Archive for July, 2020

Small copper lustre jug with metal handle, c.1830

Sunday, July 26th, 2020

This small pottery jug with copper lustre glaze was most likely made by Enoch Wood & Sons in Staffordshire, England, c.1830. It stands 4.5 inches high and is much smaller than most of the other lustre jugs I have in my collection. I especially like the unusual, whimsical painted decoration, which looks like a tree of green eyeballs, right out of a Dr. Seuss book.

But the real reason you are viewing this jug is because of its metal replacement handle, added by a tinsmith after the original handle broke off. This type of repair is not unusual and can be found on all types of ceramics throughout the world. What makes it special to me is the juxtaposition of the clunky metal handle on the delicate pottery jug with the quirky decoration.

This gives you an idea of what the original handle on my jug would have looked like when it was intact.

Photo courtesy of George Gibison

Small compote with wood base, c.1915

Sunday, July 19th, 2020

This small EAPG (Early American Pattern Glass) compote or candy dish was made in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, by the United States Glass Co., c.1915. Made affordable to the masses by simulating more expensive cut glass, EAPG was immediately popular and thousands of patterns were manufactured in every conceivable shape and style. This example is in the Australian Sweetmeat pattern and stands 6 inches high with a 4.5 inch opening.

At some point in its early life, the cover went missing and the glass base broke off. A replacement base, made from 2 pieces of carved wood, was most likely created at home. Originally painted black, the octagonal shape mimics the pattern in the glass.

This compote of similar form and pattern suggests with the original cover and base on mine might have looked like.

Photo courtesy of Early American Pattern Glass Society

Mend it with Mendets

Sunday, July 12th, 2020

Now more than ever it seems we are spending much of our time at home. Many, like myself, finally have time to go through our things, weed out unwanted items, and repair broken objects we’ve been meaning to fix but never got around to. I imagine (and hope!) this will lead to a new generation of inventive repairs popping up all around the globe. Stay tuned to see what interesting repairs I come up with in the coming months.

I have dozens of whimsical homemade repairs in my collection and have seen countless others showing thrift, artistry, and ingenuity. Although most were achieved by using whatever was available at hand, manufactured products started to creep up during the 1940s Make-Do and Mend era.

A popular early 1940s product, Mendets, provided a do-it-yourself solution to repairing holes in enameled cookware, metal pots, and even rubber hot water bottles. The white enameled cup, repaired with a small bolt and nut and not with an official Mendets plug, still seems to have done the trick.

Photo courtesy of eBay

Happy 4th of July!

Sunday, July 5th, 2020

O, Say Can You See…these inventive repairs in patriotic colors?

I hope you enjoyed Independence Day weekend.