Gone To The Beach: antique photographs

Saturday, January 31, 2015

The Last Day of January

Hi guys! Didn't January just fly by! Today is the last day of the first month, 2015. Wind chill 1*.

Yes it's cold. But today is the most perfect and glorious day. Navy blue ocean with bright white waves, hydrangea blue sky. Just beautiful. The air is intoxicating, like breathing champagne. Does cold air have extra oxygen? Seems like it does...or extra ions?

If today was a July day---all this sunshine! the beach would be teeming with people. But no, it's just me and Mo. We tried to go to the beach but the entry is still drifted over.

We peeked over the seawall and into gardens, walked about 2 miles.

koi pond

upside down icicles formed by the wind

(I have to give a lot of credit my Lands End down jacket and REI wind pants). Overhead were many flocks of geese and ducks, perhaps searching for areas that are now drifted free of snow. I had a bag of bread for the gulls, but carried it home uneaten. Sunday into Monday may be rainy and the beach will be accessible again so I can feed my friend Gully. Here he is on a much warmer day. I bet he is hungry!

It's the end of the month so it's time for our Flags of the American Revolution show and tell.
I made the rest of the sawtooth star blocks...

so I am caught up there.

Mo has a good eye for color! He brought his beloved green Gator to play on the Stars.

And the many many many stars block (George Washington's flag?) was sewed for me by my friend L.

She does such beautiful work, so fine and even.

You'll recall my friends are helping me with my applique blocks, since I had hurt my hand. The good news is, it was a lot better. Sore but not useless. The bad news is I banged it really hard last night. I almost cried. The fridge drawer was stuck, I lifted and shoved--and my hand slipped. BAM!

We were also supposed to start piecing our tops together but I was too busy with my etsy and eBay shops. Instead I finished a new pin keep make do. It's a heart made of reclaimed, recycled, hand felted wool, aged and dyed by me.

The best part is the brooch, a Civil War era memorial/ mourning pin. The photo is the sweetest little girl with hand colored rosy cheeks, a red sash, and pearl necklace..

I like to make up stories for my prims. Here goes:

A woman is sewing by candlelight, a young woman whose husband has been gone for many months. He is a cavalry captain in Mr Lincoln's army. Their child was born after her man left for the war, so she had an itinerant photographer make the special brooch with the baby's picture. He handtinted the image and set it in a tiny fine gold frame.Tonight she is finishing a blue wool coat for her husband. After she sews on his shiny brass eagle buttons, she will gently pin the brooch on the inside lapel. With God's grace the coat will reach her love, somewhere faraway, back east in Virginia, where he is stationed, awaiting yet another fight for freedom....Her foot rocks the cradle. "We're sending this to Papa, my sweet. We're sending our love."

Wouldn't this be a wonderful gift for someone who makes Civil War repro quilts? Or collects them? I
hope so....

So, tell me: How cold is it? And how do you cope? (Hunter and Kelley, you can tell how warm it is.)

love

lizzy
gone to the beach

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Flea Market

Sundays' flea market was exuberant...
I can find no other word. Maybe everyone was happy because they got to sleep late?

The drive was spectacular...on my little island, what few trees we have lost all their leaves during last week's nor'easter/ snow storm. Instead our autumn color comes from the silvery plumes of the marsh grass, the red of Virginia creeper vines, and everywhere branches glowing orange, laden with bittersweet berries.

Once I crossed the bridges, there was a protected belt of still green trees, then near the market, about 3 miles north of the ocean, the trees glowed scarlet and gold in the low autumn sun. It was just so perfect. No wonder everyone was happy.

Despite my enthusiasm, I didn't find much.

A new dealer friend flagged me down to show me a treasure he'd saved for me, a wonderful 19th century child's photo. So serious in his black dress-up suit! Perhaps as young as 2 or 3?

Last week I bought quite a few photos of children from what was then a huge stash...

Now only one partial box was left and the dealer told me he saved all the children just for me.
Such faces!

Lydia - 6 [mo.?]

Leonard Small, aged 11 months, left
Lawrence Costello 6 months, right

And the attitude!

I believe this anonymous litle girl is at the beach! I love her dress with the petticoats and her black highbuttoned shoes (poor kid)...

This little guy has his wonderful Scotty dog and quite a pretty dress. (I wasn't thrilled ath my kids said he looks like me! Though he does look like early photos of my dad. I of course was much cuter. And thinner,lol.)

Here's this weeks group:

Note especially the boys in the studio prop rowboat. With their Easter basket...

I love to study these old photos. The clothes are amazing. And I use them for my Memory collages Christmas ornaments, too:

One of the cards says "Photographs of Generals of both armies for sale'' so it was taken just post-Civil War, perhaps 1865-70.

It is the little girl, top left in the group below:

.When I enhanced my own photo her name became visible, handwritten in pencil: Ellena B. Carlisle diughter of W J & A H [?] Carlisle. Sadly no date or age though.

Then from my jewelry friend...in her junk-treasure bin (every week she sets out a tray the size of a large cookie sheet, fills it with random "stuff" watch parts, beads, rhinestone pins, charms, a ball of necklaces and chains. Old keys. Marbles, who knows what!? It's very popular, and in fact a woman was sort of hogging the space, she was very annoyed when I wanted to look too. So I just whisked out a couple treasures:

This handful was 6.oo! You can see how I repurpose the old rhinestone buckles as collage frames.

Then this beautiful, though slightly shabby bird of Paradise. Note the "ruby" eye and enamelled tail feathers. c.1910.

Tiniest little tin box imaginable! Barely 1'' x 5/8". Intriguing---shall it become an amulet? a message charm? A secret wish locket? Two collage charms?

If the Cartier watch, below, is real it was one heck of a bargain! If it's fake, well I m still thrilled because it looks very real to me. My watch guy will get it running for me and check the serial number. Either way I'm happy! Though actually if it is real I'll sell it on eBay---and I want it!