We know it’s only a few days until Halloween. But if you’re planning on baking some cookies, you may want to stop in and purchase this delightful and collectible set of metal cookie cutters celebrating Halloween.
But did you know you can use these metal cookie cutters to also help you carve pumpkins?
We found this amazing blog post on the many ways you might use cookie cutters to create everything from designs on your toast, little hearts on pizza, to holiday ornaments.
Make cookies or cut sandwiches with cookie cutters in the perfect designs:
Diamonds – Hearts – Spades – Clubs!
Plan ahead for the coming holidays
Along with the miscellaneous cookie cutters above, we also have these delightful designs that are just perfect for the holidays. The dark tin ones are from the 1930s, the Halloween ones are from the 70s, and the others are probably 50s to 70s.
We’re here…
We want to make the coming holidays easy for you, fun for everyone, and a bit unique. Stop in and see what you might find for a perfect gift, a great addition to your decorating, or to find an item that makes your creativity blossom when you make your special holiday gifts.
Have you ever looked at these strange items and wondered what the heck they are? Well, wonder no more. We’ve got the squeal on the deal!
… a really fun collectible
Glass insulators come in hundreds of distinct styles, shapes and sizes; and hundreds of different colors (in all colors of the rainbow)! What could be prettier than a glass “rainbow” in your kitchen window – with each different color glowing as the sun shines in? Insulators have also been made in porcelain, wood, rubber, plastic, and iron.
When you add to this the amount of different embossings, base types (with or without drip points, different styles of drip points, etc.) there are literally thousands of different insulators available.
If you don’t like large collectibles, you can go as small as 2 inches. If you perfer BIG, many insulators are available in sizes over a foot across and a foot tall.
Many started the collections to put on a window sill to catch the sunlight. Then like many behaviors, the collection grew and soon becomes … well … a bit larger than you ever expected.
Some insulators date back to 1844, with the inception of the telegraph. (They were used to hold wires off the ground.) They are real pieces of history that you can hold in your hand and put on a shelf.
Some porcelain insulators are still being made (although most cities are putting most of the power and telephone lines underground without insulators), but production of glass insulators ceased in 1969.
Insulators have made it through wars (including the Civil War), being buried for years, or just being unnoticed for 100 years or more in a remote area. Many have survived the gunshots from cowboys of old and little boys of late; and many wooden insulators were not destroyed in the San Francisco earthquake and fire.
The early telegraph lines paralleled the transcontinental railroad, and insulators became an integral part of railroad safety.
If you’re curious and want to know a wee bit more before starting your collection, this video below will definitely help.
When you’re ready to get started, or you want to add an insulator or two to your collection, stop in and see what we have. Yes sir (or m’am), we’ll be waitin’ for ya!
We have a full collection of Imperial Knives from the 1970s. These knives were recognized for excellent prices and fair quality. They were made in the U.S. until the late 80s from everything we could find.
Other Knives in our collection
Pocket Knives
Along with the above Imperial Knives Collection, we have an assortment of other knives from small penknives to larger pocket knives.
A Bit of Pocket Knife History
Intriguing…
Roman Archeological find of the Roman period of a folding or pocket knife and reconstruction, original found at Gellep, Germany
You know, it’s time to begin your holiday shopping. Do you have an adult in your life that would appreciate the gift of a pocket knife? Well, you know, we’re here and ready to help. Yep, we’re watchin’ for ya!
Many have fond memories of their milkman delivering local milk in bottles. Some even remember having an insulated box that sat outside the door for the milkman to place your bottles.
Wonderful Local Collection
Bahoukas has acquired an extensive local collection of Havre de Grace milk bottles. Besides George’s personal collection, we have plenty to share.
Quarts-Pints-Half Pints
There are so many delightful ways to use these bottles besides just having them in a collection, sitting on a shelf.
Fill with colored water and place on a window sill. Better yet, add some fresh flowers.
Maybe you have a collection – like different colored sands or buttons – that would look lovely kept in these bottles.
