25% Off Vintage Cookbooks & Sewing Patterns

During the month of November all our vintage cookbooks and sewing patterns at Marlene's Hutch are on sale at 25% off! An added bonus is Free Shipping within the U.S.

Stock up now on patterns for your summer wardrobe and children's larger sizes. Almost all our patterns are uncut and factory folded. We have patterns from the 1940's to the 1990's and even some more current.

Looking for that A-Line skirt pattern from the 1960's you loved so much or who could forget the tent dress? Whether you need valances or pillow patterns, bathrobes or slips, evening and bridal gowns or toddler to junior patterns we have them.

Don't forget too to check out our large selection of out-of-print cook books. Again at 25% off and free shipping in the United States. You'll find ethnic recipes from Irish to Russian, Pillsbury Bake-Off cookbooks, vintage advertising cookbooks from products like Blue Ribbon Malt Extract and Seven-Up and many other cookbooks of all kinds.

Come browse our shop for not only these great items but we also have vintage costume jewelry, figurines, collectible teacup sets and other unique items that would make perfect holiday gift items. We offer free shipping within the U.S. on all our items along with a 7 day money back guarantee.

Calendars Functional Yes, But Collectible Too!

Calendars
Functional Yes
But Collectible Too!


It’s just a calendar, right? Or is it? You might be surprised to learn that old calendar you toss into the trash each year could become a sought after collectible at some later date. You’re kidding you say! Collectors though not only seek out wall calendars but also many other calendar variations like desk calendars, pocket calendars, postcard calendars, diaries, schedules, silhouettes, calendar plates, calendar towels, and any other form that catches their fancy.

Remember when you were a kid and your calendar proclaimed, “Buy your hardware needs from Johnston’s Hardware,” your local store? And who can forget going to the mechanics garage down the street with your Dad and trying not to be obvious as you peeked at the pinup girl that graced the calendar on the wall.

The attractive thing about building a collection around calendars is that it fits nicely with other companion collectibles like advertising, celebrities, sports, World’s Fair, art, and other types of collections to numerous to mention.

Linen collectors might find calendar towels an interesting spin-off to their collection. Popularized in the 1950’s with cheery images like roosters, PA Dutch scenes or kitchen prayers and the full year’s calendar printed below they came complete with a small wooden dowel rod for hanging. Everyone had them and even gave them as gifts. I remember my mother hanging up her new calendar towel every year and of course the part I really remember is doing dish duty with the cast off ones from previous years because you see after the year was over they were folded neatly into the linen drawer and doubled as dish towels.

Calendar towels can be found for the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s and 80’s without too much effort. Look in places like your local flea market, thrift shops, and antique malls and of course the internet. We carry a large selection at our online shop, Marlene’s Hutch.

Who knows what treasure you’ll find during your hunt and remember calendar towels are a great gift idea too, to commemorate a birth year!

Pyrex Hot Collectible

PYREX

HOT COLLECTIBLE




Many people collect various kinds of kitchenware. One kitchenware we all grew up with is Pyrex who celebrated its 90th birthday this year. There's a tremendous amount of Pyrex to choose from but the pieces collectors are really interested in date from the thirties, forties and fifties.

The Pyrex story began in 1912 when borosilicate glass was first developed to withstand extremely high or low temperatures for use in railroad signal lanterns for the American Railway Company. Purely as an experiment, a research physician asked his wife to bake a cake in an adapted base of a glass lamp. She did, it withstood the heat and the rest is history. Pyrex launched its first product in 1915, a flan dish.

Over the decades, Pyrex diversified its glassware to incorporate everything from skillets and casseroles to bread pans and refrigerator dishes, literally helping to shape the way people cooked and stored food at home.

And now, all these years later, certain pieces of Pyrex are most definitely collectors' items. Watch out for those early items - it's not that difficult to pick up some vintage Pyrex in good condition because it has always been so durable, even with continued use.

The newer patterns though that were produced from the fifties on are catching the eye of many a collector. Patterns such as Butterprint from the 1950’s has a distinctive Amish look. Snowflake Garland is perfect for the person who decorates their kitchen in blue and white and Daisy from 1964 will brighten your day with its’ eye-catching large yellow daisies. For the purest try Pyrex’s primary colors line and mix and match solid colors such as red, yellow, green and more.

