This is the second year for the Winter Party and I have a to say it was a great success.   St. Louis still had some snow on the ground and it was snowing the day before the party, but last Thursday turned out to be a  beautiful sunny day, the perfect weather to feel the beginning of spring at the shop.  Click on the images to enlarge them.

Surrounding the 18th century English mirror are European wallpaper stamps from the 1950s.  The stamps make a dramatic wall covering and hence are almost all sold out.

Miniature roses fit perfectly in the Dutch white ironstone “tub”  surrounded by French mother of pearl opera glasses.

This French style chair has been upholstered in black silk with a hand-stitched Crane across the back.  The forged iron table has bronze detailing  in the manner of Oscar Bach.

A French 19th century cast iron urn with more miniature roses poses in front of a pair of garden planters.  These smaller iron urns can be used in so many different ways inside the house as well as outside.  The urns can be changed out for the seasons with a variety of contents, ie: blooming bulbs in the spring, shells in the summer,for fall.. well you get the idea .  Click on images to enlarge.

The theme for this Winter Party was “Spring” so fresh flowers continued throughout the shop .   In this photo note the wonderful European iron awning, for over a door, that hangs above the terra-cotta obelisk.   Hanging from the awning are several hand-painted Mexican pottery birds from the 1940s.

A very whimsical European armillary sundial rests on the round marble top table.

The teaching posters were printed in France in the Flemish language.  The circa 1940s posters have wonderful graphics and color.  Click on images to enlarge.

The zinc downspouts on the left of the photo were found in Belgium.  I think it would be interesting to make lamps or sconces out of the pair of downspouts, the shadows that the light would create could be dramatic.

The whimsical painted dove weathervane stands between several European cut stone planters.   To the right of the planters is a carved stone well-head of a mans face that has an incredible worn surface.

In the two previous photographs you can see the window display is of Japanese paper lanterns from the 1930s.  Roxie is keeping watch in her window perch, a job she takes quite seriously I might add.  She often feels the need to alert everyone in the shop to the presence of a dog being walked in front of her shop, often loudly… unfortunately.

The bookcases behind the counter hold an array of unusual objects.

I have never seen the bronze pieces with hands mounted on stands shown in this photo ever before.  They are the pockets from a 19th century billiard table and are made of bronze.  The ivory balls shown in the hand-cups would fall through the hole and be “caught” by the small hand that is holding the round cup.

To the right of the Italian Mirror is a very organic bronze light in the form of a gnarled grape vine with leaves.  It has holes in the base suggesting this wonderful bronze light might have been used on a newel post of a stylish house in Europe at the turn of the century.

In this photo a wonderful 19th century religious artifact with carved gilt-wood rays hangs in a shelf above the ever wacky doll head mold forms.

Blackforest antlers surround the wooden “gear” mirror made from an industrial mold form.

The venetian mirror in this photo found a new home very quickly.   The owl sculpture is by a St. Louis artist, Tom Blaizer.  The owl body has been made out of tin and the eyes out of sliced agate stone.

Nothing says spring like fresh flowers and we had a nice assortment of them at the shop for the party.  For me forsythia brings back childhood memories of my grandmothers gardens, she let it grow huge and wild, it always seems so bright,  bold and cheerful.   The forsythia is in a huge battery jar I found in Belgium.  The oversized chrome strainer also on the table is by Curtis Jere and dates from the 1970s.

I currently have a great collection of vintage medical teaching aids in the shop.

One of the more unusual items in the shop right now (and that’s saying something) is shown in the center of this photo…. the “mirror.”   A relief sculpture made from resin of a muscular nude male holding a woman in his arms has been applied to the mirror glass and put into a chrome frame, the piece has a Los Angeles label on the back and dates to the 1970s or early 1980s.  Click on images to enlarge.

A Curtis Jere swan sculpture hangs above the 1940s machine age aluminum tricycle.

One of my favorite pieces to just come into the shop is this European industrial cart.  It has great surface-ware and patina.

The wire “donut” on the wall is actually a handmade wire crap trap,  I think the trap has a fine sculptural quality to it.   The tin trays, the lanterns, and the candlesticks are all from Mexico and date from the 1940s.

Rosalie seems to be pondering the wooden bowling balls from Europe that are on either side of her carousel panel.

I am fortunate to have tall windows in the back of the shop that really let the light pour in.  The anatomical charts on the back of the shop wall are from Belgium.  Click on images to enlarge.

