VTT - Early 20th Century Style Exotic Girls

The postcard above and the burnt wood (pyrography) plaque below are from the early 20th century. Even though the postcard is titled "My Best Girl," they both seem to me to represent an exotic fantasy dream girl more than the girl next door.

size 11-1/2" diameter

This plaque is marked FLEMISH 853 ART on the back. Flemish Art was the largest and best-known manufacturer of pyrography products. This plaque would have been sold with the design stamped on the wood and would have been burned by a hobbyist following the stamped design. There are two red glass jewels glued to the crown. "Brilliant glass jewels" were said to add lustre and give a luxurious finish to pyrographic designs.

I used to think the Flemish Art numbers referred to the design. However, in an old burnt wood supplies catalog, the 853 refers to all the 12" plaques, not to a specific design. The 12" plaques were priced at $0.25 each or $3.00 per dozen. Jewels in the size used here were priced at 50¢ per hundred.

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VTT - Cute Kitties On Leather and Wood

Both of my cat thingies are about 100 years old. Both leather postcards and burnt wood (pyrography) items were popular around the same time in the early 1900s.

The leather Easter cat postcard is a little smaller than most postcards--3-1/4"X5-1/4". It was sent through the mail but only part of the postmark is readable "190_."

The pyrography plaque is a match holder. It's size is 7"X12". It has the date "April 22, 1914" and the initials "I.W" burned on the back.

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VTT - Bad Dogs

The dogs on both the postcard and plaque seem to be puppies of the same breed, or similar looking mutts. Puppies are known for chewing things and getting in trouble. When I was young, our family dog not only chewed a dishrag, but swallowed it!

The postcard was mailed in 1914. "I should worry" was a popular saying on postcards of that time--I have no idea why. The suggestion that the receiver should write was a popular theme on postcards.

The burnt wood pyrographic plaque is by Flemish Art and is 9-1/2" in diameter. It is embellished with metallic gold paint on the border, muzzle, and words. "XMAS '07" is burned on the back. (That is 1907, not 2007!)

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VTT - Men's Hosiery

Normally, I am not tempted to make up stories to go with my with my postcards. But when looking through my collection to find a postcard to pair with my box thingie, I found one that suggested a story to me:

She was the girl of his dreams, and she reminded him of the girl on his Eiffel hosiery box. He had made a big mistake when he addressed her as "girlie." Wearing his best suit and carefully arranging his legs to show off his new hosiery, he attempted to persuade her to give him a second chance. But, it was too late now.

This box is the type of burnt wood item that had a design stamped or scorched into the wood in a factory, rather than having a printed design to be hand burned by a hobbyist.

size 7-1/2" X 4-1/4"

This box has the Eiffel Hosiery trademark on the inside of the lid. Eiffel sold hosiery for men, women, and children. This box held men's hosiery, as indicated by the label stamped on the bottom of the box.

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VTT - Valentine Girls and Hearts

These two Whitney Made Valentine postcards have pretty little girls and hearts. The small burnt wood (pyrography) plaque also has a pretty girl on a heart-shaped plaque. I don't know whether the plaque was originally intended for Valentine's Day, but it looks like a Valentine to me!

size 7-1/2" X 7-1/2"

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VTT - Happy New Year & Dutch Kids

Three things that were popular in the early twentieth century were images of Dutch kids, postcard collecting, and pyrography (wood burning). On postcards, the Dutch kids speak in a dialect of English supposed to imitate the way a Dutch person would speak. This postcard was published by Bergman.

This burnt wood plaque is 9-3/4" in diameter. I am showing both sides because the back was used as a sort of practice sampler. There is a number 452 stamped on the back but no manufacturer's name.

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New Year Pigs & Good Luck Symbols

This is one of my favorite New Year postcards. It has a nice image with lots of good luck symbols associated with New Years--pigs, money bags, horseshoe, and four-leaf clover. It also has an interesting message on the back.

The writer wrote that she got a burnt wood set, also known as a "pyrographic outfit," for Christmas. Wood burning (pyrography) was popular during the same time period as postcards in the early twentieth century. I have a small pyrography collection, and you can see some of my collection by clicking on the "pyrography" label. The illustration of a pyrographic outfit is from an old catalog reproduced in the Collector's Guide to Burnt Wood Antiques.

VTT - Bountiful Fruits and Vegies

This is one of the plaques in my pyrography (burnt wood) collection. It is made by the Flemish Art Company and is larger than most burnt wood plaques--21" in diameter. When I bought this, it was unfinished. The main design in the center was already burned, but I burned most of the border myself with a modern electric wood burning tool.

The objects made for wood burning had printed designs that the hobbyist could trace over with the wood burning tool. Sometimes they were designed so that the background could be carved for greater relief, and glass "jewels" could be glued on for additional decoration. That is what is shown in the details below--instructions showing the areas to carve and/or add "jewelry." Relatively few pyrographic objects actually have carving or jewels.

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VTT - Wild Roses - Western Women, Tea, & Pyrography

This artwork on this postcard was designed for Celestial Seasonings Cinnamon Rose Herb Tea, ©1980. The artist is Norman Green.

After much searching, I still haven't figured out whether "wild roses" and "cinnamon roses" are the same thing. Most, but not all, pictures of cinnamon roses look like the wild roses on the wood burnt plaque. The roses on the postcard don't look like the typical wild rose. Some wild roses smell like cinnamon, but I don't know whether all of them do. Can anyone clarify what a wild and/or cinnamon rose is?

Wild roses seem to be frequently associated with western themes. Does anyone know why?

size 12" X 17"

Pyrography, the art of wood burning, was very popular in the early twentieth century. This "Wild Rose" plaque was manufactured by the Flemish Art Company, the largest and best-known manufacturer of pyrographic tools and wooden objects with designs to be burned by hobbyists. Plaques and boxes were the most common objects. More information on the Flemish Art Company and the manufacturing process is at the E-Museum of Pyrographic Art.

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Vintage Thingies Thursday - Wooden Postcard Box & Postcards

This is my first time participating in Vintage Thingies Thrusdays. I have a large collection of postcards and a small collection of burnt wood pyrographic items, including some burnt wood postcards. You can see more of my wooden postcards in my Wooden Postcards articles on my postcardy.com website.

Vintage Thingies Thursdays