Old New England Glassware in the Home - Part Eleven (C) - "A Small Point"

Old New England Glassware in the Home

Part Eleven (C)

"A Small Point"

            The... crude... antiquarian art  word is ‘Empire’.... (‘style’).  I... do not encounter common usage let alone informed usage in my daily antiquarian adventures.  No.  I garner, at best a ‘sticker price’ generic title term tossed at some sort of object(s).  Never rarely do I ever hear that (“Empire”) for a lacy salt tossed.  Most are a little vague on “what is that” (a ... ‘the lacy salt’).

            Ok the short bus of ‘Empire’ is “EUROPE”... Napoleon... Napoleonic  period... French design influence... Napoleon’s wife Josephine... CHANGED THE WAY THINGS LOOK... with the back of her hand and

            NO ONE around in front or behind one (me) at ANY check-out isle ANYWHERE ... ‘knows about this’ so... BUT TRUST ME; it is out there... just follow the short bus.

            The New England lacy salt dish fully embraces these (Empire ...style) art features in ‘their design’.  MANY are exceptional displays of this (Empire ...style).  OTHERS ARE NOT; ‘low rent’ ‘crummy’ ‘design’.  I ignore those.

            The New England lacy salt DESIGNS tend to be finer in design... and in manufacturer... than the basket full of European ‘lacy’ ‘salts’ (Belgian and French) that ‘took advantage’ of this pressed glass creation to ‘make them too.’  Quickly one’s eye learns to denote the ‘heavy handed’ European design while also discerning the robust... clean... New England design forms.  Two small points for one eye-ball-ing... that go in opposite directions.  There is a crispness of Empire style in the New England designs... similar to the way the white houses lining the New England streets from the same time period look... crisp....:  You either see it ...or don’t.  The ‘this art emphasis’... is on ‘you’.  I am not... ‘you’.  So too... I am... myself... with ‘all art all the time’... way out there in front (?) of you.  It’s a small point... that is hard to ‘catch up’.  And thank you for being that (a ‘back there’).  Too.

            I just told you:  YOU are going to have to study the ART of Josephine.  Then... ‘Empire’ will make sense to ‘the eye’ when YOU see it.  I.... see it... ALL THE TIME... already.  Where was there a lot of Empire style design?  New... York... City.

            That design there (NYC) tends to make (old) New England Empire design look a touch ‘derivative’ WITH a solid dash of “Yankee”.  Too.  This helps to explain the tiny art power of the... tiny lacy salt.  You know;  the Yankee ‘not too much of that’...thing.  Unless, of course... that THING... is tiny.

            Ok... NOW you get it:  Lacy salts are tiny miniature New England Yankee Empire Style sculptures... on the dining table... in the old New England home... with a tiny spoon in it to serve salt.  And everyone knows this.  And loves this.

            They ‘collect them’ and these collectors are ...’crazy’.

            Since there really is not anything else (including ‘beyond (other than) glassware’) quite like this in the old New England home AND the ‘their window’ of ‘manufacture’ is about a short fifteen years... the ‘Lacy Salt’ has a fine position of ... a singular position... in the

            Design history

            Of the glassware in the

            Old New England home.

            And again... they are small... so are... a ...small point.

            I am not really quite sure how to do this right for you.  I told you to study Josephine.  I told you Josephine smacks art with the back of her hand.  I am telling you she smacks you too... with the BACK of her hand.  I told you about New England Glass to this date (1830).  I told you about fashion.  I told you about goofy fashion.  I... suggested we all ‘know about’ old New England ‘Wasp’ etiquette of ...both... self  and art...  So then I put a lacy... salt... dish... in front of your eyes and

            Your on your own

            Get away from me.

            There are two forms of triumph for the small point of the art of the ‘lacy salt dish’.  The antiquarian... and the lower intestinal track of that; the gurgling sound of the informed antiquarian’s eyes raking the self stock offerings of the box store thrift shops.  Church sales.  Benefit sales.  Auction hall box lots.  Flea markets...:  The best chance is at the thrifts... but... “ahhhh”... you ain’t the only one seeking

            Fine

            Empire

            Style;

            A ‘lacy glass salt dish’.

            But it is satisfying to find one...

            After several years of ‘on the prowl’ in those

            Chicken houses.

            Is it not?

