Take a Shine to the Lusters!

Double hung, ruby red with enamel decorations.

Cranberry with white overlay.

English  pink Bristol with painted portraits.

Hand pained English Bristol.

White French Opaline Glass

   Starting way back in the 17th century in France, a single glass prism was called a,"Luster".  Candle holders, hung with prisms in the Victorian days of 1850-1890, were also called, "Lusters".What we all call Lusters today are: mantle or table decorations,or a pedestal vase, hung with prisms. Lusters are elaborate candle holders produced in pairs to set on a mantle,sideboard or table.It's a basic candlestick with a glass bowl that the candle sets in, circled with prisms. In theory the prisms,(lusters), helped to produce more light from the candles. The prisms got there name of lusters, from the colors they would produce when struck by sunlight. Kinda like a rainbow. How many of you remember the movie, Pollyanna? They used prisms to make rainbows and even sold them as rainbow makers.
    It was considered the height of elegant living to own at least one pair of lusters, during the Victorian years. They were always expensive and were usually found in only the more prominent homes. This is still true today, with some of the more wealthy home owners having several pair. ( not always ,as I have several pair and have no money at all).

   Lusters  are believed to have first been produced in the British Isles and New England. Later many other European countries, more spicifically Bohemia, which has a rich history of glass making. The glass bowl is sometimes cut with a variety of designs. Etching and painting were also used to decorate a simple glass bowl. Lusters were produced in both color and clear glass, with red being the most popular.
    Lusters with only one row of prisms are the most common,while the double hung prisms are rarer and usually more costly. I have seen in a museum and several books some lusters with 3 to 5 rows of prisms. I have never seen any for sale. If I had, I  would have robbed a bank to try and buy them.
   Lots of glass makers have made lusters. Moser was one of the more important ones and is highly sought after by collectors today.
   When I had my antique Shop in St.Louis, I always had a lots of lusters for sale. I think the most I ever had at once was 20 pair. When I would sale a pair I would be glad, yet sad at the same time.Kinda like being,"luster deprived". I think the hardest color to find is the colbalt blue. I have had all colors, including, peach,gold,mind green and yellow. I had one customer that came to my shop about once  a year, she was from Colorado and her daughter was attending St.Louis University. She always bought at least one pair and usually 2 or 3. Sometimes you can find them for a pretty good price. I remember finding a pair of Robin egg blue ,Bristol ,ones at a country flea market. I almost didn't stop, as it looked like junk. But right there set those blue luster. Bingo.

Unusual cut prisms.

Beautiful enamel work.

    I have managed to keep a few pair for, my Old Historic house. My favorite are pink English Bristol. I would love to have a cranberry pair, but they are among the hardest to find and usually cost the most. I do have a pair of cranberry with white overlays that I am very proud of. I had them in the shop, and when I was going to close it, I took them home. They are not the oldest in the world, but are very pretty. You can kinda tell the newer ones, as the glass is thicker. The older ones are very thin. But then, the cut glass ones are thicker, as the glass had to be thick to cut. Years of experience will make all this easier.
   Lots of glass makers produce lusters today. They have molded glass prisms, instead of hand cut. The glass is thick and heavy and for some reason, they never get the scale right. They are usually very expensive and it is almost cheaper to look around for and old ones. You might expect to pay any where from $150 to $1600 a pair of old lusters. I have seem some for even higher prices, but I doubt they really sell for those prices. If you are in doubt about a pair being old or not, learn to trust the dealer.

   I have never been afraid to use my lusters. I find the best way to use candles in them, is to place a small glass votive cup with a votive candle inside. This protects the luster from the candle heat and also keeps the wax out. Now days  there are those battery  candles, that would work just fine, I for one, can not make myself use a fake candle. I would rather do with out. Sorry, if you like them, I say go on with yourself. I have also used them as flower vases many times. I simply place a smaller vase inside to hold the water. looks really pretty. Especially with a pair on a mantle or dining table.
   I hope you enjoy my lusters and this little history lesson. Please drop by for a tour anytime. I will leave the lights on and Sissy Dog will meet you with a jump and a kiss.I have ended todays post with a few more shots of my garden. Every thing is so lush this season. ENJOY!

