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antiques
I have always loved Easter collectibles, a fact that is a little bit
surprising because, in my family, we celebrate Passover instead
of Easter.
When I was 8 years old, the Easter holiday fell on the same
week as Passover. I had the time of my life decorating eggs with
my mother and sister, only to discover, just as I was dressing to
attend Passover services at our synagogue, that the dark purple
and pink dyes would not wash off. After scouring and scouring,
to no avail, we all attended services with white cotton gloves on
our hands, a memory that I will never forget. It still makes me
laugh when I think of it.
Easter collectibles cannot help but put a smile on anyone’s
face. There’s something so renewing and joyful about all of the
bunnies, the baby chicks and the baskets of eggs. I don’t know
how the serious holiday of Easter came to be represented by
such non-serious secular symbols, but just seeing them makes
me happy.
There are all sorts of Easter items to collect, from all time
periods. There are wooly sheep with wooden stick legs from
the late 1800s, tin baskets from the turn of the century and
wacky neon-colored plastic eggs from the 1970s. But I think
in my previous life I must have lived in the late 1800s, because
Victorian items are always the things that make me pull out my
pocketbook to add “just one more” to my collections.
One of the most popular items for collectors is a postcard.
Personally, I have hundreds of them. When I can buy an
authentic piece of artwork that is 100 years old, for only a few
dollars, why not buy one more?
Easter postcards from the golden age of postcard collecting,
1898-1918, are plentiful and inexpensive. At the turn of the last
century, collecting postcards in large scrapbooks was a popular
hobby among ladies, sort of like modern day scrapbooking is
today. A hundred years later, these albums are often still intact,
with the cards stored safely inside.
The best quality cards from that time were printed in
Germany. Several American card companies including John
Winsch, The International Art Publishing Company and the
very famous Raphael Tuck & Sons had offices and studios in
America but sent their cards to Germany to be printed and
published. German cards are recognizable for their embossed
cardstocks, hand colored details, depth of design, and metallic
and silk trim. I can always tell if a card is German – even before
I turn it over and look for the country of origin mark.
Postcards are great for holiday decorating. For a very small
investment you can build a collection of Easter postcards and
use them to decorate your mantle and Easter breakfast table.
I always send antique postcards to my friends for the holidays.
One friend has kept all of the cards and displays them
By Linda Sarubin
Collections for Easter
seasonally in a wire wreath. Not only is it a conversation
starter, it is a way for me to still be present at my friend’s celebrations,
even though we now live very far apart.
Easter celebrations have always included candy. Many years
ago children were given candy in baskets, of course, but also
in delicate and intricately molded figural candy containers.
The containers were made from tin, glass, cardboard or paper
mache. They were made in the shapes of dogs, trains, autos,
boats, lanterns and mailboxes. Easter containers were shaped
like bunnies, chicks and lambs.
I wish I had collected candy containers a decade or so ago,
when prices were more affordable. Now I see them at antiques
shows priced anywhere from $150 apiece to $500 or more.
And unique containers that have unusual themes, such as bunnies
riding in an automobile, or chickens paddling a boat, can
sell for much more.
I understand the high prices. If Victorian children were
Opposite Top: Many postcard collectors look for chicks and bunnies
dressed like people. This German card is desirable, even in less than
perfect condition, because of its amusing subject matter. Opposite Bottom:
Victorians were crazy for crafting, just like we are today. Tiny paper scraps
like these were used to decorate Easter eggs and to make greeting cards.
Left Top: These large candy containers were made in Germany in the late
19th century. The heads of the rabbits are removable to allow access to the
candies hidden inside. Left Second from Top: This wooly lamb pull toy was
a special treat for a very lucky boy or girl at the turn of the last century. Left
Third photo: A Victorian wire egg holder with two lithographed cardboard
eggs. The eggs, made in Germany, open up to hold treats. Left Bottom:
Glass candy containers like these had removable cardboard bottoms. Most
of the major glass companies in America made glass toy novelties along
with their regular lines of stemware and serving bowls.
anything like my four granddaughters
are today, the delicate candy
containers were ripped to shreds
in seconds. Who knew they would
be valued as prized collectibles?
The ones that survived are rare and
expensive. Look for flocking, glass
eyes and paint that has survived the
decades.
Like the postcards I mentioned
earlier, the best candy containers
were made in Germany. German
villages were filled with small family
workshops and large factories whose
sole purpose was cranking out various
holiday goodies to be exported
to America. Expect to pay more
for a German holiday items than
ones that were made in the USA.
Reproductions have been made that
carefully mimic the old candy containers,
so look for items that appear
to have genuine age.
Easter isn’t Easter without eggs.
The egg has always been a universal
symbol of renewal and rebirth – perfect
for Easter celebrations.
Of course the most famous of all
decorated eggs were created between
1884 and 1917 for Czars Alexander
III and Nicholas II by the Russian
jeweler Peter Carl Faberge. These
eggs were encrusted with gold, silver
and gems, and surrounded by brilliantly
colored enamel. There were
more than 100 of these treasures
made, but only 69 still survive today.
Most are in museums, but if they
ever came up for sale, they would
sell for many millions of dollars.
You don’t have to spend millions
to collect eggs though. Antique
shops are filled with all sorts of decorated
eggs for collectors. In the late
Victorian era, milk glass eggs were
embossed, hand painted and gilded.
Large pressed cardboard eggs were
covered with vibrant lithographed
papers depicting images of spring
– children, flowers, chicks and bunnies.
Like many decorative Easter
items, the eggs opened to provide a
hiding place for treats. These candy
container eggs often had a loop of
string on the top so that they could
be hung as ornaments.
In the early 20th century, J.
Chein and other toy companies produced
tin lithographed eggs, often
using the same colorful designs that
they printed on their other tin novelties,
such as sand pails, banks and
children’s dishes.
Easter egg cups are collectibles
that you can use year round. They
were usually made from milk glass
with molded heads of bunnies and
chicks. I love the idea of setting the
Easter table with a different glass
egg cup at each guest’s plate. They
are the perfect size for small candies
and nuts.
Easter collectibles just make
me happy, and it doesn’t hurt that
they are often accompanied by foil
wrapped chocolates and jelly beans!
As we open up our old country
store after being closed for the long
hard winter – and it certainly was a
rough one this year – I am thrilled
to dust off the shelves and decorate
the front windows and counters
with hopping bunnies and chicks in
baskets.
Sarubin, along with her husband,
Carroll Swam, and their poodle,
Noodle, own an antiques store in
southern Pennsylvania, The
Gatchellville Store, 717-382-9252 or
gatchellvillestore@zoominternet.net.
72 Mason-Dixon ARRIVE | APRIL 2011 Mason-Dixon ARRIVE | APRIL 2011 73