NOW I'M HOOKED ON . . .

. . .  ANTIQUE IRONSTONE WITH WRITING.. 

I've got a little collection going now, but these are EXTREMELY  hard to find.   I love the liter pitchers, and the 5 Litre is perfect for displaying a large bouquet of summer flowers.   They're doing reproductions (although they are lovely), so if you are spending a lot of money for a piece, make sure it is indeed old. 

I recently spent several weeks in England going from town to town visiting various private homes of doll and toy collectors to see their collections.   This piece caught my eye in the gorgeous kitchen of a collector who happened to be German and also lived in the States for many years before settling in England with her family.  I told her how I admired her ironstone bowl holding the fruit on the counter, and she said, "You can buy it," and I was thrilled.   It's an advertising piece made for a company called Weck's, and this one in particular advertises Weck's Frischhaltung, something they sold to keep produce fresh.   The "ges. gesch." stands for "gesetzlich geschützt,"  meaning trademarked or legally protected by law. 

How excited I was when I took out the apples and found it was also a colander.  I use it almost every day now in my kitchen!

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