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The Antique Center and
International Antique Design Center Newsletter | November/December 2010 | |
 Greetings~
The holidays are almost here and we're getting ready in our usual festive fashion! Trees are getting decorated and the whole Mill is dressing up for a happy holiday season.
Our annual Holiday Open House is the weekend before Thanksgiving ~ November 20 & 21. We'll have free refreshments at both the Antique Center and the International Antique Design Center on Saturday night. Come out and share a toast with our staff members and dealers. On Sunday, bring your antiques and collectables to the Antique Center for complimentary appraisal by our experts
 | | Happy Chanukah! (December 1-9) |
between 2pm & 5pm. It's always a good time!
Take advantage of the great prices that weekend as well. Most of our dealers will be offering 15% off all weekend long...just in time for all of your holiday shopping!
Enjoy!
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 Holiday Open House
Saturday, November 20 & Sunday, November 21
saturday
Complimentary Wine & Cheese
4pm - 8pm | The Antique Center
Complimentary Champagne & Chocolate
4pm - 8pm | The International Antique Design Center
sunday
The Antique Center Roadshow
2pm - 5pm | The Antique Center
Jewelry, Glass, Linens, Furniture, Toys, Watches, Porcelain, Pottery, Books, Paintings and More
Our experts will be on hand to tell you "What It's Worth"
Plus 15% Off All Weekend
(participating dealers)
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 The match brought much improvement to the process of making fire when it was invented in 1836 in France. It proved to be a bit of a hazard as well though because friction or hitting could ignite a fire. Therefore, the match safe, or vesta, was invented.
These containers took many forms and were made of many different materials such as wood, aluminum, tin, ivory, silver, brass, gold and papier-mâché. Early designs from the 1880's became more and more elaborate, taking forms of animals such as dogs, fish, frogs, snakes, cats, lions, and rabbits to name a few. They immediately became very popular. Match safes usually have a rough surface upon which the match is struck and some even have a compartment for the used match. Vestas were a gentleman's accessory and it was not unusual to see a beautiful young lady's portrait adorning the match safe. In fact, many have ladies in various poses painted on them - usually painted enamel on silver. England was a major source for vestas as were other European countries. They were also made in China, Japan, and the United States.
Match safes ranged in price from a few pennies to those of great value and expense. In 1897, the Sears Roebuck catalogue offered match safes at 10 cents and 25 cents. By 1922, the cost has risen to 50 cents. By the time of the First World War, prices had settled in at around one dollar.
At the same time, Russian manufacturers were offering vestas in cloisonné enamel. Carl Faberge's workshop produced exquisite examples as did the French workshops. The Victorian and Edwardian periods gave us many  outstanding examples which are now valued as rare and precious works of art.
The center vesta shown here is William Ewart Gladstone, four- time Prime Minister of England who died in 1898. He was just one of the persons of celebrity who were memorialized on vestas. Some of the others were Queen Victoria, Christopher Columbus, Bonnie Prince Charles, Dr. David Livingstone, Napoleon III, Grover Cleveland, Ulysses Grant, and Bismark.
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 | | Soccer Leg (Football); ca.1884; sold in Birmingham 2010 for more than $800 |
 | Advertising Vesta; Tim & Co.; ca. 1890; valued at $700 - $800
 | | Punch; ca. 1880's, Silver Over Copper; valued at around $300-$400 |
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 | | Frog; rare figure; brass; ca.1890; $450 |
 | | Car (open); valued at about $400 |
 | | Suit of Armor "Hand"; ca. 1880's; silver over copper; valued at $300 - $400 |
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 "A number of years ago, here in Baltimore, we found a sterling match safe in the form of an intertwined snake which appears on the edges of each side of the safe. On one side are the date '1901' and the initials 'M.W.S.'. In 1991, in a local antique shop, we found a match safe in exactly the same design. It also has the same  inscriptions - the date '1901' and the initials 'M.W.S.'. On the other side of each are different initials which are perhaps the receivers of these most unusual match safes. How often could this happen?" -- Hal Hamilton
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Spotlight Dealer
Hamilton House Antiques
 | | Empire Lion; Victorian |
Pat and Hal Hamilton met as students at the Philadelphia Museum College of Art in 1950. After completing four years of courses together, they married in 1954.
They started their antiques business, Hamilton House, forty-two years ago in Cockeysville, Maryland. Over the years, Pat and Hal have done antique shows up and down the East Coast, from Brimfield, Massechusetts to Florida. These days, they continue to do local antique shows - many at the Timonium Fair Grounds. Hamilton House Antiques has also had two locations on Baltimore's Antique Row, Howard Street.
 | Monkey; ca. 1880; $425 (pictured with Dragon and Car
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Hamilton House has been here at the Antique Center at Historic Savage Mill for 18 years and you may know Pat as a long valued member of our staff.
Vestas, or match safes, are just one of Pat and Hal's personal collections.
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Vintage Recipe
Plum Pudding
from The International Jewish Cook Book; 1919
Soak bread
Press out every drop of water and work into this the suet, the yolks of the eggs, the currants, raisins, citron, syrup, brandy, flour and the stiffly-beaten whites of eggs last
Boil four hours in greased melon mold
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A Sad Passing
 We Say Goodbye to Margaux Brown
We are sad to have to share the passing of a dear friend and long-time Antique Center dealer, Margaux Brown. Beside being an avid antique collector, designer and lover of all things unique, Margeaux, a former teacher, was known for her deep interest in and knowledge of a wide array of subjects.
One of her many keen interests was kite flying. As a matter of fact, she was the first woman president of the American Kitefliers Association and a founding member of the Mama-sans, the first international women's Rokakku kite battle team. She and husband Bevan, retired Lt. Col., U.S.Air Force, have an enduring friendship with the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum staff. Together, they organized and supported the Smithsonian's annual Kite Festival and workshops.
Margaux is survived by her husband, Bevan; her children, Shelly, Stephanie, and Vincent; seven beloved grandchildren; and a brother and sister.
She will always be remembered fondly at the Antique Center for her expertise in many areas as well as for her wit and the many entertaining stories of her fascinating experiences. Margaux's absence here has been deeply felt. |
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