Vintage Hawaiian Shirt Collection Continues to Grow!!

My Addiction to Vintage Hawaiian Shirts may be getting out of hand. 

Antique Brass Shaving Mug and Brush

Came across this really cool Brass Shaving Mug and Brush set.

While out hunting the yard sales and flea markets last year I came across this at a yard sale. It was sitting among a variety of odds and ends but the light hit it just right and it caught my eye. I asked the owner about it and how old it was. He did not know how old it was but it used to be his dad's. This guy was probably in his early 50's so even though that does not really speak for the age it did get my attention. He went on to tell me that there used to be a matching stand and razor but he had no idea what ever happened to it. So, since the price was right I took it. It has been looking really nice displayed on a shelf in my computer room, but I see there are quite a few people out there with the other parts looking for this. Given the demand and the fact that this is not really my area of collecting I offer it up for sale. I am hoping this will complete the set for the collector of antique shaving items and in the process give me the extra money to put something I normally collect in it's place. Smiles all around is always best.  

Check out the Ebay listing here!

Brass Shaving Mug and Brush Ebay Listing

Tip #1 ZIP Code Identification

As you might already know, there are usually several ways to determine the age of an item. If not exactly, at least approximately. Sometimes your lucky and the item actually has a date or hallmark right on it. Though a lot of the time it takes some detective work.


 From time to time I will be sharing Tips, Tricks, and other useful information and techniques I have learned. Check back often for new ones and "Like" us on Facebook ( Drew's Finds on Facebook!) for some exclusive Tips and Tricks.

 Tip # 1

Knowing how an address was written and used in different times can help narrow down a the date of an item.

The Zone Improvement Program (Zip) and their codes as we know it did not come into use in the US until 1963.  As the population and cities grew it became necessary. The Post Office already had a Zone program in use since 1943 in large cities but was not needed everywhere. It was a 2 digit number and would be written as  between city and state in the address. Rural and smaller towns used no numbers. 

In 1963 the "Zone Improvement Program", or ZIP, was put into use. A zone's 5 digit assigned number would be placed after the state for all address. Not just the big cities.

In 1983 the post office added an additional 4 digits to the already 5 digit ZIP code for the bigger cities. Cutting them into even more zones. This addition to the ZIP code was never made a requirement as it was not widely accepted by the public. It is still in used but is not required. It does help in the big cities.

So addresses between 1943 and 1963 would look like this

Philadelphia 14, PA.

After 1963 it would look like this

Philadelphia, PA. 19148

After 1983 (Not required)

Philadelphia, PA. 19148-7461

The address here could either be Pre-1943. or Rural 1943-1963. 

Selling on Ebay!

I have recently decided to sell SOME of my items on Ebay. Mainly things that I would want to turn over quickly or things that need a bigger audience. 

You can check out what I am selling on Ebay here: 

Drew's Finds on Ebay

Off to the Flea Market

Got everything loaded up and ready to go. Will be heading to the Flea Market here in a couple hours. Need to get a nap in first. 2 hours should count as sleep :) The Store will be placed "On Hold" until I get back since I am taking some of those items with me.

***Store is back online***

Got the store up and running!!

I have finally have the store up and running. You can check it out by clicking on the Store page above or this link below. It looks like ecrater.com was the best bet. It is fairly easy to work on and it is free! Ebay just takes too much of your $$.
I'll be adding new items daily so check back.
Consignment available. Contact me for more information.

Taste of Absinthe

I picked this little bottle up awhile ago. It was one of those things, as usual, "Hey that is cool. I MUST HAVE IT!!! " It fit the description of the things I like. It is a bottle. It is small. It is old as dust. Even still has the contents. It is in perfect shape and even has a little bit of the label left on it. Good thing too, because without the piece of label I would have had no idea what the heck was in it. I still had a couple questions though. Who is L.E. Jung? and What the heck is Anise? (hey I didn't know)

Antique L.E. Jung New Orleans Anise Bottle 

After poking around the net a bit I found very little information. Apparently L.E. Jung & Wulff was / is a distiller in New Orleans. Earliest I found was founding in 1883 I think. I'm sure someone out there knows better then me on that. Other then saving space, I am not sure why this bottle only says L.E. Jung and does not include "& Wulff". Maybe it is from the beginning before Wulff got involved. Maybe it is just to save space or money. Heck, I don't know...

California Nugget Chop Cut Tobacco Pouch. The hunt is on!!!

I was searching the net as I usually do, trying to find out more information on my California Nugget Chop Cut Tobacco Tin. I was on Google Images when I saw what kinda looked like my tin, with the label California Nugget Pouch on the picture. Pouch? I didn't even know a pouch existed that matched this tin. As a matter of fact until that moment, I didn't consciously  know about any tobacco pouches. Once I saw one, and thought about it, images of cowboys in old black and white movies having a pouch and papers, rolling their ciggs popped into my head. Oh yeah! Duh!