Don’t forget the rest of our milk bottle collection!
We have an extensive collection of milk bottles. Here’s a pic:
Don’t forget that these would make interesting flower or candle holders for a wedding or other special events. Stop in and look over this collection. You know, we’ll be watchin’ for ya!
The Panasonic RQ-830S Dynamite 8 Track Tape Player was introduced in 1974.
It is very easy to use, as Panasonic wrote down in their advertising:
“Slide in the tape. Out booms the music from an explosive-sounding dynamic speaker. Then push the plunger to change your channel and to change your tune.”
You can thus only change the volume and push the plunger to change your favorite song. Although its limited features, this 8 Track Player was considered to be one of the most innovative track players, also because of its design.
It works on batteries but also an adaptor is available.
Thereby, it was possible to take your music along with you, like in your car, on the street, on the beach …
This 8 track player was an interesting piece that worked by hitting the plunger like on a detonator for dynamite to change the channel/track! See below to see how it works…
They came in Deonator Red, Bomb Blue, and Explosion Yellow! We are pretty sure they later came in black and white versions.
8-track in your cars!
8-track players had a relatively short life and were followed by a more versatile cassette player. So a ‘fix’ was created so that you could play your new collection of cassette tapes through the 8-track player in your car.
How the Cassette to 8-track worked
If you have a vintage car with its original 8-track player, you may the above video as it also goes into detail to make the converter work for cassette/8-track to mp3.
Stop in soon. We’re having fun here at Bahoukas and we’re watchin’ for ya!
In 1968, tempered glass sphere models emerged that would eventually shatter, sending glass shards into the face of the user and anyone nearby. In the early 1970s, manufacturers changed them to plastic spheres suspended on each string. When they were swung up and down, banging against each other with a lot of force they made the loud “clacking” sound. Clackers are similar in appearance to bolas, the Argentine weapon. They are formed out of two solid balls of polymer, each about 2 inches (5 cm) in diameter, attached to a finger tab with a sturdy string. The player holds the tab with the balls hanging below and through up-and-down hand motion makes the two balls swing apart and back together, making the clacking noise that gives the toy its name. With practice one can make the balls swing so that they knock together both above and below the hand.
Clackers have also made some appearances in pop culture media. They are featured in the television shows of Dan Schneider, most notably the 2007 episode of Drake & Josh, “Megan’s First Kiss,” and in the 2008 Zoey 101 episode “Rumor of Love”, which described the toys as “the hottest in the 1993 Netherlands”, and which increased interest in the toys. Clackers were a plot point in the 1993 “Love and Sausages” episode of The Kids in the Hall TV series. They were also used as weapons by Joseph Joestar, the protagonist of the “Battle Tendency” arc of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure; their appearance there is anachronistic, as “Battle Tendency” takes place in 1938.
Or maybe you just remember driving your mom crazy with the ‘clacker’ sound!!! Check out this video!!
DIRECTIONS FOR USING
We don’t recommend using these since they are the originals and we don’t want anyone hurt. But if you’re a collector of toys, they’ll be a great addition!
EXPLODING CLACKER BALLS
Did you ever have the clacker balls explode? Evidently, it created quite a stir. At one point the FDA, Society for the Prevention of Blindness, and even the Consumer Product Safety Commission deemed them a hazard. Read more about them by CLICKING HERE
It appears that you can still get Clacker Balls. They are made of plastic and do not shatter. The noise will still make one crazy. (chuckle)
Don’t forget to stop in soon. We’re watchin’ for ya!
This unique and quite charming clamshell phone is the “Shellamar” by Teleconcepts. It has a retractable fabric cord and YES, it absolutely works. I believe the color would be ‘caramel.’
Did you know deregulation brought us these phone designs?
What fun it is to consider the changing look and feel of telephones and the continuing changes from big, boxy, cell phones to our modern-day ‘smart’ phone where the telephone function is a small part of the instrument!
