover, General Birney directed me to fire on the brick store in which their riflemen were sheltered. My first shot struck the building between the second-story windows, passed through the roof of the one intended. My fire was then directed at a battery of brass pieces the enemy were using on our infantry from the edge of the woods, distant from me about 2,500 yards. They effected, the enemy advanced a line of infantry from the edge of the woods to oppose the advance of our forces. I threw three shells at them that apparently struck their line, which broke in much confusion, so much of it as was not covered by rising ground.
The ammunition used was Schenkle percussion shell. I expended but 15 rounds, but its effectiveness was very evident. They carried with great precision, few failing to explode.
In closing the report I have to express my belief that the merit of the 4 1\2-inch rifle for field service is not properly considered, and that if more generally into action, they would add much good to the result.
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
F. A. PRATT,
Captain, First Regiment Conn. Arty., Commanding Siege Battery M.
P. S. JASTRAM,

Acting Assistant Adjutant-General.

[Source: Chapter XLI. ADVANCE TO THE RAPPAHANNOCK, VA]

Verso of Cabinet Card

The photo below is  not for sale but it shows Captain Pratt in 1892 at age 56.

Here is more information about Cptn. Pratt

U.S. Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles 

Name:	Franklin A Pratt
Residence:	Hartford, Connecticut
Enlistment Date:	23 May 1861
Rank at enlistment:	Qtr Master Serg
State Served:	Connecticut
Survived the War?:	Yes
Service Record:	Enlisted in Company S, Connecticut 1st Heavy Artillery Regiment on 23 May 1861. Promoted to Full 2nd Lieutenant on 06 Nov 1861. Promoted to Full 1st Lieutenant on 13 Feb 1862. Promoted to Full Adjutant on 01 Mar 1862. Promoted to Full Captain on 08 Aug 1862. Mustered out on 11 Nov 1864.
Sources:	Connecticut: Record of Service of Men during War of Rebellion

In 1898 Franklin filed for his Civil War pension in Montana

Source: Ancestry.com