Davos Switzerland is an amazing spectacle covered in sparkling snow amidst stands an Antique shop filled with delights.

It has been a month where the snow has been relentless and certainly causing blocked up roads and trees with every branch loaded to the hilt. More so the roofs with more than a meter and a half giving that look of puff pastry dusted with icing snow and photographers taking their pic of the more spectacular and weird ones galore.

Whilst driving very slowly through the main street one experiences a quietness in the air and I find it rather quirky that voices are rather restrained and quiet. This gentleness makes one wonder why so many come and visit and then one sees a large gathering at the base of the ski-lifts with young and mature alike.
Amidst the scene of slowly moving vechiles and horse drawn carriages one passes our shop in Davos Dorf with our windows show off some of the very best that is on offer not merely collectibles but also a large variety of household items for everyday use. Here I also seem to think that buying an older piece as opposed to a modern piece is that we are supporting that green footprint and a whole lot more earth friendly. I guess I could conjure up a very long list as to why I would be buying an older piece but then our tastes do differ and there are persons who will never buy anything antique.

Recently I visited a friends home and on the breakfast table stood a small crystal jar on a silver underplate and a silver lid topped off with a bee. The underside of the lid had a catch which allowed the lid to be hooked onto the crystal bowl whilst in use. Where in today`s market place do we find these neat finesses with a delightful bee standing proud. The table hosted a number of other stylish items which made one feel…oh lets try that and please pass me that one and before I knew it we had spent a good hour and half over breakfast.
We also take care in finding specific items for our customers wishing to complete their existing services. Customers from around the globe have visited our shop and we have a large list of wanted items so we keep searching to fill the orders which in turn finds me travelling the length and breadth of Switzerland. We only purchase items available in Switzerland as this enables us to keep a fair price.

Meissen still appears to be very popular and we regularly find pieces that are rather unusual but again these pieces do sell rather quickly, Scandinavian porcelain/pottery are certainly popular and of which we have over the years built up an extensive and wide ranging stock. Listed here is a fine example of the Berlin factory showing a stunning hand painted cup and saucer and am rather sure that the final destination will not be a breakfast table but then one never knows, I guess it all depends which realm one lives in.

So why not pop by or visit our website which sadly we cannot list all the items. By next month you will find a new look site and updated to enable us to load and feature a whole host of items.
Looking forward to seeing or hearing from you.
Davos Dorf….125 Promenade….near Swisscom
Site..... shop

To start the New Year wishing all a peaceful 2012 filled with good health and fortune
The snow certainly came down and covered the countryside turning it into a sparkling wonderland...a true delight for all story tellers and movie directors as some of the pictures could never be reproduced. Every girls dream wether 5 or 50...stretch it 90 years old it really is rather magic and fills the heart with clean fresh ideas.
Ok so i will share some pics taken from my terrace...over looking the valley and a pic of a friend,,,,totaly bored at xmas...perhaps too much to do beforehand...but all in all a great evening...kids and all.


I was given a most interesting gift for xmas and havent put it down for long with an excitment of what lies ahead on the pages to follow...so whats the title...
A History in 100 Objects.....by Neil MacGregor
This i have found to be a stunningly written book filled with 100 objects that certainly titilate the mind as well as what perhaps was. This series run by BBC Rasio was started in early 2010 and is available on the web....BBC
One starts to wonder with these 100 objects chosen what can be told with the millions of items avaiable in their museum and cellars.
I find the writing and structure of the book which takes one on a trip through ages with texts by numerious studied persons which brings the story to some sort of understanding as not all items are pinpointed to exact manufacture precise dates and in some cases who the item belonged to.
All the same it is really a great read and with my computer alongside i took myself on the travels where i found that i needed more information and hours later i had done a lot more reading on that single subject....and here i have a confession...i hated history as a subject!! With MrMacGregor as teacher/professor/guide i would have taken to the subject as a duck to water.
I do encourage those who have liitle interest to go to the BBC Radio link i have given and experience something of a lifetime.


Xmas was a day where the snow had fallen and all of a sudden it had slightly darkened a quietness fell and then as sofly as the last snowflake fell i heard the rise of gentle xmas mood music filling the air and slowly there was the first ring of the door bell....and before one knew it they had all arrived with the kids filled with excitement to see the hidden tree loaded with presents wrapped in exoctic papers/ribbons and bows.
Waiting for all the presents to be opened then off to dinner...yeah this pic tells it all

Continuing from the last blog of the Chief of South African Railways who travelled the continent and beyound in the year 1928. A man who kept every scrap of paper covering his trips and places of interest down to bedding tickets and railway passes to bus coupons etc. Starting with Wings at the Carlton Theatre here is an advert of Cami-Knickers...oh and how things have changed not only the underwear but also the people who wore them. How men today would gladly pay 29/6 for this saucy little number and to find a girl with the legs that reach to the skies...courtesy...Debenham & Freebody...guess that says it all.


