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5 Tips to Look Out For When Shopping For Vintage Ephemera Online

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Online shopping has opened a whole new world of convenience and ease to shoppers and that includes vintage ephemera shoppers as well.  There is a whole lot of shoppers that are looking for either mixed media collage kits for their personal art work or elements they can add to their hybrid scrapbooking kits.

Two of the great places that I really enjoy is Etsy and Ebay, for finding vintage paper ephemera  that is not readily available in my local thrift stores ( or would take up too much of my time to find) or craft store.  While all this is good news to both shoppers and sellers, there are a few caveats you should watch out for.

1.   Know Your Purpose for Buying Vintage Paper Goods

If you are buying to collect actual vintage ephemera to add to your collection from an online seller, then you are going to want to check the authenticity of the item being sold and the reputation of the seller or online shop.  Your reasons for buying will vastly differ from the vintage ephemera buyer that wants to use the items for collage, crafting or other personal use.

2.  Check the Reputation of the Seller

In general, you can check the reputation of the seller by checking the feedback on either Etsy or Ebay online stores.  A good seller usually has very good to excellent feedback.  Try to discount that isolated negative buyer’s feedback, if the rest of the written feedback is consistently positive.  Sometimes a lower number of feedback, means the person just started selling online and is working on their online reputation.  Back to the super negative buyer, there are some buyers almost no one can please.

3. Buy One or Two items to Evaluate Your Buying Experience

As a rule, I don’t usually buy more than one or two items from some one I have not bought from before.  Why?  It’s just safer to make an initial smaller money investment and see how your seller is going to follow through on the whole transaction.  If you are happy with the transaction experience and the product, chances are you will be a returning customer and that will make both you and the seller very happy!

4.   Calculate the Difference Between Shipping Costs for A Similar Product

If you can buy an item from a local dealer, then you are more than likely to save a substantial amount of money in shipping costs.  You can narrow down your searches on both Etsy and Ebay to check for items from local or at least in-state vendors.  If you do buy something from another country, then make sure you spend the little extra for insurance on anything over the amount you can’t tolerate to lose.  Your threshold may vary but get that insurance, you will not regret it.

5.  Buy Items Off Season

Just like brick and mortar stores, online sellers want to move their seasonal merchandise.  Try to get a portion of your money and allocate it for off season items, this is where you can get enormous savings on online items as you are buying winter items when everyone else is thinking sunglasses, and shorts!  It’s a tip I shared in a previous post and to show you I follow my own tips,  I have a few vintage items and their  images I would like to share with my readers!

I purchased a couple of vintage mixed media ephemera packs from an online seller on Etsy.  One was a French ephemera pack and another was a Christmas pack.

Here’s the French mini-packet…

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Here are some of the contents of the French packet… It included a music sheet, dictionary page, alphabet card, an engraved illustration, French Dennison stickers, a piece of Victorian rose paper scrap and a few newer or reproduction items that the seller included in the pack…

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Here’s a close-up picture of some of the elements…

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Woo-hoo!  Wasn’t that awesome?  There were 17 items in the total packet. I didn’t include all of the items in the picture.    I don’t know about you,  but sometimes I like looking at the products as much as I like buying them and using them.  They are like virtual eye candy!

But wait…there’s more (don’t I sound like a commercial?).  Here is the Christmas packet…

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This was a larger mixed media kit, with 36 elements in all and both packages were shipped in 8.5″ by 11″ mailers.  I call these packages “happy mail” because that is what they do is make me all warm and fuzzy inside.  The following pictures are the various elements that were included in the kit:

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Here is a picture of several of the number elements that I had been looking for, there was a combination of actual vintage items (they are the ones that show a patina of age and wear) and it seems newer or reproduction items…

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And the following picture includes several of the vintage amusement park tickets and store elements, I had been searching for as well …for example, vintage milk caps.

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All in all, it was a teeny mini-haul.

I didn’t mean to rhyme, but as you can imagine I am getting a little giddy writing about these items.  As for their intended purpose, well I will be revealing that in a future blog post as a new blog feature!

I hope you enjoyed the eye candy and check back as I share more fun vintage ephemera items as I find them.

Please don’t hesitate to leave me a comment about the items that I bought…do any of them bring back memories?  And if you like, answer the question in the poll and I will reveal what I paid in US dollars after we get in a few results.  Thanks so much!

 

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4 Creative St. Patrick’s Day Holiday Decor Ideas With Vintage Flair

Nothing like another holiday, in order to give you an excuse for vintage holiday decorating.  What is the point of collecting vintage items if you can’t display them and use them for celebrations?  So, just wanted to acknowledge all the St. Patrick’s Day celebration that you see on the internet and other social media.  The other images I have included, provide ideas for displaying your vintage cutlery and tableware that is just lovely.

