30s Mickey Mouse

Mickey Mouse napkin ring
made in Japan 1930s

How fabulous is this hand-painted Mickey Mouse napkin ring? Here he is in his early Disney rendering- all rat-like but with his trademark big ears. Mickey first appeared in 1928 [in Steamboat Willie] and this napkin ring was made not soon after.

I found Mickey in a collector’s sale lot of napkin rings and bought the lot because Mickey was there. Mickey is in great condition with only a little wear to the hand-painting on his extremities- ears and nose. He is very collectible- as is any vintage Mickey Mouse item. Mickey’s from the 30s and 40s are now highly sought after.

Mickey is shown here with a bakelite spice canister and a sweet tin from the 30s…they were made in Australia but since Mickey is a universal icon, I don’t think that matters. Mickey is for sale: $AUD75

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60s Pyrex

Pyrex ‘Stack & See’ canisters
made in USA, c.1968

I use these canisters- with their funky 60s colours – to store my retro sewing collection. Any sort of see-through canister is great for re-use – as is stackability – a great 60s invention. These Pyrex canisters came in 4 different sizes- the largest is shown here.

You can collect the canisters in the colour-ways; green, yellow, orange, red or blue. Check the Pyrex motif is on the base- there are a few fake imitations around. They don’t make them like they used to.

Of course, you can still use the canisters in the kitchen for their original purpose: just make sure the sealing ring is intact. I have only collected canisters with the original rings, even if they are only storing buttons. Email me if you’d like to buy!

Genie Lamp vase

MCP ‘Genie Lamp’ vase #257
made in Sydney, Australia c1950

MCP- Modern Ceramic Products- started production in the 1940s, in Redfern, Sydney. MCP made strong geometric forms with very modernist styling – and a highly textured exterior finish to contrast with the smooth internal glaze. This two-toned aesthetic meant each vase shape could be made in a wide range of iterations- albeit along the 50s spectrum of baby blue, pale pink and pale yellow.

I’ve sold several- beautiful- MCP vases; have a look on the SOLD tab. They are now very collectible and it’s getting harder to find these beauties.

This ‘Genie Lamp’ vase is in baby blue. It is stamped ‘#257 MCP’ on the base, and it looks good with anything from old fashioned roses [referencing the 50s] to contemporary structural arrangements- like Eucalypt leaves.

The Genie Lamp vase is for sale: $AUD55

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Snowdomes!

Snowdomes
made in Hong Kong 1970s

Paris! Harmony California [Population 10] and Gundagi.  Gundagi is a small town in NSW that is famous for its ‘dog on the tuckerbox’ statue. [Like many small towns, it finds infamy where it can.] Three snowdomes proving that 1] it snows everywhere, all the time and 2] the snowdome is a great equalizer- everywhere on the planet is represented in the snowdome world.

All three domes were made in Hong Kong in the 70s and you can see the relative vintages of the domes by the water level. Snowdomes are highly collectible and even completely dry domes- which happens after forty or so years- are sought after. Although people think you can top up a snowdome, it is better to leave them.

I recently found a Venice snowdome- complete with gondolier [not shown in image.] Soon I’ll have the entire world!

A must for snowdome collectors- young and old! These three are for sale: $AUD30 [will also throw in Venice!]

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30s Mickey Mouse

Mickey Mouse napkin ring
made in Japan 1930s

How fabulous is this hand-painted Mickey Mouse napkin ring? Here he is in his early Disney rendering- all rat-like but with his trademark big ears. Mickey first appeared in 1928 [in Steamboat Willie] and this napkin ring was made not soon after.

I found Mickey in a collector’s sale lot of napkin rings and bought the lot because Mickey was there. Mickey is in great condition with only a little wear to the hand-painting on his extremities- ears and nose. He is very collectible- as is any vintage Mickey Mouse item. Mickey’s from the 30s and 40s are now highly sought after.

Mickey is shown here with a bakelite spice canister and a sweet tin from the 30s…they were made in Australia but since Mickey is a universal icon, I don’t think that matters. Mickey is for sale: $AUD75

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Airline travel bag

Airline travel bag
Made in Hong Kong, 1960s

Airline bags have become SO popular and collectable that there are now reproductions of classic Qantas bags- made in China, c. 2014- being sold for crazy prices on EBay. A REAL Qantas travel bag should cost in the order of $AU100 – but a repro? That should go for ten bucks [that’s 2 bucks for materials & assembly, 1 buck to ship it, and 7 dollars or 70% profit to the seller.] AND it should be clearly marked as a repro.

