Monthly Archives: October 2015

Coffee Pot, Cookware, Kitchen, Vintage Cookware

Lucy’s Swedish Coffee Pot

Swedish Coffee Pot in I Love Lucy Kitchen
Swedish Coffee Pot in I Love Lucy Kitchen

In the above picture from the I Love Lucy kitchen we see a Swedish style coffee pot by Svensk on the top of the fridge.svensk This type of antique three legged goose neck kettle (sometimes described as a Turkish coffee pot, chocolate pot or teapot) is usually made of copper so it adds a nostalgic traditional touch to the kitchen decor.
I see a nice “Swedish Hand Hammered Vintage Arts and Crafts”  one on Etsy this week HERE and another one on eBay pictured below:

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Copper Swedish Coffee Pot Kettle seen on eBay

The handle is hollow to hold a long wooden stick to be used when placing it over a hot fire without getting too close to the heat. Some people like the vintage patina on copper but you can bring back the shine by rubbng the copper with with a paste of vinegar and salt, or instead lemon juice and baking soda, or some use tomato ketchup.
Click Here to see it on eBay or Click Here to Search for similar listings on eBay.  Lucy’s copper kettle appears to be about 8″- 9″ tall when compared to the height of the breadbox below.
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50s Retro, I love Lucy Props, Little Ricky, Vintage Toys

Little Ricky’s Jack in the Box

Mattel Jolly Jack In The Box Music Box on Lucy's Coffee Table
Mattel Jolly Jack In The Box Music Box on Lucy’s Coffee Table

A Mattel Jolly Jack In The Box Music Box 1952 No. 461 is seen on the coffe table in the I Love Lucy episode Nursery School. This seems to be a hard to find  scary looking Jack in the Box but I did see one in a closed auction on eBay HERE and a Mint in box one for sale at http://www.momandpopstoys.com/oddsends.htm

Mattel Jolly Jack In The Box Music Box 1952 No. 461

Mattel Jolly Jack In The Box Music Box 1952 No. 461
50s Retro, I love Lucy Props, Ricardo's Bookshelf

The Ricardo’s Bookshelf: The D.A. Takes a Chance

TheBlackEye-I-Love-Lucy
The Ricardo’s read a scary thriller in The Black Eye

Lucy and Ricky argue over a murder mystery novel in the I Love Lucy episode The Black Eye. I finally identified the book after numerous screen captures and zooming in Photoshop to bring you the ID of the book. The title is The D.A. Takes a Chance by Erle Stanley Gardner who is also the author of the famous Perry Mason novels.
Following are some pictures of early editions. The hard cover of Lucy’s book looks like the 1st edition of 1948. I see several versions of the book on Amazon and eBay so there still time to get yourself a scary thrillerfor those dark winter evenings.

The D.A. Takes a Chance
The D.A. Takes a Chance by Erle Stanley Gardner – Source:eBay

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The-DA-Takes-a-Chance
See it on eBay
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50s Retro, I love Lucy Props, Table Lighters

The Ricardo’s Evans Cornucopia Lighter Set

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Evans Cornucopia Lighter and Cigarette Server set on the Ricardo’s coffee table in I Love Lucy

Note the Evans Cornucopia Lighter and Cigarette Server on the Ricardo’s coffee table in I Love Lucy in The Black Eye episode.

Evans Cornucopia Horn Of Plenty Lighter Set on I Love Lucy
Evans Cornucopia Horn Of Plenty Lighter Set like the one  on I Love Lucy
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Image from eBay listing

This is a highly collectable “New old stock” 1950’s unused Evans Cornucopia Horn Of Plenty Lighter Set on eBay  Click Here to see it.

evans-lighterSearch for more like this on eBay

1950 Ad for Evans Cornucopia Lighter
1950 Ad for Evans Cornucopia Lighter
50s Retro, I love Lucy Props, Kitchen, Mid-century

Lucy uses DUZ

A box of Duz detergent in Lucy Ricardos's kitchen
A box of Duz detergent in Lucy Ricardos’s kitchen

A box of DUZ washing powder is seen on Lucy Ricardo’s kitchen counter in the kitchen set of I Love Lucy. Duz is a discontinued brand of Proctor & Gamble , it began as a powdered laundry soap and later, a powdered laundry detergent.  there were promotional glassware and plates in each box. it was last made in 1980

DUZ Safe Suds! Whiter Whites!
DUZ Safe Suds! Whiter Whites!

