Typewriter Tables, Pottery Marks & Wine in a Can

My husband, Chris, went to an estate sale on Friday while I was at work. He came home empty-handed. I went to the same sale after work (because it was only 10 minutes away and I don't fully trust his junk-hunting skills yet) and saw a typewriter sitting on top of this gray metal Sears & Roebuck typewriter table. The price was $35 for the typewriter and table, but I asked to buy just the table because the typewriter wasn't anything to write home about. The seller happily agreed, since it was the end of the day and no one else had shown any interest.

When I arrived home and walked in the door holding the table, Chris said, "Oh, yeah - I saw that there and I knew you would love it". He just assumed that the seller wouldn't want to separate the set. Now do you understand why I have to do a follow-up visit?!

Typewriter tables make great night stands. My son has an olive green one next to his bed. I'm going to use this one as a printer stand next to my desk.

Last week, I bought this large ironstone platter and tureen at a yard sale for $10:

At least, I think it is a tureen. I assume that it had a lid once - but it doesn't have a lip on the inside of the rim. Any ideas?

I love figuring out the age of these old pieces. Sometimes there isn't enough information on the maker's mark to do a Google search. So, I look to my favorite website for pottery marks: thepotteries.org.

When I looked at the mark on the bottom of the bowl, I determined that "Hanley" is the name of the factory town where the piece was manufactured in Staffordshire, England. The manufacturer is W & C - but that doesn't help me because there are many potters that start with "W".

I went to the W page in the Alphabetic listing section of thepotteries.org. I clicked on all of the manufacturers who had W & C initials and whose location was Hanley. Eventually, I found the maker: Whittaker & Company. When I looked at the other examples of the Whittaker mark, I learned that "Windsor" refers to the name of the pattern and that it is made between 1886-1892.

The mark on the bottom of the ironstone platter was much easier to research, since it had the full name of the manufacturer. I found it right away when I googled "Porcelaine De Terre" "John Edwards". Here is the result on thepotteries.org. I learned that this platter was made sometime between 1880 and 1900.

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Thanks to Grace from Poetic Home for featuring a few of my favorite vintage things on her blog. As I told her, I am happy to be a part of anything that has any references to The Sound of Music. And I especially love that she compared me to Conan O'Brien. That made my day! Be sure to check out the other bloggers in her Favorite Vintage Things Series, too.

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Since yard sales are scarce at this time of year, I've been trying to fill the void by visiting local wineries. Surprisingly, there are several in the area and they all have beautiful locations, fun-filled events and great wine, to boot. There is one winery called Paradocx that sells their wine in paint cans.

Isn't this the cutest thing ever?

It is equivalent to four bottles of wine and has a little spigot at the bottom for pouring. I bought the Barn Red variety, which is a Sangiovese/Cabernet Franc blend. They also make Whitewash, which is a blend of Chardonnay, Vidal and Pino Grigio - it has a white barn on the label. I opted for the red, since we have that big red barn in our backyard (which isn't ours, unfortunately). The can even comes with a wooden paint mixer, imprinted with "Paint the Town, Responsibly".

I can't wait until the weather warms up so we can sit on our deck and play "Pass the Can". It is so much classier to drink wine out of a spigot than a bottle.

Comments

[Jo]

I have to smile at the typewriter stand. I have my printer on one, too, but mine only has one leaf. I never thought to use one as a night stand--that's why I love your blog.

I don't drink wine, but I love red barns and that has to be the coolest wine bottle ever. I might reconsider if I ever visited and pick up a pail.

[brigita]

I hope that, like screw-tops, this whole wine-in-a-can is a trend that catches on because OMG how cool is that?!

[Becky]

I just started working on a little typewriter table today--it has a few layers of contact paper on the top. I want wine in a paint can!
Also, love your stools, especially the little shoe shining one. I shared a stool redo a few days ago on my blog.

[Heather]

That wine 'bottle' is very cute!

[Grace@PoeticHome]

Ah, husbands are not to be trusted with vintage hunting on their own! My husband would have done the same thing as yours :)

I am infatuated with the wine in a paint can. Now I can finally retire my wine in a box habit and look much cooler. My friends thank you!

It was such a wonderful pleasure to feature your beautiful vintage treasures on my blog! I'm just now waiting and rooting for you to get your own late night hilarious vintage stand-up show :)

[Claire]

Awesome finds!