I have this pair of white Opaline French lusters for sale in my gift shop. I can sell them for $185.99 plus $15.00 shipping.

This pair is for sale in my gift shop,"Richard's Great Stuff".

      

Front garden.

Closed-Gone Antique Shopping!!! Come back tomorrow.

The sunrise over the Mississippi River right in front of my house.

Ms. Nancy as we arrived at Euro Trash Antiques warehouse.

Some of the stuff we found for sale on the second floor. What to pick????

   My little gift /antique shop, that I operate in connection with, My Old Historic House, is usually closed on Mondays and open all the other days of the week. I call it, "Richard's Great Stuff". I have an on line shop as well, that address is -  www.richadsgreatstuff.etsy.com.   A friend of mine, Ms. Nancy, has an antique shop 9 miles up the road in Louisiana, Mo. Nancy and I often go on hunting trips, looking for mercandise for our shops. Yesterday I just closed up the shop and ran off with Nancy. We both wanted to go somewhere different. We headed to Jacksonville,Ill., a town of 19,000, about 70 miles from here. I had been there before, but this was Nancy's first time. Our destination was an antique ware house, owned by a interior designer/antique dealer.  The company name is Euro Trash Antiques. It is not open to the public and Lord only knows what one might find there. It is a large multi -storied old brick warehouse. The owner, Annie, has sprayed most of the inside brick walls pure white. The floors are old concrete and the ceilings are tall. Annie goes to Europe  and does her shopping. She sends large containers full of all kinds of wonderful stuff back to us, here in America. The first couple of times I went there, there was one show room that was all displayed beautifully and was very magical. This trip the place was ,well a warehouse. First off ,we had missed a big sale that she had just a few days before. She had opened to the public and was doing a clean out, so there would be room for a new shipment any day.But, we still managed to find  so much, we had to have it delivered in a big truck.

Annie, the owner, not only is she sweet and gracious, she is also very Beautiful.

The wonderful wash room. Look at that sink!

   My day started off ,when I  got up early and got  ready to go. I opened the door, to take Ms. Sissy Dog for a walk, an there on the Mississippi River, was a beautiful, "On Golden Pond Moment", as the sun rise was casting a wonderful , bright red path, right across the river. Well I had to back track and go get the camera and take some pictures. The pictures as not as grand as it was in person, but kinda gives you an idea of how beautiful it was. I continued on and Ms. Sissy and I went around a few blocks. I was dreading the fact that I had to leave her all day. I think it bothers me, much worse, than it does her. I had made arrangements for Uncle Bruce, a neighbor, to walk her and check on her a couple of times, while I was gone. Sissy loves Bruce, and he loves all dogs. He can be seen on any given day, walking someones dogs about town. I am so grateful to have some on I can depend on and trust.
     I met up with  Nancy and we headed out. Well, Nancy is a yard sale and auction freak. She wanted to drive, and that meant, pull over at every yard sale in sight. Sometimes I got out and looked around, but mostly I stayed in the truck. It was a very warm day, only 99 in the shade. I don't mind the heat,but at the end of the day I was starting to doubt my freshness! When we were close to Jacksonville I called ms. Annie, so she could meet us at the ware house. With the help of Nancy's talking truck, we found our way in no time. The warehouse doesn't look like much from the outside. In fact, I had Nancy park back in the back where the big trucks park and the loading dock is. Right beside several big dumpsters.  I said,"Just Waite!" Annie meet us and our journey began. Of course we both had to tend to nature first off, as we had been on the road for over an hour. The wash  room was so cute, I have included pictures for you to share.

Nancy, running ahead of me to find the best bargins.

I hugged this gold gilt love seat. Was so me. No money and no place to put it at, My Old Historic House.

This bird cage was sold,thank God, as I would have wanted it.Love the curtains inside.

Chandeliers were everywhere.

These are the French Folding tables I found.

The benches for the folding tables.

