A couple of weeks ago, I was in Michael's looking for something to hang christmas ornaments (yes, I do realize I don't need to do so for another 10 months), and saw they were selling calendars for 30 cents.
Yes, THIRTY CENTS!
Well, I'm not one to turn down a bargain when I see it. This calendar is about collectibles, and this month's picture was of brown transferware cups with a couple of quails. When I saw it, I immediately knew I had to have it.
You see, I've got this thing for brown transferware. I collect it. I've got some really old pieces, and some quite new ones. I have a bunch of brown transferware plates hanging near the ceiling in my dining room. (Here's just a sample (above).)
But even cooler, when I studied the quail pattern, I realized I have a piece of quail pottery in my transferware collection. My mother's friend gave it to me to sell back in the days when I had a booth in an antiques arcade, but I loved it too much to part with it.
As you can see, it's marked FURNIVALS QUAIL 1913 -- I don't think it's that old--but I've been wrong before. It has other markings, but I haven't yet investigated them. I just like it and think it's pretty.
It's getting harder and harder to find the older brown transferware for reasonable prices (probably because so many decorating magazines keep telling people it's worth a LOT of money). Then again, my definition of a reasonable price is a lot lower than these magazines. And have you noticed that the magazines based in New York tell you that something is reasonable when it's under $2-3,000. Yikes! What real person has that much to blow? Not this girl!
But that won't stop me from keeping my eyes out for more transferware.
What do you collect?