The LUCITE CLAMSHELL PHONE is a beautiful collectible from 50 years ago that reminds many of us just how quickly things have changed. We look forward to showing you this great piece and any collection ‘of our many collections’ that you might want to peruse. Yes… we are watchin’ for ya!
We’ve posted about our cast iron figures many times. To see other posts, VISIT HERE.
Cast Iron Banks
Several of our cast-iron figures are actually banks. Great way to encourage a little saver to collect those coins found on the sidewalk!
Here, at Bahoukas Antiques, we have a wonderfully diverse collection of cast iron figures that also include mechanical banks and huge door knockers. Some are vintage and very collectible, while others are reproductions. All of them are beautiful! Stop in soon. Yeppir, we’ll be watchin’ for ya!
Bob Lackey is no stranger to Havre de Grace, having lived here for 23 years. He shares in his bio:
He briefly explains on his website that he shares Havre de Grace’s history through the characters of Ben and Sonja Pulaski.
A “History Junkie…
with a vivid imagination,” Robert F. Lackey shares a bit of his journey with the Pulaski Saga in this interview with Barbara Evers. It can be found on her website.
Robert (Bob) Lackey keeps the adventure rolling in each of his 10-part series while giving us a great deal of Havre de Grace history in a most enjoyable way. Stop in soon and look over the series. A great idea for a gift for anyone who enjoys adventure and history – especially if they’ve been to Havre de Grace, MD.
Back to school, whether at home or in the school building, means reading! Growing up, I’m sure many parents (and definitely grandparents) remember The Golden Book series. Here at Bahoukas Antiques, we have a wonderful selection of Golden Books and many other books for children and teens.
In October 2022, Golden Books will celebrate 80 years!
Golden Books First Published in 1942
If by some chance you aren’t familiar with Golden Books, here’s great article about them.
In the above Mommies Reviews , they suggest using Golden Books as part of your homeschooling lesson plans. CLICK HERE for some printable pages you can use with the Golden Books to encourage more reading among your young students.
Best-selling Little Golden Book
Best Selling …
The Pokey Little Puppy is the best-selling Little Golden Book of all time!
So, as the days grow shorter and the shadows longer, give your young students a great way to love reading. Stop by and pick out a few Golden Books to start their library. Remember, Christmas Holidays aren’t far away! And for sure, we’ll be watchin’ for ya!
To some folks, these tiny things are just ‘stuff.’ To the artist or collector, they’re a gold mine, priceless.
We’ve seen these ‘tinies’ added to shadow boxes, used to create jewelry, and destined for someone’s very special collection.
No matter how you might use them, we have a number of tiny collectibles in our store just waiting for you to find them! Yesiree… we’ll be watchin’ for ya!
We’ve not been able to find a lot about this piece – a German stoneware wine cask/dispenser in Cobalt blue and white. We did find a similar piece on an auction site. CLICK HERE to view it.
Thanks to Edel Patterson, owner of Edel’s Bridal Shop here in Havre de Grace, we are able to give you the translation on this beautiful wine dispenser/cask.
In English, it translates as follows and is from Martin Luther:
This piece recently arrived at Bahoukas and it’s truly exquisite!
While we’re discussing wine casks/dispensers, have you ever wondered who might have the World’s Largest Wine Barrel?
World’s Largest Wine Barrel
Well, wonder no more… within the cellars of the Heidelberg Castle in German, is the Heidelberg Tun:
Located in the cellars of the Heidelberg Castle is this mammoth wine barrel. Check out the size of the people around it and the stairway to the right that takes you up to the top landing. WOW!
Now that we’ve piqued your interest. Stop in and see the beautiful stoneware wine cask. And, of course, we’re watchin’ for ya!
From the same source as above, we learn that there are Toby Jugs, Toby Mugs, and Toby Character Jugs.
Toby Jug or Philpot (Fillpot)
What’s in a name?
