PLACE REPRESENTED: Australia
ITEM: Souvenir Spoon Rack NOTES: A small souvenir spoon rack in the shape of Australia. Souvenir spoons, once collected by everyone, are now piled deep in trays at op shops. Still, they can be great (short) talking pieces, preferably inserted into a dip.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1990s
MADE FROM: wood
MADE IN: Australia
MANUFACTURER: Tom’s Timber Products
DIMENSIONS: 36cm x 28cm
PLACE REPRESENTED: Ireland
ITEM: Calendar
NOTES: A rustic Irish calendar depicting a happy go lucky stereotyped “Paddy” (it says so between his legs!) with his shillelagh which is also depicted at the top of the calendar in twig form. The real shillelagh is a walking stick come club used for walking and, errr clubbing?
In the days before digital, computers, iPhones and all the rest, this is how you kept track of the date, by rotating the numbers and days around, each day.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1960s
MADE FROM: wood , steel
MADE IN: unknown
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 17cm high x 8cm wide
PLACE REPRESENTED: California , USA
ITEM: Small Trinket Box
NOTES: A small ceramic jewellery or trinket box which is an ode to California – all flowers and oranges apparently.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1990s
MADE FROM: ceramic material
MADE IN: Brazil
MANUFACTURER: Porcelana Schmidt
DIMENSIONS: 11cm across x 8cm deep x 8.5cm high x 5cm high
PLACE REPRESENTED: Cairns, Queensland , Australia
ITEM: Fridge Magnet
NOTES: Fridge magnet and thermometer with tropical relief. It is quite Cairns specific as it has the “fish sculptures” that appear in the pool along the waterfront.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 2014
MADE FROM: ceramic material
MADE IN: unknown
MANUFACTURER: Citer Souvenirs
DIMENSIONS: 8.5cm across x 6.5cm high
PLACE REPRESENTED: Amersham (specifically the Parish Church of St Mary’s), England
ITEM: Trivet
NOTES: Amersham (population 14000) is in the south east of England. St Mary’s Church is a Church of England church (formerly Catholic) built in the 13th century and located in Old Amersham. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amersham
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1970s
MADE FROM: plastic
MADE IN: unknown
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 15.5cm diamter
PLACE REPRESENTED: Canada
ITEM: Cap
NOTES: The very familiar red cap with the red maple leaf. The “Canada” sown in is probably superfluous.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 2000s
MADE FROM: polyester
MADE IN: China
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: adult Adjustable size.
PLACE REPRESENTED: Holland
ITEM: Wall Ornament
NOTES: A small wall ornament with a hand painted farmhouse, some pyrography lettering, and, naturally enough, a windmill (windmills or clogs, clogs or windmills). This is especially as the sails on the windmill turn!
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1960s
MADE FROM: wood
MADE IN: unknown
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 9.5cm diameter
PLACE REPRESENTED: Hervey Bay, Queensland , Australia
ITEM: Fan
NOTES: Beautifully kitsch plastic souvenir fans from the 60s or early 70s. The fans fold in on themselves or open up. Nice scenes of the sites at Hervey Bay and the nearby Fraser Island.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1960s
MADE FROM: plastic
MADE IN: Hong Kong (it’s written on the red bit at the bottom)
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 18cm tall , 3.5cm wide (18cm tall x 3.5cm wide (when folded in) or 25cm when open up)
PLACE REPRESENTED: Niagara Falls , Canada
ITEM: Money Box
NOTES: In another post I asked "So who "owns" the falls?" The US or Canada. The answer is neither though of the three falls, the two smaller are in the US and the larger, most famous, is in Canada. This trinket wisely does not specify and captures both sides of the tourist market, though the larger fall are front and center. There is an ode to whiskey on the back which has nothing to do with the falls indicating this minature jug money box can be used for other tourist detinations. It's probably notwise to drink whiskey and go for a stroll around trhe falls.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1970s
MADE FROM: ceramic material
MADE IN: Taiwan
MANUFACTURER: Capsco
DIMENSIONS: 14cm high x 8.5cm diamter base
TASMANIA, AUSTRALIA – Tea Towel
PLACE REPRESENTED: Tasmania , Australia
ITEM: Tea Towel
NOTES: A humorous tea towel depicting Tasmania and the "large desolate land off" its northern coast (Australia). All the negatives of the "large desolate land" are mentioned as well as all the postives in Tasmania. I can't speak to all the positives because a lot are value statements but the negatives are accurate. This map is made all that much more humourus by the fact that Australia, often, when depicted, leaves off the the large island state.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1980s
MADE FROM: 100% cotton
MADE IN: India
MANUFACTURER: Nucolorvue
DIMENSIONS: 44cm x 71cm