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!
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.
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
Allison xx
you have nice blog..just browsing and came across yours.....nice posts and makes interesting reading.
Greetings to you from Botswana.
xoxo
Dollybelle
Brandy
Margo
Thanks for sharing! karen....
-Karoline
Michelexkgmij
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