Charity shop treasures

I finally managed to drop off several bags of stuff at my charity shop of choice today. I have been trying to do this for a while. On my first attempt part of my clutch broke on the journey and in the ensuring chaos I could not get there so these bags have been travelling about in my car boot for ages. The charity shop gods were obviously with me today because as well as successfully dropping off my stuff I also found some treasures to take home!

I only found one in the first shop.

A very nice tin with the Household Cavalry on it. I remember seeing them at Buckingham Palace and at the Trooping of the Colour when I was little. Sharps confectioners were based in York and produced sweets such as toffee bonbons. King George VI died in 1952 so that must be the approximate date of the tin.

My local town has several charity shops (like most towns I expect) and as I left this one I had a feeling that I needed to go and look in another one. I knew exactly which one the feeling was referring to! I know that sounds weird but I am glad that I did as I had much success treasure hunting in this second shop. Always listen to those charity shop feelings treasure hunters!

This is a modern book which I have flicked through many times before and wanted to buy so when I saw it in the charity shop in pristine condition for a whole bargain £2 I snapped it up quickly. Lots and lots of lovely 1950's adverts to look through, such as this one featuring amazing glasses frames. Which, incidentally, I really want a pair of but having tried some modern versions on last weekend I have found that they do not suit me at all. Very disappointing.

I found three of these fabulous Alfred Meakin plates. I know my mum has some like this. I love roses but I particularly like the colours of the leaves, minty, silvery blue/greens.

A lovely scarf in several shades of green featuring some lovely dogs. I don't think that it is particularly old but the dogs are very cute. It has panels of solid and panels of sheer material which is why the pictures look a bit odd.

I had a good rummage in the book shelves and came away with three great ones.

The first is this 1970's book on patchwork which will be very useful as I am trying to learn how to do patchwork at the moment. I have dreams of lovely patchwork quilts.

The back cover showing what is featured inside. Exciting craftyness ahead!

One of the pictures from inside, I really like the fabrics used in this patchwork block. It also features hexagons which are the shape that I am starting with.

Pretty pattern on the front cover but no clues as to what is inside.

Home handicrafts, needlework and repairs - surely a huge range of topics, no wonder it should be part of a household reference library. In the introductions it says that it is intended to be a practical manual covering topics such as how to fix broken china, how to mend a chair leg, how to lay a parquet floor, how to fix a broken lock etc. It has no publishing date inside but a bit of googling suggests 1930 or 1934 and that this book is one of a set of six which would form the reference library.

This is a list of the black and white photograph plates in the book and from this you get a good idea of the topics covered inside.

This intrigued me at once! It has no publishing date and googling suggests that ii has been republished several times. From the illustrations and the paper I think it is late 1930's.

This is the contents page, look at the array of entertainments featured! They are all illustrated with lovely black and white line drawings.

I will be coming back to these two 1930's books in future posts, when I have had a chance to read and digest some of their wisdom!

Interesting old book find - Our princesses and their dogs.

I picked up this rather tattered and forlorn faded blue hardback as I was intrigued by the title and wondered what I might find inside. It turns out that it is exactly what is says it is - a book about Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret and all their dogs. There is very little writing but there are a number of very lovely pictures. So I snapped it up and took it home.

Princess Margaret with Choo-Choo the grey and white
Tibetan Lion.

This book, written in 1936 by Michael Chance, is dedicated by the princesses to 'All children who love dogs'. I think that is very special, it shows a normal part of life in a really not very normal family. I think that is also what makes the pictures special, because if it wasn't for their famous faces (and the massive play house the size of a normal person's home), you could just think this was a portrait of an ordinary dog loving family. It is lovely to see the children genuinely having fun, not performing a duty.

The photographs are taken by Studio Lisa. This was formed by the photographer Lisa Sheridan and her husband. In the 1930s they were asked to take some photographs of the Royal family and from what I can work out this book is the result of their first photo session.

Princess Elizabeth was born on 21st April 1926 and Princess Margaret was born on 21st August 1930 making them 10 and 6 when these photographs were taken. Many of the photos are taken in the grounds of the Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park which was their country home. The people of Wales gave the play house Y Bwthyn Bach (the little cottage) to Elizabeth in 1932.




Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret with Lady Jane - a reddish brown
Pembrokeshire Welsh Corgi.





Princess Elizabeth with Jane and Dookie. Jane is

eighteen months old and Dookie is three and a half.

The children with their mother Elizabeth, Duchess of York,
 with a corgi hiding behind her skirts.







The Duke of York with Choo-Choo, a corgi and his six year old yellow
Labrador Mimsy. Also, take a look at his mighty fine socks.

The family with all their dogs.

Princess Elizabeth with Dookie.

Apparently when told to lie down the dogs posed themselves around the
girls for this picture!

Rather awkward looking but spot the corgi sneaking into
the shot.

At the 'play house'.



Just to place this moment in history we may need a quick lesson. Princess Elizabeth's granddad was King George V. She was third in line to the throne after George's two sons Edward, Prince of Wales and George, Duke of York, her father. In 1936, the year this book was published, George V died. Edward came to the throne as King Edward VIII but abdicated by the end of the year to marry Wallis Simpson. So George became King George VI and his coronation took place in 1937. This made Elizabeth first in line to the throne.

It is quite strange to look at these happy and relaxed pictures and think of the family traumas and dramas that were to play out by the end of that year.

I have not included much of the text of the book because, frankly, it makes me want to vomit with its saccharine, crawling tone. Needless to say they are the best dog owners in the world, can communicate with their animals like no others, everyone is charming and the princesses are a 'joy to everyone throughout the length and breadth of Britain'. You can probably make up the rest.

That aside, I really enjoyed this book as the pictures are lovely, the characters come through, it is  a different side of the Royal Family and most of all, I really like dogs.