Adding a look at dark chocolates wonder how this would go down today...guess they had no idea of how offensive it may have been...but then we have moved on ...gladly


A few snippets from the London Pavilion "This Year of Grace" Cochran`s 1928 Revue which has proved to be one of my favorites.....
Playing Golf.
..The Duchess of York has become a golf enthusiast, and at the Richmond Club, George Harris the club professional, who gives the Duke lessons, has been coaching her. Probably in the future Princess Elizabeth will also show an aptitude for this game, as her mother has already presented her with a wee club, made especially for her by Harris.
Can you imagine laying your hands on a picture of that wee lass swinging a club or even the club itself. Well i bet the club was never used although it would have come in handy on a wayward husband. Now a picture of that happening would be worth a fortune.
A blondie...housewife
<<<<oh, <<<<<<<<<<<jack, you left the kitchen door open and the draft has shut my cookery book, so now i haven`t the faintest idea what it is i am coooking.

Over to some exciting menus from the period....ranging from Hamburg to London...Wagons-Lits and Pullman

Hamburg-Amerika <linie
Middaymeal.... <fleischbrühe mit Mark
Omelette auf Mailänder Art
Mastkalbskeule mit gemischtem Salat und Schwenkkartoffeln
Mokkaeis in Waffeln
Added to this price is a 10% service charge


A large and diverse menu..soups .80 to 1.25 Omelette...4.- midday menu from 3.75 to 5.50 Salads .50 - 1.- with the most expensive been a grilled fillet with potato salad at 5.- Oh those were the days...my friend!!

The Wagons-Lits ET DES Grands Express Europöens Menu and yes you guessed it the prices were quite different...an egg 2.- Chicken dish 16.- tea being more expensive than coffee by 1.-
A bottle Bordeaux Rouges ...Chateau Langoa Barton 22.-
Bottle of Pommery et Greno Nature 1920 90.- yeah and find a bottle of this today and i bet if its still drinkable then perhaps a wild open market price.
Liqueurs all at 5.- except for Jonnie Walker at 8.- all prices in French Francs
Afternoon Tea at 10.- Francs
Tea or Chocolate or coffe and milk
Toasts and butter Jam or honey
Plum cake
Fruits.
There are so many other menus but time has run out and besides someone has just left the back door open!!! Dash where was I?

Theatres of the early twenties….Show Boat..This Year of Grace…Clowns in Clover…The Yellow Mask…Good News…Wings and culminating in a Firework Display at Crystal Palace.

All these shows were visited by one man whilst on a world tour of the railways of the world. He not only kept the Programmes but also the seat ticket and the menus from hotels visited at the time right down to rail/bus tickets including a visit to the Zoo. Brochures galore covering touring maps…. meal tickets ..train menus as well as the bedding ticket.
So he travelled from South Africa by rail…many black and white photograhs of the railways of the time and its peoples. Covering most of Europe and ending his trip with a show at the Follies Bergere including the menu and seating ticket.
Being the Chief of South African Railways in the early twenties he had the task of inspecting the various railways on the way and he sure did take in as much as was allowed having a great time along the way. Paris and London were certainly a highlight as the material kept shows that he had the means to enjoy a trip of a lifetime.
The programme shown here of the Theatre Royal Drury Lane were he took in that most famous of all musicals…Show Boat…music by Jerome Kern and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein.

Prices of admission….Private boxes £1.11s.6d
Grand Circle 12s.6d & 7s.6d….Stalls 14s.6d &12s.6d
Upper circle 6s & 5s
Pit unreserved 3s ….Amphitheatre unreserved 1s.8d
Also interested to note.For the convenience of Patrons a Public Telephone has been installed at the Vestibles. Smoking was not permitted.Included in this programme is an etching by Tom Cottrel of the Show Boat cast…Cotton Blossom Floating Theatre.
The following programme that is full of information and from funny to ridiculous anecdotes …adverts that bring a huge smile to the face and what was dished up to the Patrons as far as tit-bits of those in the lime light.
London Pavilion …Cochran’s 1928 Revue…This Year of Grace
Music and lyrics by Noel Coward.

