Ex Libris Collecting---What????

On our recent trip to th Czech Republic--we became aware of a European collecting frenzy that was never on my radar before--Ex Libris Collecting.

Ex Libris  literally means the bookplate used to describe a book's owners.  Yes--those paper stickers that you sometimes see inside the front cover of a book are collectible, desirable and sometimes worth some serious money.

I vaguely remember receiving a package of bookplates from my mother as a birthday gift when I was in early grade school.  They came in a heavy cardboard box with gold trim and had adhesive on one side like postage stamps and on the other--a colorful collection of drawings and the words "This book belongs to...".   I know I exited the birth canal with a book clutched in my tiny hand--so it was not at all unusual for my mom to give me this rather grown up gift when I was young.  I remember sitting at my desk and carefully--Oh So Carefully spelling out my name in cursive and getting ready to install the plates in my books.

Ex Libris collecting is REALLY big in the Czech Republic.  Most antiques shops have boxes of them at the front desk--and they are used and have been removed from books or are just "extras" that are available for purchase.  These plates can be really artistic gems--made to order by the book owner or even designed by famous artists--as one of a kind special works of art that say "This book is mine--please return it if it gets lost".  Some have quirky artwork, some use coats of arms or monograms.  They are collected and put in albums much like stamp collecting.

Libraries use them as invaluable tools to trace the ownership of books.  In the CZ, since 1992, restitution of real property and personal property has been going on with great vigor.  Items that were confiscated by the Germans and Russians is still be returned to families.  Ex libris plates allow libraries to be rebuilt and "lost" books to be returned home.

Some of these ex libris plates can be worth big money.  I wonder if my 1960s version with the childish scrawl are worth anything?

Nothing Lasts Forever-Reflecting on Old Antique Friends

The antiques business is one that is constantly changing--dealers never conquer it--let alone even figure it out.  Dear Husbola and I are no different.
Just for fun and I use the term very loosely-- as the New Year is almost upon us-I started to make a list of the antiques shops that we have sold in and no longer sell in.  It is quite a list--actually it is quite a long list.  We have been involved in the selling antiques since 1989.

Shops can be good shops-but they might not be a good fit for a particular dealer and their style of merchandise.  Road projects can kill a shop.  Letting in reproductions and crafts can kill a shop faster than a cancer.  Good dealers retire and are hard or impossible to replace. Shows are the same way.  Shops can go out of business in a flash--and shows can just fade away.

Our list is not meant to be a negative comment on any location or shop.  We look at it that we were old friends for a while and then just grew apart and are in each others' rear view mirrors.  Those shops marked with an asterisk are no longer in business:

*Prairie du Sac Antique Mall (so long ago--I think this was its name!)
*Hoff Mall Antique Center, Mt. Horeb WI
*Middleton Antique Mall
*Delafield Antique Center
*Watertown Antique Mall
Gurnee Antique Center
Delavan Antique Mall (now Lauren's Antiques and Art)
Lake Geneva Antique Mall
Geneva Street Antique Mall
Ridgefield Country Church Antiques

Where are we now?  Happily selling in Odana Antiques Mall in Madison and On The Square in Walworth.  Our show selection is changing.  One day shows are golden--but there are not many of those.  We are selecting shows better with an eye to up front expenses and the best use of our time.
This business can be great fun.  Stocking shops and shows can be challenging and tiring--but it always keeps our interest.

You just sometimes have to say good-bye to old friends.

Thank You General Mills for Wheaties Macaroons

Regular readers to this blog know I love old recipe books.  Even better are old recipe boxes.  To me, leafing through a collection of vintage recipes is much better than browsing an old photo album.

Our kitchen is a collection of mid century vintage--mostly items from the 1920s-50s.  We bought a house with a built in 1951 stainless steel Chambers stove and a similarly aged Hotpoint refrigerator.  The frig has gone to Icebox Heaven--but the Chambers keeps on chugging along. On the shelf behind this workhorse sits one of my prize keeper finds--a 1930s General Mills Bakers' Service recipe box--stuffed with the original recipe cards.  I found this treasure in an antique shop in Sandwich Illinois--and it is as fascinating as any vintage history book.

This box is in fabulous condition with the original decals and contains a couple hundred cards of the most fabulous recipes and tips that would benefit commercial operations.  There are several score of rye bread recipes (Milwaukee Rye bread, rye pretzels, Jewish rye and raisin rye)  How about a piece of prune rye bread?  Are you interested in tips for  "Dough Control in Winter Months"? or "Fighting Mold in Bakery Products?"

A few more of my favorites?  Wheaties Macaroons, (it is General Mills after all!) Log Cabin Cookies--(also called Rough and Readies) and Prince of Wales Cake. (maybe a particular favorite of Wallis Simpson??)

A particularly quaint recipe can be found in Index 10, Card No. 27 "Indians or Brownies." Not so politically correct, but oh what a recipe.  Now remember--this is for a bakery--so you have to start with an 18 by 25 inch pan.

1lb 8ozs Gold Medal Cake Flour Softasilk
2lbs 8ozs sugar
6 ozs. cocoa
14ozs butter
12 ozs corn syrup
12 whole eggs
4 ozs water
1lb 4 ozs pecan nut meats
1 oz salt
2 ozs vanilla

Sugar,cocoa,butter,salt corn syrup and vanilla--beat for 5 minutes.  Add the rest.  Bake at 400.  (but it does not say for how long!)

It is 1930 all over again.

Remembering Moravia on a Cold Day in November

Today in the beautiful midwest--it is particularly raw and windy.  I think the door has slammed shut on autumn.  I am always a little sad when that happens.  I decided to list a few things on ebay--you can check them out under my username sellinglikecrazy.  I also decided to relive a small piece of our recent trip to Moravia.

