Staycation, A New Dodge Van, And Collectable Spoons

STAY-CATION WAS GREAT - PICNIC AT GULL LAKE PARK IN GRAVENHURST, GOOD SHOPPING, FANTASTIC WEATHER

WE HAD ENOUGH MONEY TO TROT THE GLOBE BUT ONLY A WEEK'S VACATION TO DO IT! I HATE FLYING, AND I REALLY DON'T LIKE CROWDS, BUT I DO LIKE TO MOVE ABOUT IN COMFORT. SO WE PURHCASED A NICE NEW VAN FROM OUR FRIENDS AT SANDER MOTORS…..THIS BEING OUR THIRD VAN, AND FOR THE HOLIDAY WEEK, WE'VE BEEN CRUISING AROUND THE DISTRICT LIKE ROYALTY. WELL, ROYALTY ON A BUDGET. THE REST OF THE MONEY, WE WOULD HAVE USED FOR A WORLD TOUR, WE SPENT ON GOOD BUT HEALTHY FOOD, A COUPLE OF NICE MEALS OUT….ALL LOCAL, AND DID A LOT OF ANTIQUE HUNTING IN THE PAST SEVEN DAYS. WE DID WELL OVER THE WEEK, ALTHOUGH SOME DAYS WERE "FISHING" WITHOUT MUCH RETURN. WE ONLY AVERAGE OVER THE WEEK, AND THE MONTH, NOT BY THE REWARDS OF ONE DAY. BUT SPEAKING OF TODAY, I WAS ABLE TO GET THREE VERY NICE SIGNED AND NUMBER PRINTS, ONE ENTITLED "MUSICAL CHAIRS," WHICH IS A DANDY (CURRENTLY AT THE BOY'S SHOP ON MUSKOKA ROAD, IN GRAVENHURST) AND ANOTHER FROM 1960, AND A THIRD LITTLE GEM, DATED 1958 THAT I'LL PROFILE IN TOMORROW'S BLOG….ALL IN WELL CONSERVED CONDITION WHICH IS OF CRITICAL IMPORTANCE TO US. I WAS ALSO ABLE TO GET A NIFTY 1970'S ARTIST'S EASLE AND PAINT-BOX IN ONE, AT A SECOND HAND SHOP IN BRACEBRIDGE…..FOR A WHOPPING SIX BUCKS. I USE THESE OFTEN FOR SMALL PAINTINGS I'M DISPLAYING FOR SALE…..AT SHOWS, SPECIAL SALES, OR AT THE BOY'S MUSIC SHOP. IT IS HAND CRAFTED AND WELL BUILT. I'VE BEEN FINDING VERY LITTLE ORIGINAL ART OUT THERE, FOR THE PAST FEW WEEKS, SO IT WAS NICE TO BREAK THE STALEMATE. ART AND EASLE IN ONE MORNING GAD-ABOUT.

BY THE WAY. STAYING HOME FOR OUR WEEK'S HOLIDAY WAS A BLESSING. WE CAUGHT UP ON A LOT OF BUSINESS WORK WE'D BEEN NEGLECTING, READ SOME BOOKS WE'VE BEEN DELAYING ON, AND WE ENJOYED WATCHING SO MANY OTHER LOCALS AND TOURISTS, CELEBRATING THE GREAT OUTDOORS IN SOUTH MUSKOKA. WE SHOPPED LOCALLY, AND GOT SOME GREAT VALUES. WE DIDN'T NEED TO TRAVEL ALL OVER GOD'S HALF ACRE TO GET A GOOD DEAL ON A VEHICLE. DROVE A COUPLE OF BLOCKS AND MET UP WITH RAY SANDER. WAS A REAL EASY, NON-STRESSFUL TRANSACTION, AND WE LIKED THE FACT, WE WERE HELPING OUT A GRAVENHURST BUSINESS…….JUST AS SO MANY HELP OUR FAMILY BUSINESSES HERE IN GRAVENHURST.

