All posts by Patricia

Ceramic canister set on The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour

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The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour Season 2 Lucy’s Summer Vacation

german-ceramic-canister-setOn the Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour Season 2 Lucy’s Summer Vacation we see a Deft style blue and white ceramic canister set in the kitchen of Lucy’s and Desi’s vacation lodge. A seller on eBay has a  16 piece set for sale and identifies it as a German ceramic canister by INGE # 3862.  These have the same windmill design as the set on the show.  The set for sale include five 8″ canisters consisting of the  tea, coffee, sugar, oatmeal and barley plus three small canisters consisting of  pepper, ginger and cloves. Click Here to see it on eBay

Match with blue gingham kitchen curtains to recreate the look seen on the show.bluegingham

Margo Alexander print on I Love Lucy

Margo Alexander Framed Picture in The Ricardo's Apartment
Margo Alexander Framed Picture in The Ricardo’s Apartment
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Margo Alexander Studio Print


Here is another Margo Alexander print seen on the I Love Lucy set. This one is seen in the early episodes as one of three landscape prints on the back wall of the living room set. Later, after the Ricardo’s move to the bigger apartment it can occasionally be seen above the mantel alcove over the livingroom fireplace, as seen in the publicity picture below

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Here we see the Margo Alexander picture indicated by an arrow  uppermost above the fireplace. Below it are a pair of E Melvin Bolstad prints we looked at in this post.
More about Margo Alexander in this earlier post Here.

Find Margo Alexander on eBay

Lucy’s Leaf Print Tablecloth

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1950’s Leaf Print Calaprint tablecloth on I Love Lucy

Lucy’s Leaf Print tablecloth was made by Calaprint in the 1950’s. This tablecloth was made in a few color schemes. Recently we saw the following two versions for sale on eBay – a green version and a red version. Previously (in this post ) we looked at a green and pink colorway of the same print.  We can probably assume the colors of  the one the show had green in it rather than red because the set  colors tended to be chosen to compliment Lucy’s red hair even though it was filmed in black and white, furthermore the red one would have appeared somewhat darker in grayscale . This tablecloth was seen in several episodes and even appeared later in the Newport house in a kitchen scene when Lucy is ironing it.

1950's Calaprint tablecloth
1950’s Calaprint tablecloth seen on eBay
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Red version of the Calaprint design seen on eBay
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Calaprint label seen on eBay listing.

Lucy & Desi’s China Wall Plates

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Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz at home in their Chatsworth ranch home c. 1940s
KPM Germany Fruit Plates - Click picture to view on eBay
KPM Germany Fruit Plates – Click picture to view on eBay

In the 1940’s publicity photo of Lucy and Desi at home we have another look at the Ansonia Royal Bonn porcelain clock we identified in a previous post. Here we get a better view of the porcelain china plates on the wall of the chimney breast. On either side over the mantel are vertical rows of three plates with a fruit design and fluted border. They appear to be a good match for KPM Porcelain Germany fruit plates. I see a similar set of six 8 1/4 inch plates currently for sale on eBay. To hang them on the wall you would need the appropriate sized plate hangers such as this set on Amazon.
Click HERE to find more KPM fruit plates on eBay.

Ethel’s Bicycle Playing Cards

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In the I Love lucy episode Lucy Thinks Ricky Is Trying To Murder Her
which first aired on  November 5, 1951, Ethel demonstrates her fortune telling skills using her Bicycle Fan back playing cards. These had a distinctive design on the reverse that incorporates a fan and bicycle design originally issued in the 1890’s  called “The New Fan Back” as opposed to an earlier fan design.
cards bicycle-cards-canasta The fan back design is currently seen in the Canasta set available on the website HERE bicycle-cards
Vintage Sets can also be found on eBay HERE

Lucy’s Free-Westinghouse Sewing Machine

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Lucy Uses a Westinghouse Sewing Machine

In the I Love Lucy episode “Lucy Wants New Furniture” Lucy tries to economize by making her own clothes. Lucy’s uses a Free-Westinghouse sewing machine like the one pictured below which is currently for sale on eBay, except the one on eBay is attached to its own table, whereas Lucy’s was portable. The price for the cheapest model in 1950 was $69.95 per the ad below.

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Vintage Free-Westinghouse Sewing Machine – Click Picture to view on eBay
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1950 Free-Westinghouse Sewing Machine Ad

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Find Free-Westinghouse sewing machines on eBay

Ethel’s Royal Copley Vase

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Royal Copley vase with leaf design In Ethel’s living room
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Royal Copley Vase similar to one seen in the Mertzes livingroom

In the episode Ethel’s Birthday Lucy is seen in Ethel’s living room after she has helped Fred to buy Ethel a birthday present.  On the left is a Royal Copley vase with a relief design of leaves. Royal Copley china was made by the Spaulding China Company of Sebring, Ohio, from 1939 to 1960.
Click HERE to see the Royal Copley vase with leaf design on Etsy (US)
See one on eBay HERE

More Bedroom Figurines

Bedroom Figurines on I Love Lucy
Bedroom Figurines on I Love Lucy

More examples of Occupied Japan Figurines similar to the bedroom shelf figurines on I Love Lucy currently seen on eBay. See if you can spot their counterparts on the show. Click on any of the pictures to go to the eBay listing:-

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This figurine is also a Planter/Vase
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A seated pair of colonial style figurines – Occupied Japan

Click here to see similar colonial pair on Etsy (US) with an extra metal stand.