24 March 2009

souvenir-ing

Sunny weather always gets me thinking about holidays and vacations. So I've been assembling a favorite Springbok puzzle featuring vintage American souvenir plates:

I love the old Springboks with their busy collages of objects, and I particularly like the retro kitsch of these plates. There are plates from North Dakota (my grandma's home state), California (my mum's home state), Virginia (my home state), and so many states in between...

But while some are keen on plates, and others are keen on teaspoons, I quite fancy vintage souvenir map towels and have often thought of starting a collection:

image: Martha Stewart Living, June 2001

According to Martha, their heyday lasted from the forties to the sixties--my favorite design decades. She says the easiest map towels to find are those from popular vacation states like California and Florida, so many collectors look out for more obscure states or national parks or monuments. But I must admit I'm less interested in rarity than in quirky designs, cheery colors, and my own happy holiday memories.

So if anyone spots a lovely vintage map towel from New England (apparently Maine is one of the easy states to find!) do let me know. Because while there are cute reproductions out there, a new one just wouldn't be the same...

10 comments:

  1. I'll keep my eyes peeled!

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  2. Not likely to find one over here I'm afraid, but I'll keep looking just in case (if I ever get back to thrifting - not easy on crutches)! I love that picture from Martha. The ones we have here from different counties aren't quite so bright and cheerful - most I've seen involve lots of brown and sludge green!
    Cathy XX

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  3. Hello, I've just popped over from Dotty Cookie as she posted photos of her beautiful bunting and sign. Good luck with your table cake sale. when I was at home with my girls and had an allotment, they also lost the shop and coffee stop to vandals, so eventually they bought two huge old shipping containers. Not quite the same atmosphere but still it was indestructable! Jane x

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  4. I can totally see you in a summer frock with matching headscarf hanging out tea towels.

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  5. What lovely colours in your puzzle! ~D x

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  6. My grandmother brought back a a t-shirt with a map Corfu for me when I was 12. I guess a t-shirt is not the same as a t-towel and Corfu does not count as an American holiday destination - perhaps I am mixing it up with Rhode Island?

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  7. old tea towels are gorgeous!!

    I had a crazy aunt who collected sugar bags from all the bars and restaurant (in Italy they're often personalised with the name of the place etc.)... when she died she had more than 7Kg of sugar in tiny bags. Mad.

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  8. That's a lovely idea for a collection, I hope you find what you are after.

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  9. The towels are very nice, aren't they? And speaking of the plates, I had a friend who collected them from thrift stores and then broke them and made them into a gorgeous mosaic frieze around the walls of her bathroom--it was really stunning!

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  10. wow.. I love collecting city plates.. i've got about 11 American city/state plates... plus one from Guam.. :D

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