NEWS FEED
This photo must have been taken earlier this spring at my booth in Ft. Greene. It turned up in a blog on the New York Social Diary's website. I clicked on it in the "Flea Ink" section of the Brooklyn Flea's website. Click here to see the full article. I was like "wait- I recognize that stuff!" I don't mind people taking photos of my booth, but some vendors get really upset about people snapping photos without asking first.
Sorry for the grainy photo. It was snapped enthusiastically with my phone. I am so excited about a large new (to me) batch of antique seltzer bottles that I acquired from a defunct bottler on Long Island. This is a treasure trove of antique bottles that I am still looking through and cleaning. I will have many coming up for sale at the Brooklyn Flea and online so stay tuned.
Best of all, I also acquired a most precious and rare object: a seltzer man's wrench to open the bottles. They are extremely difficult to open without this special tool. I have been searching for one of these for years.
(These are very rare indeed! It's a wrench designed to hold the small collars on the base of the chrome tops of antique seltzer bottles. You then use the wooden block to turn the heads off the bottle while holding the collar with this special tool. The claws of the wrench are grooved perfectly to hold the collar without damaging them a bit. This one is embossed Starman Syphon Co. Brooklyn New York. Don't damage the tops with pliars or channel locks as the tops are made of pewter.) |
Indian clubs belong to a category of exercise (and juggling) equipment that was popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in Europe, the British Commonwealth and the United States. They comprise bowling-pin shaped wooden "clubs" of varying sizes and weights, which are swung in certain patterns as part of an exercise program. They can range from a few pounds each, up to special clubs that can weigh as much as 50 pounds. They were used in carefully choreographed routines where the clubs were swung in unison by a group of exercisers, led by an instructor in the front, similar to modern aerobics classes. The routines varied according to the group's ability and the weight of the clubs used.
Indian clubs derive their name from the much larger and heavier objects of similar shape traditionally used by martial artists and pehlwani wrestlers in India to train for strength. The practice of swinging such clubs to develop physical fitness was first recorded in ancient Egypt and the Middle East. It was introduced to England by British soldiers who were stationed in India during the 19th century.
They were exceptionally popular during the health craze of the late Victorian era, used by military cadets and well-heeled ladies alike, and even appeared as a gymnastic event in the1904 and 1932 Olympics. Gymnasiums were built just to cater to club exercise groups. The popularity of the Indian Club waned in the 1920s and 1930s as organized sports became more popular. Regimented exercise routines, like those requiring Indian clubs, were relegated to professional athletes and the military, who had access to more effective and modern strength training equipment.
While torches and other sticklike objects have been used in juggling for centuries, the modern juggling club was inspired by the Indian club, which was first repurposed for juggling by DeWitt Cook in the 1800s.
In photo below is a sampling of some indian clubs/juggling pins that I have for sale.
I LOVE old linen bound books. I sell them, take them apart, frame color plates and lithographs and stack them around my house. There was a great article in the home section of today's NYTimes about an artist who buys old books at flea markets and makes really interesting decorative objects with them. Click here to read the whole article.
I have been busy this spring setting up a fair to benefit arts programs at PS 154 in Windsor Terrace. My kids go to this great, but always in need of funds to supplement enrichment programs, neighborhood school. Come on out on Saturday May 7th to beautiful Prospect Park and buy some handmade gifts for your mom or for yourself.
Click here for more info and a list of all our fabulous vendors.
WINDSOR PLACE ANTIQUES 