Here’s a round up of a few pins, I have collected on my “Holiday Decor” board on Pinterest that will spurcreative ideas  for Irish St. Patrick’s Day decor with a vintage feel and using some of the  free vintage postcards that are available on the Internet.

I think it’s the mercury glass and chandelier print on the mantel that I like so much. The sign has just the right touch of crafty diy feel mixed with a few formal decor items.

I really like the shabby chic(or distressed) decor in this next idea, and of course the vintage cutlery, green majolica and tablescape. The original pinner is a self-confessed plate addict.

This next pin includes the actual vintage postcards I found online to create my header image.  Here the pinner is using it to create a cute holiday home decor item.

This next idea, I really like and will probably use it with different holidays.  Just change the vintage cup color to your holiday color theme.

Hope you like these pins and they inspire you to get you celebrating holidays with all your vintage collectibles.

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Vintage Circus Collectibles – Collectibles Worthy of A Smile

 

Clown figurines  and other vintage circus collectibles are a popular collecting area for many antique and vintage collectors.  Here’s a little history on the origin of clowns…Clowns have always been a part of many cultures, and the art of clowning has existed for many centuries.

Although clowns in the past, were usually found in the courts of kings and queens ( I imagine everybody needed a laugh from the important matters of state that were part of daily court life) clowns can be traced as far back as the courts of Pharoah.  A pygmy clown performed as a jester in the court of Pharaoh Dadkeri-Assi during Egypt’s Fifth Dynasty about 2500 B.C.  and court jesters have performed in China since 1818 B.C.

When the Spanish Conqueror, Cortez , conquered the Aztecs in what is now the state of Mexico, Cortez was surprised to discover clowns in the court of Montezuma.  It is said that dwarf clowns, and hunchbacked buffoons were among the “wonders” that Cortez took back to Europe and presented to Pope Clement VII.

However, these clowns and other clowns of that time period, with their outrageous dress and crazy antics often wielded power and influence in royal courts, and their role varied from the clowns we know today.

Our modern day clowns can give credit to Joseph Grimaldi (1778-1837) who elevated the art of clowning to a theatrical fine art.  He is credited for moving away from the harlequin type of clown of that day and was the first to use whiteface in his performances.  A superb and engaging entertainer, he developed elaborate tricks and special effects.

Around 1874, two entertainers James McIntyre and Tom Heath developed the tramp characterization with which most people are familiar with.

Although, there is controversy over the exact origins of the tramp clown some say they represented  the traveling “hoe boys,” or itinerant farm workers, who rode the rails from one town to another, often in rag tag clothing and covered with soot. They were known as hoe boys (or hobos).  Famous clowns among this type of character are Emmett Kelly Jr. as “Weary Willie” the son of an equally famous clown Emmett Kelly Sr.

Emmett Kelly was a clown whose fame had become so notable, he was known throughout the world and was designated as one of the World’s most famous clowns.  In 1972 Emmett Kelly, Jr., with help from his manager, established his own national circus.   His circus was the only circus to perform at the White House, not just once but twice—once in 1972 and again in 1973 during the annual White House Easter Egg Roll.

Emmet Kelly, Jr.’s image and the image of other notable clowns are often available in prints, figurines and circus playbills and there is an active collecting community in this hugely popular genre.

Companies such as Lladro, Murano Glass , Flambro and other porcelain companies sell clown and harlequin figurines and other items that range in price from several dollars to a couple of thousand. In addition, there are many groups that collect paper and other circus collectibles from all around the world, some of these groups can be located on Flickr.

However, figurines are not the only objects that circus collectors purchase.  According to Kovels, an antique price guide and collectibles publisher, circus collectors  “look for posters, programs, popcorn bags, paper fans, toys, food tickets and pennants, the older or more unusual the better.

A Barnum & Bailey’s  circus toy (circa 1900s)  is a tin wind-up truck made by Strauss Toys of Germany.  It’s 9 inches long and sold for $360 at a Morphy auction in Pennsylvania.

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In my opinion, I find clown and circus collectibles beautiful and fun as they bring back fond memories of going to the circus when I was a child.  However, there are some people who fear clowns perhaps as a result of so many horror movies that have typified clowns as scary and repulsive.

In addition, not only are clown figurines popular but clown or circus ephemera collectibles are  also very popular, either for party decor, altered art or other DIY craft projects.

In any case, whatever your wallet size may be, you’ll be sure to find a clown figurine suitable to your pocketbook and budget– a memory of a clown or an event that made you laugh!

 

Credits:

Images via Flickr = Double M ~ Mary Margret

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