The I Love Lucy kitchen had several sets of salt and pepper shakers. You many have already noticed the ivy shaped shakers that belong to the Francisan Ivy dinnerware set. Today we are looking are a plastic set by The Plas-Tex Corporation, Los Angeles,. Calif., that were patented by the same company -see patent figure below. Following are examples Continue reading Lucy’s Plastic Salt and Pepper Shakers
In the bedroom Set of “I Love Lucy” prominently displayed on the wall behind the twin beds are a pair of ballet sketches in matching frames. One of these original prop sketches turned up on eBay in 2006 and the story that was related in the auction description is an interesting one.
Description from the auction lot:
“This is an ORIGINAL set piece or prop off of the Desilu set for the I LOVE LUCY show! It has been stored for the past forty odd years — and recently found — by me because it was in my family’s storage area since the early sixties!
It is the actual pastel and ink on art paper — an original piece of artwork, not a print — AND the original frame that was used as a prop on the set of the original I LOVE LUCY show starring Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz.” Continue reading I Love Lucy’s Bedroom Set Framed Ballet Pictures
In the episode of I Love Lucy entitled Fred And Ethel Fight
Lucy and Ricky try to patch up the Mertzes’ quarrel by inviting each to dinner without the others knowledge. On the dinner table we see a fancy lace tablecloth of a type that was very popular in the 1950s. This is a Quaker Lace tablecloth model no 4161. It has a pretty floral design with baskets of daffodils around the edge and a distintive oval motif in the center. It is a cotton machine lace tablecloth measuring 65″ by 80″.
You can find vintage Quaker Lace tablecloths on eBay and Etsy, I located one like Lucy’s on eBay this week – photo below – at http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lovely-Quaker-Cotton-Floral-Lace-Tablecloth-Daffodils-Looped-Hem-Label-65×80-/390948616851
Usually you can remove stains from vintage Quaker Lace tablecloths using Oxyclean, the one I wanted had several stains and I had to use a whole box of Oxyclean, and spot clean the worst spots with scoops of Oxyclean and hot water. but the result was well worth it.
Important: never use chlorine bleach on vintage Quaker Lace.
This week on eBay there is a rare Chinese statue that will no doubt be familiar to I Love Lucy fans because it is just like one seen on the mantelpiece in most of the episodes, I did not know much about this statue until I saw the listing of a similar one on eBay Click here for details. See also picture below. It is a seated figure of a man with what could be a bundle of Taro and holding a scythe in his left hand. This statue was made in the 30’s – 40’s and seems to be quite rare. It is a well made porcelain statue from the Jingdezhen region of China that was known for fine ceramics for centuries. This one listed as Famille Rose period that takes its name from the opaque paint used in made for export porcelain items from China.
From the listing description:
ANTIQUE 1930’s CHINESE PORCELAIN STATUE
REPUBLIC PERIOD (1912-1949)
中华民国 / 中華民國
FROM THE JINGDEZHEN KILNS
SIGNED: YOU LONG SHENG (游隆盛)
In the Season three episode “Ricky Loses His Temper” Lucy tries to provoke Ricky by turning on the radio at 4:00 am when he is trying to sleep and follows up by cracking nuts with a mallet in a wooden bowl to make even more noise.
The wooden bowl pictured below looks just like the one Lucy has and is vintage from the same era. The bowl came with the matching mallet and has a label underneath marked Standard Specialty Company, San Francisco, Products of The California Redwood Forests
The Wall Clock frequently seen on set next to the kitchen door on “I Love Lucy” is an electric banjo clock made by the Trend Clock Company in Zeeland, Michigan, Model 606.
The Trend Clock Company founded in 1937 was in business until it was sold in 1968 and afterwards renamed the Sligh Clock Company.
The founders of Trend Clock Company were Garrett Van Temelen and his son Gordon who began making mantel and desk clocks part time, in the basement of their home in Zeeland, MI. and sold their products locally. During the war years when clock parts were scarce they switched to making wood novelties, and eventually bought a factory building and picked up the clock business again successfully in the post war years. They produced a popular line of planter clocks and early American styles, and by the 60s were making grandfather clocks until they were bought out by the Sligh Company.
Reference:
In the Season three episode “Ricky Loses His Temper” Lucy tries to provoke Ricky by turning on the radio at 4:00 am when he is trying to sleep.
Her bedside clock-radio is a WESTINGHOUSE Model H-420T5 which cost around $30 US in the early 1950’s. If you can find a vintage one for sale in good working condition you can expect to pay more than that now. Occasionally they turn up on eBay and Etsy and other online sites.
There is one just like it on Etsy but not reported to be in working condition Click HERE to view
There is also a green one on ebay for parts or repair Click Here for details
Specs:
Country: United States of America (USA)
Manufacturer / Brand: Westinghouse El. & Mfg. Co. – see also Canadian W.
Alternative name: Westinghouse El. Int.
Year: 1954 ?
Type: Broadcast Receiver – or past WW2 Tuner
Valves / Tubes 5: 12BE6 12BA6 12AV6 50C5 35W4
Principle: Super-Heterodyne (Super in general); ZF/IF 455 kHz; 2 AF stage(s)
Tuned circuits: 6 AM circuit(s)
Wave bands: Broadcast only (MW).
Power type and voltage: Alternating Current supply (AC) / 117 Volt
Loudspeaker: Permanent Magnet Dynamic (PDyn) Loudspeaker (moving coil)
Model: H-420T5 Ch= V-2157-13 – Westinghouse El. & Mfg. Co. –
Material: Modern plastics (no Bakelite or Catalin)
Shape: Tablemodel with Clock ((Alarm-) Clock Radio).
Price in first year of sale: 30.00 $
For More Specs: www.radiomuseum.org/r/westinghou_h_420t5h420t_ch_v_2157_13.html
Caution:If you have or buy a working old vacuum tube radio such as this one never put your hands inside one of these old radios when it’s turned on or plugged in. Never leave these radios turned on for an extended period of time unattended. Do not operate these devices on a metal table. Do not operate these radios on a wet surface.
Source:http://www.retroradiofarm.com/collections/frontpage/products/beautiful-gumby-green-retro-jetsons-1955-westinghouse-h-385t5-tube-am-clock-radio-works
Recently on eBay I came across the same model piano as the upright piano on the set of the Ricardo’s apartment on the “I LOVE LUCY” TV show, for sale by eBay seller “909jordan“. It is a Story & Clark Spinet piano serial # 207633 circa 1950 pictured below.
The spinet piano was made smaller than the traditional upright piano using a different mechanism to produce the sound due to the smaller size, resulting in some loss of sound quality and dynamics. Continue reading Lucy & Ricky’s Upright Piano
After the Ricardo’s moved to the bigger apartment we see a pair of primitive folk art prints over the fireplace by the American artist E Melvin Bolstad. In the early 50’s sets of similar prints were cheap and readily available and could be found in many homes. “The Three Alarmer ” is the title of one of the prints depicting a scene in a town when a fire breaks out. Continue reading I love Lucy’s Folk Art prints
It took me a while to get a clear screenshot of the book ends seen on the set of I love Lucy, it was difficult to make out what the shapes represented, but when I eventually discovered that they were owl figures the mystery deepened. Continue reading Ricardo’s Owl Bookends Mystery