I wanted to end this post with a photo from the shop of simple a simple way to say spring.   I used green depression glass salt and pepper shakers for mini vases.  I placed three of the bouquets under a 19th century glass cheese dome on top of a plain glass cake stand.  The flowers have been in the shop for almost a week now and still look great.  There is so much we can all do to enliven our lives with fresh flowers without costing a fortune.  I try to have something blooming or have cut flowers in my house throughout the winter.  It makes the house smell great and it makes me feel good.  Until spring gets here and gives us fresh bouquets daily get out there and bring some flowers home.  You just might need an antique battery jar or garden urn for those flowers, luckily R. Ege Antiques has a few of those.  Come in and check us out.

As of this morning my concrete pussy cat seems to have a new chapeau.  She looks amused, sort of.  St. Louis received more snow last night to add to the snow we already had.  Considering the problems those poor souls in the east are having with snow I will be quite content with ours.  Watching the snow fall from my window has got me thinking of warmer weather and travel, specifically last summer’s buying trip to Europe and our visit to Versailles.  Click on images to enlarge.

Versailles for me is a time capsule of exceptional beauty and grandeur that exists just beyond those massive gold gilt iron gates.

This photo shows the palace viewed from the  Apollo Fountain.  There are over 700 rooms in the palace at Versailles.  Visiting the palace is more than an overwhelming experience it is also tiring and so huge that the space lacks a comfortable coziness.  It was designed more for political show than for human scale.  Go to the Palace website here.  Click on images to enlarge.

Marie Antoinette had her architect Richard Mique build a 12 building Le Hameau (the hamlet) in the manner of a true 16th century Norman village.  Rousseau’s theories on the nobleness of a simple rural life lived close to the natural world were very much in vogue at the end of the 18th century.  Marie Antoinette was trying to escape the confines of her courtly life into what she assumed was the “idyllic” world of a working Norman village.

The hamlet was built on the banks of the Grand Trianon Lake from 1783 to 1787.   This photo shows the Marlborough Tower that was often used as a point of departure for boat rides or fishing outings.

The restored Hamlet grounds and buildings have just recently been reopened to the public.

Several of the buildings including this mill were reserved for use only by the Queen and her guests.  The peasants that tended to the gardens and the livestock lived in four of the structures.  The exterior staircases and balconies of the buildings were adorned with blue and white earthenware pots full of blooming flowers.

Flowers everywhere!   I can’t wait to plant the flower pots on my deck, however I will refrain from planting in the roof-line of my house.  The flowers here seem quite happy growing in this thatched roof.

White lilies line the path to the entrance of this charming cottage.  Click on images to enlarge.

Every house has its own little garden.  Hornbeams were used as hedges and chestnut trees as fences.

The hamlet had a working farm with assorted livestock, including cows, goats, sheep, and pigeons.   The Queen would dress as a shepherdess and visit her farm to watch its tranquil life unfold.  Marie Antoinette commissioned the royal porcelain works at Sevres to create beautifully hand-decorated porcelain china to be used in her hamlet, including porcelain milk buckets to use when “milking” the cows.

I’m wearing shorts in this photo, it was warm, it will be warm again, I’m just sure of it.  A litany I have to say over and over again this time of year.  So this concludes our brief visit to Versailles in July.  When you visit France and go to Versailles I would highly recommend a quick tour of the palace and then spend the rest of the day on the estate.  The gardens, the fountains, and the Hamlet are enough to fill many a cold wintery day with fond memories of warmer times and beautiful places.  Click on images to enlarge.

Our Winter Container Party is February 18th, from 10 am to 6 pm.   Please join us for some tasty treats to make your taste buds happy and then feast your eyes on the new merchandise from Europe as well as a wonderful assortment of objects from several grand St. Louis estates.  We will be closed this Saturday for the St. Louis Mardi Gras festival in St. Louis.  It is a huge event held annually in the historic Soulard area of St. Louis.  You can check out information on the St. Louis Mardi Gras here.  If you would like to receive notices on shop events please click here and give me your contact information including: name, home address and email address.

This is one large wall panel.  It dates from the late 18th to early 19th centuries  and features finely reeded pilasters with acanthus capitals.   A small carved angel head with wings forms the keystone of the arch just below a robust crown with dentil molding.  Click on images to enlarge.

The architectural panel is European and measures over six feet long.  It would make a great headboard or a focal point for a room.  On the far right of the French bamboo hall-tree is a wonderful 1920s screen wire lamp shade signed by the Rembrandt Lamp Co.

