My Lucky Glass Spaniel Find

I went to York Dolls' House Fair on Sunday with my friend Jenny - an excellent day out with a lot of lovely purchases. BUT, my absolute favourite find of the day was lurking inconspicuously in a rummage box and cost me the grand sum £2!

I couldn't believe it when I spotted this gorgeous little glass Blenheim (tan and white) Cavalier King Charles spaniel.

Yes, she's been through the wars and has technically lost her tail and her legs, but lying there on that comfy sofa, I choose to believe she has tucked them all under, as they are wont to do. More importantly, at least to me, her face and ears have absolutely no chips. And let's face it, for £2, well...

There is a particular reason why I was so excited to find her: it's because I fell in love with an almost identical example in a miniature shop display full of glassware in Ilkley Toy Museum when I visited it in 2017.

Above is a screenshot from the blog I wrote after that first visit to the toy museum. So you can see how hard I fell. I have been back several times since and my passion has never dimmed, so how amazing that eight years later I have my own version to cherish!

I've never come across another example and I'd love to know who made her and when exactly she dates to. When I searched online (including a reverse image search) I found only one similar example - a pair of glass spaniels mounted on a bare wooden plinth (similar to the one in Ilkley Museum) which had been listed on Etsy and were described as dating to the 1950s, but I have no idea how accurate that dating is.

If you happen to know more about these charming glass miniatures, I'd love to hear from you either in the comments section below or via the Contact Form on the right hand side of the page.

And finally, here we have the reason I fell in love with the one in Ilkley Toy Museum in the first place: my own real-life [mostly] Cavalier cutie!

Until next time,
Zoe

Charles Twelvetrees Wedding Series Postcards - The Bride and The Groom

This post isn’t particularly ‘on topic’ but it’s about two lovely postcards from 1915 which I found while out and about hunting for minis yesterday with my friend Jenny.

 

I don’t collect postcards but I found the illustrations and messages on these ones so appealing that I was compelled to buy them.

Attributions in small print along the bottom of the facing side tell us that the illustrations were painted by CH Twelvetrees and copyrighted to Edward Gross Co., New York.

A quick Google informed me that Charles H. Twelvetrees (1872-1948) is well-known among postcard collectors for his illustrations of chubby-cheeked children, often shown with funny captions.

The cards are from the Wedding Series which consisted of:

• The Bride (caption: God Bless Her)
• The Groom (caption: God Help Him)
• The Minister (caption: Solemn and Workmanlike)
• The Mother in Law (caption: But A Very Nice One)
• The Bridesmaid (caption: Sweet as Peachblossom)
• The Best Man (caption: No Wedding Bells for Him)

As well as the lovely illustrations and the cheeky message accompanying  the picture of the groom, I love the fact that the two cards were sent by the same person and have stayed together now for a hundred and ten years.

Both cards are postmarked 7th November 1915 and feature a halfpenny stamp bearing the head of King George V (husband of Queen Mary, she of the famous dolls’ house).

The sender was someone called Bella and the cards were sent to a Mr and Mrs Cook at separate addresses.

Mrs Cook’s card was sent to her at her parents’ address - 74 Tilery Road, Stockton on Tees (County Durham).

Mr Cook, who we can see was a Private in 107 Field Ambulance: Royal Army Medical Corps, was stationed at Sling Camp, Salisbury Plain (Wiltshire) and his card was sent there. This was, of course, during WW1 (1914-18).

I knew I had to find out who these folk were and luckily, via my Ancestry.com account, I was able to identify them relatively easily.

Private Robert Henry Cook (b. 23.06.1890) married Jane Allon (b. 13.09.1891) in Stockton-on-Tees on the 31 October, 1915, so just a week before these postcards were sent.

Jane Allon had a younger sister called Isabella Harper Allon who I think is likely to be the sender ‘Bella’.

The message from Bella to Jane reads:

“I am not going to write to you until you write to me. I just want to tell you that Mrs Dinsdale never got any wedding cake so I hope you will send some.

Have you heard the [sic] Lillie Whitehead and Ernie Hudson are married? I am surprised that Mrs Whitehead gave her consent. Have just written to Bob, I had a letter from him this morning.

Love from Bella”

The message from Bella to Robert (or “Bob”) reads:

“Hope you like this. I am not sending it in the letter as I think it would weigh too much.

Love from Bella”

It was lovely to learn from my research that Robert made it safely through the war and the couple went on to have two children together.

Robert became an ambulance man for County Durham Steel & Iron Co. steel rolling mills (Malleable Ironworks, Stockton) and they lived in Stockton-on-Tees until their deaths: Robert in 1969 and Jane in 1977.

I even found photos of Robert and Jane in later life (on Ancestry.com) in which they look very happy together. 💕

I’ve no idea why I felt that I had to buy these cards, but I do know that I’m very glad I did!

Until next time,
Zoe

P.S. There was a Mrs Dinsdale living in the same street (Tilery Road) as Jane’s parents in the 1911 Census, so perhaps this is the lady who hadn’t received any wedding cake. The Lillie Whitehead and Ernie Hudson mentioned in Jane’s card have eluded me (thus far!)