One of most favorite adventures was a visit to the castle of Trebesice, home of Alberto di Stefano and Eugenio Percossi.  These two men opened their home to our small group for a delicious lunch an tour of the grounds.  What a place.

These two men have transformed the beautiful castle and the public can stay--IF you are an artist.  They attract artists who they wine and dine and then the artist is to create a piece of artwork that they leave on property.  So the castle is an incredible collection of styles and art pieces--a real visual treat.

 They treated us to a beautifully decorated table and an incredible multi course lunch.

What does all this have to do with midwestern antique chatter?  Nothing.  Just my nostalgic trip back to Moravia on a nasty blustery day.

Grand Cafe Orient Prague versus Starbucks

Dear Husbola and I have been blessed to have traveled to the Czech Republic many times over the last 22 years.  It truly is one of our favourite places--and holds many serendipitous travel memories--and is a virtual jewel box for any antique lover.

When we think of cafe society--we automatically and romantically think of Paris.  All those movies and all those books that mention Les Deux Magots, Le Fouquets, Cafe de Phares or Cafe de Flore.  But--Dear Readers--they won't be able to keep you down on the midwestern farm after you have seen the cafes of Prague.  The likes of Grand Cafe Orient, Cafe Savoy and Cafe Slavia have a personality that rivals Paris in spades.

 We Americans think the coffee craze and coffee shop mentality began with us?  Not so!  Prague intelligentia and artists and writers have been frequenting cafes forever--and there are no faux IKEA look sofas and children's play areas.

The Grand Cafe Orient was a find for us on this recent trip to Bohemia--and we returned twice. This cafe has always been on the upper floor of a popular corner (the Black Madonna building)--but remained closed until the 1990s over some legal wrangling.  It has reopened and is the only totally cubist decorated cafe in Prague.  It is a cubist lovers dream--from the chairs, lights, coat hooks to door handles.  As you recall-cubism is where forms are abstract and often geometric and angular.  Think art deco on steroids.  They serve light snacks and the ever present cakes (nothing recharges the tourist batteries like coffee and cake in the mid afternoon!)

On this particular sunny day--we took the lift to the second floor and really gasped at the fabulous decor.  Dear Husbola promptly ordered his favourite Algerian coffee (espresso, egg liquer and whipped cream) and I ordered a more mundane cappachino.  It is served in the traditional cafe style on a silver tray, with a small glass of water and a mini macaroon.  Bliss!  Best of all--this cafe did not appear to be on the normal tourist trail--and there were many tables of locals having business meetings and their light refreshment.

So for a little while, Dear Husbola and Lady Antique Dealer were transformed into Franz Kafka and His Sort of Non Wife Dora and steeped ourselves in wonderful Prague cafe life.

Winter and Spring Show Prep--Today or Never!

I hope to get some style points on my best of intentions today.

I really did intend to write my next blog post today about our recent trip to Bohemia and Moravia and the antiques scene there.  I also intended to go through my recipes and sort out some good sounding fall ones--and maybe even make one for dinner.  I further intended to list a few things on ebay under our selling name sellinglikecrazy today. (I actually may get to that later).  But instead--I have our inventory that is stored in the garage spread all over the driveway and I am sorting and labelling for our winter and early spring shows.  I really am.

This fall--we are not doing any shows--we will just be continuing to sell in our two antique center spaces in Madison and Walworth Wisconsin.  We will continue to attend auctions and a few estate sales to start collecting good inventory for selling in 2012.  But until I organize what we have in the garage--nothing more will fit in it--and  will not be able to find anything when we start doing shows in February.

This is one of those projects that frustrates me.  In a perfect world--everything would be in nicely sorted bins--and all with neat labels--that would make packing for a shop or show so easy.  Time to go to Odana in Madison?  Here is this lovely labeled covered bin--load 'er up and off we go.  Without going into detail about my pathetic current organizing--let's just say that is not how it is currently done.

But things are now going to be different.  I do not want to be wrestling around in the garage in late January trying to find things for our shows.  I am putting things in labeled bins and finding all sorts of neat stuff that I forgot we had.  French stuff English stuff and decorative stuff --who knew?

So instead of taking a day trip to the Delafield Antique show this weekend--I am staying home and being a responsible Lady Antique Dealer today.  I will thank myself come January!

What a Difference a Day Makes

Twenty-four hours ago, Dear Husbola and I were in the Czech Republic having lunch.

My entree was fallow deer saddle with forest mushroom sauce with carmelized shallots and layered potatoes served at the restaurant of Chateau Heralec.  This followed a morning visit to the library of the  Gothic castle at Namest na Oslavou which was rebuilt in the 1500s as a stately home. After lunch, on to Cesky Sternberg -- a castle still inhabited by the original family who built it.  By the way, Count Zdenek Sternberg is 88 and still drives his car into town.

We were so blessed to be able to take an incredible,  special holiday in the Czech Republic that was sponsored by Dan's college.  We were treated to days of incredible sights, sounds, colors, cuisine, ANTIQUES and hosted by the beautiful people of this remarkable part of the world.  In the next several posts,  I will  introduce you,  Dear Readers, to the Magic of Bohemia and Moravia--and I know it will be of interest to antiquers and lovers of rich history.

Our visits and travels were planned to the finest detail by the Incredible Harriet Landseer (who I will link to her site later)  At her request, I will not be able to specifically tell which antiques are found at what location.  In October 1989  the Velvet Revolution exploded, and communism was out and the country began the incredible task of  returning private property to the original displaced private owners.  We were not on the usual tourist trail--so the privacy of who owns what will be preserved here.

So--give me a few days to let the dust settle.    If you have a bucket list--consider putting the Czech Republic on it.  Near the top.