Forthcoming Attractions: Mid July 2017

Collection of vintage homewares

We put loads of new items in the web shop last week – one of our a ‘Forthcoming Attractions‘ posts would have been very much in order, but we didn’t get round to it – slapped wrists! We vowed to do one soon though – so here it is! It’s a much smaller selection this week, but some nice pieces all the same.

Collection of vintage art glass | H is for Home

For starters, a lovely selection of glass. Various sizes, shapes and colourways – and some famous designers such as Per Lutken and Otto Brauer.

Set of cream & green vintage spice tins with rack | H is for Home

Next up we have a very cute little spice rack. There’s a wall-mountable metal shelf with six labelled metal tin pots. It dates from the 1950s era and is in very good condition – the perfect vintage touch for any kitchen.

Vintage Mills Moore soup spoons and dessert spoons | H is for Home

We don’t normally pick up part sets of cutlery, but we had good reason this time. We had some of this walnut-handled Mills Moore cutlery in our web shop a couple of years ago – and so many people have enquired about it since it sold that we vowed to keep an eye out for more. Perhaps someone out there would like to add these soup and dessert spoons to their collection. It’s very stylish and beautifully made.

Vintage Hornsea Pottery witch birthday mug | H is for Home

One of last weeks item’s was a Hornsea ‘Birthday Mug’ by John Clappison. We’ve decided to add another example from our collection this week – a magnificent spooky witch design. The sweet verse underneath reads:

If I but had THREE WISHES
And only one came true,
I’d ride with these THREE WITCHES
Upon their broom to YOU
HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Orange vintage fondue set | H is for Home

From monochrome to eye-popping colour! This fab orange fondue set looks like the perfect thing for a cold winter’s evening. Log fire, glass of wine, melting cheese – bliss!

Vintage Esquire Drink Book | H is for Home

…and finally a late arrival (today in fact) – the Esquire Drink Book dating from the 1950s. It’s interesting, informative and funny… and is packed with the most gorgeous illustrations by renowned artist (and one of our personal favourites) Bill Charmatz. We already own a copy, so this one’s for sale.

Illustrations from the vintage Esquire Drink Book | H is for Home

As usual, these pieces will be split between web shop and physical shop, but blog readers will have first dibs – so let us know if anything catches your eye!

Bookmarks: Miller’s Mid-Century Modern

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'Mid-Century Modern' by Judith Miller surrounded by vintage Mid-century modern homewares including a West German fat lava vase, bright orange pedestal cigarette lighter, small Cathrineholm enamelware Lotus bowl and still life oil painting

In today’s Bookmarks post, we’re taking a peek at Miller’s Mid-Century Modern – living with mid-century modern design by Judith Miller.

title page of "Mid-Century Modern" by Judith Miller with a small Cathrineholm enamelware Lotus bowl

Well, a bit more of a peek, really, as we linger over some of the wonderful pieces on display!

interior view of the mid-century modern design Kauffman House sitting room

Mid-century modern is one of our favourite eras for interior design, illustration, textiles and product design…

Arne Jacobsen "Ant" and "Swan" chairs

…so as the pages turned, there was a soundtrack of many oohs and ahhs!

selection of vintage Mid-Century Modern glassware including a kingfisher blue "Drunken Bricklayer" vase designed for Whitefriars by Geoffrey Baxter

Judith Miller is most famous for her all-encompassing antiques & collectables guides which are published annually.

collection of colourful West German "Fat Lava" pottery pots and vases

In recent years, they’ve included an ever-increasing number of 20th century pieces in response to interest & demand.

collection of GPlan furniture including a nest of pebble tables and "Butterfly" chairs designed by Lucian Ercolani

This book concentrates solely on mid-century modern – 1950s to the 1970s being the period generally accepted.

collection of vintage mid-century modern glass vases

A wonderful introductory chapter covers its evolution and influential designers.

collection of vintage mid-century modern chairs including examples designed by Charles and Ray Eames and Carlo di Carli

The movement perfectly encapsulated a new mood of optimism after the war years with revolutionary designs, materials & techniques.

collection of vintage mid-century modern pop art chairs including examples designed by Egon Eiermann and Günter Beltzig

The fresh ideas, and indeed disposable income, of a whole new generation began to soar.

