Monday, October 19, 2015

Old Books, Hooks, and Baby Shoes

Hello dear friends!

We just got back from The Wren's Nest, our little place in the mountains, where we spent most of our time trying to finish the bathroom remodel before we have to close it down for the winter next month. Consequently, I haven't had much time for being creative in the way of any artwork.

So, I thought that I would take out a few of my pretties and post photos of them today.

I love Victorian baby shoes with their
tiny little buttons.
They look especially pretty when
sitting on top of a couple of vintage books...


Recently, I stumbled upon my newest collectors' item.
Did you ever wonder how the Victorians managed to
fasten all of those tiny buttons
while their little ones were squirming around?
Well, they used boot hooks, 
some of which you can see in the next two photos.
Boot hooks came in all different sizes,
some for children's shoes,
and some for those of the adults.
Some of them had celluloid handles.
And some, made of steel,
were given away at shoe stores as freebies and stated the name
and location of the manufacturer of the shoe.
The three below happen to have mother of pearl handles,
and not everyone likely afforded them.
They are so beautiful in their own right...


Here is a pretty little black shoe with lovely cutouts on the side,
and it has laces rather than buttons.
I also have the mate to this beauty.
Sometimes, though, I buy shoes 
that are missing their mate.
Not everyone and everything has to be
part of a pair to be beautiful!
And isn't the cover to this old poetry book gorgeous?
When buying old books,
I do indeed "judge the book by its cover"!
Even when falling apart I see such beauty in old books...


Of course,
you know that I also have a huge collection
of vintage photos, and couldn't resist
sneaking a couple into these vignettes!

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One of these days I will share photos of some of my other
old books, hooks and baby shoes.
Do you have any special collections?
I would love to hear about them. 

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Today I am joining Wen's Simply Neutrals Tuesday Party.
Why don't you pop over there and join the fun!
You can find Wen's blog here.

Thanks for coming by!


20 comments:

  1. Lovely vintage pieces. Visiting from Apple Apricot.

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  2. Hi Sue,
    How beautiful! Love love your vintage post! These shoe's books and hooks are all fascinating and so lovely - & I just love how you displayed them~ I would like to see some of the walls behind them! How very cool : )
    Glad I was able to stop and see, and I will look for you on Wen's Simply Neutrals Tuesday!
    Take care,
    Karen

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    1. Thanks so much, Karen! Actually they were not walls at all, but two chippy cabinet doors propped on top of a dresser in front of the "real" wall. Fancy that! XO

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  3. Lovely post, dear Sue:) I too love baby shoe's and have a little collection. The boot hooks are so pretty and rare. Thanks for sharing.
    Have a lovely day.
    Hugs,
    Marie

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    1. Thanks, Marie! I hope you had a great day too! Thanks for visiting. XO

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  4. Hello Sue, and thank you for inviting us into your home this week, seing your lovely old baby shoes. I love to collect them myself, but only have one single with buttons. Yours are beautiful, and the hooks are wonderful finds too. Ofcourse I love the old cabinet cards, also, and collect whenever I see some here .
    XO, Dorthe

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    1. Thanks, Dorthe. I'm glad that we share a love of the same lovely vintage things! Thanks for coming by. XO

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  5. What a beautiful collection! Those button hooks are gorgeous, mother of pearls are pretty rare. And those Victorian booties, they are so delightful! I went with baby shoes as well this week, snap!, but mine are from the 1950s.

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    1. Thank you! I loved your darling little shoes also. Thanks for visiting me!

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  6. Sue - These are all so adorable! What a gorgeous collection you have. I actually own a button hook that belonged to my Great Grandmother for shoes (not as fancy as your's) that I keep with other bit and baubles from my ancestors. Love these!

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    1. How wonderful that you have a shoe hook from a family member...that makes it even more special. XO

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  7. Wonderful photos of those shoes, hooks and the old books. Thanks for sharing. Hugs, Valerie

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    1. Thanks, Valerie! I appreciate that you came by for a visit. XO

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  8. Hello dear Sue, I love your beautiful collection! And you created a beautiful and sweet blog post around it. I love love old books, especially poetry. And when it's a poetry book for children it's even more perfect! I don't collect specific things I think... although I do bring back home stones from vacations abroad. And I have a whole lot of shells. Hm, so ya, you could call that a collection :) Hugs xx

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    1. Hi When! Thanks so much for your sweet comments. I don't have a lot of different collections, and over the years my tastes in what I want to collect have certainly changed. I have often heard that if you have three or more of something, you can consider it a collection. So there we go! XO Sue

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  9. Sue these little shoes and button hooks are so gorgeous. I have never seen button hooks and love the mop handles - super gorgeous and I love the way you have displayed these little vignettes. I look forward to seeing more of your books and photos.
    Happy Halloween to you and your crows!
    xox Suzy

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    1. I had never heard of button hooks until I found them by accident on eBay while doing a search for vintage baby shoes. I fell in love with them right away. Thanks for your sweet visit and I hope that you are having a great weekend Suzy! XO

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