Ah, by my Computations, People say. . .

  Reduce the Year to better reckoning?—Nay, 

 'Twas only striking from the Calendar 

 Unborn To-morrow and dead Yesterday.

Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, Translated by Edward Fitzgerald

Omar Khayyam (1048–1131), a Persian astronomer, mathematician, and philosopher, is probably best known in the Western world for The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, a book of poetic quatrains attributed to Khayyam as translated by Edward Fitzgerald in 1859. However, Khayyam calculated the solar year with extraordinary accuracy and designed a solar calendar, which was the basis for the Persian calendar that still in use today. It is therefore tempting to think that the distinguished Arabic gentleman sitting by the calendar in this unusual antique is in commemoration of Khayyam, but it is more an example of Orientalism in the decorative arts.

    The Middle East has long held a fascination for the West, which often viewed it as a decadent dreamland ruled by sultans surrounded by dark-eyed harem beauties, where slave girls danced in shimmering veils and markets offered rare spices and jewels. Antione Galland's 1709 translation of One Thousand and One Nights engendered a passion for the exotic East as imagined by westerners, with Arabic and Persian inspired images appearing in operas and plays, art, architecture, fabric, and furnishings. This was dubbed "Orientalism." By the mid-1800s, the Middle East became more accessible to Western tourists and Orientalism in art and decor promised an imaginary respite from the proprieties of Victorian life. Beginning in the mid-19th century, Austria became the center of many foundries and ateliers producing finely crafted artistic sculptures in bronze and spelter. These workshops created works, often in miniature, covering a vast variety of subjects, from animals, genre and classical scenes, comic subjects, erotic themes, and, of course, Orientalist images. Some of these sculptures were purely decorative, a way for the owner to subtly project wealth and taste, but others, like this beautifully-crafted calendar, also has a functional purpose. Cast in spelter, the piece is lavishly decorated in polychrome. Although unsigned, it is very typical of the Orientalist pieces produced in Austria. 

All posted items are for sale at Next-to-New, but things can sell quickly!

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Getting to the Point. . .

. . . is what you'll want to do when you see this unusual collection of antique hatpins and holders currently in our trove.

Beginning in the 1870s, fashionable women's headgear went from bonnets and hats tied in place with ribbons to charming small chapeaus that perched atop the head. To keep the hat in place, it was typically pinned to the hair. However, as the 1800s passed into the early 1900s, hats became ever larger and more elaborate, as did the hair underneath, with buns, chignons, rolls, and "rats." Hatpins consequently grew in length, some 12 inches or longer. The pins become as much an accessory as the hat, often with decorative tops. To keep her pins in place, a woman needed a hatpin holder (sometimes several). These functional and decorative hatpin holders were made by porcelain manufacturers in Europe, the United States, and Japan, in a wide variety of shapes and colors.

In the 1907 English adaptation of Franz Lehár’s comic operetta, Die Lustige Witwe (The Merry Widow), actress and singer Lily Elsie, starring as the wealthy widow Hanna Glawari, wore a oversized wide-brim hat frothy with chiffon and feathers. Such sumptuous super-sized Merry Widow hats, festooned with feather, flowers, and sometimes even entire birds, became a fashionable fad. 

The hatpins also served another purpose. . . protection. As the Victorian era passed into the Edwardian, it became more acceptable for women to go out unescorted, whether to work, lunch, or shop. A young woman traveling alone on public transport could became a target of a "masher," the term for male stranger making unwanted and persistent advances to a woman. However, by pulling out and flourishing her hatpin, the young lady could literally make her point that she wanted to be left in peace. As a music hall ditty of the period advised women, 

Never go walking out without your hat pin.

The law won’t let you carry more than that.

For if you go walking out without your hat pin,

You may lose your head as well as lose your hat.

Never go walking out without your hat pin.

Not even to some very classy joints.

For when a fellow sees you’ve got a hat pin

He’s very much more apt to get the point.

However such huge hats, and their associated pins, had their many detractors. Theaters, movies houses, and even churches, began to request that women remove their hats so not to block the view of other patrons or parishioners. There were complaints that bystanders were being poked in the eye by hat brims or pricked by protruding pins on crowded streets or trolley cars. Cities even passed ordinances trying to regulate the length of hatpins. 

However, on a more serious level, decorating these hats required the murder and mutilation of millions of birds from all over the world (although it often goes unmentioned that the increased demand for exotic and rare feathers for the male hobby of fishing fly tying also played its part the the decimation of bird populations, but then men generally did not go out in public wearing their fishing flies on top of their heads). In 1896, Harriet Hemenway and her cousin, Minna Hall, founded the Massachusetts Audubon Society to call attention to the needless massacre of birds and to halt the fashion for feathers. The National Association of Audubon Societies for the Protection of Wild Birds and Animals (now the National Audubon Society) was incorporated in 1905. Following lobbying by Audubon members,  naturalists, and environmentalists, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act was enacted in 1918, making it illegal to pursue, hunt, take, capture, kill, possess, sell, purchase, barter, import, export, or transport any migratory bird. Also, by the late 1910s, women's fashions were changing to a similar, more columnar silhouette with shorter hair and more close-fitting headgear like turbans and cloches that did not need to be pinned in place. Although elaborate elongated hatpin subsequently passed out of fashion, these pins and their porcelain holders are now popular collectibles.

