Unusual Artifacts: The Angel Chalice, c. 1905

"The Angel Chalice"
Phoebe and Ramsay Traquair with J.M. Talbot
Scotland, 1905
This and all related images from:
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Made in Edinburgh, Scotland around 1905, this cup is constructed of an abalone shell mounted in silver and decorated with enamel. A pierced silver foliate border adorns the rim of the cup which is supported on three, sculptural wires which terminate in moonstone mounts at the rim. Mounts of enamel mimicking cabochon-cut gems adorn the junctions of the supporting wire frames which hold enamel paintings of angels with musical instruments. The monogram “PT” is visible on one of these three triangular panels.

This chalice is the work of Edinburgh artist and jeweler Phoebe Traquair (1852-1936) whose celebrated enamel work is praised to this day. Phoebe’s husband, Ramsay, assisted on the design and the physical work was carried out by their frequent assistant J.M. Talbot. It’s the first, and finest, of a series of five chalices set with shells designed by Ramsay and Phoebe Traquair, and crafted by Talbot.

Unusual Artifacts: A Silver Rattle, 1901

Baby's Rattle
Sterling Silver and Bone
Saunders and Shepherd
Birmingham, England, 1901
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Silver rattles are still being given as special gifts—a lasting way to mark the birth of a child, and something which can be passed through generations. The practice of presenting a newborn with a silver rattle dates to the early days of the Victorian era, a time when children were especially revered and doted-upon.

This example dates to the end of Queen Victoria’s reign (and life), 1901, and the start of the brief reign of her eldest son, King Edward VII. Though many styles were changing during this period, this rattle looks as if it could have been made in 1837 and adheres to a traditional style which was expected for such gifts.

Unlike the silver rattles given as gifts today, the sterling rattles of the Nineteenth and early Twentieth Centuries were actually intended to be used by the baby. Let’s examine this one more closely. The silver rattle is mounted with a teething ring of bone at one end while the other side is fitted with a loop for a ribbon, and terminates in a whistle. The bulbous central section is decorated with scrolling ornament and hung with six, enclosed, cone-shaped bells. Above this, two more bulbous tiers are mounted, each of these hung with three similar bells with two below.

The little object would have provided quite a lot of hours of entertainment for a baby who could make it rattle, ring and whistle. Furthermore, the bone teething ring would have helped junior work his teeth through his gums. But, there’s also another aspect of this rattle which isn’t immediately apparent or remembered.

As I mentioned, this a period during which children and babies were especially romanticized. The infant mortality rate, at the start of Queen Victoria’s reign, was much higher than at the end of it. During this time, anything that could be done to ensure the long life of a child was going to be employed. Superstitions and what we now refer to as “Sympathetic Magic” were big parts of this philosophy. Even the smallest detail might have had some importance. For example, the fact that the teething ring portion of the rattle is made of bone is not just a matter of practicality and availability of the medium. The use of animal bone was thought to confer the strength of the animal to the child—a strength which would be employed to fight pain and illness. Sometimes teething rings were made of red or white coral—or both—in order to symbolize the battle between the flesh and the bone which was inherent to teething. But, also, the use of coral would have imbued the child with the power of the ocean.

This may sound very quaint and silly. But, think about it. Even as recently as 1901, such superstitions came to play. And, if you think about it, humans are, by their very nature, still a species which relies quite a lot on “magic” and assigns significant power to the unknown. The rattle is marked “CS” with a six-point star. It is also stamped “FS/ anchor/ lion/ b” and “Made by Saunders & Shepherd.” It was assayed in Birmingham, England as sterling silver; marked 1901.

Gifts of Grandeur: The Henry Wilson Belt Clasp, 1905

Hopefully, this week, I'll get back on the usual schedule with everything, including "A Recipe for Punch."  For now, let's look at this...