            I mean... I do... do... that.

            It is especially rewarding ‘of cash value’ IF it SHOULD BE ONE’S FORTUNE

            That one’s find is... a... ‘colored salt’ meaning that it is ANY other color than CLEAR GLASS.

            Don’t be so stupid.  If you handle the old lacy salts one soon discerns... by deductive logic... that most ‘colored’ salts (‘salts of color’) look LESS GOOD to the average eye; a ‘huh what’s that thing?’ ...appraisal... given to, like, a ‘black’ ‘blue’ or ‘opaque blue’ or a ‘opalescent milk glass’.  Finding an ‘of color’ ‘signed’ New England Glass Company salt ‘stickered a buck’ ($1.00) IS ‘do-able’.

            I’m done with this first triumph of ‘lacy salt dishes’ in the ‘old New England home’.

            BECAUSE that is dull

            To me.

            What I like is discovery (‘triumph’) status number two:  The me... alone with my art eye... in YOUR great grandmother’s great grandmother’s ...old New England home:  You know those... the white houses on the upper end of Main street that have ‘been there’ ‘forever’ and the ...not enhanced by professional services... exterior (shutters, shrubs, lawn) ‘has been the same like that forever’ AND one never sees ‘anyone’ ‘there’ AND:  Yeah; you know EXACTLY the houses I’m talking about.  NOW we’re talking ‘lacy salt dish’ in the ‘old New England home’.

            I’m gonna get it.

            I’m gonna go in there and find and get that (often THOSES) ‘lacy salt dishes’

            Among ALL OTHER New England decorative arts in there “I GET” ...TOO.

            While your like... shopping... reading online... “Ahhhh”.

            Yeah:  That’s right:  Game over.

            Your not there.  I never see anyone there.  Not even the escort service (‘owner’, ‘principals’, ‘lawyers’ (Ms. Para-Legal)... is there.  I mean... they are physically there... but, like, privileged so-to-be-bored... with their (or their client’s)... inheritance of their great grandmother’s great grandmother’s house that has “EVERYTHING” “STILL IN IT” “OH WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO?”.

            “Yuck” and I saying nothing at all ever... kick them aside and with my leash dropped... rove... down the isles in the dark closed rooms ‘there’, ‘up there’, ‘in there’.  LIFTING MY LEG like puppy dog and scampering ahead and behind and “COME HERE WHAT ARE YOU DOING”.

            I find the salt.  Salts.

            They are the salts that great, great... great... great... grandmother BOUGHT and ‘used’.  SO DID ...great.... great... great...great... grandfather; “that lumbering oaf”.  “HOW DID THAT... I KNOW THAT?”  Ok this is carefully quite cool.  See... these salts... were... ‘at table’.  So... like... what do you think?  Everybody picked them up at the end of the meal and, like, ‘put them away’; emptied the salt ‘out’ and ‘put them’ (the salts) in the ...dishwasher?

            “Idiot”.

            These things (lacy salts) are actually sort of ‘big’ so hold ‘a lot’ of salt so, like... NO they did not empty them out and put them in the dish washer after every meal especially since they were having another meal in under six hours so ...like... they... “just set it over there’ at best... with the damn SPOON still in it.  And, like, the... ah... humidifier systems in the old New England homes (the white ones on upper Main street) didn’t... exist... so, like, the ‘salt’ kept ‘hardening’ in the ‘salt dish’ so... like... that lumbering oaf (greatest grandfather) was always jabbing the salt ...in the lacy salt dish with... well... the ‘spoon’ didn’t work so he TOOK OUT HIS POCKET KNIFE and, ahhhh... ‘loosened it (the salt) up’... IN the lacy salt.  THAT IS WHY these ‘old salts’ are so often ‘chipped’ and ‘rough’ around the inner top rim edge AND have, like, “CRACKS” and “CHIPS” and ...were still used... after being ‘damaged’ from being actually used:  YES THESE WERE ACTULLY USED by,.. real people.