This pouch looked just like my tin. It also seemed to be the perfect shape for the tin to fit right in it. After looking at the pictures for about 2 seconds, and the shock of finding it, I had to have it. I mean I absolutely positively had to have it. This was even before I seen the price, location, or even which website I was on. I got even more excited when I noticed "1892" marked on the pouch. Now I had a date for my tin!!! This was some of the info that sent me on the daily search anyway. (Both pictures at the end)

Antique California Nugget Chop Cut Tobacco Cloth Pouch

The ad was placed on a seemingly up and coming collectibles website. The person had the pouch listed with a price and offers accepted. So I did some research on tobacco pouches and what they were going for. He was asking at least four times what I was seeing the higher end pouches were go for, so I made him an offer of half the price. Even then, my offer was still more then double what other tobacco pouches were going for. Now I just had to wait and see if he accepted my offer.

Antique California Nugget Chop Cut Tobacco -- Nugget Shaped Tin

Nugget Shaped California Nugget Chop Cut Tobacco Tin
Click "Read more" for more pics.

I found this wonderful little antique tobacco tin while visiting a local consignment shop. I walked past it in the case several times before I finally stopped to take a closer look at it and the other items in the case. I didn't know what it was at first but after getting a good look at the words on it (turns out I was permitted to open the case. I felt so special) I realized it was a tobacco tin. I'm not a tin expert by any stretch of the imagination. I personally lean towards glass but in general like all container type things. From cigar boxes to, apparently tobacco tins. Especially anything small, and/or antique, and I could tell this one was old. Plus, I had never seen this kind of shape before.

Yeah, so I had to have it. Not only because I thought it was cool, but because I didn't really know anything about it and wanted to find out. Also, the Shop was for the benefit of the local Humane Society so it was a win, win, win. I would have been a worse person for not buying it.

As soon as I got it to the car I did a quick Google search for it from my phone but found nothing. Strange, oh well, clearly a seat in front of the ole computer was going to be needed.

Nada.
(click "Read more" below)

Antique Reverse / Inside Painted Cameo Snuff Bottles

Out of all my bottles I have to say the ones I like the most (I seem to like them all the most) are the Reverse / Inside painted Cameo Snuff bottles. The quality and size of the artwork is amazing.

Each bottle is only a couple inches tall and the intricate scenes are painted form the inside, hence "Inside Painted". Normally when painting you would start with the background and work your way forward. In the case of painting one of these bottles you have to work from the foreground to the background, hence also being called "Reverse Painted". This is done with a tiny paint brush with just a couple hairs that is put in through the tiny top opening of the bottle.

The bottles had in most cases two layers of glass. The bottle itself is clear glass that had an outer coating of a colored glass. The top layer (the colored glass) is hand carved away to revel the clear glass below, which has the picture painted on it from the inside. In carving the glass away not only is a border left of the color to frame the picture but designs (usually Chinese Foo Dogs) are carved into the remaining color on the sides, almost like little handles. This makes the cameo bottle when carving layers to reveal others. I have other bottles that are just cameo bottles but these are Cameo AND Reverse Painted. I love'em!! When I get them out of storage I will be sure to put up many more detailed pictures. I included below a few more pic of the collection including a close up of a couple of the Cameo Reverse Painted bottles. Enjoy!

Porcelain Hand Painted Butterfly Snuff Bottle

Here is a bottle I did end up selling a few years back. I liked it a lot, and apparently so did a bunch of other people. I believe it was from the early 1900s. It is hand painted on porcelain. The stopper had a small jade stone in it. If I remember it was a lady from Australia that bought it. Wish I had a couple more pics of it. I might on my old computer and if I do I will surely add them. For the time being here is one. Enjoy!

Antique Hand Carved Ivory Snuff Bottle

Here is one of the more interesting snuff bottles I have. It is an antique from around the early to mid 1800s and is real Elephant Ivory.  Unfortunately the stopper with the spoon was missing when I purchased it, like a lot of very old snuff bottles. It is hand carved into the shape of a pepper with a lady bug and caterpillar on it. This bottle is maybe 2.5 to 3 inches long. It is one of the ones currently in storage. When I get them out I will add more pictures of this one. Here is one for now. Enjoy!

First Post

Well, here we go with the first post. Just want to see how this shows up. I will be adding pics and descriptions of items I have and new ones as I find them. The kind of items I collect vary. I like antique glass items, especially snuff, scent, and perfume bottles. I do have a passion for antique and vintage items in general though so I do have and will be posting more then just bottles and glass. 


Here are a few pics of my collection out of the cabinet several years ago. I still have most of these in storage out of state. A few of the bottles I have been sold and others have been added since. When we move into the new house and I get this part of my collection out of storage I will update with new pics. I do have some individual pics of some of these bottles I will add later on so you can get a better look at them. Also, I have since bought a way better camera so the new pics will be much better.  If you have any questions or comments please don't hesitate. Enjoy!