PLACE REPRESENTED: Gold Coast , Australia.
ITEM: Vase
NOTES: Heart shaped vase with garish colours. In its own way it perfectly sums up the Gold Coast.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1970s
MADE FROM: glass
MADE IN: unknown.
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 10cm across , 11cm high
PLACE REPRESENTED: New Zealand
ITEM: Wall ornament
NOTES: Maori Chief on wood. He looks mean.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): unkown
MADE FROM: wood
MADE IN: I would be surprised if it wasn’t made in New Zealand, but who knows.
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 12cm across , 18.5cm from top to bottom
PLACE REPRESENTED: The Superga Basilica, Turin , Italy
ITEM: Thermometer
NOTES: I’m not sure what the guitar shape has to do with a basilica so I assume it’s a tribute to the Torino guitar from Turin (Torino being the Italian for Turin). This is a well detailed and elegant trinket and what you would expect from the less rustic Italian north.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1960s
MADE FROM: ceramic material , chain
MADE IN: Italy
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 7cm across , 21cm high
Remember to click on the photos for detailed large images.
PLACE REPRESENTED: Opatija, Yugoslavia (now Croatia)
ITEM: Wall Picture
NOTES: A wooden frame with a postcard picture. The picture is a postcard of a fountain with a random bus in the background in Opatija but it can be replaced with any postcard. Which would be about right. I’m no expert but the wooden frame seems to be more alpine in nature … and Opatija is on the coast.
I still love this type of rustic souvenir.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1960s
MADE FROM: wood
MADE IN: unknown
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 22cm across , 17cm high
PLACE REPRESENTED: Ireland
ITEM: Doll
NOTES: Doll in traditional Irish dress. Ahh, to be sure.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1970s
MADE FROM: plastic , material
MADE IN: Hong Kong
MANUFACTURER: Eagleton Toys
DIMENSIONS: 25cm tall (doll)
PLACE REPRESENTED: Harbour Bridge, Sydney , Australia
ITEM: Ashtray
NOTES: Whenever you put a city on a ashtray there will be analogical jokes made about the city and the ashtray … and Sydney is an easy target. The ashtray is made of a lead like steel probably mined in Australia before being sent to Japan to be manufactured into this trinket which is then sent back to Australia for sale. It’s not the first time the Japanese sent manufactured steel back to Australia.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1960s
MADE FROM: steel
MADE IN: Japan
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 15cm across , 11cm high
PLACE REPRESENTED: Fiji
ITEM: Coasters
NOTES: Excellent contemporary tiki coasters (six of them) from Fiji.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1990s
MADE FROM: wood or board , plastic cork base.
MADE IN: ?
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 8.5cm diameter (on the coasters) The holder is 10cm high
PLACE REPRESENTED: Chimney Rock North Carolina , USA
ITEM: Mug
NOTES: wikipedia: “Chimney Rock State Park is a North Carolina state park in Chimney Rock, Rutherford County, North Carolina in the United States. The 4,531-acre (18.34 km2) park is located 25 miles (40 km) southeast of Asheville, North Carolina, and is owned by the state of North Carolina. It offers hiking trails for all skill levels, spectacular views, the Devil’s Head balancing rock and a 404-foot (123 m) waterfall, Hickory Nut Falls. Its most notable feature is a 315-foot (96 m) rock formation, a granite monolith, Chimney Rock, accessible by elevator and providing views of the park and surrounding countryside”. I could not have described it better. Also, I’m partial to granite rock though it is hard to shape.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1970s
MADE FROM: ceramic material
MADE IN: ?
MANUFACTURER: unknown
DIMENSIONS: 11.5cm across , 11cm high
PLACE REPRESENTED: Meteopa , Greece
ITEM: Mug
NOTES: This looks like a hand crafted mug / cup with hand painted scenery. Meteopa is a mountaintop Greek Orthodox monastery – Just outside the village of Kastraki, Kastraki, Kalambaka, Greece
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1990s
MADE FROM: ceramic material
MADE IN: I’d be surprised if it wasn’t Greece.
MANUFACTURER: unknown, but hand painted.
DIMENSIONS: 8cm high x 7.5cm diameter opening at top high , 7.5cm diameter (opening at top)
Remember to click on the photos for detailed large images.
PLACE REPRESENTED: Holland
ITEM: Pin Cushion
NOTES: A pin cushion from Holland in the shape of, what else, clogs. It is, perhaps, one of the most identifiable of all national dress items. And, of course, the clogs have painted windmills on them. All we need is a dyke.
YEAR (APPROXIMATE): 1960s
MADE FROM: wood
MADE IN: ?
MANUFACTURER: Handmade
DIMENSIONS: 11cm across , 5cm high
