Have a Very Vintage Christmas!

There is nothing like the holiday season to bring about a little nostalgia.  I’ve   noticed that as the years go by those holidays items of Mom’s that use to be so silly or even ugly to me have now become the most beautiful items of all. Has this happened to you? Rummaging through Mom’s and Grandma’s old holiday boxes can bring about sentimental longing for those carefree childhood days. Unfortunately, between my five brothers and I and a couple of moves not many survived. That’s when it is convenient to own an antique mall. Vintage Christmas is everywhere.

Blow molds can make a big impact in your holiday display. Blow molds were first produced in the late 60’s and continued on until the 90’s when blow-up decorations became popular.

Paper houses for holiday villages came about in the late 1930’s and are still being made today. Gurley candles are another wonderful item from the 1930’s that are quite popular. Gurley candles come in all kinds of cute shapes and were made more for decorating than for burning. And who can resist Santa from any era?

Old sleds and snow skies can add charm to any home. Boy, what memories snow sleds conjure up! Tie on some vintage ornaments or ice skates and a swig of holly to make them really festive!

There are plenty of wonderful vintage holiday finds waiting to be taken home and loved from the Albany Antique Mall. Stop by anytime we’re open daily. Now open until 8pm on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays through December 22^nd. Albany Antique Mall is a proud member of Points for Profit. Come visit us on 2^nd and Ellsworth and “Like” us on Facebook. Merry Christmas to all and a Happy New Year!

Albany Antique Mall Honors Veterans this Holiday Season

Albany Antique Mall always looks forward to the holiday season and this year will be even more special as we dedicate a special Christmas tree to our heroes. Please join us in honoring our Veterans by bringing in a photo of yourself, family member or friend who has served or is serving in the military to hang on our Veteran’s Christmas tree.   This is our small way of showing our appreciation for the service and sacrifices our Veterans have made for us. Our special tree will be prominently displayed in a window for Albany’s “Veteran’s Day Parade” on November 10^th.

The unveiling of our special Veteran’s tree will be at our annual “Holiday Open House”.  Join us on the evening of Thursday, November 8^th at 5:00pm for a whole lot of fun!  You won’t want to miss this evening when our mall transforms into an Old Fashioned Winter Wonderland. Bring your friends and family, and enjoy the refreshments, door prizes and holiday cheer. Find unique, one of a kind treasures and discover the joy of giving a gift from the past. 

We will be closing early at 3:00pm on Wednesday, November 7^th and during the day of Nov. 8^th to get ready for this special event.

Photos for our military tree should be 5×7 or smaller. If possible, please include name, branch of service and dates served. We can make a copy of your photo to hang on the tree if you don’t want to leave the original.

As always, Albany Antique Mall would like to say thank you to our customers for their kindness and support of our mall, and to the “Points for Profit” organization for making it easy to give to our community non-profits.

Most of you have heard of Fiestaware, but have you heard of Bauer Pottery? J.A. Bauer Pottery was established in Los Angeles, California by Andy Bauer in 1910, over thirty years before Fiestaware. Some collectors of Bauer Pottery are drawn to its wonderful earthen tone colors, while others prefer the speckled pastel colors of the 1950’s. I love the rich browns, greens, yellows and orange-reds, the colors of Autumn. Including Bauer pieces in your Fall décor can add a wonderful richness of color not found in many pieces produced today.

Bauer Pottery, especially the older pieces are highly collectible. An uncommon shaped or colored piece can fetch prices in the thousands. If you fall in love with the beautiful shapes and colors of Bauer, now would be a great time to start collecting because prices are down as with most collectibles in this economy.

Bauer Pottery closed its doors in 1962 making any piece you find over 50 years old. Although Bauer Pottery is not abundantly available, you can usually find at least a few pieces at larger antique stores.

Here is a brief overview of the J.A. Bauer Pottery Company.

Established in 1910 the Bauer Company produced item such as butter churns, crocks, mixing bowls, pitchers and red clay flower pots. Within a couple of years they introduced a “Fancy” design to their flower pot line. Around 1930 they introduced “plain” dinnerware along with new colored glazes. By 1933 rings were combined with the “plain” ware and became the California Colored Pottery line which proved to be the company’s greatest achievement. In 1942, War time restrictions caused the company to create new glazes which did not contain lead. The new glazes turned out to be very popular. Speckled glazes were added to many items starting in 1955. In 1962, J.A. Bauer Pottery was closed because they were unwilling to meet the union worker’s demands.

Recently, the Albany Antique Mall acquired a large lot of colorful Bauer pieces. The table in the photo is set with many different shapes and colors of Bauer Pottery. The drinking glasses are “autumn leaf.” My favorite piece is the cute orange pitcher holding the flowers. Start or add to your own Bauer Pottery collection at The Albany Antique Mall in Historic Downtown Albany.

Mason’s Vista pattern is an ironstone transferware made in England by the Masons. It is attributed to Francis Morley who purchased the Charles Mason business and factories in 1848. Mason Vista’s ironstone was largely made for export to the United States beginning in 1890. The color brown came first, followed by blue and then the pink/red. The pink/red color is the most sought after, most common and most produced color.

You can find these pieces and many more at the Albany Antique Mall in Historic Downtown Albany, Oregon.

This is a WWII era sewing kit issued by the United States military. It is about 3″ tall. The lid holds a thimble. When opened up you will find a spool of thread with a little metal needle container that fits down the middle. Spare buttons fill the bottom of this one. Originally it may have had two spools of thread stacked up.

You can find this cool little collectible at the Albany Antique Mall, in Historic Downtown Albany Oregon.