Once you have a pattern you like and your collection is starting to grow remember putting your Pyrex in the dishwasher may cause those beautiful bright colors to fade. Instead soak baked on pieces in warm soapy water and use a nylon spatula to loosen. Do not use abrasive cleaners!

You can find vintage Pyrex at your local flea markets, thrift shops, antique malls and of course the internet. We carry a large selection at our online shop, Marlene’s China Hutch. If you don’t find the pattern or piece you are looking for let us know and we will be happy to let you know when we do get it in.

Remember - Have fun and happy hunting!!

Collecting Children's Books

COLLECTING CHILDREN'S BOOKS

Collecting children’s books is a way to keep the child alive in each of us! Beautiful illustrations, stories that bring back memories of our own childhood, or even our parents and grandparents childhood, can all be captured between the pages of an antique child’s storybook.

Children’s books fall into several different categories, including storybooks, pop-up books, and coloring books. Among these are many more detailed categories, including specific publishers, authors, illustrators, or title characters.

Conditions of books vary greatly depending on age and what life the books have led. Ideally, the spine should be in good condition, with all pages intact. One sad fact of discovering a special book that you have searched for is that they are often found with the spine broken apart, pages missing, but being that the books were often toted about for many years by kids, this is often the condition of an old children’s book. If a book originally came with a paper book cover, this should accompany the edition. Are the inside of the covers scribbled on, or the pages themselves? Has the cover of the book itself survived without someone carelessly setting a glass or other item on it, thus leaving a watermark or other impression detracting from the looks of the book? If the book had special features, such as pop-up pictures, are these in good condition? With any paper collectible, is there evidence of mold or insect infestation? Are there creases, soiling, or tears? If there are any of these, how much do they detract from the overall condition of the book? What is the copyright? Is it a first edition, or a newer, reprinted edition?

Books often have many printings, and if you are collecting for value, first editions are typically worth more. Remember though, that there are always exceptions to the rules. For instance, a second printing may have new artwork by a desirable artist, this making those editions more valued than the first. Know what you are buying, or as with all antiques and collectibles, only buy what you like, and then you will never consider a purchase a bad mistake. Another often desirable addition to a book is the signature of the author or illustrator, especially if these can be documented as the real thing.

Whatever direction collecting children’s books leads you collect what you remember and collect what you love. If you follow these two rules, you will never go wrong.

Visit us at Marlene's Hutch to see our latest children's books.

China Terms to Know

China Terms You Should Know

Batch - The precise mixture of clay and other ingredients which, by heat processing, is transformed into fine china.

Bisque or Biscuit - Clayware that has been fired once for hardening but has not yet been glazed.

Bisque Fire - The first firing or baking which hardens a china piece in its final shape.

Blank - An undecorated piece of china, usually one that will be subjected to further processing for decoration.

Body - The physical composition of a piece of china as distinct form its glaze and decoration.

Casting - A process in which liquid clay is poured into a mold and then allowed to set, forming a hollow piece.

Coupe - A contemporary design shape. Its surface from edge to edge is one gracefully smooth arc or curve.

Crazing - A defect in china glaze consisting of a network of tiny cracks caused by the difference in the rate of contraction between body and glaze.

Dipping - The process by which dinnerware is dipped in liquid glaze prior to second firing.

Firing - A baking process under carefully controlled temperatures to which all ceramic ware is subjected for hardening, strengthening, and fusing together its various ingredients.

Flatware - Any flat piece, including plates and platters or all shapes and sizes.

Flux - A material that aids the melting and fusion of ceramic ingredients under heat. The most commonly used fluxes in china manufacturing are feldspar and bone ash.

Foot - This is the vase on which the piece rests.

Glaze - The protective armor of fine china. The glaze liquie is fired to achieve a degree of hardness and brilliance that gives china its distinctive beauty.

Glost Firing - China's second firing, the purpose of which is to harden and set the glaze. Temperatures are generally lower that those of the first, and bisque firing.

Green Ware - China that has been shaped but not yet fired and therefore, has very little mechanical strength.

Hand Painted - The decoration that has been completely hand applied.

Holloware - Cups, bowls, pitchers and similar china pieces as distinguished from flatware such as plates and platters.