Talk about a unique assortment of knives and daggers.   Bowie knives with antler handles are shown on the shelf.  A Persian Katar from the 19th century, hangs in the middle of the three daggers on the wall.  To the right of the Katar is an Italian 16th century left-handed dagger with  a forged iron head on its pommel.  All of these weapons have  distinctly different design elements that make them interesting and yet a strong sculptural quality runs through all of them.  The carved and polychromed masks that are hanging above the daggers are believed to be Tibetan and date to the early 20th century.

Two different generations of little girls played with these toys.  The graniteware dates from the 1890s to 1910.   The cast metal dollhouse furniture is from the 1930s.   Most of the furniture was made by “Arcade” a toy company that was located in Freeport, Illinois.  These photos help show the diversity of the material coming into the shop as well as the quantity.   Although there  is always too much inventory coming into the shop to ever get it photographed before it all sells.   If you are in the St. Louis area please be sure and look us up.  Remember Antiques are the highest form of recycling.  I have a house full of recycled furniture and objects and would not have it any other way.  Click on images to enlarge.

Hands down this is one of the best dining tables I have ever had, certainly one of the heaviest.  The table is from Europe and has exceptional forged ironwork combined with bronze detailing.   The weathered marble top has just the right amount of wear on its surface.  Click on images to enlarge.

The 19th century zinc finials from France seem right at home on the large garden table.

This reverse etched Venetian style mirror just came into the shop.  It dates from the 1920s.  The sconces on either side of the mirror are carved wood and were found in Belgium.

A teenage boy and his red GTO, oil painting on canvas.  This painting speaks volumes about the attitude of the late 1970s and the “muscle car” era.  The GTO painting was done by a St. Louis artist in the early 1980s.  It is hanging in the shop next to an Eames over-sized “House of Cards” card deck.   In the upper left hand corner of the image, barely showing, is  a metal sculpture of a swan by Curtis Jere.

I wanted to include this image of the candy containers for two reasons: one, they are a great collection of paper-mache German candy containers, new to the shop; two, they remind me of spring, wonderfully glorious spring.  It has been a cold and gloomy winter so far in St. Louis.   It’s  nice to have a few reminders around us that spring is just around the corner.  ” All through the long winter, I dream of my garden.  On the first day of Spring, I dig my fingers deep into the soft earth.  I can feel its energy and my spirits soar.” — Quote by Helen Hayes.  Click on images to enlarge.

Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium is a world class aquarium.  Visiting the Shedd is very special to me.  Beyond the spectacular collection of marine life that the aquarium has in their collection, what makes the Shedd so incredible for me begins right at the front doors.  The carved marble door surround in the photo above hints at the aquatic fantasies in stone, bronze, terra-cotta, and plaster about to overwhelm you as you enter these doors.  You can check out the aquariums website here.  Click on images to enlarge.

John Shedd of Marshall Field department store fame donated 2 million dollars in 1924 to establish a world class aquarium in Chicago with “the greatest variety of sea life under one roof.”   The photo above shows a Greek key motif with a crab in the center supporting a huge tableau of sea-life all carved out of marble including two moray eels about to devour a crustacean.   It is interesting to think of the differences between design motifs of modern aquariums compared to this great 1920s example.  I doubt stone carved eels enjoying their meals would be considered an “appropriate” design element for young audiences today.   I am very thankful the architects of the Shedd thought differently.

This is an early postcard of the Shedd showing its Classical Greek architectural style.  Construction of the Shedd started in 1927 and was officially opened to the public in May of 1930.  Click on images to enlarge.

Bronze doors and wall panels with aquatic motifs.

Detail image of the vent panels between the doors.  Shells, coral, starfish, seahorses, lobsters, and jellyfish frolic together on these panels.  Click on images to enlarge.

Bronze exterior fixture mounted on marble from Georgia.  The fixtures in the Shedd were made by Chicago’s Sterling Bronze Co.  They were known for their fine casting work.

The starfish base of the exterior fixture has amazing detail.

I took these images while visiting Chicago just after Christmas which is why there are holiday decorations in the photos.  The entrance hall has these great octopus hanging bronze and art-glass fixtures.

I noticed this bronze octopus ball light on my first visit to the Shedd many years ago and have never forgotten it.  I keep hoping the prototype for the fixture will show up in some St. Louis house just waiting for me to discover it and move it into my house.  “Hope springs eternal,” according to Alexander Pope.

Bronze stingray sconce supporting an art-glass nautilus shell light.