Duz was a popular brand name in the 1950’s. Below is an original commercial for Duz Laundry Detergent that aired in 1953. There is actually a  full unused vintage box of DUZ for sale on eBay currently:  http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Duz-Granulated-Soap-Box-1lb-4-5oz-Full-Puncture-/261994886163

Art, Framed Prints, Switzerland

Lucy in the Swiss Alps: Walther von Klingen Print

Ricardos-in-Lucerne
Medieval framed print in the Ricardo’s Lucerne hotel room

On the wall in the Ricardo’s room in Lucerne there is a framed Medieval print from the Codex_Manesse of Walther von Klingen

Walther von Klingen from Codex_Manesse
Codex Manesse, UB Heidelberg, Cod. Pal. germ. 848, fol. 52r: Walther von Klingen

Walther von Klingen AKA: “Count Walter III of Altenklingen”
Birthdate: circa 1220
Birthplace: Altenklingen, Thurgau, Switzerland
Death: Died March 1, 1286 in Altenklingen, Thurgau, Switzerland
He was a Minstrel and author of songs in the Codex. The Codex Manesse,  is a medieval songbook, the single most comprehensive source of Middle High German Minnesang poetry, written and illustrated between ca. 1304 when the main part was completed, and ca. 1340 with the addenda.The codex was produced in Zürich, for the Manesse family.

The manuscript is “the most beautifully illumined German manuscript in centuries;” its 137 miniatures are a series of “portraits” depicting each poet. ( Source Wikipedia)

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50s Retro, Art, Framed Prints, Monte Carlo

The Mertzes in Monte Carlo: Cameo Miniatures

cameo-pictureSeen in the Mertzes Monte Carlo room are framed cameo miniatures on the wall. Similar miniatures are seen in the Mertz living room and in the Ricardo’s apartment in the window alcove on either side of the piano following  their return from the trip.

Little Ricky Gets a Dog: Cameo miniature plaques on the Rcardo’s wall after the trip

cameo-creations
See more like this on eBay
This gilt framed cameo miniature portrait by A Cameo Creation is similar to the one seen in the screenshot above. ‘A Cameo Creation’ miniatures were inspired by the more expensive Victorian originals and were sold in the home decor sections of department stores at affordable prices.

Little Ricky Learns to Play the Drums -Cameo pictures on the wall in Fred and Ethel's apartment.
Little Ricky Learns to Play the Drums -Cameo pictures on the wall in Fred and Ethel’s apartment.

Cameo miniatures are also seen in the Mertz apartment, seen here in a scene from the episode Little Ricky Learns to Play the Drums after they return from the trip.

Art, Framed Prints, Monte Carlo

Lucy goes to Monte Carlo: Watteau Painting Print

Festival of Love Jean Antoine Watteau
Monte Carlo Hotel set: Framed print of Festival of Love by Jean Antoine Watteau

An ornate framed print of The Feast (or Festival) of Love by Jean-Antoine Watteau is seen in the set of the Monte Carlo hotel on I Love Lucy.

Loves-Festival-Jean-Antoine-Watteau
The Feast (or Festival) of Love (1718 – 1719) Oil on canvas, 61 x 75 cm Gemäldegalerie, Dresden

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50s Retro, Art, Ethel Mertz, Figurines, Florence Ceramics, Framed Prints, Monte Carlo

The Mertzes in Monte Carlo: Nicholas Lancret Framed Print

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Ethel and Fred Mertz in their Monte Carlo room

On the wall of the Mertzes Monte Carlo hotel room is a well known Nicholas Lancret framed print called La Camargo Dancing. Also seen on the chest of drawers beside the door is a figurine we saw in the Mertzes Connecticut home in another I Love Lucy episode. A figurine of a colonial lady, Florence Ceramics “Charmaine”.

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Nicholas Lancret La Camargo Dancing Nicolas Lancret – La Camargo – c.1730, oil on canvas Washington, National Gallery of Art, Andrew W. Mellon Collection – © Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington

The woman dancing in the painting is Marie Anne de Cupis de Camargo a famous French/Belgian ballet dancer known as La Camargo. She was first woman to execute the entrechat quatre,  the first dancer to wear slippers instead of heeled shoes, and also first to wear the shorter calf-length ballet skirt and the now standard ballet tights.

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