I'm finding some inspiration around the shop with a little green- my favorite color- and some lovely old Irish tunes.
Things are looking more cheerful around Windsor Terrace today. The bulbs are peeking out of the ground, they're cooking up green bagels at Terrace Bagels and the police barricades are going up in anticipation of the annual St. Patrick's Day Parade and ensuing drinking at Farrell's Bar.
I thought that this was an inspired use of sheet music- of which I have oodles.
Thinking spring: I culled all my celtic colored seltzer bottles from my personal stash and put them in a sunny window.
Also at my home: a pretty, if grandmotherly, framed hanky.
Available in the shop: Antique Flower Lotto Game Cards in a perfect chippy old green frame ($95) A blooming shamrock sitting upon one of my favorite new finds. A Victorian reverse "home self-weighing scale"($125) more on that later….
As March roars in like a lion here in NYC, with yet another storm forecast for this weekend, I'm sprucing up my shop with flowers and bulbs. I'm anticipating a soft springy landing for the end of March.
I've stocked up on some fine European botanical charts to decorate for the new season.
In addition to charts, I have some stately new pieces of furniture available in the shop, such as the solid oak roll top desk pictured below. It is in wonderful condition with a beautiful tiger-grain and a myriad of useful nooks and drawers.
Also just in…a graceful Victorian bureau with a marble top, original mirror and carved pulls.
Come in for a peek. Shop hours 12-6 Thursday though Sunday. Or find us at the Winter Brooklyn Flea in Williamsburg.
In collaboration with Terrace Books, Windsor Place Antiques is hosting a pop-up shop to serve all of your Valentine's Day gift-giving needs. We will be vending lovely flowers in vintage jars, delicious locally-made Mast Brothers Chocolates (as well as their new cookbook) and vintage Valentine's cards.
Flowers in Vintage Jar $42
Bouquets ($42) will include a vintage jar and can be reserved with a $10 deposit to assure availibility. Please inquire at Terrace Books or Windsor Place Antiques or e-mail rebecca@windsorplaceantiques.com to pre-order.
Mast Brothers Chocolate & Cookbook
We will be open from 12-7 pm on Thursday 2/13 & Friday 2/14.
This coming weekend we will be participating in a flea-wide super sale. We are offering 20% of all merchandise in our booth (B2) for cash sales, and 15% off for credit. It's warming up out there, so come see us.
January has been ROUGH here in NYC- so cold, dark, stiff and dreary. I have been spending some lonely hours in my shop excavating my shelves. I have found some really neat stuff that I had squirreled away because it was too unusual and interesting to sell without some additional research. I'll be posting some of it over the next month or two in an effort to bring it to light…and to entertain myself and brighten these winter days.
First up: The entrancing magic lantern. Magic Lanterns were a kind of simple projector- precursors to moving image projectors that ran reels of film, but working on the same principle. Early lanterns (dating all the way back to the 16th Century) were, of course, not electrified, but rather used an oil or kerosene lamp for illumination. A couple examples of small lanterns for home use are seen above. The last two photos are of the lantern that I have.
Very large and elaborate lanterns were used in theatres to project shows. See the example of a moving show below.
Lantern slides are positive images on glass that were intended to be projected for viewing. These slides came into wide use in the United States after the 1860’s. During the 1890’s, magic lanterns were in high fashion as an extension of photography. Lantern slide shows, or the magic lantern, became popular home entertainment and served as an accompaniment to speakers on the lecture circuit, as a teaching aide in classrooms, and in movie theaters for advertising and coming attractions.
There are a couple of theatre companies and museums (easily found online) operating today that perform magic lantern shows. I have not seen one myself, but it is definitely on my wish list. Below are some scans of magic lantern slides that I have in my collection. I have a few complete sets that fit in my lantern- probably intended for children- and a smattering of beautiful larger and wooden framed slides. They are very decorative on their own…to just admire their beautiful gem-like hand-painting. A crafty person could also turn them into a fascinating night light or light box.
Click here to see more photos at *design*sponge
A blooming shamrock sitting upon one of my favorite new finds. A Victorian reverse "home self-weighing scale"($125) more on that later….
WINDSOR PLACE ANTIQUES 
