La Belle Brocante

Trust Me, I'm A Doctor

This little case was billed as an Edwardian medical set.

Leather-wrapped wood and lined with velvet. 

Holes cut just so for specific bottles and vials.

I am not convinced, however, that I would like to be on the receiving end of the contents of these bottles.

Phenol Phthaleine was used as a laxative before its carcinogenic properties were fully understood.

Sulfuric acid was used to treat canker sores, but is highly corrosive to metal, stone, skin, eyes, and flesh.

The clear jar is unlabeled.

Whitish blobs in an orangey-yellow viscous liquid.

Highly suspect.

Just as the doctor ordered.

 

Un Cadeau

A telephone call from a dear friend who could not keep a secret.

An outing to a nearby town had unearthed a simply magnificent treasure.

And she'd bought it.

For me!

A beautiful cylindrical case in burgundy leather. 

A gold embossed bee.

Birthmark Paris.

The teeniest vial. 

The case lined with brass.

ACIDE PHENIQUE VIAL

CONTRE LES PIQÛRES VENIMEUSES

Carbolic Acid vial against venomous bites.

Perfection in a small package.

Right down to the original glass dropper.

 

Merci, dear friend, merci.

 

 

Family Matters

They fed baby Herbert on johnnycake and apple pie.

 

Details

The most fascinating little cabinet for curiosities.

Inlaid numbers on the doors.

Handcut brass, with no two numbers being exactly the same size.

Poorly patched veneer just adds to its charm.

Exquisite little glass knobs with brass caps.

 

What curiosities would you hope to find within?

 

Prix D'Ensemble

The Prix d'Ensemble is awarded yearly within the Brocante community.

A coveted plaque shared by the true devotees of the flea.

Lovers of all things old, timeworn, and true.

Foragers who, in the presence of an utterly magnificent find, just might display bovine tendencies.

 

 

Shattered

I love my old medicine bottles.

You know I do.

And it's true that these ones are lovely indeed.

But you can't tell everything from a picture.

You can't tell, for example, that there should have been twice as many.

You can't tell that half the box was a sea of glass. 

You can't tell that the fellow I bought them from wrapped each bottle in a single layer of newspaper and then tossed them into a box with acres of room to spare.

You can't tell that the ones with the best labels arrived shattered.

It's always the ones with the best labels.

And you know what bothers me the most?

Not the money, no.

The needless waste bothers me.

For something that has survived the odds for 100 years to be so carelessly thrown away.

 

 

Carte Postale

Meet me by the water, mon cherie.

My lips await your tender kisses.

xoxo

 

Bon Pour 2 Francs

A very very big pharmacie carton. 

Originally held a copious quantity of glycero phosphate.

Now much improved with a copious quantity of French francs.

A little like grandmaman's button box.

But more French.

And therefore more fun.

 

Pssst!

Quick!

Go peek!!

Over on Etsy!!!

 

Pharmacie Moderne

1930s Pharmacie sign.

Heavily embossed, with white lettering applied to the red ground.

Eyelets for hanging on the inside of the Pharmacie window. 

15.75" x 11.5".

Rather magnificent.