   The  the first floor loading dock was mostly empty, except for a few things marked sold. Of course we wanted them and was so upset that we had missed them. I did manage to find some wonderful folding tables and benches. They are made from reclaimed pine boards on the top and metal folding legs. Kinda like a banquet table, that one might rent for a party. I can just see them at a garden event or to set up for extra tables  for a big dinner. I think you could use them as a sofa table, slip the bench under, and pull it out when extra guest arrive. Anyhow, I hope some one loves them as much as I did, as I bought 2 sets.
   The second floor was where we hit pay dirt. It was pretty much full and most things were available. I did spot a beautiful pair of full size iron beds, but was soon told, "they are sold!" There was rolls and rolls of chairs, love seats, dressers, chests and on and on. After several trips around and around, I started piling up what I wanted. We had a covered pickup truck, but it was Nancy's, and I did not want to hog all the room. Well , thats not really true, I wanted to, but knew I shouldn't. Annie soon announced that her ,"guys", would deliver for free, so the  pile got bigger and bigger.
   One of the things that I spotted was a French three piece chase lounge. It has a long special French title. I call it a "chase thing". A couple of weeks ago, a Blogger friend , Ms. Vanna- from" Delusions of Grandeur"-fame, had done a post all about such a critter, and had said she had a desire for one. Well I had to take all kinds of snap shots of it, so I could rush home and share with her in an email. Do you like it Vanna?? It sure is a pretty one.

My favorite purchase, this old pained cabinet.

Between Nancy and Me, we bought all these old foot lockers.

I bought this pair of French Chairs.

I tried to get Nancy to buy these for her dining room as hostess chairs, but I had no luck. I love the needlepoint.

This mirror was beautiful, 9 foot tall and 7 foot wide. 

    I bought a weird assortment  of stuff, from old pate warmers to footlockers,to French fancy chairs. One large old  painted cabinet was among my favorite. It has 6 doors on the front and each one opens to a shelf. I can just see it in a  kitchen for a pantry, bed room for sweaters, bath for towels or family room for a media center. I only hope some one likes it as much as I do and it might sell. It was the most expensive item on my list. I pretty much spent about twice what I had budgeted too, so the shopping was over for me, for the rest of the trip.Annie offered to show us her home. Of course we took her up on the offer. Her house has been in every magazine and is just beautiful. To see it in person, is even more special.It is a wonderful old mansion and has a park for a yard. The yard was wonderful  with pale pink climbing roses everywhere. There was a big wrap around side porch and it was like a movie set. It had several hanging crystal chandeliers, one of which a family of birds had claimed for it's home with a nest right in the center, babies and all. There was a working fireplace,wood stored in a cast iron garden urn and a French pine, big old harvest table and chairs, what a place for a outdoor party. The top of the heap to me was,  the most wonderful cast iron garden urn that I had ever seen. It was just un-real. She was getting ready for another magazine shoot so the whole place was propped to the top. I did sneak a picture of the porch and roses, I did not want to take any of the house, as the magazine was coming and it was all done up for it. Maybe next time. That is if I am ever lucky enough to get to go back. Some day I will have to tell you about her dressing room. But, that is a whole other post!!!!!

The 3 piece chase thing.

   After a exciting lunch at McDonalds, we continued on. Lots more yard sales, several antique malls and a wonderful plant nursery were on the list. We had our final stop at the ice cream stand where we both had our supper in the form of a frozen treat. and then it was off for home.
    It was a fun day, I got lots of good mercandise, had a good time with Nancy and now was ready to get home to Ms. Sissy Dog.She was just fine and in rare form. Up on my head, over my shoulders and around and around and then do it all over again. I finally got here settled and got her to eat her dinner. One final walk and we were off to bed.
     I hope you enjoyed my journey as much as I did. It has been fun to share it with you. I wish you could come for a visit. Come anytime. I will leave the lights on and Sissy Dog will meet you with a  jump and a kiss. I will be putting some of the new stuff on my Etsy-on line shop, as soon as it gets here. So be looking.

The back door as we were leaving.

Annie's yard that looked like a park.

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Annie's out side, wrap around porch, with a real fireplace and several chandeliers. 

I looked this house up. It is also in Jacksonville. Last year I bought a whole bunch of wicker furniture and it was painted bright purple and green. Everyone made fun of me. I sold it all to this young, sweet couple from Jacksonville. They said it was perfect for there porch and they didn't  even need to paint it. I thought, Sure!!! Well what do you think???It was on the back porch and we could not get there to take a picture. 

This was the wonderful garden center we shopped at. 

And our final stop, was for ICE CREAM!!!!