            A review:  I hunt for and find the salts in their original setting; in the old New England home.  I know this when I am doing it.  I do not need to “OWN” the “SALT”.  It’s, for me... the (historic) journey ‘in there’; the trip.  Especially when I’m ‘the first one’ who ‘knows’.  YOU can collect the salts.  I told you that you need only one ...preferably a ‘classic New England’ ‘high Empire style’ ...maybe ‘of color’... lacy salt to have it “RIGHT” for ‘old glassware in the old New England home.  ONE.  And your DONE.  I also just told you that ‘a lot of times’ these salts are ‘damaged’ from actual usage soooo... having a DAMAGED salt IS appropriate for an old New England home SOOO that will ‘cost very little’ meaning... to (for) you and that the head-up-ass collectors...:

“I ONLY HAVE PERFECT SPECIMENS IN MY COLLECTION.”

“Oh fuck you”.

“What did you say?”

“You heard me.”

             Soooo, again, ...for me... I am way off over at the ...houses on the upper end of Main street with this ‘whole thing’.

            I’m like... soooo there with this... while I’m doing this (running around the old New England home like a puppy dog with my leg lifted).  I mean:  I don’t want you around screwing this up.  GOT IT?  Josephine’s back of her hand smack IS NOTHING ...you will find out if you MESS ME UP... ‘in there’.  YOUR NOT THERE.

            And that; what I just talked about... is the REALLY GETTING SOMEWHERE with old ‘lacy glass salt dishes’ as ‘old New England glassware

            In the

            Old

            New England home.

            “HOW MANY” have I found you say.

            “Your so cute”.

            How about “How many have I put back just the way I found it?”  And never-say-anything.  HUH?  Try that a few times.  Cup plates too.

            And what about the ones with the salt still in them?  HUH?  That is the ‘just soooo cool’.

            You know it when it happens.

            And:  It is NOT about the money.  Is it.

Old New England Glassware in the Home - Part Eleven (B) - "A Small Point"

Old New England Glassware in the Home

Part Eleven (B)

"A Small Point"

            A very small point:

            I being that

            And of that;  the ‘those’ too

            In a (New England) home

            ...Forever

            As my endeavor.

            Yes I am the one that has this safety... of  small points.  One may look at me  behind my abatis of

            Small

            Pointed

            Points.

            But I

            Live here (there).

            Once established... by applying cup plates under the ‘this cup’... that ...these old New England folks in their old New England homes are (were then) sipping from their saucers... in the front room... of that home... we... may... WHAT?

            Well there is another glassware object that is not as goofy as the cup plate.  Unpleasantly too, for those who harbor ‘art dread’ (the notion of ‘is art’ and the ‘it is’ of ‘that’ [art])... it is more... ah...arty; more of arty of... old New England design... of glassware... in the (old) New England home.  Sorry about this and I know one tends to get secure when one smears bear grease in one’s hair, skips showers, burn whales up for the perverted inner nature of ‘filling’... a... ‘lamp font with spermaceti’.  OH MY MAN and your dirty thumb too... on the inner edge of the saucer... among other men who, too, have their dirty thumb too... there.  Too.

            Yes we must note this, girls:  The men, too, ‘at the office’, could be found ...gulping... their ‘tea’ and... quickly fashion switch...ing to ‘coffee’ (I’m not writing about this) from... not particularly clean saucers... with ...not particularly clean cups... on not particularly clean cup plates and these were “GUY STUFF” cup plates too... and

            Had (have) MEN messages pressed into them like... American eagles, boats... log cabins... Presidential candidates, monuments, ‘important’ ‘MEN’ (Victoria... is the only girl portrait I recall.  I.e.:  There is no Margaret Fuller cup plate... ‘known’.).  But who cares for the point is.... cup plates are from the era of saucer sipping beverage fashion... and that era included all... old New England... people.

            That is why there are so many ‘styles’ of  and... just plain so many... still around... of these cup plates.  “USED THEM” and “PUT THEM AWAY” and

            HEY:  They are still in there; the old New England home.

            I find them all the time

            It’s a small point.

            This small point is that they are... the snowflake... of old New England Glassware.

            When one throws aside the men’s wear (“historical”) cup plates, one is left with press glass snowflakes of varying design ‘depth’ (merit) and ...some of them are especially ‘snow flakes” of glassware.  I don’t’ expect one to ‘get there’ in this judgmental poise of cup plates and ... art.   It is subtle and I know ...you... hate... subtle ‘art’.  TRUST ME that finer eyes are very carefully raking this cup plate ‘judgmental poise’ WITHOUT YOU.  And, like, I’m ‘pretty into it’ on my antiquarian inner home voyage quick scan of “FINDING” and “I KNOW” right then in the flashlight beam ‘THAT” (‘all that’) and

Good one(s).

