A Light Up Above!

French Iron Screen Porch.

Russian, Downstairs Entrance hall, Originally burned Candles, 18th Century.

Pink Beaded Italian, Main Bath

Italian, Porcelain, Capa-  De -Monte, Guest Room.

   It is Sunday night, Mothers Day.  I worked in my shop and before I went to work this morning, I picked lots of lily of he valley from my garden, bundled it and tied several with some sweet pink bows. I had a lady with a walker and her daughter first thing and I thought, ain't got room for that walker. Well she turned out to be the sweetest thing and her daughter bought some stuff, so I gave each of them one of my bundles of lily of the valley. I think it made there day and after that it made mine. I gave away all of them ,before the day was out. In the mean time, the whole shop smelled of there wonderful scent. What ever made me think of it, I do not know? But it seemed to work and I had a really good  and much needed day at the shop.I went home and had some dinner and mowed the yard and headed out to walk Sissy Dog for the last time and thought I would come back to the shop and do a Blog. I am afraid I hurried and the pictures are not the best, OH WELL. Better ones next time, I promise!
   I have been asked by several followers to do a blog about the chandeliers at, My Old Historic House. So here goes. I am afraid my chandeliers are all newer. I had a slight budget problem and could not afford the price tag of the real old Astral or Gas light chandeliers,that would be proper for the age of my house(1845-1860), so I oped for the $900ish ones ,verses the $9,000ish ones. I had a shop in St.Louis for years and one of the main things I sold was chandeliers. Old ones, used ones, vintage and yes, even new ones. I have always had a passion for chandeliers. I saved my money when I was about 14 and ordered my first one from the Sears catalog.It was crystal and had glass shade and glass prisms and ropes. I think it had 8 lights. My Mother thought I was strange, but she always encouraged me to be creative, so when it came in the mail, we hung it in the dining room at the old farm house where I grew up. I paid $69.00 plus shipping. I sold  that same type chandelier, over and over in my shop for around $250-$350. It was a smart investment and I did not even realize it.

Vintage Powder Room Chandelier.

Purple Beaded Italian in the Purple Bed room.

Cranberry one of a pair, double parlors.

Dining Room, 5 foot tall.

    The chandelier has been a symbol of luxury and an exhibition of wealth since the 15th century. The powerful perception of grandeur lent it by Kings, has proven timeless. In the 21st century, a chandelier still breathes an aristocratic air to any room.
    The earliest Gallic designs, those iron circles of the dark Ages, have proved with perfect achievement of balance and austere beauty that the same styles endure, ignoring the passage of time, even through to the electric age, when the basic candle-burning design is obsolete.
   The decorative arts, not to mention candles, remained almost exclusively in the hands of the aristocracy until the 18th century and the arrival of the Industrial  Revolution. So to trace the history of the chandelier styles, one has to follow the Kings.All candle holders, including hanging ones ,were called candlelbra. A chandelier with crystals and drops was called a luster, the same word used to mean splendor.The gilt metal chandelier decorated with rock crystal would soon become the epitome of luxury, a must-have for Europe's most illustrious palaces and cha'-teaux.. 17th century advances in glass making would give luster.makers  a more affordable way to add light and sparkle to their creations. However, over the centuries, many lighting manufacturers continued to produce a few special fixtures hung with rock crystal..Makers soon began to make molded glass drops and pendants with the specific goal of looking like rock crystal.Soon Venetian glass masters were adding there touches and a whole new world opened up for chandelier makers.Flowers of color and feather like spikes decorated chandeliers.
    Early chandeliers were all lite with candles. And that was not all glamour.  Hundreds of candles created heat, dripping wax was dangerous, a smoke discolored walls and made a foul smell. Because of the dripping wax, people began to dance around the edge of a ball room instead of the center and that tradition continues today.

French Iron, Screen Porch.

Russian 18th century, down stairs entrance hall.

Pink Beaded Italian, Main Bath. 

  Iron, brass and bronze frames were soon changed over to glass. This came about in the second half of the 19th century. Hollow arms were soon made to accommodate gas lines and electric wires.And then even porcelain was made into chandeliers.From companies  like Sevres and Capa De Monte. Chandlers were hung in almost every room ,even the garden room or sun porch.