Starting with Theatre Gossip…(I told you so)…The Stage Preferred….If you have seen “Other Men’s Wives” the clever acting of Marion Lorne is sure to have evoked your admiration. She is the wife of Mr.Walter Hackett, the well know dramatist, and possesses a lovely home off Park Lane. Its large drawing room has a bay window overlooking Hyde Park and is furnished in the antique style. Housekeeping does not appeal to Mrs. Hackett, who is happiest when on stage. She has an Airdale dog named Ambrose, so called after the hero in “Ambrose Applejohn’s Adventure”, one of her husbands noted plays. Yeah that is it…the Theatre Gossip! How times have changed…no great scandel, sex,or wife bashing after all it is a theatre programme. It was interesting for me to discover that there was a play called “Topsy and Eva” as many years ago I came across a doll that was two fold in that the one half had a white face and wearing a long dress. With a quick twisting of the doll the dress flopped over the white faced doll and hey presto there was a face of a young black girl..,,,and I was told this was called a “Topsy & Eva” doll. After all these years I now discover that these people were portrayed in the theatre. One learns something new each day and at the best of times…pleasantly surprised.
I sat for hours reading this programme filled with weird adverts, jokes and a Ladies page…which is nowdays very funny……Bathing Suits…A few smart girls on the plage at Deauville bathed in jade maillots…close fitting swimming suits….with helmut caps to match, but the majority kept to the ever popular navy. I saw a good number in American bathing suits….navy shorts with white or coloured top and white belt, but this style is rather on the wane.
A Royal Guest…… I hear Lady Dudley ordered some perfectly delightful frocks for le Toquet, where she and Lord Dudley are to entertain the Prince of Wales after his participation in the British Legion commemoration. “Our Gertie Millar” has excellent taste in dress and the happy knack of knowing what suits her.
A full page dedicated to a talk with Miss Jesse Matthews…
Do women pay too dearly for success? All to do with Ponds cold cream…what a hoot and to think that that product is still on the shelves today. Oh! What a treat to know that some old things still do the trick. Their vanishing cream is still there as well….no tricks involved!
Ok so enough of this programme…unless you want to have an afternoon of belly laughs…I will on request post a load more but for now I will close with a girlie joke….hehe.
Young husband : The old-fashioned girl certainly knew how to get dinner!
His Wife : So does the modern girl….but she uses a different method.
I will be sharing some other places of interest of the time with loads of photograhs…enjoy!

Ursula Schneider…..Herriberg pottery Zurich Switzerland

Over the last 6 years i have been aware oft he wonderful ceramics designed by Ursula Schneider of the famed Rabiusla potteries in Herriberg Zurich Switzerland.
I am always amazed at the various items I happen to find from time to time and all the pieces have a distinct design in enamel and surprisingly all in very good condition. Zurich certainly supported her well as all in my collection were found in Zurich. Searching as far afield from the Davos area through to Lucern I have only found examples in Zurich. That’s not to say that her talents were`nt respected elsewhere but as yet I have to find a single piece far afield.
Loaded on my site one can view a varied selection of Ursula`s designs which are rather fun and very colorful. Items are sold per piece and prices vary, there are 15 pieces in all.

The Swiss Government edowered her with a *New talent award* in 1968. Leaving for America where her works are well known and collected. A number of other awards were given by various organisations and numerous solo exhibitions. Resume…here…
Ursula Schneider..
I have tried to put together collections of a good number of Swiss Ceramists and thus far hold a fair collection by the following artists..
Margrit Linck, Andre Freymond, Phillipe Lambercy, Gustave Sporri, Fritz & Helen Haussman, Geiger, Marcel Noverraz,Jacob Stuki and Mario Mauscarin.
All these examples are in very good condition and carry the signatures of the artists. Have a look through and I am sure you will be surprised at the wonderful works produced from the early 40`s to present day. So why not own a piece or two of Swiss history which delights the eye.

The following pictures show the fine detailed art of the famous swiss couple Fritz & Helen Haussman who had their workshop in Uster Switzerland.

Fritz Haussman 1900-1968

Helen Haussman 1905-1989

It is quite an achievement in the detailed hand painting created on each of the pieces shown.One just gasps at the thought of the dedication/art design and the steady hand that was needed to create these special pieces. Perhaps here i can say its all down to *Swiss precision*

Finding these jems which one can describe as rather delicate and in most cases never been used and therefore in wonderful condition.

They started experimenting in the early 40^s with stoneware with special glazes and produced some of the most exciting pieces in Chinese/Japanese taste.

The tableware shown here is a real delight and i just love those simple A lp flowers and the steady hand dipicting the fine flowers and all the banding: I have found a rather large dinner service hand painted with various flowers and here are a few examples shown. Fritz and Helen Haussmann also developed the long spout teapot which certainly has the Bauhaus feel and an example can be seen under Swiss pottery in the shop.




I am still doing further research on this company as i hope that i would be able to add a lot more detailed information.



Those who are interested in seeing a current exhibition then pop off to :

Swiss National Museum

Zunfthaus Zur Meisen Zurich

Musterhof 20
8001 Zurich


http://www.antiques-international.ch/