Welcome
Sellers and Story Tellers of Antiques and Vintage...Folk Art, Fine Art, Pottery, Home Décor....So you can live with what you love.
We have been buying and selling antiques and vintage home décor since the 1970's. Now that we've retired from running our retail shops, we are offering our finds exclusively online.
We've always loved items that can add that special accent to your home and are often one of a kind.
If you’re a collector, we have vintage, collectible and antique items to add to those collections. We do a tremendous amount of research to ensure our descriptions are informative and accurate to the best of our knowledge. You can be confident that you'll receive the item you order, in the condition we describe and picture it in. WE DEFINE AN ANTIQUE as an item 100 years old or more. Everything else we sell is vintage, typically 20 years old or more.
To make shopping here easy and enjoyable, we offer free economy U.S. shipping and insurance on every item.
Please stop back to visit regularly. We're always adding new things to love.
Enjoy primping your home!
Thanks, Wayne, Linda & Sassy Henrich
From our Collection
This gorgeous solid brass tray was cast from a wooden mold made in 1750. Hand hammered in Italy, it's made high quality brass with a beautiful antique patina, quite different from the usual high shine on many brass pieces. The hand chased, pierced rope designs circle the upper lip and the bottom interior of this deeply dished round brass piece.
In diameter the tray measures 11 1/2 inches and is 1 1/2 inches high. It's very heavy, weighing 3 pounds, and is in excellent condition, with one tiny dent on the rim the only wear we could find.
There is a raised script signature on the underside along with a paper label with typed information about the casting. At one time there was a paper label (shown) which has fallen off and gone missing (but we did photograph it when we first bought the plate).
This tray can be used alternatively as a bowl/dish to display favorite things and looks beautiful standing on a shelf or flat on a table.
PYH 5292
This antique steel engraving was done by engraver Thomas B. Welch (1814-1874) after a painting by artist Francis Alexander (1800-1880), a famous portrait painter. It pictures a waist-length portrait of Marcia Van Ness of Washington, D.C. wearing a frothy bonnet tied under her chin, with matching collar over her black dress. Under the portrait is printed "Engraved by T.B. Welch from a painting by F. Alexander." Beneath that is "MRS. MARCIA VAN NESS." and at the bottom, a facsimile of her signature. T.B. Welch was a prominent burin engraver and painter, primarily of portraits, listed in Benezit Dictionary of Artists, as is Francis Alexander.
The image and printing are outlined in black; the white mat is cut to frame that line, creating a sight size 4 inches by 6 inches. Framed in a simple black wood molding, the overall size is 8 inches by 9 1/2 inches and it weighs about 13 ounces. On the back, the dust paper is intact, with two rubber bumpers at the bottom and a sawtooth hanger at the top. There is a handwritten inscription, partially legible, that states this was a "Christmas gift.... in 1991, found in an antiques shop and no relation...as far as we know."
This original engraving is not a reprint or copy. It was published in The National Portrait Gallery of Distinguished Americans, Volume 2 (1835) and also in The illustrated American Biography by Abner Dumont Jones, Volume 1 (1853) and---also by Jones---The American Portrait Gallery (1855). Taken from one of these volumes, it is in excellent condition, with no foxing, tears or stains. The frame and glass are in excellent condition, also. The history of this engraving is fascinating and it displays beautifully alone or in a grouping.
>>>Marcia Burnes Van Ness (1782-1832) was a prominent philanthropist in Washington, D.C., joining her friend Dolley Madison to establish the Washington City Orphan Asylum. Her grandfather, David Burnes II, owned land that Pierre L'Enfant, who designed the basic plan for the city, wanted to locate the White House and government buildings on. After prolonged bickering, with George Washington among others, Burnes agreed to sell the majority of his 700 acres and became a wealthy man (his fortune was estimated at $44 million in today's dollars).
Marcia Burnes inherited land from her father John in 1799 that became the downtown area of D.C. Marcia was known as "the beautiful heiress of Washington" and was the wealthiest woman in the United States at that time. She married John Peter Van Ness, a congressman from New York and later the mayor of D.C. Marcia died in 1832 and had the first public funeral ever given a woman in Washington.
PYH 4844
Antique stoneware jugs and crocks abound, but old, primitive salt-glazed stoneware pitchers are hard to find. This extra-large one stands 9 1/2 inches tall, 5 inches across the mouth and 10 inches across from the handle to the edge of the shoulder. It weighs in at a sturdy 5 1/2 pounds. The pitcher is accompanied by a handwritten note that states:
FOUND IN THE OLD MILB... GROCERY STORE IN 1940 IN WHAT CHEER, IA.
FROM THE NELSON POTTERY.
(Signed) W.C. IR... (Irwin, Irving, Irons?)
The note came as photographed, belatedly protected in the past by a plastic sleeve after the tears in the paper occurred.
E.G. Nelson and his sons founded the What Cheer Clay Products Company in 1912 in the town of the same name, but most folks just called it the Nelson Pottery. They made stoneware vessels, including pots, pitchers, jugs, churns, preserve jars, and similar utilitarian wares, as well as sewer tile and bricks. The kilns closed in 1962.
Although this is a very basic, utilitarian piece, the potter nevertheless added some details to please the eye. The wide. standing lip; the pretty pulled spout; the shapely body and incised grooves above the shoulder and above the base display his efforts. Even the applied handle was given a modeled shape at the bottom of it. You can see and feel the finger ridges on the inside from the turning on the wheel. The coal-fired beehive kiln created the drips on the tan clay which was salt-glazed and lined with Albany slip. **
Sometime in the past, a piece flaked off the inner edge of the rim down into the Albany slip inside and was reattached. It is not at all visible when the handle is turned to the left, since it does not show on the outside. This make-do repair demonstrates how valued useful objects were, especially in small towns far from a city (Ottumwa was the nearest "big city," with a population in 1912 of about 22,000 and located about 35 miles away, a long trip by horse-drawn wagon).
This large hand-thrown stoneware pitcher is a great find, one with such honest simplicity it displays so well in both country and modern interiors.
✪✪ Albany slip became a popular glaze in the 1880s. Dark brown clay was mixed with water to the consistency of fresh cream and then applied. Albany slip was often used on the inside of stoneware (as it was on this pitcher) because the surface was easier to keep clean.
PYH 5215
Review
Terri L
Review Date
May 19, 2026
Star Rating
5.00 out of 5 stars
Description
Michele Luzoro is the Diva of Biot and it’s profoundly apparent by this French Art Glass Bottle/Vase. The elegance and finesse of this hand blown masterpiece is mastered by the rippling implosion of pink, rose gold, black, and jade green colors. The bottle arrived expediently and swathed with the best packing materials. Primping Your Home is art personified!
Product
French Art Glass Bottle Vase with Gold Inclusions Handblown Signed Michele Luzoro
Terri - CustomerIf you have a question or need further information about one of our items, please contact us. Complete the form with a few details about the item & please include the item number. We'll review your message and get back to you within 48 hours.