Happy New Year From Antiques Plus

Wishing All Our Customers and Friends
A very Happy and Prosperous
New Year
From
Antiques Plus

in

D'Iberville,

MS

WW1 Verner's Pattern VIII Prismatic Military Marching Compass with Leather Case Dated 1918 at Antiques Plus

 Interesting things come into the shop from time to time, a few of which I buy for resale.  This is a WW1 Verner's pattern VIII prismatic military marching compass with leather case dated 1918.  This is a high quality compass made with precision for the man whose life just might depend on its accuracy.  The compass is dated 1918 and has the British military arrow property mark made by F-L, who was French & Son, Limited, London.  The main difference between the VII and the VIII was the automatic transit lock, which holds the pointer card in place, when the cover is closed.  This reduces the chance of damage to the compass in case of shock or a drop. 

It has its original leather carrying case made by Jabez Cliff & Co., Walsall a town in the West Midlands, UK and was a leather goods manufacturer, which made among other things saddles and leather luggage along with this heavy compass case.  The company was founded in 1873 and their historic, but empty Globe Works factory burned August 2011. 

The inventor of this compass, Colonel William Willoughby Cole Verner was born in 1852 and commissioned into The Rifle Brigade in 1874. He served on the staff in the Egyptian campaign of 1884-85 Khartoum Relief Expedition and during the Boer War. He was an inventor who devised compasses and surveying instruments and was an authority on wild birds in southern Spain.  He also discovered a number of important prehistoric cave paintings in the same area and published articles. Injured in the Boer War and retired in 1904.  He passed away in 1922.

Some New Vintage Jewelry at Antiques Plus in D'Iberville, MS

 Here at Antiques Plus, I always try to have a wide variety of jewelry for my customers.  We carry everything from fine sterling jewelry to better quality vintage costume jewelry.

I feel I have a mission to provide the best quality jewelry at affordable prices.  Among the items I have are a variety sterling, Fleur De Lis pieces and the ever popular vintage Christmas tree brooches.  If you are looking for bracelets, I have a wide selection. I have one of the largest collections of cuff links in the area.

 The next time you are in the area, stop in and take a look to see what's new.  Our inventory changes constantly and new pieces are being put out on a daily basis.  Because I also buy gold and silver, a wide selection of precious metal items are available along with costume jewelry.

The Ceramic Art Pottery of Michael W. Moses Now Available Exclusivly on the Gulf Coast at Antiques Plus in D'Iberville, MS

New Installation of Pottery by Michael W. Moses

I am pleased to be hosting the ceramic art works of Michael W. Moses here at Antiques plus in beautiful downtown D'Iberville.  I have admired and collected his art pottery for a number of years and am so excited to be displaying his work here in my shop, exclusively for the Gulf Coast. I am sure that you will be as pleased to see his pieces here at Antiques Plus as I am. So the next time you are in the D'Iberville area stop by and have a look!

Red Starfish Plate by Michael W. Moses

A Barnacle Plate by Michael W. Moses at Antiques Plus

Various works by Michael W. Moses at Antiques Plus

Reverse Painted Convex Glass Silhouettes at Antiques Plus in D'Iberville,MS

A fascinating area of collecting is the many times over looked area of Reverse Painted Convex Glass Silhouettes.

From 1920s to the 1950s every 5¢ and 10¢ store in America carried these inexpensive little pictures that usually comprised a piece of convex class with a black Silhouette painted on the reverse and backed with a brightly colored paper background print. Mostly of a small size though not always so, they came in a myrid number of designes.

The origin of these pieces is taken from the even earlier art of the paper silhouette.  An art form where a figure such as a human profile was portrayed by cutting out the silhouette with black paper and then pasting it to a white ground and framing under glass.
Most were in what many used to refer to as the story book style, Fairytale, or Wizard of Oz style. A style that was a highly popular one during the late 1910-30's period, but carried over until the late 1950's early 1960's.

The images were every conceivable fantasy and contrivance that one can imagine. Every thing from happy cowboys and Indians silhouettes to 18th century lovers.  The lovers theme being one of the most common.
Many times they were sold as pairs having a carryover background and male female silhouettes playing off of each other.




I was fourtunate to pick up a good sized collection from a local collector a while back and have them currantly available at Antiques Plus. Above I have an image of some of them. Below I have a few close ups to illustrate some of the many different vingettes that are available. If one wishes to view them in person, just stop on by and have a look, but one might want to hurry.  As of the time of this post I have already sold a couple of the ones that I have pictured here. These nostalgic pieces always go quickly.

These Silhouettes on Glass have become popular enough for a price guid to have been published in 2000.
Vintage Silhouettes on Glass & Reverse Paintings by: Shirley Mace
ISBN: 0963367463
and it is available on the internet

Fun at Antiques Plus in D'Iberville

Lions and Tigers and Bears, oh my!

There are a lot of wild creatures found in antique shops, I can tell you.  Croching tigers and leering squirrels, for example.  Artistic representations of animals of all types abound in their natural habitat of antique shops.  Some collectors focus in on only one type of animal like elephants others only collect statues and others collect oil paintings. 

You are only limited by your interest and pocket book.  A small porcelain figure might only cost a few dollars or a Faberge animal made of precious stone might cost a quarter million dollars.  Animals can lurk as embellishments on shelf brackets or hidden in the foilage of a carved piece of furniture. 

Here at Antiques Plus in D'Iberville you can find wildlife too.  I have posted a few photos of animals found here in the shop.  Come on in and see if you can spot some wildlife also.  We are open six days a week Monday through Saturday from 10 to 5 in the D'Iberville / Biloxi area on the beautiful Gulf Coast of Mississippi.  Come on down and see us.

You won't need a huting license to browse.

A Giovanni Battista Franchini, Venitian Glass Scent Bottle

It has been a while since I made a post so I will be making one now. A few years back I purchased a scent bottle with a sterling marked top and collar, from a customer who came into the store and told me she had purchased it about 10 years earlier from an antique store up north.  She knew virtually nothing about it herself and neither did I. 
I bought it and when the Antiques Road Show came to town, this scent bottle was one of the items I brought for them to look at. They had their glass expert to look at it and I was very surprised to find out that it was valued at between $800 to $1,000. They told me it was made by a very famous Venetian art glass maker by the name of  Giovanni Battista Franchini. They dated it at between 1850 to 1860, which amazed me because I never thought it would be that old.  That proves that looks can be deceiving.  Just because it is in good condition does not mean it is not old.  It pays to have a second and sometimes even third opinion when evaluating and item.  

Franchini, Venitian Glass Scent Bottle

Franchini, Venitian Glass Scent Bottle Reverse Side

Franchini, Venitian Glass Scent Bottle Detail Note the Little Birds Head