    Robert Adams created a chandelier style that would influence all Georgian crystal chandeliers and he was one of the first to make a solid color chandelier of all red, blue, green or amber glass.
   At the end of the 18th century, France introduces the brass bird cage frame, hung with prisms, drops and glass ropes. This style is very highly looked  for on todays market and is the style of French chandelier that one things of for there homes today.
    Russian chandeliers were known for their lightness and delicacy, but later the styles became heavier,more opaque and dense with crystal.

Older, Vintage Chandelier with blown glass bubbles, guest room.

Older French with Cranberry, dressing room.

Italian, Metal, My Bath Room.

    Today chandeliers are for almost every one, rich, poor and the middle class. The prices have come down and there is a price range for almost every budget, The Shabby Chic style , brought a big interest back in buying, selling, hanging, decorating with and collecting crystal chandeliers of all types. Home Depot and other do-it-yourself stores even carry some fun and affordable styles. I have to draw the line with the ones that have plastic prisms. I say it should at least be glass. Chandeliers on todays market can be found at yard sales, Craig's list and resale shops for all different prices. They really make a room and I could not imagine my life with out them. I hope you enjoy my collection as much as I have enjoyed collecting them. Come by any time for a tour and I will leave the," lights up above", on and Sissy Dog will meet you with a jump and a kiss. SPARKLE_SPARKLE!!!

Red Beaded, Pewter, Italian, upstairs, Entrance Hall Landing.

French Black Iron and Huge Prisms, Library

The June,2011 issue of Victorian Homes magazine , with a 12 page article about,My Old Historic House, is out on news stands now. I have just ordered more copies and if you are having trouble finding them, just email me at cottrellprissy@aol.com  and I can mail it. They are $5.00 and shipping is $2.00. You can send me a check. Thanks, I hope you get a copy and   see me in print.Richard

LINKING TO:

http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com/2011/05/wow-us-wednesdays.html

Get out the good Dishes, Preacher is coming to dinner!

 

 Hand made, Mary Alice Hadley pottery , from Louisville, Kentucky.

Blue Danbute from Lipper International..

Rose Meade by Mikasa .

Japanese Mix and Match Imari from Newman Marcus.

  I grew up on a farm in Missouri. I had 5 brothers and one sister. If you know anything about farm life,it can be wonderful, but also hard. My mother cooked 3 big meals a day and did laundry for 9 and still had time and energy to go out and help in the fields when needed. Sometimes during harvest times she would bring the food to the field, so we could eat and get back to work.There was no time for fancy table settings and fine china.  We went to this little Baptist church down the road from our house. We had a traveling minister who came and spent the day on Sundays. There was Sunday school, preaching service, training union and Sunday night service, some where in between all that, the preacher had to eat Sunday dinner. The people of the church took turns and feed the preacher. It usually happened only once a year, bit it was something. My mother went into a tale spin. The house had to be cleaned from top to bottom. Table cloth washed and starched and ironed. Good dishes(china ) brought out from the dish pantry and if it was spring, summer or fall, flowers were picked from the yard. It was an experience that changed my life. I soon learned the art of table setting and the love for the finery that goes on the table. I guess I just have a large right side of the brain, maybe it is the artist in me. What ever it is,I love fine china, silver and crystal. I had so many sets of china at one time it was almost sick. After moving them around time after time, I knew I had to down size. I have managed to keep 4 different groups and I love using them. Some are for every day and other are for when the "Preacher" is a coming!The Blog post today is all about that china. I hope you enjoy seeing them as much as I enjoy using them. I like to use small flower arrangements over big ones. Often having one by each plate. I love to use odd items for vases,usually things that one would not normally use for a vase. Like a cow creamer, juice glass or other unusual items. I perfer garden flowers to florist flowers. I would never use fake flowers. If no flowers are available I often use greenery from the shrubs. I love pine and holly and magnolia tree leaves in the winter.I consider myself a colorful person , so I am drawn to loud and colorful china.I know it is not proper to use colored napkins on a formal table setting, but I like breaking the rules. Besides, colored napkins are a lot easier to keep clean and stain free. I mostly do not like things that all match, so I like to mix and match. Some times match works just as well however. Have fun with you table settings and let loose and enjoy life.

