Memorial Day - World War II Sweetheart Mementos: Frames, Jewelry and Souvenirs

World War II reverse-painted glass frame

One of my favorite recent purchases is a small reverse-painted glass photo frame.  It dates to the 1940s and says ‘Remember Me’.  The photo, with hand-painted details, depicts a young man in a naval uniform.

Photo from inside the frame above

When removed from the frame you can see that he is wearing a flower lei, holding a ukulele, and standing before a grass hut--all indicative that this was shot in Hawaii, where the US had several naval bases, and sent home to a sweetheart or family member.

A pin with pendant frame by Coro, from SoCalJewelBox

Small frames like this one were one of many souvenirs and mementos given during World War II to help loved ones remember each other while separated.  Jewelry and other trinkets could help ease the anxiety of separation and give tangible proof of sentiment.  Military and patriotic motifs, lockets, frames and forget-me-nots were all popular for these tokens of affection.

Set of rayon handkerchiefs

I’m a little obsessed with Hawaii, so I’m especially taken with wartime souvenirs from the islands.  Hawaii had long captured popular imagination as a tropical paradise, but the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941 brought it to the forefront of the world scene.  The events of December 7th became the rallying point that pushed the US into World War II and Hawaii became the gateway to the Pacific theater.  Thousands of military men and women sent home all manner of souvenirs from jewelry to postcards, maps and dolls.  ‘Remember Pearl Harbor’ pins, hula ‘nodders’ and aloha shirts all found their way back to the mainland.

'Mother' locket pin from 52ndstreetvintage

Aside from Hawaiian items, women on the home front might wear a pin that declared their status as a mother or sweetheart of a serviceman, with lockets and frames being especially useful for pictures.

Allies pin by Coro from NoItAll.  The letters refer to the American, British, Chinese and Dutch alliance during World War II.

Flags have always been a patriotic symbol and during war time they were even more popular.  Military emblems and motifs for different branches of the military, bullets, torpedos and planes all found their way into jewelry and other items.

Mexican silver forget-me-not bracelet with Army emblem, from SoCalJewelBox.  Each of the links could be engraved with a loved one's name.

Forget-me-nots are also found in jewelry, and sometimes the small, five-petaled flower is a subtle love token--not everyone speaks the language of flowers. 

Small pocket mirrors for photo booth pictures

Most of these souvenirs were fairly inexpensive and made in large numbers, but they are getting harder to find today, especially in good condition.

Air Corps silver charm from CuriosityShopper

Trifari airplane pin from JackpotJen

Patriotic frame

Mid-Century Modern Brass - Lighting, Candlesticks and Objects

For some reason, brass has always had a pretty negative connotation for me in terms of decorating.  I’m not sure why this is, because it has a rich history--lovely brass pulls on 18th-century furniture, ornate hardware from the Aesthetic Movement and even brass beds all come to mind.  The swanky ‘70s designs of Gabriella Crespi and Paul Evans?  All good. 

These days, however, I am cursed with some ghastly brass lighting fixtures that came with my house when I bought it--you know, the ones from the 1980s that are sort of formal, pseudo-Georgian, living-in-Colonial-Williamsburg, brass-and-glass affairs that are just not to my taste.  And I’m not against brass, in fact, I am looking for some cool mid-century brass fixtures to replace them.

I need ceiling fixtures, so naturally all I have found is table lamps that are to my liking. 

An aside:  Mid-century lighting seems to suffer from a serious dearth of solid attributions.  In my search for more information on these pierced brass lamps, I generally come across three names:

I sometimes see any brass lighting pierced with tiny holes very optimistically attributed to Paavo Tynell, the Finnish designer of some rather splendid chandeliers and other fixtures.  I’d love to think that was true, but I do not think this is right.

The other name often bandied about is that of Gerald Thurston, a designer who worked for Lightolier.  Some of his designs are certainly well-documented through Lightolier advertisements and catalogues, but again, if it is pierced brass, his name gets thrown out there. 

Gaetano Sciolari? If it is chrome or brass and has a swank vibe to it, it must be Sciolari, right?  As with Tynell and Thurston, the designer’s name becomes an adjective more than an actual attribution and simply helps to quickly identify the overall style and look of a piece. 

I like mid-century brass items of all sorts, such as these Swedish brass candlesticks by Ystad Metall.

And some designed by Jens Quistgaard for Dansk:

And how about some brutal brass?  Curtis Jere (not an actual person, but a composite name of the two designers) created many brass wall sculptures and others emulated their style.  The piece below is not by Jere, but signed and dated 1972.

Even cheeseball brass from Home Interiors can look pretty good in (very!) small doses.

Just as I was getting ready to post this, Apartment Therapy posted about brass lighting--read about it here. 


© All text and images are copyright of Jeni Sandberg

Double Exposure - Panoramic Photo Tricks

In my never-ending quest for vintage panoramic photos, I sometimes come across ‘trick’ photos where there seem to be twins at either end of the photo.  Is it twins, or is it the same person?

Manor-Millersville High School (Pa.), class photo in Washington DC, June 5, 1947, photo by Central Photo

I recently found a double-double exposure with real twins at either end of the group photo!

This trick is possible because of the way a panoramic photo is shot.  The camera, set up on a rotating clockwork, starts on one end of the group of people and slowly pans from left to right.

Here are the blonde twins on the left...

And again on the right!

So in this case the blonde twins pose on the left and once the camera moves to the right and they are out of the shot, they duck down and run behind the people who are standing and run to the other end of the shot where they pose and appear again on the right.  

You can see a great video of how this is achieved on the Library of Congress website here.  They call this double exposure a ‘pizza run’ but there doesn’t seem to be any set name for it (or reason it’s called a pizza run). 

© All text and images are copyright of Jeni Sandberg

Paul McCobb Dinnerware Designs for Jackson China - Contempri and Restaurant Ware

Paul McCobb has always been a favorite designer of mine.  His furniture typified American post-war style and was a relatively affordable way for a wide audience to decorate their home in a modern way.  The Planner Group furniture still looks fresh today (at least, it looks pretty good in my dining room). 

McCobb’s dinnerware designs for Jackson China get less attention than the furniture, but they have a lot of merit.  Produced from 1959 into the mid 1960s, the Contempri line consists of a full range of dinner and tea wares, all with a white ceramic body finely molded in simple lines (there was glassware, too).  The pieces were left white or decorated with a solid color or one of many brightly colored patterns.  Made in Japan, these pieces are clearly marked with McCobb’s signature on the underside.

Restaurant ware small bowl for Jackson China on the left, Contempri on the right

The Contempri (right) is much thinner and lighter than the restaurant ware.

Maybe I’m just a klutz, but I rather prefer the commercial version of these Contempri designs that Jackson China produced.  The heavier ‘restaurant ware’ pieces, made in Falls Creek, Pennsylvania, are practically indestructible and though the lines of each piece are not quite as crisp, they are a nice choice for everyday.  I like dishes I don’t have to be afraid to use!  I only have a few pieces, so I am definitely on the hunt for more.

Mark on the restaurant ware pieces

You can find a nice group of images of McCobb’s designs for Jackson collected on modish.net here.

Paul McCobb Planner Group cabinet, 1950s

Sometimes I have McCobb pieces in my Etsy shop--you can check here.

© All text and images are copyright of Jeni Sandberg