Jigger - A revolving platform above which is suspended a shaped blade that is brought down on a spinning mass of clay to give it its profile. It is a modern adaption of a potter's wheel.

Kaolin - A pure, white, top grade clay used in the making of fine china.

Kiln - An oven in which china is fired or baked. Pottery men pronounce the word as if it were spelled without the "n".

Lining - The line decoration that trims the outer edge or inner shoulder of a china piece.

Mold - The form used for shaping holloware pieces. Molds are usually made of plaster of Paris, useful for its high absorbancy.

Open Stock - This refers to piece by piece availability in the stores. China may be purchased in this way or in place settings and complete services.

Paste - The mixture from which china is made. The two basic types are soft paste, which includes a high percentage of powdered glass, and hard paste, which is a mixture of kaolin, flint and feldspar.

Pin Marks - Small depressions on the underside of a glazed piece left by the pins which support it in the kiln as it is fired. Although they are usually pollished off, the marks cannot be completely erased.

Potter's Wheel - A round platform rotated upon which the potter throws, or forms a circular shape.

Prints - In china decoration, this refers to a tupe or etching, hand cut in metal rolls. The hand cut designs are printed from the roll on special papers, and these prints in turn are applied to china.

Print, Hand-Filled - A decorative term referring to a china print that has color added or filled by hand.

Raised Enamel - A type of fine china decoration requiring superb skill and craftsmanship to achieve.

Reject - A piece of ware withheld from shipment because of an imperfection that prevents it form meeting first quality standards.

Rim - The flat decorated or pattern area of certain types of plates, between edge and verge.

Run of Kiln or R.K. - A grading term, usually denotes china as it comes out of the kiln not subjected to inspection or weeding out.

Seam - A ridge on a piece of molded holloware caused by the joining of two or more parts of the mold.

Shoulder - The wall area which enclosed the well of the plate.

Slip - A mixture of clay and water of creamy consistency used for producing both ceramic body and ceramic decoration.

Throwing - Forming clay manually by shaping it as it is rotated on a revolving platform.

Verge - The name given to the curve dividing the rim and the center area of the piece.

Well - The center or service area of the piece. Center decorations are placed in the well.

Storing Your Vintage Pattern Collection

Storing Your Vintage Sewing Pattern Collection

Store your patterns in a cool, dry room

What is the greatest risk facing your collection? It is handling damage and water (including humidity problems). Handling damage can be minimized with just about any kind of plastic bag, and humidity is manageable with air conditioners.

Handling Damage

Bag your collection.Every time you riffle through your collection, every time you remove the pattern pieces to see if they are all there, every time you show a particularly precious piece to a friend you run the risk of widening existing tears or creating new ones in the brittle, high-acid paper that pattern envelopes are made of. Here are four plastic sleeve options to minimize handling damages. Mylar is the plastic of choice for archivists, but it can be expensive, hard to find, and so rigid that it won't provide a good flap to keep out moisture or insects. Polypropylene is the plastic of choice for your most valuable patterns. Buy it at your local comic book specialty store. Everything except the large Vogue Patterns will fit in these sleeves. Ask for low-acid cardboard backers to reduce wear on the pattern itself. Polyethylene bags can be bought inexpensively by the boxful from local plastic bag suppliers. Polyethylene is not recommended for long-term store of valuable materials.

Water Damage

File your bagged collection upright.Next on the high risk list is water damage. Basements and attics destroy patterns: if that's where yours are stored, you won't win any brownie points with buyers. Once you have placed your patterns in the best plastic sleeve you can afford, store them upright.

Sun Damage

Protect from the sun. Ever left a newspaper sitting on the back seat of your car in the summer? Some envelopes age attractively, but in doing so they turn as brittle as a bag of potato chips! And brittle patterns simply aren't worth as much as a comparable pattern in un-yellowed condition.

Insects and Rodents

Search and destroy! Left unchecked, mice will turn your collection into colorful bedding. Insects will gnaw characteristic little holes around the edges of the pattern. Use your nose and your eyes when you bring new patterns into your collection. If you buy a cardboard box filled with patterns, throw that old cardboard box out immediately. Always! Unfold suspicious-looking patterns and "quarantine" them if necessary!