Nothing Low about this Lowboy

A lowboy dresser is a long, waist-high chest of drawers. This vintage example is a marvelous mid-century modern creation by Bassett Furniture. The dresser's minimalist sleek lines and tapered legs exemplify the streamline styling of this period. As it typical of Bassett furniture from the 1950s and 1960s, this piece combines fine wood veneers and quality craftsmanship with a wood-grained formica top; the formica top was considered a modern and practical alternative to wood veneer, as it was durable and resistant to scratches and moisture.

Bassett Furniture was founded in 1902 in Bassett, Virginia by J. D. Bassett, Sr. (for whom the town was in fact named), as a way to utilize scrap wood from the family sawmill. Joined by his two brothers and brother-in-law, the family furniture company thrived and in 1930 became Bassett Furniture Industries, Inc. The company is in fact still largely under family control. Ever innovative, the company was an early adaptor of mass production, while still maintaining high quality, and catering to consumer tastes, such as adding upholstered furniture in the 1930s and introducing popular mid-century modern designs in the 1950s and 60s. Faced with foreign competition from countries such as China, which decimated the American furniture industry, the company, under John Bassett III, fought back, streamlining the operations to reduce costs and increase efficiency. The company survived and continues to manufacture furniture made in the U.S.A.

All posted items are for sale at Next-to-New, but things can sell quickly!

Easy on the Eyes

This handsome vintage cabinet. . . 

. . . is an early version of a home entertainment system.

The television is the "Easy-Vision" model manufactured by the Hoffman Radio and Television Company. 

In 1941, H. Leslie Hoffman, a florescent lamp salesman, purchased the bankrupt Mission Bell Radio company, and around 1948, the company began manufacturing televisions. as well. The company lacked the resources of established businesses such as Phlico or Zeneth and needed sources of inexpensive materials. Early televisions required protective safety glass on the front of the screen to prevent injury in case the picture tube imploded; Hoffman used yellow Plexiglas manufactured for aircraft, as it inexpensive and available in large quantities. This gave the television screen a yellow-green tint, but the creative Hoffman claimed that the tint reduced eye strain, marketing his televisions as "Easy Vision."  By 1950, his company was the largest west coast producer of televisions. The company was part of the first coast-to-coast color broadcast in this country when, on January 1, 1954, the Tournament of Roses Parade was broadcast in color. Hoffman also founded Hoffman Electronics Corporation, which manufactured a wide range of consumer, industrial and military products. He died in 1971, and six years later the board of directors sold the businesses

Not only does the television provide "easy-vision," but easy listening as well, as there is a pull-out record player in the drawer uber the television screen. The alcove next to the screen could be used to store the records. 

All posted items are for sale at Next-to-New, but things can sell quickly!

168380-46

 

The Layered Look

Entitled "Layered Lines," this 2018 artwork is by contemporary artist Michael Rausch, using vivid colors and a combination of acrylic paint, wax, and resin to create complex texture and dimension. 

Rausch, a native of Portland, Oregon, divides his time between Portland and Palm Springs, California, with his husband, Dale Scott. Scott himself made sports history when, in 2014, while a Major League Baseball (MLB) umpire, he came out as gay. Scott and Rausch met in 1986 in Portland and were married in 2013 in Palm Springs. The mayor of Palm Springs officiated the ceremony. After retiring from the MLB in 2017, Scott published a memoir of his over thirty years in pro baseball entitled The Umpire is Out: Calling the Game and Living My True Self.

All posted items are for sale at Next-to-New, but things can sell quickly!

16576-225

 

A Toast with the Most!

With New Year's Eve just around the corner, these shimmering sterling silver wine goblets will certainly add special sparkle to your champagne toast!

Underneath they carry the rising sun mark of Asahi Shoten of Yokohama, Japan. Active in the early-to-mid 1900s, this company was known for its high-quality sterling silver flatware and tableware, with Japanese motifs or in sleek Art Deco western style. The company usually used higher grade silver in its creations. This piece is marked "Sterling" and "950." Typically sterling silver is denoted by the assay number "925," indicating that the item contains 92.5 percent silver. These glimmering goblets carry the assay number "950," meaning that they are 95 percent silver.

All posted items are for sale at Next-to-New, but things can sell quickly!

3-22571

 

Chime In!

Which is exactly what this beautiful and collectible wall clock will do, chiming every quarter, half, and full hour. By the Gazo Family Clock Factory, this model is called "Capistrano" (the California-based company names its various clocks after locations in the San Diego area). 

The Gazo Family Clock Factory began as a family hobby, with the son, Ed Gazo, who was stationed in Germany with the United States Air Force, buying antique German clocks and shipping to his father, Lou, in California, where he restored and sold them. The hobby expanded into a clock repair shop. In 1972, Ed was honorably discharged and returned to California. He and his father worked together repairing and restoring antique clocks, but were finding it difficult to locate the parts they needed. Subsequently, the Gazo Family Clock Factory was formed. 

The company contracted with skilled Mexican craftsman to hand carve the elaborate wooden cases, which were then shipped to California for finishing and the installation of the solid brass movements. 

The high-quality movements were purchased from Germany and the dials and pendulums were etched with ornate designs based on those found on antique clocks. 

Some models included musical chimes, such as Schubert's "Ave Maria," and the company also produced music boxes. The high-end clocks originally sold from $1,300 to over $12,000. Gazo closed in 1989. Total production for the company was approximately 10,000 clocks, making Gazo's hand-crafted clocks scarce and collectible.  

All posted items are for sale at Next-to-New, but things can sell quickly!

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