All pieces have hand painted farm scenes.

I use my cow creamer with garden flowers at every plate setting.

Dinner on the Screen Porch.

 Mary Alice Hadley Pottery. M.A. Hadley pottery has been hand crafted since 1940. Owing to the abundancof ancient clay deposits in the region, Louisville has been a center of pottery making for generations. Out of this proud tradition, Mary Alice Hadley established one of Louisville' s most iconic and well know potteries. The story began in the early 1900's. M.A. was born into a family of clay tile makers,where her knowledge of working with clay first developed. With an interest in art and design, she became widely recognized as a painter.In the late 1930's M. A. began melding her artist talent with her knowledge of clay ware. The result was a set of custom dishes that caused such a stir among her friends , that the idea for a business was born. Orders soon came from all over the country. The company was formed in 1940. In 1944 a building was purchased and became the headquarters. The business prospered, attracting collectors from across the nation and around the world. Warm and whimsical designs are loved for more than 70 years. M.A. died in 1965. Her husband ran the business till 1979 when it was sold to a Louisville couple who still runs it today using M. A.'s original designs.

My family often give me items for gifts. This set comes with many matching pieces.

I like to use the matching juice glasses as small vases by each place setting.

Yes, even matching silver ware.

I love to use garden flowers when available.

Blue Danube by Lipper International. Originally started as Lipper and Mann in 1946. As an importer of glass and ceramic items. These items were imported from Czechoslovakia and other European countries. They had a show room in New York and sold merchandise to leading department store, independent shops, jewelery stores and home furnishing stores. Merchandise was shipped from over seas to warehouses in New York. In 1947 they began importing from Japan, including dinnerware sets in porcelain. The Blue Danube pattern was developed in 1951. It has been one of the best sellers of all times. It was some what copied after the Blue Onion pattern from the Meisen factories in Germany. 

Rosemead  by Mikasa Japan.

I love to use my antique cranberry pieces with this china. I have several small tussie mussie holders I use with garden flowers at each place setting.

Rosemead by Mikasa. China companies  have been naming there patterns Rosemead for years. And so did Mikasa in 1987. They made this popular pattern between the years of 1987 to 1997. Mikasa in China is not a manufacturer per se, but a distributor that has cultivated relationships with more than 150 manufacturers.The Mikasa  name is often linked  to other companies,The Mikasa  company was established in America in 1948, in New Jersey. There is a wide variety of fine and bone china available. Today in little more tha 50 years, Mikasa has made it's mark in the field of tabletop and home home accessories in the United States. The Rosemead pattern is now only available through china matching services. 

Japanese  Mix and Match Imari from Nieman Marus.

I love these big blue and white Imari service plates. For BBQ I often use them as plates as they hold so much and keep the table cloth clean.

Japanese Imari  Mix and Match by Nieman Marcus. I am sure this china is made in Japan and sold through the Nieman Marcus departments stores. I bought mine in St.Louis from there store there. There are about 12 different patterns. Each piece is made in all patterns. I chose 3 different plate patterns, salad plates all the same, cups and saucers to match the plates and soup bowls all the same. Butter pats, rice bowls, and mint dishes each of a different pattern.I love using this china as it makes a fun and colorful table. I find some of these pieces at estate sales. But, they are all still available at Nieman Marcus stores everywhere. 

I am linking this post to tablescape Thursdays at http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/   Please drop by and enjoy all the fun.

My Mother- the farmers wife and Mother of 7. Greatest Mother on earth. Taught me the value of a good friend, love of life and to be a Christian.Treat others the way you want to be treated, if I heard that once, I heard it a million times. My Mother has gone to heaven where she is teaching Sunday School, doing charity work and helping some one everyday.Happy Mothers day, MOM!!!I still love you and miss you every day. 

Happy Mothers Day to all MOMS out there in Blogland.