GLAD ALSO TO SEE THE WORK HAS COMMENCED ON THE BARGE, WITH THE SUPPORT WORK BEING LOOKED AFTER ON THE FAR WING (CLOSEST TO THE BEACH). TALKED TO MANAGER FRED SCHULZ, EARLIER IN THE WEEK, AND YOU COULDN'T HAVE TAKEN THAT GRIN OFF HIS FACE WITH A BELT SANDER. IT'S BEEN A LONG TWO YEAR HAUL, WORRYING ABOUT THE FATE OF THE BARGE, THAT HAS NEEDED STRUCTURAL REPAIRS FOR THE PAST FIVE YEARS. WORK WILL COMMENCE SOON ON THE MAIN STAGE, AND FRED, NOT BEING THE SUPERSTITIOUS TYPE, HASN'T RESORTED TO ANY OUT OF THE ORDINARY FINGER CROSSING, OR TALISMAN WORSHIPPING, THAT THE OLD BARGE WILL TAKE THE INTRUSIVE, SURGICAL REPAIRS, WITHOUT SLIPPING INTO THE BRINE OF GULL LAKE. WHEN I SAID THIS TO HIM, WELL, THERE WAS SOME RAPID-EYE MOVEMENT, AND OBVIOUS SWEATING-OF-THE-BROW, BUT WHEN FRED ATTACHES FAITH TO SOMETHING, IT'S LIKE A HEAT SENSING MISSILE. THERE ARE THOSE WHO CLAIM TO HAVE SEEN FRED, CONCENTRATE SO INTENTLY ON A ROGUE RAIN CLOUD, APPROACHING THE BARGE ON CONCERT NIGHT, TO HAVE COMPLETELY, BY FORCE OF MIND, BLOWN IT BACK TO THE FAR HORIZON……WHERE IT DISAPPEARED INTO A THIN VAPOR. SO THE BARGE HAS ENOUGH POSITIVE ENERGY BEING DIRECTED AT IT, FROM HIS RANK AND FILE SUPPORTERS, IT MIGHT WELL LEVITATE ON ITS OWN, TO FACILITATE RE-CONSTRUCTION. "IT'S GOING TO GET FIXED, AND WE'RE GOING TO HAVE OUR SEASON ON THE BARGE, AND I'M JUST DELIGHTED WITH THE PROGRESS," HE ADMITS, WIPING THE THIN BEAD OF SWEAT OFF HIS FOREHEAD. I KNOW, IT COULD HAVE BEEN FROM DAY-TIME HEATING. BUT I WOULDN'T BLAME HIM FOR BEING A TAD NERVOUS, JUST THE SAME.

IN OUR OWN LITTLE WORLD - ANTIQUES, ART, BOOKS ANYTHING GOES

NO RESTRICTIONS, NO BOUNDARIES, JUST THE OPEN ROAD -

TODAY WAS THE KIND OF WARM, SUNNY, MAGNIFICENT MAY DAY……BUT IN THE MIDDLE OF MARCH, THAT PULLED US TOWARD PROPERTY CLEAN-UP, GARDEN RESTORATION, WINDOW WASHING, A RUN TO THE LANDFILL SITE WITH HOUSEHOLD MATERIALS THAT WON'T FIT IN A BAG, AND WELL……THE ALLURE OF THE OPEN ROAD. WE WORKED IT LIKE THIS. EVERY TIME WE WENT OUTSIDE, BETWEEN HOUSE AND VEHICLE, WE STRAIGHTENED SOMETHING UP, RAKED SOME LIMESTONE, BROKE APART SOME ICE, AND THEN, WHEN WE HIT THE END OF THE DRIVEWAY, WE LET OURSELVES GET SUCKED INTO THE VAN…..WHICH WAS EAGERLY AWAITING AN ADVENTURE ITSELF. I MEAN WE HAD TO GO TO THE BANK, AND THE LADS HAD TO STOP-IN AT A MUSIC SHOP, IN BRACEBRIDGE, AND THERE WERE A COUPLE OF ANTIQUE STOPS ALONG THE WAY. I LOVE THESE DAYS. I'VE GOT THAT NORDIC "THULE" THING GOING ON, AND A LOT OF OTHER FOLKS HAD THE SAME IDEA. THERE WERE A LOT OF REASONS TO BE OUTDOORS, THAT'S FOR SURE. OUR CHOICE WAS TO WORK AND PLAY AT THE SAME TIME, AND AS IT TURNED OUT, THE HUNT WENT QUITE WELL……ON THE VERGE OF INVIGORATING. HERE'S WHAT A CASUAL OUTING CAN TURN-UP IN OUR WILD AND WHACKY PROFESSION.