Click on image to enlarge.
Belt Clasp
Henry Wilson, 1905
The Victoria & Albert Museum

I have a special fondness for the work of the jeweler Henry Wilson (1864-1934). Wilson’s jewelry is exceptional both for its form as well as the quality of the enameling and gem selection. He tended toward interesting color combinations and chose stones with only the richest colors. Wilson, a former architect (like many jewelers of his time) designed pieces which resonated with sculptural and architectural qualities, achieving a three-dimensionality which was unknown until that point. 

This is one of the most unusual pieces of Wilson’s that I’ve seen. This silver belt clasp was made in three parts. It is set with amethysts, garnets, williamsite (a green mineral), moonstones, agate, chalcedony and cat's-eye quartz. The central piece is adorned with sprays. Dating to 1905, this clasp was made to be worn on a variety of belts. 

Saturday Sparkle: The Bettine Diamond and Pearl Buckle, c. 1910

Buckle
The Victoria and Albert Museum

From the collection of "The Bettine," Lady Abingdon, we have this handsome buckle of ebonite, gold, silver, pearls and diamonds.

Made circa 1900-1910, this buckle pin probably heralds from the United States.  It's the sort of pin which would have adorned a lady's jacket, or even her shoes, worn in pairs.

Object of the Day: Toasted Corn Flakes

Click on image to be the Sweetheart of the Corn.  If you dare.

Will Keith Kellogg, a former broom salesman, began working with his brother, John Harvey Kellogg at Michigan’s Battle Creek Sanitarium to develop a healthy vegetarian diet. There, they created corn flakes as a healthful breakfast. By 1906, W.K. had begun manufacturing and marketing his famous corn flakes for the public from a plant in Battle Creek. At the time, the company was called “The Battle Creek Toasted Cornflake Company.” Early marketing campaigns, however, quickly realized the value of assigning a family name to the brand and the product became known as “Kellogg’s Corn Flakes.” By 1914, all advertising highlighted the Kellogg name and by 1922, the name of the company was changed to Kellogg’s.

Here, we have one of the very first Corn Flakes ads from 1906. These are really difficult to come by, and, oddly enough, this one came to me as something of a surprise—casually included with a lot of ephemera which I’d purchased.

Clearly preserved in an album for over a century, this 1906 trade card is in excellent condition. The reverse is still lined with the pink page of the album in which it was once mounted. With its image of a robust young lady embracing some corn (as one does when one is the so-called “Sweetheart of the Corn”), the card definitely reinforced the notion that this cereal was a nutritious foodstuff.

I wonder how this lass earned the title of “The Sweetheart of the Corn.” Hmmm…

Let’s see what it says beneath the nifty picture of the early Corn Flakes box.
THE white heart of the beautiful pearly corn,
flaked to wafer thinness and toasted to just the
right degree of dainty crispness—is just as sweet
and good and wholesome as the Sweetheart in the
picture—that’s Kellogg’s Toasted Corn Flakes.
     Nothing better for breakfast, summer or winter.
     Why not let our Sweetheart be your Sweetheart?
     Kellogg’s Toasted Corn Flakes is everybody’s
Sweetheart. 



Well, aside from the offering of the corn lady as everyone’s sweetheart, this sounds like something I’d have written. It’s just a nice way of saying—“Corn. Eat it.”

Drawing of the Day: Costume Design for 'Babes in the Wood,' 1907

Costume Design
Attilio Comelli
1907
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Here we see a costume design by Attilio Comelli for the character of the Jester in the 1907-1908 play Babes in the Wood which ran at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.  This production featured characters from the legend of Robin Hood.

In this production, the Jester was played by a woman, so, the drawing for the costume design depicts a female figure wearing a red, orange and purple jester's outfit.

The drawing was finished in 1907 prior to the debut of the production.

Object of the Day: A Trade Card for Sewing Machines

Click Image to Enlarge

Because cupid wants to sew you into your dress, that’s why.

