When I got married about fifteen years ago, we went to a small town in northern Wisconsin on our honeymoon. There, in a little shop, I found an old metal sign for Black Cat stove polish. It was so cute and retro, and I had a black cat that looked just like the one on the sign, I had to have it. Ever since then, I'm always on the lookout for old vintage postcards, signs, and artwork. I love the retro feel, and the originality of the artwork. So often the images used totally evoke feelings of a different time.
I found a great store on Cafepress called Labelstone, which features vintage poster art, fruit crate labels, Victorian trading cards and more, and they put all of these fabulous designs on everything from t-shirts to coffee mugs. Really great gifts for anyone who appreciates artwork and history.
Some of my favorites included this stunning advertising poster for Absinthe in early art deco style. It's a beautiful piece of artwork. According to Wikipedia, A revival of absinthe began in the 1990s, when countries in the European Union began to reauthorize its manufacture and sale. As of February 2008, nearly 200 brands of absinthe were being produced in a dozen countries, most notably in France, Switzerland, Spain, and the Czech Republic. Commercial distillation of absinthe in the United States resumed in 2007. So, this really is a historical piece of artwork, and any collector or appreciator of liquor would love this. If I had a bar, I would love to have this framed artwork hanging in it.
With Spring finally here, my thoughts also turn to gardening and flowers. There's an entire section in the Labelstone store featuring vintage seed packets for flowers and vegetable from the 1930's. If there's a gardener in your life, or you have a green thumb, you'll appreciate these gardening designs, which look great on refrigerator magnets or coffee mugs. Very colorful and just intime for Spring planting, these hyacinth and tulip labels.
And don't miss the section on vintage french fruit labels- very cool! It's nice to have something original, and the notecards are a great way to send a note to a loved one.