[Johanna]

Wine in a can is amazing! Umm what officer, I wasn't drinking ...just painting :)

[Mary]

I haven't visited the vineyard, but I live about 4 minutes from Paradocx's wine shop in Longwood, PA. The can doesn't hold as much as the large box (i.e., Franzia) and is considerably more expensive, but it's tasty, and the paint can is much more fun! We made our own Pinot Noir last fall in a glass demi-john and I can fill the can up soon. Thanks for posting about Paradocx--I had forgotten I had saved that paint can! Colleen, have you been to Stargazer's Vinyards in Unionville (PA)? I heard that's a good local one as well and plan to check it out when the weather gets nice...Cheers!

[Stephanie Howell]

um, that wine bucket is AWESOME. seriously.
and i can't even take my husband junking with me b/c he does not GET IT. he just follows me around and sighs the entire time.
*sigh*

[KSV Woolfoot]

Isn't the potteries.org site a wonder? I just _love_ that people are making all that fabulous information available to all of us for FREE. I run there everytime I get home with a new bit of English pottery - which is a little too often, or a lot too often if you ask my husband. (So don't ask him).
Enjoy the wine.

[Leslie]

I love the wine in the can, but my favorite part was your $10 treasure! How interesting it was to read how you discovered the potter and date. I'm always entertained by your blog.

[~KellyAnn~]

Glad you have a new post up. That 'stool sample' made me cringe every time I checked!!
Hope your mom is doing better and is back to her mad Boggle playing.

Love the newest finds- the paint/wine can is a hoot!

[Grumpy]

Ok!! Go to the lib. or Borders and find a "BOOK OF MARKS". In the front they will tell you how to decipher the #. That will tell you yr. it was made.( I hope!)

[Alicia]

Just love that typewriter stand! My hubby did a similar thing with a 1930's iron. He did bring home the iron from the garage sale but left behind the stand. Luckily I went to check in at the sale later and found it still there!
Alicia

[Jenifir]

Sometimes you can't trust yourself. Last year I had a identical typewriter stand in my cart at the thrift store and put it back because I had gone over my mental limit of how much I was willing to spend on that day. Mental limit is mental! I regretted by decision later the same day but it was gone when I went back. Is the wine as good as the presentation?

[Dori]

Wine in a paint can...with a spigot! How fun is that! What a great gift. Love your antique bowl!

[betty]

I just found one of those typing tables at a local store. The color is very green and it is very cool...I may have to go back for it!

[VintageLove]

I have a typewriter stand like that too! Got it for $5. It just needs a fresh coat of paint...

[Dime Store Thrift]

Love, Love, LOVE typewriter tables!

[jessimarie33]

Hi, I just ran accross your blog yesterday and loved the typewriter table. I had never seen on before. On my way home I stopped at the local thrift store, and you will never guess what I found! A great typewriter table! It was only $4 so I had to snatch it up. We painted it white. Thanks for the great inspiration (on your whole blog!) Check out our little table here:
http://www.makemineeclectic.wordpress.com

[Kim]

When I showed my husband the pic of the wine in a can, he immediately said "where do you get this?"...unfortunately, we are about 3 hrs away, so we'll have to stick to our wine out of a box...our current method of wine from a spigot.

[LillySue]

OK~ The wine in a can is just too cool. I don't drink wine but love pretty labels. My husband does like wine and thinks I am a dork for wanting to pick them out based on presentation. I say ya gotta have your prioritys straight!!
Blessings~ LillySue

[sarah]

Love the stand. The folks at Paradocx are great, and sometimes I find great things at the Pennsbury Chadds Ford mall - we're lucky to live in such a great area!

[cb]

Hi There -
I absolutely love the typewriter stand...are you selling it, as I looked on ebay for one after seeing yours? Or is it for personal use?

Thanks
cb

[Vickie Dunn]

I've never read a blog before and I enjoyed yours very much. I was looking for a typewriter stand when I found your blog. I actually need a typewriter stand for a typewriter. In my job we are still using 5 page purchase orders which have to be typed. I found a typewriter no one was using, but it is from the 1980's and huge. It takes up precious space on my desk and I want to put it on a stand so I can roll it out of the way when I'm not using it. I loved your idea of using them as night stands and the bucket of wines.