Show and Tell Sunday

Thank-you for stopping by for Show and Tell, and a huge THANK-YOU to Cerri over at Little Pink Studio for kindly hosting this week's fun - 'paper things'! I have had to think very hard about showing you my paper things - there are just so many!! Rather like a pond fills with fallen leaves, my home seems to fill with fallen bits of this and that and they seem to gradually come together in groups which make it seem as though there was some pattern or intent. I like it that way. So here are a few of the paper pieces I love!
Vintage Childrens' books, with their sweetshop colours and reflection of the idyllic, technicolour Mockney England of Mary Poppins and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang are a great favourite of mine. These are the literature of my childhood. I love the perfect dollys I was supposed to take as my role models, when in fact I always warmed to the tom-boy naughty girls who seemed to have so much more fun!
We also have a large and ever growing collection of vintage Ladybird books. Many of them belonged to me as a child.
I am especially fond of the Ladybird cookery books which I can now share with the beautiful boy as they are so well written as to put some of the modern books for children to shame!
Then there are the cookery and kitchen papers; books, leaflets, and advertising brochures. Oh how I love the food styling of old cook books.
Pretty pictures of perfect trifles and tea-time treats. I have the latest BeRo book, the two in the picture belonged to mum and gran!
When I found a tatty little navy book called "Any One Can Bake" published in 1929, it gave no clues to the abundance of beautiful illustrations hiding within it's covers...


And of course we all have the time to whip up one of these for a children's party...
..from the Tala guide to cake decorating!
It's the glorious colours that make me smile.
And of course the marvellous concoctions of Good Housekeeping's psychedelic guides to every form of entertaining are always good for a laugh!
But I think the books on cake decorating have to be amongst my favourites! All that icing and gorgeousness!
There are also vintage gardening books with beautiful flower illustrations.
And stamps! Being a girly girl there was never any question of studying catalogues trying to decipher which definitives I was missing or whether I had every issue for a given currency. I just collected stamps with flowers on them! The more colourful the better!
I even extended my stamp book to include fruits too!
And that led to a new interest in vintage product labels and fruit wrappers.
At some point I discovered old cigarette cards could be prettier than the sets which came free with mum's Brooke Bond tea.
And so it goes on! But if I had to pick out a really special paper item it would be something which has, surprisingly, very little colour at all.
A very brown book which I was given as a 16th birthday gift. Inside it's cover lay pages and pages of indecipherable handwriting, much of it well over 100 years old when it was given to me. I gradually learned to read the text. Finding recipes for this and that; Lobster Jelly, Albert Pudding, Tipsy Cake and Rich Bride Cake.
Pieces glued in and receipts shared all interspersed with wifely wisdom. "It is a good horse that never stumbles, a good wife that never grumbles". "Without economy none can be rich. With economy few will be poor". "Let the ticking clocks guide the boiling crocks". "When poverty comes through the door, love flies out the window". Later in the book there is a large section all about brewing and ale. One can almost trace the course of a young girl growing into a worldly woman.
But the real substance of this book, for me, is at the back. Bits of paper tucked and glued, a pattern for a precious piece of lace edging, notes for swollen cattle, a recipe for cough medicine, another for glossy starch, a cure for neuralgia. The lady who wrote this book, probably a farmer's wife, had no pharmacy to turn to for sickness, she had to be frugal and resourceful with all that she owned. I came to admire her so much for her knowledge of so many things.
It is a window onto a time of 'make do and mend' and 'waste not want not' which is so different to how we live now. Just recently I have been reading 'Wood Smoke and Pigeon Pie' by Joan Kent. It is a wonderful, life-affirming book. I recommend it highly. I am quite sure Ms. Kent and her mother would have had just such a book as mine.
Now I must tidy away my papers and I am off to visit Cerri and all the other ladies taking part today! Have a good week everyone! t.x

Comments

Lark said…
Oh what wonderful things, you are a girl after my own heart! I love them all but especially the vintage gardening books, they are just delightful!

Allison xx
Teena Vallerine said…
Thank-you Allison! I was thinking of you when I put some of these things together! I find old gardening books so inspiring - until you read how many chemicals they recommend for your roses! HA! That must be why mine never quite look like these pictures! t.x
hi kitschen pink
you have nice blog..just browsing and came across yours.....nice posts and makes interesting reading.
Greetings to you from Botswana.
Teena Vallerine said…
Thank-you for stopping by! I took a peek at your blog and loved your cakes! t.x
Barbara said…
What a great collection - so full of unique finds!
I love all your old cookbooks! I collect those too! Have a happy Sunday! Twyla
Anonymous said…
Beautiful collection! and so tidy too! I love everything!
xoxo
Dollybelle
ABOUT ME said…
Hello. You have such a big, beautiful collection. I really love the gardening books and the cookbooks. Have a great Sunday! Di
Thanks for visiting our blog! Not wanting to destroy the vintage patterns by cutting them up, Lindsey scans the images and uses them in scrap books and other craft projects. Twyla
Anonymous said…
Wow what an absolute treasure that book is - I could spend all day with that! And Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is my all time favorite...guess we are dating ourselves there lol :)
Unknown said…
What a wonderful old book! All your yummy food pictures made me have a sweet tooth!

Brandy
Lori said…
what a fabulous collection, you have quite a mix of lovely papers...i love the gardening books best of all, the illustrations are so pretty!!!
Anonymous said…
I love your collection!! xoxo, Joanna
Margo said…
WOW! What a great collection and that book is amazing! Thanks so much for sharing!
Margo
Rosanne said…
Wow! What an absolutely great collection of books and other ephemera!
Recycled Rita said…
What a fun post! Hmmmm wood smoke pigeon pie eh? Not top on my list!
Thanks for sharing! karen....
you have such beautiful collections and some are to die for!.. thank you for sharing it.. off I go drooling at your pictures.. too beautiful..
Anonymous said…
Thanks for sharing! Awesome stuff! kristin
Oh I think I love the gardening books most of all, but the fruit wrappers are a very close second!
Katie said…
Hi...Great stuff! My favorite is the illustration for the bride's cake...Take care, Katie
Teena Vallerine said…
Thank-you all for visiting and leaving comments. I've had a lovely time looking at all your blogs! Dollybelle deserves special mention for calling me tidy! I'm going to print that off to show my mum! Have a happy week everyone! t.x
Your book is amazing, what a wonderful tresure! I love your cigarette cards and the cooking pamphlets too. Loved your show and tell, thanks for sharing!
-Karoline
HELLO.. this was such a treat.. I share your love of old graphics and ephemera especially the cookery leaflets.. the images are fab! What a shame that you can't come to the fair.. it would be lovely to meet you and I see we share a lot of interests.. your book choices and films are close to my heart.

Michelexkgmij
Kristy said…
I love the fruit labels.Where did you get them from? I have an idea to cover the inside of my pantry cupboard with the illustrations of deserts etc out of vintage cookbooks.
BumbleVee said…
Love the wonderful old book with its amazing hand written pages.... what a special gift.
Hen said…
Hi,

I've been catching up on your blog now that I've discovered it and have lost a few hours as a result! I've so enjoyed reading it all, you have some wonderful collections.

Best wishes
Hen x