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| The First Kiss |
"The First Kiss" is a print which was published by Cosmopolitan Magazine in 1914, I found it leaning against a pile of old picture frames on one of the stalls at yesterday's Market Harborough Vintage Fair, a first kiss that has remained constant for almost one hundred years. It is an image that I would like to use on a poster for a future fair however I unsure whether it best suits Valentine's Day or Christmas (as a sprig of mistletoe hangs above the lovers' embrace).
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| Columbines |
Jackie from the
The Antique and Vintage Shop had some lovely things on her stall including this old chemistry rack holding pink columbines and cow parsley. This morning I replaced the wilted flowers with some roses from the garden.
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| Rosa Crown Princess Margarita |
Before I share some more photos from the Market Harborough Fair I will wind back the clock to Thursday last week when we visited Newark Antique Fair in the pursuit of vintage. It is the largest event of it's kind in Europe and it took ages to walk around which did not matter at all as the early morning cloud burnt away leaving a gloriously sunny afternoon for everyone to enjoy.
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| Vintage Finds At Newark |
The exhibition halls were full of specialist antique stalls and there was a few specialist vintage stalls including David from 'Paper & Plastics' and Carole from 'Vintage Treasures'. We decided to search through the mass of stalls outside and hours searching resulted in some interesting finds.
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| A Sturdy First Aid Box |
I especially like the old tin box which was transformed with a coat of paint many years ago, perhaps using some Kingston back in the 1930s.
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| 1930s Paint |
At the far side of the show-ground was a barn housing even more stands and I found this old noticeboard which would have been discarded at the end of the day if I had not taken it home.
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| Salvage & Vintage From Newark |
As we walked around it was great to see Naila and Claire who have stalls at our fairs and Suzanne from
Hearets and Kisses who has just started in her role as agent for Homes & Antiques magazine.
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| 20s/30s Advertisement |
This is an original advertisement for Lux soap from 1930s and the The Golden Story Book for Girls is from the same decade.
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| Holiday Rambles |
From a similar time is this calendar from Germany which features embossed characters in a colourful rural scene.
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| Vintage From Central Europe |
The attractive kitchen cabinet is from Hungary and was part of a load brought over especially for the fair at Newark, we spent a long time looking at it and should have taken it home
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| A Hungarian Cabinet |
The pretty bag from the 1920s and French storage tins with pretty floral motifs did join us for the drive home.
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| French Vintage |
Thursday came to end and Friday was spent preparing for the following day's fair at the Three Swans Hotel in Market Harborough. Stall holders began to arrive shortly after 8am and patiently waited for me to complete the table layout before setting up their displays, by 11am there were thirty-eight stalls which filled all three rooms of the historic hotel's conference suite.
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| Some Of The Stalls In The Main Hall |
The hall was a mass of colour as clothes sat next to lovely homewares and visitors to the fair worked their way around to a sunny 60s soundtrack (many thanks to Alan who is championing the more lively sounds of the 50s and 60s much to the appreciation of lots of stall holders and visitors who are enjoying an extended respite from my taste for Ragtime, Swing and Blues). However I can assure fans that Louis Armstrong and Bessie Smith and all the others will be returning soon!
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| A Decca Gramophone |
And returning in some style - thanks to Ian who has been looking out for a blue Decca gramophone for me since the fair in Stamford last December. Once I have familiarised myself with its simple operating mechanism and sourced the right 78s the summery notes heard around our fairs in recent weeks will be under threat of displacement!
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| "A Pretty Point Of View" |
This pretty display is by Stenya from
Rambling Rabbit, it was much depleted by the time I arrived to take a photo but still looked very colourful.
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| Vintage Jaeger |
I spotted a wonderful rail of dresses on a small tucked in a corner, am glad I paused to take a closer look as they were lovely originals from the 50s and 60s and included this lovely Jaeger shirt dress from the mid 1970s. The dresses will be on display again at Leamington Spa and I will feature them in a post in July.
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| The Antique & Vintage Shop |
Here is the Antique & Vintage Shop stall on which we found some lovely vintage 'bits and pieces'.
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| A 1930s Magnifying Glass |
I love this early plastic magnifying glass and its jade green leather pouch, it was made in Leeds and would have been used in the 1930s for needlework and sewing.
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| Our Next Fair |
Our next fair is taking place in Northampton on 22nd June, there will be forty stalls on the lawn of the Spinney Hill and Pimm's will be served by the pitcher.
Best wishes and see you at the fair.
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