Perfume bottles have been a popular collectible for a long time. They come in so many shapes, styles and materials that any collection can be as focused or broad as you like. They can be little miniatures, even doll-house sized, or large table top bottles, and even the super large display bottles known as a factice . The peak of perfume bottle-mania was in the art nouveau period, when the master of the genre, Rene Lalique, made some luscious perfume bottles. Art deco bottles are also highly desirable, with Tiffany leading the list. Perfume bottles were designed to reflect the personality of the lady who would own them or the character of the commercial perfume inside. Either way, these bottles are wonderful to collect. I love these early 1900s German figural perfume bottles. The trinket boxes and vases were part of the whole vanity accessory ensemble. German Porcelain Vanity Accessories: Perfumes $115 each; Trinket Boxes $65 each; Mini-Vase $49 Small vials that held perfume for ...

Christ Memorial Episcopal Church, Kilauea, Kauai, Hawaii On our recent vacation to the Hawaiian island of Kauai, we stopped in to this wonderful old church. We had seen is many times, but this was the first time we stopped to look inside. Wow! The hand-carved altar and communion rail are gorgeous! The stained glass windows are equally as beautiful. The Christ Memorial Episcopal Church is located just off the main highway in the town of Kilauea. It is still an active mission church, with services on Sundays and Holy Days. According to the church's website: There is also an interesting history attached to the church itself. As early as 1888 worship services were held in Kilauea ... By 1924 the time had come for a permanent church in Kilauea ... In 1939 the Kilauea Sugar Company deeded the churchyard to Christ Memorial Church and gave the native stone used in the erection of the present building ... The graveyard surrounding the church dates back to the earliest days of ...

The San Francisco Fall Antiques Show celebrates its 30th anniversary, October 27th through 30th, at the Festival Pavilion of Fort Mason Center. Over 60 vetted dealers will present an array of high quality decorative and fine art objects. This year’s theme, Hidden Treasures , is inspired by the pearl, the treasure hidden within an oyster shell that is the traditional 30th anniversary gift. The annual featured exhibit will highlight works of art that have an element of surprise! Come look for trompe l’oeil wallcoverings, boxes with secret compartments, metamorphic furniture, fore-edge painting and other visually intriguing designs. The lecture series will look at a variety of hidden treasures, featuring renowned speakers, such as Archduke Dr. Geza von Habsburg sharing objets d’art from royal storage vaults and former FBI Agent Robert Wittman giving the inside scoop on art heists and masterpieces still at large. This show is always worth visiting.

A few months ago we were in a craft and art shop in Marin. They had this collection of old typewriters displayed across the top of the shelves. They are really cool! Then yesterday I came across this old Scribner's Magazine from 1890 that had these advertisements for typewriters and writing machines. I just had to share these with you.

Society Dog presents Howling Halloween 2011! A Trick-or-Treat Extravaganza for your Dog! Join us and the merchants in downtown Los Gatos for a fun event on Saturday evening, October 22nd. We will have both people and doggie treats for all comers! Festivities are from 6:00 – 7:30 pm along Santa Cruz Avenue. Trick or Treat with your Dog! Costume contest judging will be at 7:30 at the bank across the street from Vintages. Details for registration, location, etc., can be found on the Society Dog website .

We carry a fantastic line of large-sized tin cookie cutters. Cookies and Holidays go together! Whether you want to bring the family closer at Christmastime or Hanukkah, to celebrate a special birthday, Valentine's Day, Easter or any occasion, making cookies is the way to do it. Fall is a great time for cookies which are special treats for Halloween and Thanksgiving. These are just like the cookie cutters your Grandmother used, only a bit larger. These cookie cutters are handcrafted in Vermont and each comes with a delicious recipe for cookies and frosting. Many of these are large enough to also cut out some terrific tea sandwiches. Try them with gingerbread as well. We are now featuring a trio of really wonderful Halloween themed cookie cutters -- a large bat, an arched back cat and a pumpkin ready for you to dress up as a jack-o-lantern. The Halloween cookie cutters are now available in our online shop , but we have many other designs available in our Los Gatos store. The...

This is a true love story written April 18, 1914, in San Francisco. It was written by Jerome Erickson to Mantie Beuck. I love the title: Mantie - or Blondy My Sweetheart By I Really Love Her . This guy is smitten! and he has a sense of humor too. NOTE: Please click on the images to get a larger, more readable image size. Mantie Beuck was a San Francisco girl who passed on this Jerome guy and married Rea Montgomery in 1917. Rea was the nephew of the San Jose legendary developer Thomas "T.S." Montgomery. The couple were the parents to San Jose's Shirlie Montgomery (now 93 years young) who made her mark in the Bay Area as a journalistic photographer when it was not the fashion for ladies to do such things. She is also a member of the Wrestling Hall of Fame for her action photos of wrestlers from the 40s, 50s and 60s. Here are a few more images of the envelope this letter was sent in, etc. Here are a couple of ads run in 1914 for the Green Parrot.  

Since we will be on vacation next week (Sept 12th through 19th) we have started putting out our Halloween items this past week. It seems like the holidays start earlier every year ... or maybe time just flies by faster. So to keep up with the times, we are getting ahead of the trend by showing off our tricks and treats. Lots of new items, as well as some great items back this year due to popular demand. Our lovable EEK! and Ike, the stuffed, fabric pumpkin dolls, are back ... and so are the Count and the Countess. EEK! and Ike - The Pumpkin Girl & Boy ($94.95 each) The Count and Countess ($74.95 each) How about a huge spider and spiderweb? We have 'em. Along with flying skulls and jack-o-lanterns! 48" Spiderweb ($19.95); 18" Spider ($13.95) The Flying Soaring Spirit of Skully (and Jack not shown) ($24.95 each) Many new Halloween figurines and decorations with are in stock. We love witches! Witches and Black Cats (starting at $13.95) Witches an...