This one had to be Ricky’s book, Dave Dawson with the Flying Tigers was one of a war adventure series by Robert Sidney Bowen known for his boys’ series books written during World War II, the Dave Dawson War Adventure Series and the Red Randall Series. It is missing its dust cover on the shelf.
Find it on eBay
A copy of this book can be seen on the bed headboard bookshelf on the Ricardo’s bedroom set, its easy to spot behind Lucy in the I Love Lucy episode where she has pregnancy cravings and eats pistachio ice cream with hot fudge and sardines – which in reality was substituted mash potatoes and gravy instead of the ice cream and fudge to make it easier for Lucille Ball.
Click Here to find it on eBay
Click here to Find it on Amazon
From Wikipedia:
Try and Stop Me (1944) was a best-selling book written by American publisher and writer Bennett Cerf and illustrated by artist Carl Rose. The first of a series of joke books compiled by Cerf, the founder of Random House publishers, Try and Stop Me sold over one million copies in the first two years of publication.
The book is mainly a compilation of anecdotes, urban legends, jokes, ghost stories, what Cerf calls “shaggy dog stories”, and profiles of news makers. Celebrities profiled by Cerf include Alexander Woollcott, Gertrude Stein, Robert Emmet Sherwood, Albert Einstein, Herbert Bayard Swope, Dorothy Thompson, Monty Woolley, George Gershwin, and Lucius Beebe.
Ref:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Try_and_Stop_Me_(book)
Another consistent element of the I Love Lucy kitchen decor is a wall mounted cruet set in a wooden stand. Many sets of this type were imported from Japan in the post WW2 years, examples of which can frequently be seen on eBay.
The Cruet set on the show consists of a hand painted ceramic double neck oil and vinegar bottle with a matching ceramic handled wooden salad serving fork and spoon plus a funnel to decant the oil and vinegar into the separate compartments of the decorative bottle, all of which fit on a wall mounted wooden stand.
The set on I love Lucy has a hand painted Ivy design. An identical cruet was sold by George S. Thompson of Pasadena with a label with label ‘OLDE THOMPSON South Pasadena California’. Their hand painted ivy range named “Imperial Ivy” used on salt and pepper sets , salad sets and dining accessories, was marketed to co-ordinate with popular ivy patterned dinnerware from other manufacturers such as the Metlox California Ivy range.
As time went on we see the cruet set on the I Love Lucy has signs that pieces of the salad set went missing, the funnel was lost and the wood serving fork and spoon were replaced by metal ones.
Seen above is a similar salad cruet set that was listed on ebay recently although with a difference painted design.
Here is another set – missing the funnel- currently listed on eBay as I write this.
After the Ricardo’s move to the bigger apartment we can see a wooden nautical style ships pilot wheel lamp in the kitchen next to the door. I saw a very similar one on eBay and discovered that the arm of the lamp rotates so it can also stand independently as a table lamp with the wheel at it’s base.
The lamp pictured below is marked “Leviton”on the metal section
To see more pictures on the listing on eBay click here
More details here on the eBay listing
CLICK HERE to Find more like this on eBay
I have not seen examples of the lamp shade paired with it on the show. If you have information to share regarding the lampshade please comment below.
Peter writes :
The pair of mantle lusters or lustres are found on top of the piano. As you know they are seen practically from the beginning and up until the Ricardos move to the country. I actually was able to purchase a set identical to the ones used on the show, so I’m selling the other set I have. The only difference is the color. Here’s the listing: http://www.ebay.com/itm/161471370240
The ones on the show were a green color with silver painted ovals on the crown and base. Attached is a photo of what the real ones looked like. Also, one of them has a sticker on the inside that says Charleton.
Thanks again to Peter for sharing a great find with us.
The Charleton line of decorated ceramics was produced by Abels, Wasserberg & Co. (AWCO) from the 1940’s. They
purchased undecorated items (blanks), from various glass and ceramic manufacturers and employed a team of decorators who hand decorated the pieces with designs of flowers, fruit,
landscapes, and other patterns and also decorated china and glass items for Fenton and other lines. To identify the Charleton range, an embossed label when present indicates “Charleton Hand Decorated” plus a hand written serial/stock number, and in print the letters AWCO as seen in the example pictured above.
A photo from an exhibit you can see to the right a glimpse of a mantel luster prop like the one on “I Love Lucy” but with shorter crystals.
Update: The luster in the picture from Flickr is an actual original prop from “I Love Lucy” per comment below.
Click Here for Mantel Lusters currently available on eBay
Reference:
In an early I Love Lucy episode entitled ‘Be a Pal’ Lucy and Ricky are having coddled eggs for breakfast. The egg cup is double sided and large enough to make coddled eggs on the top side and to hold a standard boiled egg on the smaller side. The maker is Brock of California and the design seen on the show is called Harvest with a yellow top edge. They are also seen on the kitchen shelves in several episodes.
Brock of California was founded in 1947 by Bert J Brock and closed down in 1980. The company designed a limited number of dinnerware patterns in the 40’s and 50’s that are popular with collectors today. Brock of California were known for their charming country style designs and the Harvest design can be still be found on eBay and Etsy with either brown or yellow edges. Search for “Brock California” for a current selection.
Coddled eggs are made by Continue reading Lucy and Ricky’s Brock Coddled Egg Cups
Aluminum tumblers were popular in the 1950’s. They were available in plain or anodized aluminum in a range of colors and were an alternative to glass for home entertaining , and stylish and practical for use on the patio.
We see what seems to be a plain set in use in an early episode of I Love Lucy when Lucy thinks Ricky is trying to poison her.
Aluminum tumblers stay cool to the touch even on hot days and are still a popular choice today. In the 1950’s they were made by several manufacturers. Above you can see two versions of the Kromex set of aluminum tumblers with caddy. A chrome caddy like the Kromex one was seen in the I Love Lucy kitchen, holding a set of patterned glass tumblers , in the Season 2 show Lucy Hires a Maid. This may have been the Kromex caddy from the set we saw above. Continue reading Ricardo’s Mid Century Aluminum Tumblers