Close-up image of the stingray sconce.  The craftsmanship in the bronze work at the Aquarium is really exceptional.

The bronze and glass clock was in a very dark area and hard to photograph but still worthy of showing here.  The “greatest variety of sea life”  that John Shedd spoke of is clearly exemplified here in this large clock hanging from bronze dolphins.

Glazed cast plaster border panel with shell motif.

These large fixtures remind me of theater lights from the same period.  The bronze and glass lights feature reverse glass hand-painted panels with everything aquatic, including a frog, a sea tortoise, as well as other assorted sea-life.

These colorful fish tiles were custom made by Pewabic Pottery Company.  Pewabic art pottery is well known to Arts and Crafts period collectors.  Pewabic also produced architectural ornamentation for public and private institutions in the early 20th century.  These tiles bring a nice bit of color and whimsy in an otherwise monochromatic Classical interior.  Mary Chase Perry Stratton was one of the founders of Pewabic pottery.  Her designs were used extensively throughout the Shedd Aquarium.

The “Trident of Poseidon”  takes center-stage with an assortment of aquatic and nautical motifs on the overdoor pediment.  Elaborate bas-relief plasterwork was used throughout the beaux arts interior.  I would venture a guess that the English and Italian craftsmen using shell motifs in the 17th and 18th centuries would approve of John Shedd’s vision of a world class aquarium structure worthy of the city of Chicago.  It’s like being in one really large European grotto except with the addition of many, many loud and exuberant children. Click on images to enlarge.

Santa Claus’s face is one of the most recognizable faces in the world - a  face known the world over and also a face that none of us have actually seen in person in order to verify his accepted appearance.  We all have a concept of what Santa looks like.  Some of those concepts have been influenced by the best advertising minds of our time to sell the latest and greatest widget.  Some of us have been influenced by Santa Clauses that were made over one hundred years ago and look very different from the Santa we see portrayed today.  I thought it might be interesting to see how Santa Claus’s face has changed over the years.  The Santa face pictured above belongs to a German roly-poly dating to the 1930s.  Click on images to enlarge.

The Santa Clauses in these images all belong to a couple who have been collecting holiday antiques for a number of years.  I was fortunate enough to be able to photograph a small part of their collection.  This German paper-mache Santa dates to the late 19th century.

These early German Santa Clauses almost always have blue eyes.   This one has a hand-painted paper-mache face with a rabbit fur beard and dates to the latter part of the 19th century.

When I started collecting early Santa Clauses one of the things I noticed was that some of them had teeth.  The smiling faces of Santa that I grew up with seemed not to be showing their teeth.   Santa Clauses with teeth seemed somewhat disturbing to me.  This is the face of a Shoenhut roly-poly Santa made in the US of paper-mache in the last quarter of the 19th century.

This late 19th century German Santa has a very rare beard made of glass icicles.  He has a serious, concerned expression on his face.

Most German Santa candy containers had paper-mache faces.   This rare 19th century Santa has a bisque porcelain face with glass eyes.  He also seems to have very bright white bisque teeth.

German Santa candy container with a red mohair suit and a lambs wool beard dating to the early 20th century.

This paper-mache Santa dates from the late 19th century and seems to have the face of a tired old gentleman.  He looks rather wizard-like with his long white beard.

Belsnickle Santa with a yellow-green coat.  Belsnickles were made in Germany from the late 19th century into the early 20th.  They were made in a large variety of sizes and colors.  All Belsnickles have hand-painted faces done by a number of different crafts-persons so the facial expressions vary quite a bit.  I have seem Santa Clauses that look totally inebriated as well as those with a stern authoritarian countenance.

This German candy container Santa looks like he is up to no good with a whimsical expression.  He dates to the late 19th century.

Toy Santa Clauses from the 19th century are unusual.  This one has a wooden body that “dances” when you pull on a string.  His head is made of composition and shows great brushwork in the painted details.

This German Santa has bushy white painted eyebrows and a fur beard.  He dates from the last quarter of the 19th century.

Another bisque face Santa Claus with glass eyes and a long fur beard.  His facial details are very different from the other bisque face Santa.  This face seems more joyful, even with his teeth showing.

Chromolitho Santa face on an advertising tin dating to the early 20th century.  This wonderful warm Santa face shows the influence of 20th century illustrators such as Reginald Birch and E. Boyd Smith, who drew from the late 19th century work of  Thomas Nast.

This is one of the largest German Santa lanterns that I have ever seen.  The face and beard have been modeled beautifully in paper-mache and the eyes and teeth are painted on paper so they would glow when the candle was lit.

