Bonus -- Down on the Farm

When it's time to redo the window at Collector's Antique Mall, there are times that it's really easy.  We know what we want to do, and we do it.  Then there are times like this window, where we have meticulously planned a certain theme for weeks, only to change it right before we do the window.  You know, like the day we do it.

This was the fifth idea we had for this window.  But it stuck with us (and instantly felt right when we came up with it), because it is near and dear to us.  Summertime in North Carolina is a wonderful thing.  Yes, it's hot.  But we're generously rewarded with nature's bounty -- Candor peaches, tomato sandwiches, and watermelon slices with lots of salt.

Not to mention the homemade ice cream.  And cold Cheerwines.

I was fortunate enough to grow up with a grandfather who was a North Carolina tobacco farmer.  I don't remember the tobacco -- that was before my time.  But I do remember the hot summer mornings spent on the farm in Biscoe, gathering what vegetables we could from his array of crops, and then selling them to locals in the shady front yard in the afternoon.

 

Now, I don't know how much work I actually did.  I'd like to think it was more than it probably was.  But I'm pretty sure I played at working.  

There are four things that stick out in my memory the most from those summers -- 

1.  The mid-morning snack.  My granny and I would leave the field and drive to Nash's Store in Candor to pick up various goodies for everyone.  I remember the RC colas and the Moon Pies, but I was strictly a Nabs kind of girl.  With a Pepsi or a Cheerwine, of course. 

 2.  The farm itself.  Never was there a better wonderland for children to amuse themselves.  We were reckless and fearless, and children today would not be allowed to do what we did.  Climbing to the top of the silo and jumping into the corn.  Running from side to side on the big tobacco carts to make them see-saw.  Riding (and crashing) the three-wheeler.  Fishing in the ponds.  Making fairy houses in tree roots with rocks and leaves.  Tramping through the woods looking for adventure.

3.  Lunch. No food on this planet tastes as good as home-cooked country food made by your granny after you've worn yourself out (whether you've done it through actually picking veggies or by playing).  Her biscuits were legendary.  But if you add a fresh tomato slice, cut from one picked that morning?  Heaven.  Then you can always finish with one of my favorite things -- peanut butter and Karo syrup stirred together.  My mama eats it with biscuits, but I can eat it with a spoon.  Holy crap, that's good!

4.  Family.  I have a large family, with lots of cousins.  And we've always been close.  I remember seeing them almost every day during the summer.  Joking and laughing, playing and fighting.  Eating and working.  My best friends were my cousins.  I was the youngest at this time (not for very long, though), and they were my role models and my protectors.  Yeah, and my enemies at times.  But whether we were getting into trouble or playing Boogeyman or Hide and Seek --  we knew we had each other.  We all knew that we were loved and supported and safe.  We were allowed to explore with no boundaries.  And I'd like to think that because of that, we were each able to find ourselves.  That those experiences from our childhood spent together, have shaped who we are today.  That the principles we learned through that love and work and play, still influence the decisions we make in our lives now.

So I'd like to dedicate this window to my Papa Cecil and Granny Frances.  For teaching me the value of hard work and love.  

The Skinny -- Typewriter Ribbons and Their Tins

Photo from http://www.booooooom.com

The Blackbird girls love tins, and we have several different specialized tin collections.  One collection in particular can be qualified as an obsession to me -- the typewriter ribbon tin.  The collection and its inception will be dealt with on some distant Junk Love Monday, but for today, we're focusing on the tin's history and design.

According to a great article at http://www.slahs.org/antiqibles/tins/typewriter.htm, the earliest definitely datable typewriter ribbon tin is from the Rogers Manifold and Carbon Paper Company of New York in 1892.  They win that title because they decided to go ahead and file all that pesky patent information, unlike Underwood, who had been making them for at least twenty years before that, in the 1870s.

Selling stuff in tins was common practice.  These were the days when everything came in tins -- tobacco, coffee, tea, chocolates, medicine, bird food, bifurcated rivets...

Sorry, I got distracted thinking about tins.

From Bold Sparrow Vintage on Etsy

In addition to being common practice, selling the ribbons in tins protected them, keeping them safe until it was time to be used.  Well, and you know, they could make them pretty, too. (Psst...that's the most important part!) Bright tins were a great way to catch a customer's eye, mainly because they could use that little tin for storage later -- true recycling.  If your tin was attractive, it was purchased.