What have we here? Yes, it’s another trade card. American, dating to the early Twentieth Century, this card advertises Singer Sewing Machines. The obverse depicts a rather demented looking putto sewing the court train of a woman’s wedding dress—just as she’s about the walk down the aisle, it seems. Faintly written above the cupid are the words:

WHAT I HAVE SEWED
TOGETHER, LET NO MAN
RIP ASUNDER. 

Bride and groom both look slightly disoriented.

The reverse of the card has the typical, confusingly vague and overly dramatic ad copy.

It reads:

Some Very hard Nuts to Crack 

1 

     Companies have sprung up in every part of
the Union for making an “Imitation Singer
Machine.” 
     WHY ARE NOT SIMILAR COMPANIES FORMED
FOR MAKING IMITATIONS OF OTHER SEWING
MACHINES?
     The public will draw its own inference. GOLD
IS CONTINUALLY COUNTERFIETED; BRASS AND
TIN NEVER!

2 

     The Singer has taken the FIRST PRIZE over
ALL competitors more than TWO HUNDRED TIMES.
Why? 

3 

    After the Chicago Fire, the Relief Committee
Undertook to furnish sewing machines to the needy
Women of that city. Applicants were permitted to
Chose From sixteen different kinds of machines.
2,944 applicants were furnished with machines. 

          2.427 chose SINGER MACHINES
                235   “   Wheeler & Wilson
                   127   “   Howe 

                       30 “   Wileox & Gibbs
                          5 “   Wilson
                          2 “   Davis 

118 distributed their choice among TEN other 
kinds of machines. 

These girls were to EARN THEIR LIVING on these
machines. Why did they take Singers? 

THE SINGER MANUFACTURING CO.

Object of the Day: A Card by Raphael Tuck & Sons

Click Parrot for a Larger Size.

Let's get going with a collectible card from the early Twentieth Century (from the reign of Kind Edward VII). I won’t call this bit of Edwardian fun a “trade card” per se since it’s not actually advertising for anything. It’s the sort of chromolithograph that one would collect and paste into an album. Very often, publishers would produce series of these cards (sort of like cigarette cards, only larger) which were not only attractive, but served to inform the public about animals, birds, flowers, plants, history, science, etc. This one tells us all about parrots.

When I received the lot of trade cards which contained this card, I took it out and showed it to Bertie and said, “Look, Bertie, it’s a parrot.” We like our birds here at Bertie’s house. Regular readers know that I’ve several doves living on my porches (I just got a whole new crop, it seems, over the weekend). So, Bertie’s familiar with birds and knows, now, not to eat them alive. Showing him the card seemed, to me, a natural thing to do. But, afterwards, I laughed at myself for doing so. But, then, that weekend, when I brought the cards to my parents’ house to show them, my mother singled this one out and held it up for Bertie to see. She said, “Look, Bertie, it’s a parrot.” Ahhhhh…it’s genetic. It can’t be helped.

This is a very handsome card—neatly printed in the vibrant colors which were popular in the 1880s and 90s. I shouldn’t be surprised that it’s such a fine printing job since it’s the work of Raphael Tuck & Sons—famous for their high-quality postcards. The obverse reads simply, “That Parrot.”

On the reverse, we have a lovely narrative about these colorful birds.

PARROTS. 
(Psittaciformes.)

     There are numerous varieties of this interest-
ing bird, many of them being of exceedingly
bright plumage, while they differ considerably
in size. They all inhabit hot regions and have
the peculiarity of using their claws as a hand
in which to hold their food. The pretty little
Love Bird belongs to the Parrot family. Some
varieties of Parrots, as is well, known, can be
taught to talk with a perfect imitation of the
human voice, stringing words and even sentences
together. The common Grey Parrot, a native
of Africa, is the most remarkable in this way,
and, for the clearness with which it pronounces
each word; it is at the same time a very docile
birds. The Green Parrot of South America
is also a wonderful talker. For this reason
Parrots have become favourite pets in many
Households.

RAPHAEL TUCK & SONS, Ltd.
London, Paris, Berlin, New York, Montreal
Designed in England.            Printed in Saxony. 

