Antique French baby bonnets

Isn't this a gorgeous, frothy baby bonnet?


It has apricot coloured silk, pleated round the face, overlaid with lace and trimmed with silk ribbon flowers


It is handmade, around 1920 but maybe earlier

This little bonnet is made from net, with satin trim and a silk lining for comfort

Again, handmade, around 1910 I should think.


The ribbons are a little worn, but silk is so fragile and often shatters in creases


This is a 1950s bonnet - still a little special but obviously plainer

And, no ribbons to tie it on with - a safety feature perhaps?

I just love baby bonnets - can't resist them when I see them for sale in antique markets. I remember the first lot I found at an auction. There was this old cardboard box under a table, with a yucky nylon net curtain tucked into the top. I pulled it out, and underneath were layers of broderie anglais, lace, muslin - a goldmine of Victorian petticoats and baby dresses. I bought the box for £7 and filled my little antiques unit in Marlborough. Of course, all the items simply flew out and I was sold out within the week.

Ah! Those were the days...

If you would like to see more photos, clic here for my Ebay shop.

Have a great weekend, especially to everyone in UK - wish I could be there for the Jubilee...sigh...

Little French Communion cards

I love these old French communion or religious cards. Little works of art, they completely reflect the styles in art over the decades. The cards above are around 1890 -1905


These are cards for best wishes, and inside hold little New Year messages to loved ones


and here is a close-up - it's hand painted


The card in the middle is actually a bookmark, with a country cottage down the lane...around 1915


These cards are from the 1930s - rather dramatic


Love the little cherubs' heads! From around 1905


You see the bow on the boy's sleeve? This is presented to him at his first communion - I have sold many and have lots still in stock - often they are handmade and must have taken many hours of work.


Now moving into the 1950s, quite pastel in colour, and the card in the middle reflects a more modern approach

and yet, these are from the 1950s - the top two are very modern in design, stylish and simple


More pretty pastel colours and lots of children - quite sweet, quite sentimental.


More pastels... very traditional

The two cards with a chalice each are from the 1960s - and can't you tell! They remind me of Coventry Cathedral or the work of artist John Piper.


A stained-glass window effect from 1970s


Here it is next to another church window, although it is difficult to see as it is white on white.

You can see more in my Etsy shop here with more information.

Have a good week!

A few little items for sale this week

Blue and silver bedspread, fringed, ready to go


Sold
A piece of raspberry red and sand mattress ticking - a rare colourway


A floral piece of French linen fabric


Sweet little pom-pom passementerie, in yellow

and in blue and pink...


Pink satin (almost) on one side, flannelette on the other - perfect for a little bed-jacket


And finally, a cute French oil painting dating probably from the 1950s, maybe slightly later - love her Parisien pouty lips!


I thought I might add a bit of colour to my blog as it has been a little black and white recently - not that I mind selling white linen and black chiffon hats - but I am trying to get the sun to shine!

Lots of details on my Ebay shop here or contact me direct.

In the meantime - the sun has just peeped out, so maybe it's working...

Pretty French fabric covered boxes

I thought you might like to share a photo that a lovely customer from Australia has sent me - she collects these gorgeous French fabric-covered boxes, and these are just a few of them. She bought the second from the top in the middle stack from me - it had a great Paris store label underneath which always adds to must-have-it-now quality.

I always buy these boxes when I see them in brocantes etc - and usually sell them on, but having seen her lovely collection, I might just start a collection of my own...

7th May 1812 - Martha Ballard's Last Diary Entry

 

I have been engrossed - and enchanted - these last few weeks, in reading the diary of Martha Ballard.

If you don't know who she was, she was a mid-wife in New England, who kept a diary about her life, family and work, at the end of the 18th century.  She kept that diary for 27 years - from the age of 50 until she died aged 77, recording the weather, the babies she helped into the world, and her accounts of her earnings. She talks about her friends, her neighbours and her husband - always, very correctly,  'Mr. Ballard', and their children and grandchildren.

Her last entry was exactly 200 years ago today, just before she died.

You can read about her here, and follow the transcript of her diary, but spare a thought for this woman - a true heroine, a real person...







© Copyright 2000 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College

New French President

So, we have a new President. for what it's worth, I would like to wish President Hollande good luck - he's going to need it!

My son, who is 19 and wants to teach, explained it all to me:

Sarkozy = increased pay for teachers, but we have to get rid of a few first to pay for it

Hollande = keep teachers' salaries the same, keep the numbers of teachers the same.

My son thinks that we should live in a world where teachers don't get rich - even the top teachers - but everyone has a job.

Hollande says he is all for the youth of today - and tomorrow - I hope my son will feel the same in five years time. In the meantime, Hollande might bring down the retirement age which ought to help me, except I get my pension from UK and I still have another 10 years to go instead of 3!

A sweet little souvenir for a lad...

This is such a sweet set of souvenirs - a glazed-top box of a young French lad's first communion: a large silk bow for his sleeve, a pair of white gloves, and a white bow tie. There are even two little Mother-of-Pearl buttons, probably cut off his shirt by a doting Mama or Grandmere.

To see more photos and information, clic here for my Ebay listing.