Selling ribbons in tins continued through the glorious art deco years and into the mid-century.  There are THOUSANDS of different tin designs, from the strictly informative early tins with lots of text to the super slick streamlined and highly decorative tins that have nothing to do with typewriters or ribbons.  Ah, design for design's sake. 

Many of the best tins were manufactured by Decorated Metal, based in Brooklyn, and can be identified by the name on the lip of the bottom half of the tin.  And yes, I just went and looked on my tins, and I found the mark on some of them.  So trust me, it's there.

Most of the tins you see will be from certain makers, and the most notable makers are: Kee-Lox, Webster, Miller-Bryant-Pierce, Carter's, Mittag & Volger, and the aforementioned non-patent getting company, Underwood.  But as in every industry in the world, there were some small guys under the big boys.  Some of these lesser known companies are: Columbia Carbon (recognizable for the twin ladies, "Clean" and "Good" on the top), A.P. Little (with its "Satin Finish" brand), and Columbia Ribbon & Carbon.

Photo by writingball.blogspot.com

 

In addition to the nationally known brands, there were also the "house" brands of the typewriter manufacturers, too. A few examples are:  L.C. Smith sold "Type-Bar" ribbons; Remington was known as "Paragon" and "Remtico" brand ribbons; Oliver sold "Revilo" ribbons (see the cleverness there yet?); and Corona sold "Pigeon" ribbons.  Department stores has their own brands, too, just like they have house brands of towels, clothes, and anything else today.

    

 Whether covered with flowers, cameo silhouettes, or just decorative text, these tins are like mini time capsules of their eras, often overlooked because of their diminutive size.  One day I'll dive into my bowl full of tins to show you, but until that fateful Monday, here's a great video from offaloffice.  And yes, I'm totally jealous -- I want so many of the ones featured in the clip!

Thanks to http://www.slahs.org/antiqibles/tins/typewriter.htm for the great info!  And also to http://writingball.blogspot.com/2012_03_01_archive.html for the cool ribbon picture!

The Skinny -- The Art of Tammis Keefe

Tammis Keefe.  Photo from http://makingitfun.blogspot.com

Another two things you should know about the Blackbird girls is that we collect lots of mid-century linens (the cuter the better), and that we also collect children's illustrated books.  A designer and artist that really captures the fun of both of these things is Tammis Keefe.  Margaret Thomas Keefe was born in December 1913 in California. Although she started out studying math in college, she soon realized her passion for art and transferred to the Chouinard Institute of Art.  After graduation, Keefe worked at  the Disney studios, and then as art director of the magazine Arts and Architecture from 1940 to 1942.  After that, she was mentored by textile artist Dorothy Liebes, where she began to focus on being a print maker and colorist.

From flickriver.com by xtinalamb

Keefe's fun prints reflected America's optimistic outlook following World War II.  Bright and cheerful, her prints were influenced by her travels, animals and nature, and celebrations. While working with Liebes, Keefe designed textiles for Goodall Industries, as well as Golding Decorative Fabrics, Cyrus Clarke and Jud Williams Inc. She also designed wallpaper prints for James Kemble Mills and Katzenbach & Warren.*

nwfestival.com

Keefe's fabric and wallpaper prints for the home soon led to other product design.  She began designing hankies, dish towels, tablecloths, and even clothing.  Her designs were collectible, even in her time, and she really revolutionized the idea of the designer as a brand for their products.  Her designs for retailers like Lord & Taylor were manufactured by Kimball, and were signed "Tammis Keefe."  She even marketed to other retailers as "Peg Thomas" as a way to be represented in multiple retail outlets at the same time.  

 

From KLB Vintage Wares on Etsy

In a 1951 Christian Science Monitor article, Keefe was quoted as saying “Anything is possible in textile design, if it is done correctly. A designer merely starts with something, anything, and then develops it. To an imaginative person, practically anything suggests a starting point. From then on, it is merely stating what you have to say in design.”*

Tammis Keefe died in 1960 at age 46 from cancer, but she left a legacy in her prints.  In recent years, Michael Miller fabrics reissued some of her prints in quilting and craft cotton.  Her patterns are still as endearing and enchanting today as they were 50 years ago.  We currently have an Arabian patterned hankie for sale in our shop!

Blackbird Antiques NC

*Background and quotes from http://www.tammiskeefe.com/ and http://makingitfun.blogspot.com/2010/11/tribute-to-tammis-keefe.html.  Thanks to them for the great info!