Rare Estate Find

1890s Victorian Fenton Staffordshire Large Pitcher

Recently our son's friend asked if we would be interested in some glass and pottery. Silly question, right? She had inherited a collection from her mother. It was cumbersome for her and she wanted us to have it. Among this collection of Fenton, Westmoreland, Milk Glass, Hobnail, Kanawha, etc., were 3 beautiful handpainted pieces that we were pretty certain were antique. That lead us down a path of researching the pitcher we have pictured here. We tried looking up the mark on the bottom of the pitcher and did not seem to get very far. We checked out Google images and found some pitchers but not this one. We then went to a couple of our favorite antique forums and posted a picture of this large pitcher. We were delighted when it was confirmed this pitcher dated April 18, 1894 and haled from Fenton Staffordshire England. We have yet to find the name of this pattern though. What is amazing is the condition of this pitcher and to think it is approximately 119 years old. We are indebted to the antique and vintage friends we have met in our travels and cyber community for their willingness to help identify these treasures. Thanks for stopping in and we will return to our blog with more estate finds and info. 

Gotta run now and think about what THANKSGIVING meal is going to look like since it is tomorrow and we will have 11 hungry people here. We are so thankful to God for our health, each other (DH and I), kids, grandkids, church family, comfortable home, living in the country, and so much more! Pray each of you are blessed abundantly this Holiday Season. 

Keep in touch. We enjoy hearing from you and stories of your treasure hunting. 

Monday Morning Musings. . .

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Good morning everyone! I am sitting here watching the leaves drift by and listening to the birds signing. Kinda quiet and refreshing I must admit. Grateful for all the blessings of this day and this season of my life!

I have been drawn lately to vintage and antique lamps and lighting. Rather fascinating. I found a Gone With the Wind Type Lamp recently that could have been Fenton but is not marked and so I was hesitant to say for sure. We also have some other lamps we recently listed. Stop by and check them out. If you enjoy searching for and collecting lamps we would love to here of some of your finds or thoughts.

As always comments are welcome.

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***Twitter: http://twitter.com/eStuffMart

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Does Age Matter??

Since I just had a birthday last weekend (yea, I am entering a new phase me thinks) I have pondered on age. Age seems less and less important to me these days unless of course your talking about antiques or vintage treasures!! I have friends who are many years my senior and still as active and productive as many younger counterparts. I am thankful God has protected me and held me in His Hands all these years. I was born a tiny 3 pound "blue baby." In those days being born in a small local hospital the chances of a preemie making it were rather slim. My parents were estranged and my mom really did not want another "mouth to feed." Well, not only did I make it I feel I have had a very productive life, married a wonderful man, have 2 incredible children, 7 amazing grandchildren, blessed beyond belief and certainly not done yet! Okay, enough about me - thanks for reading my tidbit.

We attended an estate sale last evening of a local doctor (dentist to be exact). They had some beautiful items. We purchased an elegant blue art glass, embossed vase. This has sent us on a search to see if we could identify the maker or pattern. We have established it is not Blenko since they do not do cold etching of any sort. We will be adding this to our collection to offer our cherished buyers plus a Federal Glass Carnival vase, 4 nesting Cinderella Pyrex mixing bowls and more!! Adios - gotta get back to listing now.

Thanks for following and as always comments are welcomed!!

***Our Store: http://stores.ebay.com/eStuffMart

***Twitter: http://twitter.com/eStuffMart

***See us on Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/25db8gq

REFLECTIONS ON CHANGE!

A cruise last evening on our lake

After a wonderful day yesterday with our kids and grandkids (including an evening cruise on the lake, see pic) I have a few minutes this crisp Sunday morning to ponder some things! I was thinking about how hard change is sometimes but how necessary. I wonder if the caterpillar wants to be stuck in a cocoon for 2 weeks to months? I really don't think that caterpillar knows what the future holds or what the metamorphosis will bring. Then VIOLA a beautiful butterfly emerges. I think we become so used to the routine and so comfortable there. Well, change can sometimes be refreshing.

With all that in mind - We are doing some research into some new venues, different products, new places to find our treasures, meeting and connecting with new friends! Please check back to see how this METAMORPHOSIS unfolds. Enjoy your week.

Finding Treasures!

Believe it or not there are still valuable finds and money-makers at garage sales!! For us the challenge is the "hunt" in "saleing." A few tips:
1. Try to get there early. There is some truth in the early bird gets the worm. Sometimes I just simply cannot make it early so I go later and on those days I have found some items that were marked down a lot and found some worthwhile bargains.
2. If it is a busy sale pick up and hold on to the item you are considering. That way you know it won't be purchased before you finally decide. You can always put it back.
3. Ask if they would "consider taking less." Be polite. If you anger the seller they may just say no because of the way they are asked.
4. Recently I came across a garage sale that was actually an estate sale. BINGO! I found handpainted glass lamp shades, vintage bakelite jewelry, Murano glass. They only regret is that I only purchased one set of jewelry and I should have made an offer for the box. They were selling them for 50 cents a piece. The piece I purchased (bracelet and earrings went for $67). DUH!!
5. Sometimes I see something and am not sure how much it would sell for. I use my cell phone to look up completed listings on eBay so then I can buy with more confidence knowing what a similar piece actually sold for on eBay. The seller thinks I am texting or something and they do not realize I am checking prices. :))

Happy Saleing!!

http://stores.ebay.com/eStuffMart

Internet Withdrawal!

Good morning,

Our internet had been down almost a week and yesterday it came back up! I had serious withdrawal. Amazing how dependent we are on our on-line activities. My husband and I both have home offices and work from home. He is a VP of sales for an internet company. I manage our eStuffmart ebay store and auctions. He does our fabulous shipping and we both search for unusual treasures. I also am an RN and now do medical transcription for a national transcription company. Soooo, you see all we do involves the internet. I guess we were supposed to spend the Labor Day weekend with our family and not WORK. Fun but somehow does not pay the bills :(. Well, I did get the enjoy our kids and grandkids, play on the lake, eat and eat and eat. Hope all of you had a great Labor Day weekend.

We do have some new items to list so stay tuned for more vintage, antique and collectible items! Thanks again to our faithful followers and buyers. We have made wonderful friends and appreciate each one of you.

We welcome and enjoy feedback so feel free to post thoughts or comments.

What should I sell on eBay??

I already mentioned finding things around your house to sell. Think of some things you enjoy collecting or doing. I like crafts and had a craft business in the past, so I have a lot of supplies related to that. I gathered up some items I no longer needed or used and sold them on eBay. You would be amazed!! Things you think are not worth much will actually sell. I had quite a bit of fabric stashed away. I sold it in 'lots' or several pieces together and they went pretty well. I used to do latch hooking and had the latch hook and several unopened kits - they went well. I had inherited my mother's crochet supplies including vintage patterns and hooks - those went well. If you take the money you earn by selling some things around your house and invest in buying some more items to sell it will grow. The key is to buy low.

I would enjoy hearing about your 'stories' of eBay selling and how you found things around your home to sell. I think our readers would enjoy that too!! Just post them as comments to this blog post. Thanks.

Diana