At a local thrift shop, in Bracebridge, I was able to get a book I've been hunting for, over about twenty years. My rule is, and continues to be, refraining from paying market value, for those items we desire in the antique domain. I could have paid a lot more for the "Collecting for Tomorrow" guide book, entitled simply, "Spoons," by Gail Belden and Michael Snodin, 1976, Walter Parrish International Limited, a 112 page treasure trove of spoon legend and lore, with many excellent graphics included. This is the softcover edition. You wouldn't believe how many times we are faced with this dilemma…..to buy or not to buy the spoon. We've got lots of books on silver and the marks made by silversmiths around the world. But as far as getting specific about spoons and their transformation through the centuries, the internet searches have only been partially successful……leaving a lot of unanswered questions. This book addresses just about every question on spoons we've had, or can even think of at this moment. Here's the thing. When you've done this general antiquing thing, for as long as Suzanne and I, (for me since 1977, Suzanne since 1983), you come upon old, somewhat unique spoons by the dozens every year. While only about one percent, of all we find, actually have a silver content, we've always picked-up ones we found quite old, unusual, particularly decorative, such as dessert spoons from the Victorian era. But we've never really thought about the integrity of a "spoon" collection, yet around here now, we could probably find several hundred old and odd spoons we've purchased from estates, auctions, yard sales, and church fundraisers. And as I've been writing about the wide array of collectible interests, by golly, the first book I found this morning addresses one of our own longstanding conundrums. Spoons. There's more to the story…….

"The spoon was one of the earliest utensils to be fashioned by man, and as a group they offer a wide and extremely varied field to the collector. Most of the spoons seen today in antique shops and even in many kitchen drawers, date from the 19th century, a period during which there was a sudden increase in the production of metal spoons, in a vast and bewildering range of sizes, types and styles. This surge of activity was the direct result of new mechanized methods and materials. Until then, the form of the modern spoon had developed along a steady line, its general shape characterized by a straight, flat handle or stem which, when seen from the side, is more or less in line with the (usually oval) hollowed portion or bowl. The earliest spoon of this type was the French 'trifid' of the mid-17th century. Subsequent developments in England were the Hanoverian and Old English patterns."

The book notes that "Eighteenth-century America tended to follow the English lead but developments on the Continent of Europe were different, and greatly influenced by France. The fiddle pattern with its stem spreading at the end, had appeared in France by 1700, and by the mid-18th century most of the well-known variations with shell decorations and moulded or threaded edges were being made in France and other Continental countries. The complex relief decoration on these spoons was stamped with engorged steel dies, a technique that soon led, in France, to the stamping of complete spoons and the production of the first standardized patterns, which facilitated and encouraged the making of comprehensive, matching services." The authors suggest, "The idea of matching spoons, knives and forks, known collectively as flatware, began in the late 17th century, at which time the different sizes of table and dessert spoons also emerged. Services were not common until the late 18th century. By the late 19th century, they had become very elaborate, and incorporated many of the specialized implements, spoons, and ladles which had evolved since the mid-18th century. Services have been considerably simplified since. Pieces of flatware had been growing steadily bigger since the mid-18th century, and by 1800, they had become very large. From about 1870 onwards, however, flatware tended to decrease in size."

It is also noted, for example, that "The fiddle pattern dominated flatware in the 19th century and, in the plain version, it was made in slightly different forms all over Europe and America. The pattern was also very popular when decorated with die stamped relief ornament, which ranged from the restrained classicism of the King's pattern to vigorous adaptation of 18th century rococo and of so-call 'Gothic' and 'Tudor' ornament. After about 1900, the fiddle pattern lost favor in response to an international revival of French designs of the late 18th century and the Empire. This tended to produce weak variants of the original patterns. The revivals were frequently mixed with elements drawn from the new decorative art styles. Art nouveau and Jugendstil. Historicism, or the imitation of past styles, was vitally important in the art of the 19th century, and it had a considerable influence on spoons which were made outside the range of standard patterns, such as desert services. Pieces evoking the Renaissance and the Middle Ages had a particularly strong appeal, their delicate, elaborately shaped stems and finials providing a welcome contrast to the large, massively modeled fiddle pattern types."