            And say nothing

            Absolutely nothing.

            It’s a small point

            Contained within the self-world of cup plate survival I... disregard the rest of the universe.  Ever since I ever thought I see a cup plate I’ve been ‘there’ AND

            Quickly learned that no one else

            CARES.

            “Fine” and “Thank you”.

            They (cup plates), evidently from antiques legends as a source, were once collector coveted.  Like... back in the 1920’s roadside TEA ROOM era before ‘smart phones’, flip flops and... smoothies.  That, though

            Was so long ago.

            That though;

            It did not go.

            It ‘went’

            Out of fashion too?

            So I walk around in cup plate land alone and a trespasser

            On my knees before the under cupboard corner spots

Saying nothing.

            Showing nothing

            Being perfectly content with this

            Except warning the you of the ‘out-there-somewhere’

(I know the trail through the mountains)

That there

Are some serious cup plate

Freaks.

             So....:

            The second ‘design form’ (Part Eleven A) is

            The “lacy salt’

            It is a glassware open top salt dish... to be filled with salt and carrying a little... usually wooden... or ‘horn’...’ivory’... ‘bone’ or.. ‘coin’ (silver)... spoon to ‘serve self’ ‘salt’ upon one’s portion of food... ‘at table’.  Girls.

            Of salt at table was grace... full... ly... done by one hand lightly sprinkling ‘that’ (salt on a tiny spoon).  Men sprinkled too... as best as men ‘could’.  A ‘lumbering oaf’ hands-on at the old New England lacy salt dish was... and still is... ‘known’.  Today a grown up MEN may be found who ‘do know’ and ‘do know the difference’ though this has not trickled down to any sort of ‘most men’.  Women, it seems, “understand” what a ‘salt’ ‘dish’ ‘is’.  Is said.

            MY little small point rarely has an “even that”... girls.  Yeah your off over there with those tiny-tiny 1920’s round tiny little glass ‘individually place’ ‘salt’ ‘dish’.  Like ‘roaring twenties’ onward to ‘post war’ ‘entertaining’ 1950’s.  What does that mean?  It means when Eve and Bing see those when they are showing me the ‘their’ glassware... they “KNOW WHAT THOSE ARE” and... ‘think’ (a dark spot of universe) I ‘want them’

            “NO” and ...go away... with the flip-flops and salt dishes.

            “I...”

            “NO:  USE THEM FOR applying rim salt... WHENYOUSERVE margaritas.”

            “OHTHAT’SAWONDERFUL IDEA”.

            “Just a small point to help

            You

            Make an ASS out of yourself... in the (your) (old) New England home’.

            I’m gonna ‘hold back’ on the word ‘lacy’ and go ‘salt’ ‘dish’.  Lacy is the antiquarian slang term for the ‘glass’ ‘type’; a technical pontification.  I pontificate on ‘art’ merit (‘design strength’) first.

            Art for the bear pomade is easy to understand:  “IT’S A BEAR” shape

            Art advances to “snowflake’ with the cup... plate... so is too... easier...

            To understand (a flat composition upon a ...flat [plate] surface).

            With the lacy salt... the art becomes three dimensional and, in this petite nugget... defiantly amplified so that one may actually encounter this ‘a little chunk of glass’

            SCREAMING DESIGN at one’s art eye from it’s modest and retired position ‘on table.

            Girls:  I am talking ‘art power’ for

            It is the only thing (object) ‘on table’... like this “ah...”

            “Yeah:  That kind of power”.

            And they were made to ‘do that’... ‘be that’.  BY ...DESIGN.

            So, ending the lacy salt tale (tail?) early... one... may... with ONE well chosen salt... ‘cover that’ old glassware in the New England home.  But... problem being... it’s... once this nook of New England design is opened... hard to stop at one.  YOU WON’T BE THE FIRST ONE to... fall for this ‘old’ glassware iota... from old New England.  For myself, I have delighted in buying and selling these (‘lacy salts’) ...especially compelling New England design objects... for a half century and STILL DELIGHT in and of... EACH ONE... that comes and goes.  They (good ones) come less than they go.  Meaning I usually DON’T have ‘one’ ‘around’.