Monthly Archives: June 2012

Essexware

eBay Listings, , ,

Tonight I thought I’d share a few pictures of some Essexware mugs I currently have listed on eBay..

Mid Century Pottery

Now without going into to much detail Essexware was a ‘brand’ of pottery dating from the late 1940’s through until 1957 when unfortunately their buildings/studio’s were burnt down during bush fires. The owners decided to return home to England after losing everything and cease creating these beautiful pieces of pottery which has ultimately lead to Essexware becoming so collectable.

If you look at the mugs above they are beautifully decorated with Aboriginal scenes and art and although the colours are not overly bright, they combine so well to really make the images stand out. All of this was hand painted of course!

For more detailed information on Essexware I highly recommend visiting 2 blogs I found during my research. The first being http://essexwareponderings.wordpress.com/ whilst the second is http://www.rameking.blogspot.com.au/2012/02/essexware.html

Got A Light?

General,

Picked up these cigars at a local market a few weeks ago.

Unopened vintage cigars

Now I’m not a smoker however when I came across these cigars and saw that they were in their original cigar box/packaging I had to ‘take a punt’.

We have 2 different brands. One being an unopened package of Dutch Masters ‘President’ Cigars. The others being ‘Flor Fina Exceptionales – Exquisitos – SENATOR’. The seal/box has been opened, however all cigars are still there. I must say I really like the fact that the Dutch Masters are still in there original packaging, especially considering the packaging is plastic wrapping/cardboard.

It’s a little hard to accurately date them seeing I don’t know a whole lot about cigars but I would guess they possibly date from the 1970’s?

All in all both are interesting pieces of tobacciana which in turn has helped to broaden my knowledge just that little bit more!

During my research I came across Cigars Australia website (which you can find @ http://www.cigarsaustralia.com.au/) It has a wealth of information along with an active forum which is always great.

More Mid Century Furniture!

Upcoming Items, , , ,

Quick little preview on 2 beautiful pieces of Mid Century design furniture.

Mid Century Coffee Table Retro Telephone Table

The first is a ‘John Grimes’ Telephone table/seat. This piece is in as new condition and I doubt it has had very much use at all over the last 40 – 50 years. Beautiful combination of solid teak/teak veneer with a contrasting bright white vinyl seat.

The second is a small Parker Coffee table. Very clever design which gives the impression from front on that the table top is floating about the base. Made from coach wood it is finished in a shellac style coating. The table has a date stamp underneath reading 6 AUG 1958 which is just before Parker released its range of ‘Nordic’ style furniture. They did however use this same design in that range but used teak, instead of coach wood.

Early Snelling TV/Easy/Arm Chair?

General, ,

I’ve had this Easy/Arm/TV Chair for a little while now. You could say that I ‘saved’ it from being turned into landfill!

The thing that instantly caught my eye was the boomerang-shaped sides and arm supports. Very Snelling like!

After doing some research and talking to a few people I still have not been able to link it to Snelling. From the materials used in the manufacture of the chair I would date it pre 1950 which is before Snellings range of famous web designed chairs. Perhaps he experimented with a few different styles before reaching his final design? Or perhaps it has no link to him at all. Or, get ready for it………….he used the design from this chair and modified it to create his own range of chairs!

No matter who manufactured it, this is a beautifully designed chair that deserves to be restored to it’s former glory, and thats exactly what I am planning to do!

Mid Century chair

Changing Styles

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Just recently I have had in my possession 2 early sideboards/buffets. One I have a previous blog post on, being a 1950’s Parker Buffet. Since that post the piece has been restored to working order and will be coming up for auction in the coming weeks. The second one was a 1920/30’s Oak Sideboard/Buffet.

Both are beautiful pieces and originally manufactured for the same purpose – to be placed in a kitchen/dining room next to a matching dining room suite and house various cutlery, plates, dishes, jugs and so on.

Whilst doing the ‘photo shoot’ for both pieces I thought it would be beneficial to place both buffets side by side and take a few comparison shots to show the different styles of both pieces.

Comparison of 2 buffets. One Art Deco. One Mid Century

I can think of a few more different styles that could fit both before, in between and after these 2 pieces. The 1940’s style buffet was a boxy, dark veneered square bottomed piece.  The 1960’s style Buffet was a rectangular unit strongly influenced by Danish design, sitting on pokey style legs (not splayed like the above Parker buffet) and manufactured in a teak veneer.

As I come across all these smaller, different style buffets I’ll be sure to add them to the blog as a reference for different design and styles.

If you see one you like on our site or in a blog post be sure to get in contact as the Oak Buffet has already found a new home.