vintage mid-century modern chair designed by Eero Saarinen and folding cube radio designed by Richard Sapper

There are examples of houses & interiors that encapsulate the era – less cluttered and designed for modern living.

vintage mid-century modern George Nelson "Spike" wall clock, Tommi Parzinger-designed sideboard and mahogany credenza and aluminium armchair designed by Harvey Probber

A broad array of objects is included, with chapters given over to furniture, lighting, glass, ceramics, metalware & textiles.

collection of vintage mid-century modern glass vases produced by Riihimaki of Finland

In addition, an extensive section covers the people responsible for these wonderful & iconic designs.

collection of vintage mid-century modern fabric

There are about 200 familiar & not so familiar names who are given a short, individual write up.

Mid-Century Modern text

We’ll just scratch the surface by mentioning Arne Jacobsen, Verner Panton, Eero Saarinen, Alvar Aalto, Robert Welch, Stig Lindberg, Lucienne Day, Per Lutken, Charles & Ray Eames.

view of a sitting room with black Barcelona chairs and sofas

The book is packed with quality, full colour photographic references throughout…

vintage "Valentine" typewriter designed by Ettore Sottsass, Peter and Alison Smithson chair and Ronald Stennett-Wilson green glass candlestick

…and as with all Miller’s guides – estimated values to accompany each item image.

vintage mid-century modern Marcel Breuer reclining chair and Holmegaard "Gulvase" designed by Otto Brauer

There’s also a useful directory included of international dealers and their contact details – broken down into categories such as ceramics, glass, furniture, lighting etc.

collection of American-designed vintage mid-century modern furniture

As well as auctions & fairs and museums if you fancy going to see or sometimes handle wares in the flesh.

vintage mid-century modern posters by Saul Bass and Herbert Bayer

The book is well researched and accessible – a perfect coffee table browser or excellent source book for your library.

collection of vintage Scandinavian mid-century modern ceramic pots, vases and plaques

Mid-Century Modern – living with mid-century modern design is available from the publishers Octopus, Amazon and AbeBooks.

collection of vintage Scandinavian mid-century modern ceramics designed by Stig Lindberg

[Many thanks to Octopus for the review copy]

P is for… Per Lütken

'P is for... Per Lütken' blog post banner

vintage Per Lütken thule vase for Holmegaard

We’ve just realised that it’s been almost a year since our last Alphabet blog post!! Where does time go?

Anyway, we’ll get back on our metaphorical alphabet bike and resume where we left off. The last post in this series was O is for… Owl. So today it’s P – and ‘P’ is for… Per. Per Lütken to be precise.

green glass bowl designed by Per Lütken for Holmegaardphoto credit: 20th Century Forum

Per Lütken is one of the great names in Scandinavian glass. He assumed the role of art director & chief designer at Holmegaard Glasværk in 1946.

collection of vintage 'Duckling' vases designed by Per Lütken for Holmegaard

photo credit: Retropolitan

He introduced lovely soft colours and free flowing organic forms to the company’s output in the 1950s – ‘Provence’ bowls & ‘Beak’ vases being classic pieces from this period. The iconic ‘Aristocrat’ decanter is also much sought after by mid century modern fans. The 1960s saw experimentation with clear & coloured glass to achieve eye-catching, swirling designs. Towards the end of the decade he introduced his innovative ‘Lava’ glassware which retained impurities to give an earthy, rustic look. The 1970s saw Lütken produce one-off glass sculptures along with further mass produced ranges such as the Vintergaek series which incorporated opaline glass into a clear glass body. He continued to design, develop, guide, influence & innovate at Holmegaard until his death in the 1990s.

Collection of 'Flamingo' vases designed by Per Lütken for Holmegaardphoto credit: austrohungaro, Collectors Weekly

There are some must-visit sites on the net for reference guides to Scandinavian glass – 20th Century Glass, 20th Century Forum and Collectors Weekly.

collection of colourful 'Carnaby' vases designed by Per Lütken for Holmegaard
photo credit: austrohungaro, Collectors Weekly

Here’s a selection of books on Scandinavian art glass that we recommend:

We often have plenty of Scandinavian art glass available in our shop. We have one lovely example of Per Lütken’s work currently in stock. It’s the small, icy blue vase in our main picture. It has the great man’s signature etched to the base and the date year of 1958.