Publishers to Their Majesties
The King & Queen and
T.R.H. The Prince & Princess of Wales 

Gifts of Grandeur: The Cartier “Attlee” Brooch, 1902

Brooch
Diamonds, Silver, Gold
Cartier, London, 1902
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Tomorrow, we'll get a look at a Scrumptious "Groundhog's Day" Edition of the "Treat of the Week."  For now, let's have a look at another kind of treat which might have fooled the little critter into thinking we might have an early spring.

This brooch of brilliant-cut diamonds, set in silver and backed with gold was made by Cartier in 1902 and presented to the wife of the British prime Minister Clement Attlee when she launched the tanker, “British Fame” at Clydebank in 1948.

Louis Francois Cartier (named for his grandfather), joined the family jewelry business in 1899. More suited to the business world than the artistic world, Louis used his abilities as a businessman to establish Cartier as a famous brand worldwide. Soon, the business expanded with the opening of the Cartier London store in 1902 and the New York store in 1909. This brooch is the work of the London Store and is one of the first pieces to be sold at that location. 

Painting of the Day: Kittens Playing Diabolo, 1900-1910

Click image to enlarge.
Design for a Picture Postcard
Louis William Wain
1900-1910
The Victoria & Albert Museum

The work of Louis William Wain (1860-1939), this Edwardian weirdness in Indian ink, watercolor and gouache is a preliminary painting for a picture postcard. Wain designed a series of postcards depicting kittens doing things that kittens don’t actually do. Typically, the kittens were engaged in “holiday” activities in which one would normally participate while at the seaside. Such “adorable” (or, quasi-disturbing images) were just perfect for the “Wish you were here” mentality of seaside postcards.

In this case, a group of kittens (even the one in a pram) are participating in a spirited game of diabolo. I confess, I didn’t know what the game of diabolo entailed . It seems that it the game originated in China and was brought to Europe by returning missionaries. The goal of the game is to manipulate a double-sided cup (by spinning, catching, twirling, etc.) with a cord attached to two sticks. Whoohoo! Sign me up for the North Texas diabolo team.

Nevertheless, the kittens seem quite happy at it.

The painting was created sometime between 1900 and 1910, and the final version was, indeed, produced as a postcard.

The Home Beautiful: The Cuzner Silver Bowl, 1904-5

Silver Bowl set with Opals
Bernard Cuzner for Liberty's, 1904-5
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Birmingham-based designer Bernard Cuzner (1877-1956) designed this silver bowl between 1904and 1905.  Set with fiery South Australian opals, the bowl was one of his best-known designs for Liberty & Co., the London department store founded by Arthur Lasenby Liberty in 1875.  This design was so popular that copies with minor variations were repeatedly commissioned by private collectors who favored the store's Celebrated "Cymric" line of silverware and jewelry.

Cuzner, like the designer Archibald Knox, favored the craftsmanship of W.H. Haseler and worked with him to create this bowl based on his designs.

History's Runway: The Hammond Driving Coat, 1906-1908

Driving Coat
1906-1908
Hammond & Co.
This and all related images from:
The Victoria & Albert Musuem

At the turn of the Twentieth Century, in large part due to the influence of the more casual King Edward VII, men’s fashions began to change. This was also part of the growing interest in sporting and leisure activities amongst men of the middle and upper classes. A need for more relaxed clothing was necessary to accommodate activities such as riding a bicycle, playing golf or even driving a motor car.

Here’s an example of the type of clothing developed during the Edwardian era to offer comfort and durability during outdoor wear. By this point, while a man’s wardrobe was increasingly casual, his assortment of costumes was almost as varied and vast as a woman’s—allowing for different attire for a wide range of activities and locations.

This driving coat, made between 1906 and 1908, is made of black and white hounds-tooth check tweed. Double-breasted with ten buttons, the coat features a versatile pointed lapel which can be buttoned and worn close to the throat. Hip pockets afford lots of storage and a small ticket pocket at the waist was a handsome and useful addition. The coat is lined with gray silk to the waist and the “skirts” are lined with gray, black and white vertical stripes of woven wool.

