My crystal spear point prisms – c.1900

These are 115 spear point prisms; each one is individually hand-cut and polished. The prisms are original and made in Bohemian and Baccarat crystal.

There are many different types of prisms in the Victorian period; the most common is a triangular shaped prism, sometimes referred to as a colonial prism and the spear point triangular prism, sometimes referred to as Prince Albert style. These can be straight or tapered and cut with various designs.
The Chandeliers and other related light fixtures were decorated with complex arrays of crystal or glass prisms to illuminate a room with refracted light.

Albert’ pendants

Prince Albert (1819 – 1861)

Albert was the husband and consort of Queen Victoria and a significant influence on his wife. She never recovered from his premature death.

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert opening the Ball at Buckingham Palace.

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My Singer Model 15-88 sewing machine

My Singer machine was made in Clydebank, Scotland in 1937. The Singer serial number is EB 202.824. This is an oscillating shuttle machine Model 15-88 and the scroll face is more ornate.

The “engraving” is what collectors referred to as “scroll face”. Right around 1950, Singer adopted a more “modern” striated design for the face plate and covers.

EB numbered Singers were made in Clydebank, Scotland, 1937-1939.

Scottish History

The American sewing machine firm Singer Manufacturing Co opened an office in Glasgow, Scotland in 1856. The huge demand for their product encouraged them to set up a workshop to assemble sewing machines near George Square in 1867 and then to build a factory in James Street, Bridgeton, in the 1870s which produced 54,000 machines the following year. The building of the Singer factory in Kilbowie, later Clydebank, started on the 8th May 1882 and it was opened in 1885. The floor area was nearly one million square feet and seven thousand workers were employed producing on average 13.000 machines a week. It was the largest sewing machine factory in the World, finally closing in 1980.

Face Plates and Backovers

Singer Miscellaneous

Factory at Kilbowie - 1901

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My Bimini cocktail picks in mercury holder

This is a wonderfull and colourful set of art deco cocktail glass from the Bimini Werkstatte Glassworks in Vienna (Austria) in the 1930s. There are eight cocktail pick birds (one bird is missing) in a mercury stork. The pieces are all hand-blown glass. Like all Bimini objects this one is unsigned.

The Bimini Glass

The Bimini Glass Co. was formed in 1923 by Fritz Lampl in Vienna, Austria. Fritz Lampl and his brother-in-laws Arthur and Josef Berger, architects, started Bimini Glass. In 1938, Fritz Lampl emigrated to England where he re-established Bimini Ltd. in London and changed the name to Orplid Glass. Originally the pieces had a paper label “Bimini” but these labels are rarely seen anymore. Some labels say “Made in Germany”. Often times this glass is referred to as Lauscha and is difficult to determine the difference.

Josephine Baker Figure by Fritz Lampl - 1930

In 1925 the African-American dancer Josephine Baker escaped the restrictions of the racially-divided United States to become a sensation in Paris. Her erotic dances and risqué costumes, which included a skirt made of bananas, found instant success amongst Parisian audiences enraptured with all things exotic, as too did her menagerie of pet animals which included Chiquita the cheetah. Baker became a design icon in her own right and appeared on many objects of the period. In this glass figure she is wearing her signature banana skirt.

Josephine Baker"Pearls and Feathers" Lego Aguirre Personal Collection

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My italian straw hat – c.1900

This is an genuine spring straw hat, made in Italy, and beautifully adorned with flowers of that period. Circa 1900

Straw Hats Examples

The Straw Industry in Italy

The demand for straw plait was driven by fashion. By the 1800s, the Italians had the largest European straw industry employing 80,000 people. The industry was centred in villages around Florence, but there were other centres in the Piedmont and around Venice.

Today…

Gallery of Art

 

Pierre Auguste Renoir - Luncheon at the Boating Party

 

 

Pierre-Auguste Renoir - French Impressionist Painter, (1841-1919)

Pimenov Jury – Russian painter (1903-1977)

George Romney (1734-1802) English portrait painter - Emma Hart in a Straw Hat

Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun (1755–1842)

 

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