PLACE REPRESENTED: Austria
ITEM: Decorative Cow Bell ornament.
NOTES: Austria and cow bells?
For sure.
Austria is Alpine and there is truckloads of grassland and pasture so cattle farming and dairy production are important agricultural production sectors.
There is something ye olde worlde and distinctly middle European about cow bells.
Isn’t there?
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1970s
MADE FROM: steel , material
MADE IN: unknown
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 11cm top to bottom x 4.5cm across
PLACE REPRESENTED: Sydney, New South Wales , Australia
ITEM: Key Chain
NOTES: The iconic Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House … again.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1980s
MADE FROM: steel
MADE IN: unknown
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 11cm long (with chain)
PLACE REPRESENTED: Ghana, Africa.
ITEM: Ornament
NOTES: Beautifully detailed and carved. Large, very evocative and quite striking.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1970s (but it could be earlier)
MADE FROM: wood
MADE IN: unknown
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 25cm tall
PLACE REPRESENTED: New Zealand
ITEM: Wood and leather salt & pepper shakers.
NOTES: Salt & Pepper shakers made of wood with a center bound in what appears to be leather, etched with Polynesian symbols and Kiwi birds.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1970s
MADE FROM: wood , leather (I think).
MADE IN: unknown
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 12cm high , 4.2cm diameter around base.
PLACE REPRESENTED: Llangollen (specifically Plas Newydd) , Wales
ITEM: Display Plate
NOTES: Llangollen is a small town in north-east Wales. On the outskirts of the town is Plas Newydd (“New Place” or “New Hall”).
Plas Newydd was home to the Ladies of Llangollen, Sarah Ponsonby (1755-1831) and Lady Eleanor Butler (1739-1829) who came from aristocratic stock in Ireland. They moved in in May, 1780 and renamed it Plas Newydd, or New Hall. Here they stayed for the next 49 years, rarely spending a night away from home. Over the years they created a house and garden that drew visitors from across Britain. They became celebrated throughout the country as the story of their friendship spread through Regency Society, which made Plas Newydd a byword for intellectual stimulation and educated refinement. http://www.britainexpress.com/attractions.htm?
I don’t know when this plate is from but it certainly was made before PC times, the “the Ladies of Llangollen house” is refered to as the “Old maids’ house” on the plate.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1970s (pre PC times)
MADE FROM: ceramic material
MADE IN: unknown
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 15.5cm across x 15.5cm high
PLACE REPRESENTED: Tweed Heads (specifically Razorback Hill), New South Wales , Australia
ITEM: I’m not really sure what this is. I’m assuming it’s a tea bag strainer. (postnote: actually it’s just miniature souvenir ware of a shaving mug – see comments below)
NOTES: Razorback Hill is a long, narrow hill located at the end of Razorback Road between Tweed Heads (in New South Wales) and Coolangatta (in Queensland) which offered a beautiful outlook of rolling hills, the sea to the east, and mountains to the west. At the summit on the western side there was a restaurant called the Chalet. The Swiss owner, Karl Hiendlemayer, began to build his dream in 1916 and added to it over the years until it became a major tourist curiosity. He sold it to the Sutherland family in 1939 and, during the war years, it proved to be amongst the most popular venues for the relaxing and free-spending American servicemen. (see – you can learn things on the internet). Apparently the chalet on Razorback Hill (given the amount of artefacts with “Interior of The Chalet,” label on them) was quite the place to be and, apparently, had a stunning view.
It’s all gone now and has been built up and built out.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1930s
MADE FROM: ceramic material
MADE IN: Czechoslovakia
MANUFACTURER: ‘Victoria’ Schmidt & Company (I believe this “Victoria” stamp was used from approximately 1919-45)
DIMENSIONS: 8cm across x 5.5cm high
PLACE REPRESENTED: Reese, Michigan , USA
ITEM: Mug
NOTES: A beautiful handcrafted mug from the United States. These small pottery and craft places do exist but they find it hard to compete with the cheap trinkets from China. Westerwald Pottery in Pennsylvania make salt glazed pottery in the rendition of the Westerwald region of Germany. They have been around since 1975.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 2001
MADE FROM: ceramic material
MADE IN: USA
MANUFACTURER: Westerwald Pottery
DIMENSIONS: 10cm high x 8.5cm diameter (at top) 10cm diameter (on bottom), 13cm wide with handle
PLACE REPRESENTED: Niagara Falls, Canada and United States
ITEM: Souvenir Spoon
NOTES: Niagara Falls on a spoon. It seems a little underwhelming to depict the falls in this way.
So who “owns” the falls? Type that into google and the best answer you get (on answers.com) is “No one actually “owns” Niagara Falls. It is part of the Niagara River. The international boundary between Canada and the US runs through the Niagara River. There are three falls at Niagara Falls. The American Falls and the much smaller Bridal Veil Falls are in the US. The spectacular Horseshoe Falls is almost entirely within Canada. Both nations use the water in the river for hydroelectric power. Niagara Falls is a major tourist attraction both in Canada and the US. So I assume the falls we all recognise are within Canada though a lot of the rest is within the United States.
The maple leaf symbol on the spoon, however, firmly indicates Canada as the spoon’s origin..
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1970s
MADE FROM: steel
MADE IN: unknown
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 11cm long
PLACE REPRESENTED: Sea World, Gold Coast , Australia
ITEM: Ornament
NOTES: Yes indeed there are polar bears on Queenslands sunny Gold Coast … at Sea World. I’m assuming (and hoping) their enclosures are air conditioned.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): © 2002
MADE FROM: acrylic
MADE IN: China
MANUFACTURER: Sea World Property Trust
DIMENSIONS: 6cm high , 7cm long
PLACE REPRESENTED: Kings Canyon, Central Australia , Australia
ITEM: Salt & Pepper Shakers
NOTES: Kings Canyon is part of the Watarrka National Park in Northern Territory, Australia, about 323 km southwest of Alice Springs. The plant depicted, the Sturt Desert Pea, is one of Australia’s best known wildflowers and is native to the arid regions of central and north-western Australia.
I’m not sure what plant is more prevalent at King’s Canyon but I do note that Sturt’s Desert Pea is the State floral emblem for South Australia not the Northern Territory. The Northern Territory has Sturt’s Desert Rose as it’s emblem.
How’s that for trivia?
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1970s
MADE FROM: ceramic material
MADE IN: Australia
MANUFACTURER: Crow’s Souvenirs
DIMENSIONS: 9cm tall
