What happened in 1900?

Not too long ago, I was looking up some information about an item that I was going to put up for sale on Etsy.  While looking around, I found some fun tidbits about the year 1900.  Here’s some of the things that I found:

On March 15^th, the Gold Standard Act is ratified, placing the United States currency on the gold standard.  The United States printed the words “Gold Certificate” on them, and these notes are highly collected today.

On June 25^th, The Daoist monk Wang Yuanlu discovers the Dunhuang manuscripts, a cache of ancient texts that are of great historical and religious significance, in the Mogao Caves of Dunhuang, China.  These manuscripts include works ranging from the Buddhist religion to history and mathematics to folk songs and dance.

On November 3^rd, The first Auto show in the United States opens at New York City's Madison Square Garden.

What kind of fun facts have you run across when you are looking for more information on an item?

Rose bowls for the collector

These small decorated bowls were popular in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries.

They were produced in various types of glass like satin, spatter, spangle, silver overlay, and much, much more.  One color that is seen is cranberry, which is the color on this fantastic example made by Fenton.

They are usually spherical with an incurved, crimped rim; but they can also show up egg shaped or even ovid.  There is also a ton of manufacturers that made rose bowls as well, and Fenton has quite a few examples themselves.

You can see this fantastic Fenton rose bowl in my Etsy shop here.  Wouldn’t one of these make a great gift?

Depression Glass for everyone

Glassware that was distributed at a very low cost (or even free) during the Great Depression is one of today’s hottest collectibles.  Numerous patterns were manufactured by numerous glass companies.  Colors added a bit of beauty to an otherwise drab era—pinks, reds, blues, and even greens were sought after.

Books outlining their current cost and listing the prices offered in a certain pattern by a certain company such as Anchor Hocking are available online or in a bookstore.  Favorite and highly collectible patterns include Princess, Manhattan, Avocado, Doric, Miss America, English Hobnail—even Christmas Candy. 

My own grandmother treasured her green Princess sugar and creamer.  You can see all of the great Depression glass goodies in my Etsy shop here.  Do you have family favorites?

Sometimes directions help out with in collecting paper money

Directions play a part in quite a few different ways in life, including in collecting paper money from the early 1800’s.  During this time, it was up to the banks to produce paper money (they would file for a charter with the United States government, and this would allow the bank to produce their own paper money).

 

Collectors often look for paper money in a couple of ways for their collections.  They will look for a certain bank, city, or even state that the money was produced in.

If there was a major metropolitan area, the more banks were likely to be there.  The east coast area has quite a few different banks that offered paper money.  This was true to just past the Mississippi river.  The farther west you went, the fewer banks you would run into.  The gold rush in California that started in 1848 was what helped bring some banks (and eventually a United States mint in San Francisco) that far west.

Even up north in places like North Dakota, Washington State, and even Alaska have very few banks at all.  There have been a few bills (collectors also call them “notes”) to turn up for a few banks in these states, and are highly sought after.

What fun direction can your collection go?

Collectible Kerosene lamps

The use of kerosene was a major breakthrough in lighting fuels, and replaced whale oil.  It became the main source of light for homes during the latter half of the 19^th century and for remote locations until the 1950’s.  Beautiful examples can still be found at auctions and sales—although rarer examples and brightly colored lamps can be pricey.

I recently came across a wonderful Smith Brothers lamp (made by the Mt. Washington Glass Company) with a stork standing in grass against a pale pink background.

It was made in the late 19^th century and still very beautiful.

Do you have a family lamp treasure, or ones that you have found at a sale?