Posted by I’ve been working on a post about buying homely, weird stuff and what do I end up buying lately but more sweet, pretty things. Oh well. They’re good too!
First let me say I normally don’t buy dolls. I see them in the same vein as clowns and African masks…kinda creepy. But when I spotted this vintage-looking doll in a pile of newer toys at my neighborhood thrift store I was intrigued. It reminded me of something I might have had as a kid. I checked the back of the head and it was a Ginny Baby by Vogue Dolls. That sounded promising.
A bit of in-store research showed that prices for Vogue dolls were all over the place, but my gut was saying “don’t leave this behind.” So I didn’t! So far I haven’t found another Ginny Baby doll that has a snow jacket and baby bunting. I have a few clues that it is older (likely 1960s)—real safety pins on the diaper, the snaps and the clothing tag inside the jacket. And bonus, it still has its original bottle!
(My husband thought I was having too much fun posing this doll for listing pics. I think he was right!)
I also saw two sweet demitasse teacups by Shelley China in the store. Hmmm…to buy or not to buy?
In the end I decided not to buy them and left the store with just the doll and headed to church. But I couldn’t get the teacups out of my mind. I looked up them up as I sat in the church parking lot and the current listings showed some darn healthy prices. Well, well. That settled it. I decided to pop back to the store after church, and if it was meant to be, they’d still be there.
Apparently it was meant to be! 🙂
The pair has the Shelley China England mark used from 1913-1926. It’s in a scarce “Red and Purple Rose (10558)” pattern dating them more precisely to 1923-1925. The bone china demitasse cup and deep saucer style appear to be atypical for the company. After looking at hundreds of sold and for sale Shelley cups I haven’t seen others in this style or pattern.
And I bought this little cutie online…it’s a Randahl sterling silver bowl (circa 1920) by noted silversmith Julius Randahl. I “paid up” for it, but feel this quality piece still has some meat on the bone.
I love the simple Art Nouveau style. It could be used for serving food (imagine it filled with olives, nuts or candy at Christmas) or displaying small bits like matchbooks, marbles or jewelry.
So just a few things, but I’m happy with each.
As always, happy hunting,
Karen
Hunting for Vintage 