Recent Acqusitions

I have spent a few more of my lunch breaks at garage and estate sales

I have acquired a few new items recently. The antique style bike is actually a Christmas ornament.  I came across the picture at an estate sale.  The back is hammered copper and the artwork itself is made from small pieces of wire or straw?  The small pot of flowers is all made from paper (even the pot)  The rocking horse is heavy metal that has been painted a few times.  The group of ceramic puppies are labeled Japan on the bottom and the House of Miniatures kit was a recent eBay purchase.

I also came across this antique silk embroidered piece at an estate sale.  I cut off the tattered ribbon around the edges.  It will make a great rug somewhere.

I figured I could keep these puppies in the laundry room for now.

The laundry room is part of my Arcade Cast Iron collection.  Click HERE to see the rest.

I have placed the flower pot temporarily in the Garbe house.

The rest of the Garbe house can be seen by clicking HERE

Louis Sullivan Terracotta at the St Louis City Museum

I had the opportunity to travel to St Louis Missouri this past weekend and once again, visit the City Museum. The museum is housed in an multi-story building that was formerly a shoe factory and is partially a collection of architectural artifacts and salvaged items and has become a receptacle for pieces of all shapes and sizes.

Artists have taken the salvaged items and artfully  arranged them around the museum.

One thing that these photos do not capture is the scale of some of these pieces.

The people on this piece are full scale.

There were a few of these angelic women.

In the background you can see a mix of Sullivan and Art Deco.  Louis Sullivan is known as one of the founders of the modern architectural movement and there are several of his pieces that have been rescued and are on display.

This is the "key" to a large collection of Sullivan objects salvaged from the Chicago Stock Exchange building which was demolished in 1972.

Above is a piece of the stair balustrade                            and a bronze newel post 

I found this picture online that shows the pieces in context before the building was demolished.

Here some more pieces salvaged from the exterior of the building.

This round medallion is from another Sullivan project

To see more of the museum on a previous visit click HERE