Antiquing Treasures

I haven't written much about the dishes that I collect, but I acquired a few more for that collection, so I thought it time to tell you a little about them.  Years ago, when my grandmother passed away, my mom gave me a few dishes and platters that had spent their lives in Ma-ma's small kitchen cabinet.  Most Louisiana kitchens of the time had few cabinets for storing dishes.  As a result, there were free-standing cabinets or pie safes with screen or glass front doors on top, a drawer or two in the center and wooden doors on the bottom.  My grandmother stored canned goods on the bottom, all manner of things in the small drawers, and her "pretty" dishes behind the glass doors.  

I have no idea what became of the cabinet, but her "Blue Willow" dishes went to my sister Angie and the dishes with roses came to me.  Because there was not one specific pattern, and I liked them all, I decided to add to her collection by simply collecting dishes with roses, mostly pink or red, but I do have a few yellow roses mixed in.  The majority of these dishes are older, vintage dishes from the years of my childhood, but there are a few that I purchased simply because I like them despite that they are very modern.

Since we had the opportunity to go antiquing in Washington (Louisiana) with Angie and Sid over the weekend, Richard and I decided that we would purchase one or two dishes to add to my collection.  We've done this before and it's proven a great way to add to my small collection without breaking the bank while also giving us something to shop for.
We found a few pieces at the first store and I seriously considered them, but we still had a few stores to visit.  I put off making my decision until I had the chance to see what the other stores offered and to see the price range of a few dishes.  


But at the second store I found this plate, and "it was on!' as my children say.  Sid tried to convince me that we still had lots more shopping to do and reminded me that I had not been to the largest place, but I would hear none of it.  


First, it fit exactly what I had been thinking of with the beautiful pink and red roses.  Most of my plates have one color although some have the same rose in different stages or sizes.  Secondly, and more importantly to me, this plate has ribbon holes.  I'm sure that there's a better term for the slots that are meant for ribbon to be woven through but I don't know the term.  I have been looking for a reasonably priced vintage ribbon plate for years.  The few I have found have been extremely high in price and I've had to pass each time.  Although the plate is a little steep for my wallet at $48, I could not put it down.  


Richard agreed that I should get the plate, even though he had no idea why I wanted it so badly and he had already decided to purchase the antique sewing machine we found at the first store.  The poor guy really didn't have much choice since he wanted to surprise me with the machine.


We ate a delicious lunch at Cafe Opera right in downtown Washington and were off to the Schoolhouse Antique Market, which is set up flea market style with many vendors in one building.  This building is the old Washington High School, which is a two story building with every little nook and hallway filled to the brim with antiques.  Don't stop though, there's still the gym, including the stage areas, also filled.  


Well, guess what, this bowl was at one of the vendor booths in the main building and a perfect match to the plate I'd purchased earlier.  The difference between the two?  The ribbon slots.  The bowl has two rows of slots, one exactly like those in the plate and another for a much smaller ribbon on the edge.  But take a close look and you'll see that the edges are different as well.  The bowl has a very curvy edge while the plate edge is divided into ten straight lines.  The roses, however, are exactly the same and both have the gold edging.  


I got one other surprise while on our little outing, but you'll have to wait till tomorrow to meet that and hear it's story. 


Isn't this a great story?  Won't my grandchildren want to know why or how I acquired these beautiful items?  I surely hope so.


 I love to hear stories that tell about both the items in the story and the person who collects those items.  And that brings us to you--tell us what you collect and what inspired you to begin your collection.  How do you add to your collection?   How do you display your collection?