LOVRAN, CROATIA – Ornament

Lovran - Souvenir Desk Press  (1)PLACE REPRESENTED: Lovran , Croatia

ITEM: Ornament

NOTES: I’m not sure what this is. Possibly something to hold a pen or a cigarette? Either way it is in wood adorned with traditional markings you see on a lot of Croatian souvenirs of the period.

YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1970s

MADE FROM: wood

MADE IN: Yugoslavia

MANUFACTURER: Meba, Zagreb

DIMENSIONS: 8cm  high, 14cm wide, 11cm  wide

Lovran - Souvenir Desk Press  (7)          Lovran - Souvenir Desk Press  (4)          Lovran - Souvenir Desk Press  (6)

Lovran - Souvenir Desk Press  (3)

BURG HOHENZOLLERN , GERMANY – Glass

Burg Hohenzollern - Glass (1)          Burg Hohenzollern - Glass (2)

PLACE REPRESENTED: Burg Hohenzollern , Germany

ITEM: Glass

NOTES: Hohenzollern Castle is a castle approximately 50 kilometers south of Stuttgart, Germany. It dates back to the 15th and 18th centuries in parts and is considered the ancestral seat of the Hohenzollern family, who eventually became German Emperors. The castle isn’t normally inhabited and is a sort of educational, historical Disneyland …err, without rides or giant stuffed talking animals.

YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1970s

MADE FROM: glass

MADE IN:  France

MANUFACTURER: unknown

DIMENSIONS: 7.5cm  diameter x 9cm high

PERTH, WESTERN AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA – Wall Ornament

Perth - Handcrafter - Wood wall hanging (1)

PLACE REPRESENTED: Perth, Western Australia , Australia

ITEM: Wall Ornament

NOTES: Now, this I like. Locally made with local materials (I assume). A microcosm of Perth’s flora (albeit dried and lacquered) stuck onto a piece of wood. Beautiful.

YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1970s

MADE FROM: wood

MADE IN:  Australia

MANUFACTURER: Croft Craft

DIMENSIONS: 25cm long x 8cm wide

Perth - Handcrafter - Wood wall hanging (2)          Perth - Handcrafter - Wood wall hanging (3)          Perth - Handcrafter - Wood wall hanging (4)

MUNICH, GERMANY – Ashtray

Munich - Munchen Church Ashtray (1)PLACE REPRESENTED: Munich , Germany

ITEM: Ashtray

NOTES: München or Munich is, of course, the capital of the (southern) Bavaria area of Germany.

This ashtray has a pretty, old style etching highlighting the Munich Frauenkirche, the Roman Catholic cathedral finished in the 16th century. The cathedral can hold approximately 20,000 people.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munich_Frauenkirche

YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1970s

MADE FROM: ceramic material

MADE IN:  Germany

MANUFACTURER: DP Porzella

DIMENSIONS: 14cm diameter

Munich - Munchen Church Ashtray (3)

SIENA, ITALY – Wall Plate

Siena - Cathedral - Display Plate (1) PLACE REPRESENTED: Siena , Italy

ITEM: Wall Plate

NOTES: This wall plate depicts the old cathedral in the heart of Siena, Tuscany. The plate is nicely detailed and has a border in gold, as it probably should, given that Siena has been declared by  UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

I loved the Stewart Granger film “Swordsman of Siena” (1962) as a kid … I have no idea if it was filmed there.

YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1970s

MADE FROM: ceramic material

MADE IN:  unknown

MANUFACTURER: unknown

DIMENSIONS: 19.5cm diameter

Siena - Cathedral - Display Plate (2)

HOLLAND – Ornamental Clog

Holland - Large wooden clog (1)     Holland - Large wooden clog (3)PLACE REPRESENTED:   Holland

ITEM: Clog

NOTES: A wooden clog from Holland. I’ve met a few clogs from Holland. This one is personalised with “Josh” on one side and “Holland” on the other. “Josh” doesn’t sound particularly Dutch and he may be quite forgetful as he has lost this clog or, maybe, he has one leg.

YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1970s

MADE FROM: wood

MADE IN:  unknown

MANUFACTURER: unknown

DIMENSIONS: 15.5cm long , 7cm high

BALLINA, NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA – Coasters

Ballina - coasters (1)Ballina - coasters (2)PLACE REPRESENTED: Ballina , New South Wales, Australia

ITEM: Coasters

NOTES: Ballina on the NSW North Coast is a small, urbanised, seaside town, hence the, perhaps, unspectacular pictures on the coasters.

I note the bikini swimmer on two of the coasters seems to be the same girl, albeit in different bikinis. Must have been the photographers girlfriend? I think I saw her the last time I was in Ballina.

Most people head off to the beaches of nearby Lennox Heads or Byron Bay.

YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1970s

MADE FROM: cork

MADE IN:  Australia

MANUFACTURER: Murray Views

DIMENSIONS: 28cm x  9cm  (packet)

NORFOLK ISLAND, AUSTRALIA – Kitchenware

Norfolk Island - CreamerPLACE REPRESENTED: Norfolk Island , Australia

ITEM: Creamer

NOTES: Milk creamer with sailing ship probably the Endeavour as Captain Cook stopped at Norfolk Island (and named it) for a nano second in 1774.

YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1970s

MADE FROM: ceramic material

MADE IN:  unknown

MANUFACTURER: unknown

DIMENSIONS:      9cm high x 11cm from edge to handle edge x 7cm diameter opening.