Mastery of Design: The Liberty Blood Red Fire Opal Ring and Necklace, 1926-1927

Fire Opal Ring and Pendant in Platinum and Diamond Settings
The British Museum

Click Images to Enlarge.

Liberty & Co. of London and Paris produced this platinum-set finger ring and pendant for Christmas of 1926-1927.  The set glitters with the pristine sparkle of diamonds and the unusual glow of blood red fire opals.  

This extraordinary pair of rare fire opals is part of an impressive collection of jewels from the 1920s-1950s which was donated to the British Museum in 1978 by Professor John and Anne Hull Grundy.  

To Serve and Project: The Summer Tile, 1881

Tile of "Summer"
Kate Greenaway, 1881
The Victoria & Albert Museum

In the late Nineteenth Century, ceramic wall tiles were considered quite fashionable and the demand for them grew considerably, especially to be used in conjunction with fireplaces since the new cast-iron grates that began to appear during this period were specifically designed to be set with tiles. The tiles were fitted to metal panels that bolted onto the frame. At the start of this trend, pictorial tiles with pastoral scenes were especially popular and, often, tiles with series of different scenes were used.

The invention of “dust-pressing,” which developed in the 1840s, aided the mass production of tiles. The process allowed tiles to be formed by compacting powdered clay under high pressure in a screw-press. As many as 1,800 tiles a day—of a consistently high quality--could made on a single press, operated by two people. The result was tiles which were much less prone to warping than earlier examples.

Here, we see a tile made in such a manner—in 1881. It is one of a set of four tiles of the seasons. In this example, a woman is in her garden watering flowers, wearing a Japanese hairstyle and clothing. The style of the figure on this tile is close in appearance to figures drawn by one Kate Greenaway (1846-1901)-- one of the most celebrated children's book illustrators of the period. It is highly likely to have been her work since she often lent her talents to especially commissioned tile pieces.

History's Runway: A Late Nineteenth Century Corset

Corset
1890-1895
The Victoria & Albert Museum

A lady’s corset didn’t just offer a supportive foundation, it molded her body into unnatural shapes in order to fit whatever peculiar silhouette was in fashion at the time. By the 1890s, women’s bodies were being forced into angular shapes which went against any natural human form. The one we see above, at least, claimed to relieve pressure on internal organs while supporting the stomach. I seriously doubt that it did.

This…thing…is made of whalebone which has been constructed, essentially to be a second ribcage…a restrictive, uncomfortable ribcage in a different shape than the woman’s body. But, just so it didn’t look like a torture device, it had some very attractive embroidery on its pink satin surface. It’s also trimmed with dark pink satin ribbon.

It was made in England between 1890 and 1895. 

The Home Beautiful: A Cast Iron Fireplace with Ceramic Tiles, 1905

The Victoria & Albert Museum

The Victoria & Albert Museum is filled with almost anything imaginable from toys to diapers and diamonds to entire rooms from houses.  So, it’s not surprising that we should see an entire fireplace from 1905 in their collection.  

This fireplace is an example of the sort of modern fireplace which came about in the early Twentieth Century--its raised grate was developed when coal replaced wood as the standard domestic fuel.

Like others of the era, this fireplace is made of cast iron and set with decorative ceramic tiles. Cast-iron fireplaces were made of flat plates cast in moulds and then assembled later.  Iron founders such as Carron and Coalbrookdale offered a large range of fireplaces in their catalogs in a variety of styles and tile colors. The tiles serve as decoration, but also to reflect the heat efficiently.  

This particular cast-iron fireplace came from a house in Chiswick.  It is stamped with the name and address of the original founder, Planet Foundry Co. Ltd, Guide Bridge, Manchester.

Back to business...slowly

A Mad Dog in a Coffee House
Thomas Rowlandson, 1809
Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Click image to enlarge.

Well, wasn't THAT an unusually long absence on my part?  Sorry for not having posted the last few days.  

At any rate, I'm easing back into our regular schedule.  

We'll pick up with A Recipe for Punch in coming days, and get back to the usual order of things.  If you'd like to catch up with the story, you can access all posted chapters in the Chapter Archive.

More "stuff" coming soon.

Gifts of Grandeur: The Dudley Box, 1579

This pretty little box was made in England in 1579 to hold sweetmeats.  Gifts of sweetmeats, sugared fruits and candies were traditional presents at New Year in the Royal Court.  Sometimes these were presented in special, and often precious, containers such as this one.   

The crest of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester (died 1588) is inlaid im silver in the lid. Dudley was the favorite of Queen Elizabeth I, and was, therefore, a very important fella about the court.  No doubt, this box must have been made especially for Dudley as a New Year's gift.

Curiously, after the box had been donated to the V&A, it was untouched for many years.  In fact, it was not opened until 1968 when the crest of Dudley and inscribed date  was discovered for the first time.

The box is decorated in the technique known as damascening, a process, especially popular in the Sixteenth Century, in which gold and silver ribbon is forced into a cross hatched surface of iron using a copper tool. The base iron was darkened with heat and chemicals so that it would develop a blue or black hue which would contrast with the gold and silver ornament.  

Object of the Day: Buy Peoria Stoves

She’s looking to her right with an expression that says, “Isn’t my costume a bit…well…Seventeenth Century.” 

She pauses and breaks her gaze.

"What?"  The artist asks.

"Well...it's just that this...collar.  It's rather...out-moded."

“No, no…” The artist must have said. “It’s fine.”

“What’s this drawing for?” She asked.

“I dunno, canned meat…or…I dunno. Kettles or something.”

“Should I smile?”

“Not a lot.” The artist replies.

“Are you sure I’m not over-dressed for kettles?”

“Maybe it’s stoves. I dunno.” The artist replied. “Now, stay still.”

“Oh, if it’s stoves. Then, this is perfect. The hat’s my own. Do you like it?”

“Stay still!”

"Georges?  Why is it you always get to sit in the shade while I have to stand in the sun?" 

"Don't move the mouth."  He replies.

Oh...hold on.  I slipped into Sondheim-mode.  Let's refocus.

Above this decidedly over-dressed woman, we see the words:

Buy PEORIA STOVES.

MANUFACTURED BY

CULTER & PROCTOR STOVE CO.

Peoria, Ills.

And, on the reverse, we see…

THE PEORIA OAK

FOR SOFT COAL AND WOOD,

IS THE

PEERLESS LEADER

OF ITS CLASS

     The fire pot for coal is double and heavy. Single Fire
Pot and separate Wood Grate for wood.
     Fire Pot is LOW DOWN, retaining and radiating the heat
near the floor, where it is needed.
     The base Section is ornamental and ventilated, distributing
heat from its entire surface.
     Large deep Ash Pan in base rendering stove cleanly and
convenient in service.
     Mounted with extra heavy, best quality Boiler Iron Drum.
     Every joint made gas and air tight—preventing leakage.
     Check Draft Registers in doors and collar, giving perfect
control over fire.
     Grate shakes from outside, with solid center pull dump.
     Spun nickel and Bronze Urn.
     Full Nickel Trimmed.      Polished Edges.



I do worry about having a solid center pull dump. 

Ah, the days when cooking was truly, truly dangerous.