Thanks to everyone who has checked out my blog over the last week!  It's great to see the response!  As you have probably noticed, "The Bee and the Butterfly" already has a new look!  Who knows?  You may see another look next week!  We're still in a "rough draft" mode, I think!  What do YOU think?

THE CASE OF THE DIRTY PITCHER.

Everyone loves a mystery.  Whether it's a good book, a good movie, or a good puzzle, we give ourselves over to the hunt, and when the mystery is solved, we may learn something new about the world around us, and even ourselves.

I love a good mystery, too.  I just didn't know this one would begin in an old junk store.

I said, "junk" because I mean junk...this was not a neighborhood second hand store, or, as one of my friends calls it, one of those "big box" thrift stores.  Nope.  This was straight out of Charles Dickens' 19th century London - American style.  Dark, dusty, disorganized.  But you never know....right?

I was heading out the door, anxious to breathe fresh air, when I spied an old ironstone pitcher sitting on the top edge of an old bookcase, a faded bunch of silk flowers jammed into it.  When the owner saw me hesitate she said in a raspy voice, "That's been up there for years.  I'm just about sick a-lookin' at it.  Been thinkin' 'bout tossing it out."  Just that?  What about the rest of the shop?

"How much?"

"With or without the flowers?"

I hesitated.  Surely, she wasn't thinking those flowers were worth something!

"Tell ya what.  You can have it for, say, two bucks.  I'll throw in the flowers."

I looked at it again.  Maybe after I scrubbed it up....

"Deal."

So that's how I came to walk out of that tired old store two dollars poorer.  

A week later I got around to tossing the flowers out and giving the "ironstone" pitcher a good scrubbing.  With no luck.  I realized, that because of the extensive crazing throughout the glaze, stains had taken hold of the actual clay body of the piece.  It looked like it had sat in a vat of hot, strong tea for a month.  Little nosegays of flowers seemed to be scattered around the body of the pitcher, but the only thing I could see clearly was the manufacturer's stamp on the bottom, reading, "Warwick China".

So I found an old plastic trash can, dissolved about a ton of powdered oxygen bleach in it and gave my pitcher it's first real bath.  The next day I peered into it and when I saw how brown the water was I think I gasped.  I thought for a second that the pitcher, stains and all, had dissolved!  But reaching in I discovered that it was still there.  I pulled it out, soaked it in plain water for about an hour, then started the entire process over again.

This went on for a week.  Finally, one morning I looked in and saw that the water was almost clear.  I soaked it in distilled water for another day, cleaned out the residue of the floral putty, and when it was completely dry, I discovered what you see below.  I had purchased a very sweet, very Late Victorian water pitcher with gold sponge decoration around it's rim and handle.

The "blotches" turned out to be flowers!  

And the heaviest staining is actually 14k gold fired into the glaze!

Trying to determine more about its origins, I had also acquired a lot of information about the historic Ohio River Valley that wanders from Pennsylvania, and creates the borders of several states before emptying into the Mississippi.  One of those states is West Virginia, and along it's far western edge, along the Ohio River, sits the city of Wheeling, where Warwick China was produced from 1887 until it closed in 1951.

The Ohio River Valley is, pardon the pun, awash with the history of the United States from the 1750's all the way through today.  And if you are a collector of vintage china or glass manufactured in the U. S., chances are it was manufactured in this valley.

Mystery solved.  Damsel in distress rescued.  But, as typical of mysteries, one discovery led to another and another.  Over time I will share them with you on this blog.

For now, let's just say that you probably have a piece of china and glass sitting in a cupboard that is very quietly waiting for a chance to tell it's unique story and share it's part in the history of the U. S.: it's artistic, social, as well as economic heritage.

It's not just books that can tell you about history!

 A good shot of both residual staining and the crazing covering almost the entire pitcher.

You can still see some discoloration on the lip of the pitcher 

and blotches throughout it's interior.

To see more images of this pitcher and to learn more go to

https://www.etsy.com/listing/123926476/vintage-transferware-pitcher-warwick?ref=shop_home_active

For more information on the history of Wheeling West Virginia, go to http://www.wheelingheritage.com/

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog!

In the last year I have been "building" a shop on Etsy.com (bunnysluck).  Never let anyone tell you it's easy!

One of pleasures of listing many of the vintage items I have has been discovering their histories and sharing them with Buyers.  But as my descriptions got longer, my patience got thinner.

"All this research and writing, and only a few people will see it?"

And so the idea of a blog took shape!  It will allow me to dig deeper into the histories of many of the items I offer in my Etsy shop, as well as share the inspiration behind others things I list, like my handmade skirts of vintage fabric.  I would also like to showcase other Etsy artists and artisans, and, who knows, maybe throw in a recipe or two!

And before you ask, "Why did you name it The Bee and the Butterfly?"  I'll tell you.....

You often see the bee motif in classic formal French textiles (another thing we may talk about later!).  This was Empress Josephine's chosen symbol.  So my first response to your "why" is, "Because it's classy!"

The second is that the bee represents doing the impossible.  Bees are busy for a reason.....aerodynamically they just don't have what it takes to fly, especially loaded down with pollen!  But don't tell the bee that!  Every flight it takes is in total disregard of the law of physics.  Because it CANNOT fail.  A bee must have total faith everytime it leave the hive.  By sheer will and faith, and a need to succeed, it accomplishes it's tasks every day.  And all this in spite of the flailing hands of people who think bees are out to get them!

Every day I am reminded that I need to disregard physics and just simply have faith that with hard work I can accomplish any challenge and bring home the pollen....er, bacon....er, living!  A lesson we have all learned over the last few years.

And finally, the by-product of that little bee's hard work is not just the intended collection of pollen.  Through re-distribution of that pollen, it accomplishes the ultimate creation of something useful, like almonds or peaches for our tables.  The bee is also instrumental in the creation of more beautiful flowers and trees.  That tiny bee fills our lives with both food for our tables and food for our souls.  And it is done with no thought of a return on its investment of time or energy. A truly selfless act!

As for the butterfly?  

Last summer I discovered one of the ugliest and largest caterpillars climbing up the side of my house.  I didn't know whether to leave it or transport it out of my sight.  It was truly ugly!  My common sense took over and I left it.  (Or maybe I just couldn't bear to touch it!)  I'm so glad I did leave it to its purpose!  A few weeks later I was greeted by the sight of a truly magnificent Monarch butterfly probably 5 inches across!   The memory of its powerful beauty will always be with me, as will the memory of my decision to simply respect its role and let it fulfill its promise.

There are lessons for all of us in the daily struggles of the bee and the butterfly:  the bee whose stated purpose is only function, and the butterfly who is the embodiment of beautiful form.  But both go beyond their intended form and function to bring some small measure of delight and meaning into our lives.

I hope this blog does the same thing:  exploring that place beyond the form and function of an object and arriving at a destination of deeper meaning and delight.

First stop:  the Warwick pitcher rescue!  Next week on the Bee and the Butterfly!  In the meantime, visit my shop at bunnysluck and browse!