WOW! We just visited the Musee Mecanique on Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco. What a great place! Nostalgic, energetic, fun, and admission is free! This is an arcade of old games and stereoviewers, mechanical dioramas and oddities, including several well-known attractions including "Laffing Sal", "Susie the Can-Can Dancer" and the "Carnival". The collection was created by Edward Galland Zelinsky, whose son, Dan Zelinsky, operates and maintains the collection. The whole thing brings back memories of Playland at the Beach , a grand old amusement park at the foot of San Francisco's Golden Gate Park on Ocean Beach. This beachside park was like so many across America with the tunnel of love, the fun house, the hall of mirrors, as well as arcades and rides. It's roots were planted in the late 1800s with a few separate attractions along the beach. By 1926 it had officially become on big park, Playland-at-the-Beach. It was a sad day when the pa...

Burlap is showing up all over the place. And Vintages is not going to be left behind. Here's a few items we have that are made from burlap ... and one project that we saw at a show. Little Burlap bags with fleur d'lys stamp ($6.95 each) White Burlap bean bags with clocks, keys & crowns ($11.95 each) Cutout stars, hearts & tags (Set of 3 • $3.75 Burlap • $2.95 Canvas) Burlap bags with coconut fish toothpicks ($11.95 per set) Wide Burlap ribbon & jute twine More Burlap ribbon We saw this project at a show. Torn fabric, ribbons and trim are the fringe for this burlap table cloth. Great Idea! This little burlap stuffed Scottie Dog and his friends will be coming in later in the summer. We will have some matching ribbon as well.

You too, my mother, read my rhymes For love of unforgotten times, And you may chance to hear once more The little feet along the floor.  To My Mother by Robert Louis Stevenson Moms are always there when you need them, e ven when you don't know it. They are one step ahead of disasters and one moment behind should you fall. Nothing is sharper than a Mother's eye or stronger than her love.  So let's vow make this Mother's Day her best of all.  Happy Mother's Day Beautiful Cameo Pendant ($95) Handmade by Susan, these pendants and charms are perfect. They can be personalized for you. Including a ribbon and an organza bag, these cost $12.95 to $19.95. Lela Belle charms, bracelets and necklaces. (Charms $24.95 each) Mesh Crown ($39.95) Other crowns starting at $19.95. The Queen Will ... ($79.95) Wonderful Linen Lavender Sachet Pillows ($17.95 to $20.95 each) Porcelain Limoges Boxes (from $89 each) Very Special Mary Jo Matsumoto hand decorate...

Happy Easter White Zin !!! Now this Easter Bunny knows the way to a man's heart! (This is a custom wine label from the 1980s.) Hope you all have a very Happy Easter.

I found this super poster at a local auction. What was Easter like in London in 1934? Celebrate EVERYWHERE ... Parks and Open Spaces ... Woods and Riverside ... Country Towns ... It conjures up images of Victorian grandeur, pastoral leisure, or even Hyacinth Bucket of Keeping Up Appearances hosting a riverside picnic (or what she would call a "waterside supper with riparian entertainment") decked out in a pretentious, stodgy dress and hat! This poster was created by Dora Batty who did many posters for London Transport in the 1920s and '30s.

Five-layered sardonyx cameo, Roman artwork, second quarter of the 1st century AD. Photo courtesy of the Antique Jewelry University .  Cameos and intaglios have been around for centuries ... back into the times of the Greeks and Romans, and even earlier to Biblical times. They were very popular during the end of the 18th and throughout the 19th century.  Early 1900s photo of a lady wearing a cameo pin at her neck, a common practice at that time. This lady is wearing a high relief cameo pendant (c.1900) Victorian lady with a cameo and lorgnette chain. The classic cameos and their cousins the intaglios are both forms of glyptography, which is the art of carving in relief. The cameo is a carving in which the foreground is carved away, leaving a colored background. The cameo projects above of the surface of the material.  This is the opposite of an intaglio, which is carved into the material so the image is below the surface.  The art of engraving goes back ...

How beautiful is this? This is the central panel on a Rene Lalique Art Nouveau bracelet, a gorgeous emerald green glass cameo set in a yellow gold bracelet with panels of vines and leaves (circa 1900). The two lovers appear to be the classical nymph and satyr. Wouldn't you love to have this bracelet? It could be yours. Only $200,000 or so! Until then, just enjoy looking at it.

We opened Vintages of Los Gatos in April of 2003 and have combined our diverse strengths with a common love of art and antiques to create a shop unlike any other. Take one part of antiques with one part of distinctive gifts, mix in crafting treasures and hand crafted art, and you have Vintages. We hope you enjoy shopping with us. As a thank you to our loyal customers, we are offering this 15% savings coupon for a limited time in April.  Please come on in and pass a copy of this post to a friend. They can use the coupon too! Thanks for eight great years ... and more to come! Bob & Susan Bring the coupon above into the shop for a 15% discount on your purchase -- or you can show it to us on your smart phone. The coupon can be used for online purchases at both our antique sales site on Trocadero and our Vintages shopping site as well (but not at Pretty Ribbons on Etsy ), BUT you need to contact us prior to any online purchase to obta...