There are competing theories for the origin of the name “Toby Jug”. One is that it was named after the intoxicated, jovial character of Sir Toby Belch in Shakespeare’s play Twelfth Night. Another is that it was named after a notorious 18th-century Yorkshire drinker, Henry Elwes, who was known as “Toby Fillpot” (or Philpot), who was mentioned in an old English drinking song The Brown Jug, the popular verses of which were first published in 1761.
This fine collection just recently arrived at Bahoukas Antiques and Beer MuZeum. Now that you know ‘more of the story,’ you may want to add a couple to your own collections or gift as a gift.
The history of the Royal Doulton Company is intriguing in its own right. They manufactured ceramic sewage pipes, toilets, taps, and cast iron baths. But they later manufactured architectural stoneware. It’s a most interesting company. Read more about Royal Doultonby clicking here.
Of course, with this knowledge, we encourage you to stop in and take a peek at this collection. And yes, we’ll be watchin’ for ya.
Well, maybe you don’t like to sew. But these thread cabinets could easily be upcycled for any unique project you might have.
DID YOU KNOW THREAD SPOOLS WERE ONCE RECYCLED?
What Ideas Might You Have?
Maybe you collect small items and the drawers would be perfect to store them and pull them out for display. Or possibly, you love notepaper and cards. These drawers might be perfect for keeping your collection. OR!!! Possibly a perfect place to store sheets of wrapping paper or even your artwork!
Love More History of Threads?
DuPont in Wilmington, DE in the 1940s manufactured fully synthetic nylon thread. During WWII it was very difficult for women to get hosiery because they were made from silk thread, imported from Japan. DuPont worked to create a substitute that we know as ‘nylon stockings.’ If I remember correctly, the late Phil Barker, a former mayor of Havre de Grace, first worked at DuPont. He started out just cleaning, working up to ‘doffing’ – removing empty spools from the machines.
Of course, you probably have a very unique idea for using one or both of these beautiful 1800s sewing thread cabinets. Let us know how YOU might use them! Yes, we’re here and we’re watchin’ for ya!
Okay, maybe that’s not a real word. But a person who collects “petroliana” is collecting gasoline and the oil business memborabilia.
Gas Stations on Every Corner
Do you remember when every busy intersection had a gas station on each corner? How many different brand names do you remember?
We wonder if there will be similar scenes where there will be electric charging stations everywhere designed to keep our cars and trucks moving? What do you think?
Stop in and chat. Since a number of folks ask for these fun collectibles, we found a nice selection for you to browse. Think holiday gift-giving!! It’s not too early to start – after all, 14 weekends from now you’ll be open gifts under the tree. WOW! And, of course, we’ll be watchin’ for ya!
The history of the music box is much more complex than one might think beginning with the Middle Ages.
Then in 1796, we learn of clockmaker Antoine Favre-Salomon:
1940s-1950s Handcrank music boxes
History and Collectibles
As we’ve learned here, some of the simplest collectibles have a unique and colorful history. If you delve into the music box history, you’ll also realize that they’re connected to Edison’s invention of the phonograph. (We have some old phonographs as well! Just in case you were wondering.)
The weather’s turning a bit cooler and it’s a pleasant time of year to browse our shops. So you know, we’ll be watchin’ for ya.
In researching for this post, we were surprised by the fact that this Japanese Samurai Helmet made of 5-yen coins is actually a popular craft. Here’s a quote from one story we read about a Tokyo grade-schooler back in the 1980s who created an entire suit of armor:
It’s interesting to learn that there are quite a few pieces of Samurai armor created with Japanese coins and tokens. Want to view more? Do a search for <Samurai Coin Helmets> and see for yourself.
While researching, we also found this interesting Samurai project from the Lego Ideas site! Who would have thought!
Just like we tell you all the time, we are most definitely a “Collection of Collections.” Some are very unique items as you can tell from our beautiful Samurai Coin Crafted Helmet. We hope you’ll stop in and give it a look! It’s quite an amazing piece and in great shape! (Of course, we wouldn’t want to wear something like this in battle!!!)