Chromolitho on paper Santa face applied to the top of a wooden box containing picture blocks.  These boxes usually date from the late 19th to early 20th century.

This Santa has a very nice face but it seems to be overshadowed by the beautiful head on the reindeer.   The paper-mache German reindeer has gilt Dresden decoration on his bridle and glass eyes.   The reindeer is also a nodder so his head gently moves up and down.  Click on images to enlarge.

Santa Belsnickle holding a baby.  This Belsnickle is rare, rare, rare, and I’ll type it again, rare.  Not only is the Santa holding a baby but the baby has red polka-dots all over it, including his face.  Even Santa seems surprised by this one.

This is a cloth faced Santa dating to the 1920s.  He has a sweet gentle face and a long fur beard.

German paper-mache lantern from the late 19th century.  This is an unusual form for a Santa head lantern and has an expressive face showing us his very large teeth outlined in red.

As I noted earlier Belsnickles come in many sizes.  This reindeer seems to be responding the same way I did upon seeing this white feather tree. Wow!  Wow, that’s many, many rare tiny little Belsnickles all dating from the late 19th to early 20th century.  Not a one of them have teeth.  I like that.  So if any of you happen upon “the” Santa Claus in the flesh, not of these modern day department store varieties, let me know.  I would like to find out if his teeth really are that big and scary.  Merry Christmas!  Click on images to enlarge.

The shop Christmas window for 2009 features a wonderful folk art train from Kirkwood, Mo.   Kirkwood is a part of the greater St. L0uis area and has some wonderful historic  homes and a railroad that goes through the center of town.  The folk art train is hand-painted and embellished with “Kirkwood Railroad” on the sides.  Click on images to enlarge.

The cut paper trees were easy to do and would also be fun used in house windows.

The Santa I used in the train is one of those wacky 1940s clay face Santas riding high on a mound of packages. The train engine is open car full of decorated trees.  Vintage brush trees provided a nice forest backdrop for Santa’s train.  Tin stars hang from the sky lighting the way for Santa and his deliveries.

Santa waves hello to all those who pass by.   Christmas seems the perfect holiday for using antique and vintage objects to decorate our houses with.   The ornaments could be grandmother’s treasured blown glass pieces or a funky 1960’s elf made of felt.  If you do not have family treasures then it’s time to start your own collection to pass onto family and friends.   The shop has many vintage Christmas pieces this year as do many other antique shops in the area.   If you are in Southwest Missouri my Mother and Sister have a wonderful shop in Ozark called Ozark Market Basket.  Their shop has many vintage holiday ornaments and decorations.  You can check out their website here.   Support small local business whenever you can and especially this time of year.  Remember when you are buying vintage you are recycling wonderful cheery reminders of Christmas past and not contributing to the mass produced excesses of our time.   Christmas doesn’t have to be about Black Friday or Cyber Monday.  The staff and I at R. Ege Antiques would like to wish a Merry Christmas to all.  Please click on images to enlarge.

Christmas morning circa 1959 was the theme for the 2008 Christmas window

Silver aluminum trees became all the rage in the late 1950’s thru the 1960s.   This tree was simply decorated with red balls.  I used the color red to unify the separate elements of the window display.

I was looking for one of those 1950’s cardboard fireplaces for the window display but could not seem to find one in time.  I have always found those fireplaces curious.  I guess if you did not have a fireplace a cardboard one served the purpose, sort of.  Lighting a fire in it could be a problem and then there is the issue of Santa and the chimney.  So for this window a hand-drawn fireplace served the purpose quite well.

The 6th annual Christmas Open House is now over.   I would like to thank so many very special people for making this year’s party a huge success.  We had a great turnout with lots of friends coming into the shop and lots of treasures going out of the shop.  The group of garden figures in this photo, all covered in winter’s chill, welcomed you as you came in.  Remember to click on images if you wish to enlarge.

The 19thc crazy quilt provides a great backdrop for the four seasons garden figures.  The quilt has a number of very creatively stitched “P”s.  We are lucky enough to have a note pinned to the quilt stating it was made by a member of the Parker family.

Hanging on both sides of the crazy quilt are four Chinese-export bird watercolors dating to the late 18th century.

The American Flyer Train comes complete with its Pullman cars, just the right color for the holidays.

German Kugels from the 19thc are suspended over the train, reflecting the world around them.

Draped over the center table is an amazing French Aubusson carpet from the late 18th to early 19th century.   The coal hod holding the orchids sports a hand-painted winter scene perfect for the season.

