Fairs, letters and patterns

Earlier this month - the 15th to be precise - I found myself at another of my local Essex Vintage Fairs.  Fast becoming a quarterly tradition thanks in no small part to its proximity to m'parents' home it is also a well-run yet intimate event with some good bargains to be found if one is prepared to search beyond the "vintage" (in the worst possible sense as used to describe stuff from the 1970s, '80s - or even later - that just looks old or has a bit of retro about it) and "[insert decade here]-style".  (Those two types of items are, of course, found everywhere these days so this event is not unusual for that.)

While perhaps not quite up there with the summer fair in terms of atmosphere (despite the "Special Christmas Vintage Fair" tagline of the advertisements there was really very little to differentiate it from any other time of year beyond some occasional Christmas music and a few decorations) it was still great fun and we - mother and I - were both able to find a couple of things to take our fancy.

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Mine has lost the wording
but is otherwise identical

The first find was mine - another book for my library and quite an apposite one in view of next year's centenary of the First World War.  In The Royal Naval Air Service is comprised of a series of letters written by RNAS Flight-Lieutenant Harold Rosher to his family (in Beckenham, South East London) from the outbreak of war in August 1914 until February 1916 when he tragically died in a flying accident.  I've already leafed through the first chapter and it looks to be a cracking read and a welcome addition to my World War One book collection (it should be a particularly good companion piece to James McCudden's Five Years in the Royal Flying Corps).  It's my intention to read through all (or as many as possible!) of my Great War books in 2014 as part of my own commemoration of the centenary and this one will be top of the pile.  I'm also delighted to note that it has been republished twice in the last eleven years and that copies are still available to buy or even read/download online.

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At £3.50 for an original 1916 copy, however, there was no way it wasn't coming home with me.  It also has a fascinating pencil inscription on the frontispiece - 'G. Barham N.A.A, "Hood" Division'.  A little bit of digging has found that Hood Division was one of eight battalions of the Royal Naval Division, an infantry unit made up of surplus Royal Navy and Royal Marine volunteers not serving on ships.  A clear link to Harold Rosher, then, who served in the Navy's air force (before it was merged with the Royal Flying Corps on the 1st April 1918 to form the RAF).  Maybe this G. Barham knew Harold Rosher, who can say?  Interestingly enough, towards the end of 1916 the Royal Naval Division was re-deployed to the Army as the 63rd (Royal Naval) Division with the eight battalions losing their names (all famous naval commanders) so it should be possible to precisely place this Barham chap in the timeline of the RND. 

Now, for the second find (mater's, but equally exciting for me too) I must ask any ladies reading - particularly those of you who knit - to please be sitting down or holding on to something because I don't want there to be any swooning.  Yes - knitting patterns!

Not just any old patterns, either.  Hiding in amongst piles of Seventies- and Eighties-tastic booklets (dubious cardigans, three-piece sets where one of the pieces is a hat - you know the sort of thing) were a couple of absolute gems from a far earlier period...  Just feast your eyes on these!

From the 25th September 1937 issue of Woman's Own, a whopping 44 pages of woollen wonders in the Big Knitting Book!!  I mean,everything!  Look at it all! Quite literally the mother lode.

Cardigans!

Jumpers!

Pullovers (for chaps too)!

Even the kiddies are catered for!

If that wasn't enough mother also nabbed an "Autumn Woollies" book from "My Weekly, of approximately the same vintage (sadly there's no date to be found in it, but the styles look very much the same and the fact that it has some colour pages and is roughly A4 in size leads me to believe it is also pre-war).  

Got your breath back yet?  OK, here we go...

Not as many pages as the Big Knitting Book, but still some corkers for the whole family dwell within.

Why not indeed?!

Mater was quite tickled to note that the older, larger lady was referred to as a "matron"...

We chaps are well-catered for too!

By Jove, what a lot of patterns eh?  Should keep mother busy well into the next year.

I'll certainly be returning to the next fair on the 26th of January, with an even bigger one scheduled for the 2nd of March at a larger sports hall in Southend, to look out for more bargains, patterns and books for 2014.

If you can't knit 'em, blog 'em!

Another week seems to have flown by, again without a single blog post from me!  How terribly remiss of me, to be sure; I can only say that I rather immersed myself in convalescing (fat lot of good it's done me - now I've gone and caught a cold!) to the point where I've almost neglected this poor little blog.  I must apologise to you, dear readers.

Other than the sniffles, however, I think I can safely say things are all back as they should be (or as near as makes no difference).  I've still got the previously-mentioned drafts to finish but once again something unexpected has come along to upset the order of things (albeit in a totally good way).

That something was another Antique and Collectors Fair at Runnymede Hall in Benfleet, Essex.  Literally just around the corner from my parents, I took full advantage of the fact and stopped in for lunch before mater and I went down there for an afternoon's browsing.  I can hardly believe that it has been a whole year since last I went to one of these (they're roughly bi-monthly at Benfleet, with others held at various locations in Essex), although of course I've had my reasons(!).

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When I attended the February 2012 event, at which I picked up two 1930s non-U.K. pennies as told here, I mentioned my surprise at the high prices in evidence and speculated (hoped!) that it was the exception rather than the rule on the basis of other antiques emporia I had visited around the same time.  I'm delighted to say, based on my experience yesterday, that that seems to have been the case as prices this time were much more reasonable and there were several things that, were I more flush with cash, I might have considered buying.  I don't think for one minute that the antiques and collectibles market is in any kind of trouble either locally or nationally; I believe this was more a case of dealers coming to their senses, reigning in their ambitions and being keener to sell (there was much more of that on display too - lots of deals, half price tables, "everything must go", "make me an offer" and the rather amusing "buyers wanted, no experience necessary!" signs).  It was a slightly smaller affair than last year - the picture above, taken in April 2012, gives a good idea of the scale this time too - but it was well-attended and there were some interesting items, as I mentioned.

