What is a decorative wall pocket for?

The term wall pocket or wall vase are terms that you may not be familiar with.  The two terms mean the same thing—it’s an item that is hung on the wall that con hold flowers, feathers or even potpourri. 

 

This type of item started to be used in homes in the late 18th century when ceramic companies popped up all over Europe.  Minton, Wedgewood, and even Royal Doulton are only a small handful of companies that have produced wall pockets.

Wall pockets will have a flat back so that you can hang them flush on a wall, and they also will have at least one hole in the back to hang them up.  The common theme these have are the fact that they have an opening at the top for you to store something in them.

The wall pocket featured above was made by Roseville.  It has the "Foxglove" pattern on it, and this one was made in 1942.  It can be seen in my Etsy store here.

When this Roseville wall pocket was made (or even shortly thereafter), wall pockets experienced a revival when the demand for novelty ceramics like head vases and salt and pepper shakers exploded.

They also sport a wide variety of motifs. People, animals, flowers and even buildings have been used to decorate wall pockets, so you can find something that you would love to show off very easily.

What kinds of wall pockets have you run across?

Salesman’s Samples of all kinds

Back in the day when computer pictures of anything and everything weren’t around at the push of a key, a salesman often arrived with a miniature of the product he or she was selling.  One of the reasons that they were scaled down versions was that the salesman didn’t have to lug around all of the heavy items these items represent.

These samples cover a wide area and include items from kitchen pans, tools and even irons.  There are even samples for furniture.

One sample that comes to mind is this early 1900’s grey graniteware basin.

 

The basin can be seen in my Etsy shop here.  Another sample that fits this area is this house jack.

 

One of the great things that it has going for it is that it still has the original box.  You can see it in my Etsy shop here.

This area of collecting often gets confused with children’s toys because of the size of the samples.  The wash basin could be confused with a bowl from a child’s tea set, and the jack could be confused with a toy that’s part of a child’s tool set.

There are several of these that can be found in my Etsy store here.  What kinds of samples have you run across?