A French wire basket seems right at home filled with gold-gilded dried pomegranates.

The European painting was a lucky find.  It came out of a wonderful, stately St. Louis home.  The oil has now left its brief home at the shop and gone back into another beautiful St. Louis home.

Sheep everywhere you look, in the old paris porcelain, on the bow-front chest, and under the early glass cheese dome.  The English brass candlesticks are another recent addition to the shop.  The sticks have a curious form, somewhat Christopher Dresser-like.

This lady’s writing desk is one of the nicest pieces of painted satinwood furniture I have ever been fortunate enough to have in the shop.

The desk is covered in hand-painted garlands of flowers as well as neoclassical figures.  It also has several hidden compartments, just big enough for those “private” letters.

This is an image of the decoration on the back of the desk chair that accompanies the lady’s writing desk.

This painted chair is not typical of my usual merchandise mix, however I could not resist its five legs, looking as if it’s ready to flee the scene.

So after the front of the shop has begged for your attention the next thing you come to in the shop are the bookcases.  I like the fact that the bookcases force the eye to focus and to see in a different way than when looking at a room full of furniture and objects.  This image shows an early 20thc cast iron windmill weight made in Nebraska, as well as a zinc clock trade sign an over-sized store price stamper for a window display.

Sterling silver on one shelf and a hand-painted tin trolley on the other makes for visual contrast.

A shelf of dog oil paintings, toy dogs, and an early leather dog collar.  The lower shelf contains a wonderful architectural terra-cotta panel from a St. Louis building that was torn down.

The bookcases at the shop are full of things you just don’t see at very many other places, from hands to heads to caravans, it’s all here!

These two photos are of a collection of French stone fragments from a Gothic church dating from the 17th century.  Displaying them in a vitrine or dark bookcase would make a dynamic display.

General store cabinet filled with vintage Christmas as well as an early Steiff  bear on wheels with his original button.

Spun cotton ornaments share space with vintage wind-up Santas and Shiny Brite ornaments.

These watercolors are by James Godwin Scott, well known for his depictions of life along the Mississippi and in and around St. Louis.  The watercolors were  painted during the time he lived in this area.

Pond boat fits perfectly on the Korean Tansu chest.

The middle room of the shop was decorated with a nod to the nautical.  This image  shows a vintage toy tin racing boat on a  marble topped drafting table base.  The table is flanked by a French creel fishing basket on one side and a tall buoy on the other.

Feather tree festooned with ornaments on top of an Italian gold gilded iron table.  A bit of sparkle is good for the holidays…. or anytime.

Bead garland, clip-on birds, Shiny Brite ornaments all on a dense little feather tree.  As I have said before…. every house should have at least one feather tree!

These 19thc Apothecary jars are filled with silver-leafed dried artichokes and share space with a 1920’s butterfly weathervane.

The vintage ski poster, ca 1928,  is by artist Paul Brusset and advertises winter sports at Mont-Geneva.   The poster hangs next to a huge porcelain enamel letter “X” from a sign that was on a St. Louis building.  The X begged to be joined by the 1930’s letters M, A, and S, all covered in red sparkles.

The French cast iron coal hod is filled with more gilded artichokes.

It is safe to say I have never had anything quite like this in the shop before.  The “hurdy gurdy” type street-cart has been fitted with a Regina ca. 1900’s music box that still plays beautifully.  The coin slot took pennies, several wheat pennies were found in the base which holds the extra metal playing discs.  There are 25 different music discs with this Regina.

The cart yoke looks like it could have been pulled by goats or a large dog.  The case has been painted with baskets of flowers on the doors topped with a rather New Orleans looking “house” that contains the Regina.

The music box cart is right in the middle of the back room so it can be appreciated from all sides.  It was played several times during the party.  It is interesting how music that is 100 years old can sound so cheerful and fresh.

For the party the desserts were placed on these European pastry stands, perfect for our tasty American Christmas cookies.

This image was taken the day after the party with the sunlight pouring in.

The German hide covered rocking horse was awarded a wreath of vintage glass balls and foil leaves.

French carousel painted panel above a vintage paper-mache store display figure.

This 1930s paint store display figure was found in a Kirkwood, Missouri estate.  He would have originally held a small can of  “Mautz” brand paint.  Christmas at the shop will extend throughout the season with new merchandise added weekly.  Be sure to call the shop or email me if you have any questions about any of the merchandise shown in the blog images.  Please click on images to enlarge.