"In the 1940's and 1950's, there was a general turning away from older designs and towards modern functional forms, Many 19th century patterns, however, continue to be made," conclude the authors. The book itself, concludes with an examination of the modern era, well proportioned and better functioning spoon designs from the 1950's onwards. I've been glued to this book since I got home late this afternoon. Now while you might think I'm awfully easy to amuse, what amazes me most, is that we have been pretty much bang-on with our spoon collecting so far, pretty good for not having this pivotal guidebook to help us out. We have always been in a quandary about ages and identifying originals from reproductions…..and judging those much more significant spoons, that are of an unusual shape; European, North American etc. provenance, and those that are hallmarked by the silver smith, the earliest, and most valuable, being made one at a time, for a wide variety of purposes. When you have about forty or fifty old spoons laid out, on a table, spanning the centuries, you can really see the evolutionary re-crafting of design, to suit the era in which it was produced.

When Suzanne and I were regularly attending local auctions, I had a habit of buying job-lots especially when it came to vintage kitchen-ware. In our antique shop, we used to sell loads of nostalgic kitchen gadgets, including shredders, grinders, graters (nutmeg for example), wooden spoons, mixers, mixing bowls of glass and crockery, and items such as dessert and serving spoons. Suzanne has always collected larger Victorian era berry spoons and interesting antique ladles. So when the auctioneer would get tired of selling individual items from these boxes, he'd often throw five or six together, and look for one bidder to take the lot. Most of the time, we had no idea what was in the boxes, other than "kitchen stuff." We've made a lot of money off kitchen collectibles, so we'd willingly take a chance, and most likely, for about twenty or thirty bucks at the most, we could get all the boxes and usually left over items on the table in the same category; and in minutes of landing those boxes at our feet, auction-goers would be milling around to see what we got. It wasn't uncommon, whatsoever, to make the bid money back in fifteen minutes of selling-on-the-spot. A lot of people won't bid on job-lots when all they want is one of two pieces in the boxes. They will approach the high bidder of the lot, and see if they can buy the subject articles…..which we're only too glad to offer for sale. We've actually left sales, where we have made more money before hitting the van, than we spent at the sale. The point is, very few back-bidders wanted the spoons in the bottom of the boxes, so we just kept them "for sale" at the shop. Over the years, the volume of spoons has increased, although we haven't had too much to do with auctions since our favorite auctioneer, Wayne Rutledge died a few years back. Wayne, a former National Hockey League goaltender, with the Los Angeles Kings, worked the area from north of Huntsville to Gravenhurst, and east to west in the district, and we never missed one of his summer season sales. I started out going to his dad, Les Rutledge's auctions, when Suzanne and I were first married. He was quite a character……worth his own blog, sometime in the near future. I guess it was Les who started Suzanne and I, on the job-lot buying binge, back in the early 1980's…..and that's how far back vintage spoon gathering began. Without intending to, as an actual spoon collector, we just kept buying kitchen gadget job-lots through the Art Campbell auction years, right up to sales conducted in the early part of this new century, by Tom Henderson, of Bracebridge. Let's just say, we got many pounds of spoons in those full to over-flowing lots. Now I've finally got the book to help us figure it all out. We'll make this our "summer of the spoon," when we can set up a table outside, and dump all the ones we've got stashed all over the place, here at Birch Hollow. I've got some brushing-up to do with this new "old" book…..which by the way, you will be able to find copies of, on one of the old book exchanges online. We like the Advanced Book Exchange, and their massive out-of-print, and rare book, "shop-collective" that represents thousands of participating dealers.

I have included some graphics from this interesting book, so you can have a look at how diversified and elaborate old spoons can be. No sporks here!

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