Vintage Treasures

This week I acquired some lovely antique treasures:

These abalone shell buttons are circa 1900, and still on the original card. Here's a bit of button trivia: despite their country of origin nearly all button cards from the late 19th/early 20th century were marked either Haute Nouveaute or Nouveaute; it translates to "newest" or "finest" in fashion. Using French made them seem more oo-la-la, no doubt. Anyway, they'll be embellishing future blocks for my silk crazy quilt.

This wee cloisonne chest contains a lovely surprise.

A silver-plated embossed brass thimble, inscribed with the words "Recordacao De Portugal" (souvenir of Portugal) that fits my thimble finger perfectly.

This hand-pieced bear paws patchwork, circa 1880, has beautiful points and lovely stitching. The fabric is not rotted, so it probably sat in a hope chest somewhere for 140 years. There's a bit of light staining that I'm going to try to soak out, but even if I can't it will be a pleasure to quilt something so well preserved.

Comments

Maria Zannini said…

Sorry I've been absent for a while. Greg and I took turns being sick. I'm finally over the worst of it.

Congrats on the treasures. I love finding things like these.

re: stains
You might know this already, but they say milk and vinegar are good at removing stains. I think it was 2:1, milk to vinegar and let soak overnight.

For being so old that print is in remarkable shape.

January 19, 2020 at 8:26 AM

nightsmusic said…

Oooh! I love treasures and these are wonderful! That thimble especially :)

January 19, 2020 at 12:24 PM

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