Made in London, this is the work of the tailors at Hammond & Co. 

Print of the Day: Force, the Wheat Malt Cereal, 1903

Force Cereal Advertisement
1903
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This advertising poster from 1903 was printed in America for a British cereal concern. “Force” Cereal was one of the first to introduce a brand mascot. The character was known as “Sunny Jim.” He was created by Minnie Maud Hanff and Dorothy Ficken who worked for the Edwardian advertising agency of Earnest Elmo Calkins. Sunny Jim appeared on many a large billboard in the 1900s and quickly became a popular pop culture figure who, by the 1930s, was one of the most recognizable characters in Britain as well as in the U.S.

Object of the Day, Museum Edition: The Archibald Knox Cigarette Box, 1903-04

Cymric Cigarette Case
Designed by Archibald Knox for Liberty's, 1903-4
Silver set with Opals
The Victoria & Albert Museum

In the early Twentieth Century as smoking grew more fashionable for men, jewelers saw an opportunity to cash in on this new, unhealthy fad by creating luxurious cases for cigarettes in the same way they made snuffboxes two centuries earlier.

This box was of silver was designed by Archibald Knox for Liberty of London's "Cymric" line of silverware and jewellery.  As a designer, Knox's creations owe stylistically to the British Arts and Crafts movement and the work of C. R. Ashbee and his Guild of Handicraft in particular.

Charles Robert Ashbee was quick to notice the similarities of Liberty's designs to his work and he complained loudly that Liberty's unabashedly plagiarized his  works.  However, close inspection reveals that while there is a shallow similarity, Liberty's metalwork was, overall, more confident and bolder than the work of the Guild of Handicraft.

Let's take a look at this handsome case.  It is made of silver in a rectangular form with a cedarwood lining with two interior partitions. The front half of the hinged lid is embossed with an intricate pattern of interlacing designs which run down over the front of the body and onto the front half of each side.

The lid is elegantly set with a large opal in a heart shaped mount with smaller, cabochon opals in the front and on each side.

Knox's work was predominantly made in Birmingham, England for retail in London. This piece was made in Birmingham between 1903 and 1904.  Knox employed a metalworker called W.H. Hassler to produce his designs.

Unusual Artifacts: An Edwardian Silver Moustache Spoon, 1904

Moustache Spoon
John Round and Son, 1904
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Well, this almost makes me want to grow a moustache—almost.  Many Victorian gentleman followed the fashion of growing large and important-looking moustaches—a style which endured well into the reign of King George V.  Since these bushy, “nose neighbors,” as Ned Flanders would say, would often get in the way during the consumption of food, special cutlery was developed to keep the “cookie dusters” free from crumbs, and soup, and, sauce and…well, you get it.

Here’s a good example of moustache cutlery.  This special spoon was made with a guard on one side of the spoon’s bowl to protect the moustache when eating soup.  Many of these spoons had detachable guards so that they could be used by normal, moustache-less people.  This one, however is permanent. Even more interesting is the fact that, often, these moustache spoons were made for both right and left-handed users.


This attractive, but weird little spoon was manufactured by the firm of John Round & Son Ltd. Who described themselves as “The largest Spoon and Fork Makers in the World.”   The concern kept a factory in Sheffield, while the main showrooms were in London.

Gifts of Grandeur: Queen Alexandra's Christmas Gift Book, 1908

Queen Alexandra's Christmas Gift Album
"Pleasant Recollections."
Britain, 1908
Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

A page from the album.
Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty
Queen Elizabeth II

In 1908, shutterbug Queen Alexandra, consort of King Edward VII (1844-1925) amused herself—while her husband was doubtlessly amusing himself in other, yuckier ways—by producing an album of her photographs which she intended to be published to raise funds for her favorite charities. 