So- how to tell a fake? Well, take this Orbitour travel bag for example. It has its original sticker inside:

‘Nylon Coated Plastic
Made In Hong Kong”.

Sporting an original sticker, and made in Hong Kong [rather than China]; plus – it has some stitching missing on one handle and a little on the zip. Repros are startlingly perfect, looking like a facsimile of the original. You can’t fake age!

And the colour- that super cobalt blue with slightly wonky white font – it’s correct for the 60s.

I’ve teamed the Orbitours bag with an old 40s school case. It’s had some repair work- new rivets hold a new internal timber frame to the lid, but the locks and hinges and metal handle are all still original and working. It was made by the ‘American Bag Stores, Travelling Goods Specialists’, in Australia [as described on the internal label.] Talk about an original!

The Orbitours bag [Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane] is for sale: $AU55
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The old school case is for sale: $AU45
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‘Anthropomorphic Collectibles’

Apple salt & pepper shakers
made in Japan, 1960s

I have discovered that people love, really LOVE anthropomorphic figurines. Ebay even has a section “Anthropomorphic Collectibles”. These apples with startlingly large faces – reminiscent of early manga- have another thing going for them: they are functional salt and pepper shakers.

The shakers are part of a larger apple-faced set that includes a cookie jar [how collectable are cookie jars!] teapot, creamer and cup and saucers. Like many OTT things, I find that less is more- when you put the whole collection together the sum of the parts is less than the whole. You can have too much of a good thing. [And this coming from an avowed kitscher-lover!] My idea would be mix ‘n’ match with other faced ceramics – and make a sort of kitsch family.

The shakers are in great vintage condition, but have lost their original cork stoppers. All the shakers I have collected that used cork stoppers are in this state- it seems the cork only lasted a decade or two.

The apple shakers are for sale: $AU35

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Bambi planter [sold]

Bambi planter
made in Japan 1950s

A Bambi and her doe, in planter-style. I have filled the planter with bok choy [all I had to hand] but of course flowers and/or growing succulents would also work.

I have quite a few Bambis in my collection. I have purposely collected 1950 era bambis that were made here in Australia or in Japan – these are NOT Disney figurines, which I think look more ‘commercial’. I’ve already explained my nostalgic love for Bambi [short answer: not allowed to have one as a child] elsewhere on the blog; so suffice it to say – I collect Bambis whenever I can.

The Bambi planter is in great vintage condition and is for sale: $AU35. Buy now for Christmas!

Early Bunnykins [sold]

Early Bunnykins plate
made in England, 1939

Bunnykins  – made by Royal Doulton- are now highly collectable. I put it down to nostalgia.

Bunnykins plates, cups, and bowls – as endorsed by the Royal Family [Princess Margaret ate her cereal from a Bunnykins bowl- hence ROYAL Doulton] – was made from 1937 to 1953.

This plate has the earliest backstamp, and is impressed with ‘9.39’- which is a date stamp: September, 1939.

The plate has a mild yellow tint from age: but the transfer print of Mrs and Mr Bunny at table with their two children [one unfortunately ascribed as baby] – and the running rabbits around the plate are all intact. Add to this that the image has Barbara Vernon’s signature – this is a collectable piece.

The Bunnykins plate is for sale: $AU35

Bunnykins

Royal Doulton ‘Bunnykins’ egg cup
made in England, c.1940s

Bunnykins is very collectible; I would say we are nearing peak Bunnykins collectability. Having grown-up with Bunnykins I would say that its collectability is completely due to nostalgia.

Produced by Royal Doulton – and on every child’s christening present list from the 60s-80s – there are literally millions of people who know Bunnykins from their porridge bowls, plates, cups and saucers and egg cups.

This egg cup has two bunnies playing horn and drums –as they are wont to do- and on the back is a bunny with red overalls, putting on a green overcoat and a green cap.

The egg cup is in excellent vintage condition – and is for sale: $AU10

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