I (or, I should say, we) didn't come away empty-handed this time either and it was thanks in part to mother's eagle eye.  One of the first tables we came to contained heaps of odds and ends, many of them Second World War vintage (ironically it was run by a friendly German stallholder who, like most of the traders there, was keen to chat).  Half hidden beneath some old matchbooks, pin badges and similar knick-knacks were some papers.  Closer inspection revealed them to be - knitting patterns, all it seemed from around the early/mid 1940s!

Having leafed through all ten and with mater on a bit of a knitting kick we agreed to buy, for 50p, the one that looked the best for yours truly - as illustrated by the handsome chap above (I can guarantee I won't look as dapper, I'm afraid!).  We then continued round the rest of the hall, stopping for some tea and cake on the way.  During this break the discussion returned to the remaining 9 patterns and after some deliberation I went back to see if I could take our Teutonic friend up on his offer to "do a deal" on all of them.  As if to underline my earlier point about this particular fair, he was happy to let the rest go for a paltry £3!  So, without further ado, here are the rest!

Might see if I can get Ma to have a crack at the men's slippers, although I think she might be rather dubious about using "rug wool" and making the leather soles(!).

Researching Sirdar Wools I was surprised and pleased to find that they're still in business!

A great advert for Lee's Wools in one of two Woman's Weekly pattern sections, this one from November 1940.  Perhaps Tups will be able to tell us the name of the model? ;-)

On the other side, a double pattern for "Stocksize" and "Outsize" ladies vests.  Unfortunately, the "opposite page" which details the materials needed is missing.  Any suggestions from the knitters out there?

Shoulders!

No such problems with this great, brilliantly modelled pattern from a later Woman's Weekly dated the 5th August 1944.

Mum has offered to do these gloves too.  I'll have to supply the binoculars and tin hat myself, though! ;-p

Hang on, this model looks familiar(!).  Could it be Tups' favourite and subject of her latest post, Miss Peggy Chester?!

"They Always Need Socks", is the subtitle on the reverse of this pattern.  Something that still holds true today, I can tell you.  Maybe I should see about dusting off my very basic knitting skills with a pair of these fellows...?

Even mother was getting carried away at this point, but she did say that she might have a try at the bag too.  If she does I'll be sure to try and get some pictures of it.

All in all a splendid day out for all concerned.  I get some vintage knitting patterns to blog about (and reap some woollen rewards from!) and mother gets some more things to knit.

I'm looking forward with renewed anticipation to the next fair in April, as well as some others elsewhere locally that I may blog about in the future. In the meantime I hope you've all enjoyed sharing in my latest acquisitions and I hope to have some new knits to show you soon.

My two penn'orth

On Sunday I went to my first antiques fair for, I am ashamed to say, three or four years (although that enforced absence was in no small part due to circumstances outside of my control) - the Runnymede Hall Antique & Collectors Fair in Benfleet, Essex.

Picture by Martin Hayhurst ©                                          Pictures of England.com

It was nice to be back amongst some really rather nice vintage bits and bobs, items like classic rotary-dial telephones in varying age and condition, silverware (snuffboxes, cigarette/card cases, lighters etc.) 1930s cigarette cards, but mainly jewellery and china.  The event proved popular with a full car park and a large crowd attending; I spotted one or two vintage guys and gals amongst the throng.

What took me aback, though, and highlighted just how out of touch I have become with antiques fairs were the prices.  The last fair I went was before vintage and retro became fashionable again so prices were on the low side but on Sunday, with a few exceptions, most items started at double figures!  Granted there were quite a few examples of really sought-after names, like Clarice Cliff and Lalique - in fact there was a fair share of high-end stuff on display - but bargains were practically non-existent.  I was not altogether surprised, however, as my natural interest in vintage (and programmes like Antiques Road Trip or Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is) has meant that I've been aware of the rising price of antiques but to actually see it in the raw was still a bit of a shock.  I've been to a few antiques shops and arcades more recently where the prices have been less eye-popping, so perhaps there's a chance this was an aberration.

As a result I very nearly came away with nothing (which wouldn't have been the end of the world, I only went there for a look 'round and the off-chance of picking something up).  We'd wandered about, myself and my parents with whom I'd met up for the day and who pained me by commenting on practically every other item "we/ your grandparents used to have that, but gave it to the charity shop when we moved" and were getting ready to leave when I had one final rummage through a box of old pennies by the door.  Most were in such bad state that they were little more than scrap but I managed to find two rather unusual ones in good condition.

Dated 1935 and 1936 they consist of a Republic of Ireland 1d. coin and an old penny from the then Union of South Africa, which was still a British dominion at the time.  I've not got many pre-decimal coins from outside the British Isles, so they will be a welcome addition to my collection and for a paltry 20p I couldn't say no.  (Brief investigations on eBay show similar examples starting around the £1 mark, so not bad).  Around 5½ million 1935 Irish pennies were minted so they're by no means ultra-rare; the South African penny I'm less sure about.

Essex Vintage Fair

So that's literally my two penn'orth from my latest antiques fair experience(!).  There's another due to be held on the 1st April which I shall probably head along to as well.  It looks from the flyer as though it may be even bigger and better than Sunday's one; I shall look forward to finding out.