Though known as “Queen Alexandra’s Christmas Gift Book,” the album was actually titled “Pleasant Recollections.” The leather, gilt-tooled book with relief duo-tone photographs was enclosed in a deep red jacket of suede and velvet. Queen Alexandra personally chose the photos of her family and friends which were to be included in the book from her huge collection of personal photos, most of which she had taken herself.

We see here the Queen’s own personal copy of her book. Ninety of the 137 photos were printed in photogravure (a very detailed intaglio print from a copper plate) and forty-six of them were mounted by hand on the dark green pages, so that those who purchased the photograph book would feel that they had, in fact, the Queen’s personal album.

The book, sold at 2s 6d (12 ½ p) a copy and it was published simultaneously in England and America on November 12, 1908. Huge orders were also rushed to Russia, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Germany, France. The album proved incredible successful, and, much to the Queen’s pleasure and satisfaction, raised vast amount for over thirty charities of Her Majesty’s choosing.

The Interior Cover
Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Saturday Sparkle: The Georges Fouquet Brooch, 1903

Brooch
Georges Fouquet
1903
The Victoria & Albert Museum

We wrap up our week-long celebration of beautiful brooches with this amazing French piece by Georges Fouquet. The brooch, which dates t 1903, is a work in gold and silver with a subtle relief of young women, framed by diamonds and decorated with a sprig of mistletoe in enameled gold and pearls. 

This is the perfect example of Edwardian era jewelry as designs transitioned from the florid pieces of the Victorian era to the more stylized Art Nouveau and Art Deco. This piece is firmly in the middle of these design trends and shows both the sentimentality of the past century and the stylization of the Twentieth. 

Father Christmas Through The Ages: A Victorian Christmas Postcard

Click on image to see our friend.

Today's "Santa" object comes from my very own collection of ephemera!  It's actually a HUGE collection and it rather needs sorting, but, that'll have to wait until 2014.

I can’t make out the year on the postmark, but I’d say this postcard was mailed in the early 1900s. It has all the hallmarks of an Edwardian Christmas postcard with nods to the past and “the future.” Father Christmas is, instead of a sleigh, driving a roadster. It’s loaded with toys, but, I’ll bet you can guess which of them is the reason I have this card.

Yup. There he is! Playing the cymbals. It’s our Mr. Punch. Punch and Santa, it seems, have a long history together. 

It’s really quite a lovely card, beautifully printed and embossed. And, the Christmas wish from Anna, whoever she was, is just as pleasant now as when she sent it to friends in Omaha.

Drawing of the Day: Punch & Judy from "The Studio," 1905

"Punch and Judy"
Margaret Lloyd
"The Studio," 1905
The George Speaight Archive
The Victoria & Albert Museum

From Britain’s “The Studio” magazine, in 1905, we see this color print depicting a Punch and Judy performance in front of a crowd of children.
Physical description

The image is circular at the top of page, and the credits are written at the bottom of the page. A sheet of tissue paper folds over to cover the page and protect the image.  The original drawing was the work of Margaret Lloyd. 

Mastery of Design: The Henry Wilson Choker, 1910

Necklace of Seed Pearls, Emeralds, Star Rubies, Moonstone and Enamel
Henry Wilson, ca. 1910
The Victoria & Albert Museum

The famed Arts and Crafts jeweler Henry Wilson's (1864-1934) was celebrated for its brilliant color combinations worked in stones and enamel as well as its natural sculptural qualities.  Wilson, after training as an architect, became interested in metalwork in the 1890s, and went on to teach at the Royal College of Art.   He later penned a practical manual “Silverwork and Jewellery” in 1903 wherein he encouraged his students to “feed his imagination on old work,” and incorporate historical themes.

This necklace is a great example of Wilson’s sensibilities.  Here, we see that the back as well as the front of the central pendant is decorated with enamel in the manner of Renaissance jewelry.  The necklace of gold is set with star rubies, emeralds, moonstones, emamel, seed pearls and pearl drops and adorned with an enameled plaque of a running stag.

The necklace was made by Wilson in Kent around 1910.