PENNSYLVANIA DUTCH COOKIE CUTTERS....a HUDSON's purchase

That typical estate sale basement....musty books & dusty records. Baubles and twine & buttons....and then you run across the cookie cutters.
Pennsylvania Dutch...those makers of kiddie stuff of a bygone age.
I came across this at an estate sale in Livonia this 'morn....

6 replica antique cookie cutters...did see on the interwebs that this box set is from"...the 1940's"...can't confirm....will look for more information...

Ma & Sonny Boy fixin' to fix the vittles....cuz what else have they got to do?
And the the kicker...

For those so obsessed...another Hudson's Department store purchase...

Another artifact for the vault...

Fresh, Pure...and back in circulation! Velvet Peanut Butter Heirlooms

Velvet Peanut butter, THE Detroit peanut butter. "Fresh, Pure, Delicious". Every kid knew those 3 words meant Peanut butter. Velvet brand peanut butter.
My brothers & I would always make sure to stop at the Velvet display back in the 1970's....the kids faces on the jar of Velvet always made us laugh. The FRESH kid looked like he meant trouble, like a natural born mixer with a couple of choir boys as siblings. We related to the implied threat of chaos that kid represented.
We all know, at least should, the history of Velvet. A Detroit truck driver, Paul Zuckerman, made a dream into an empire. I'll leave the bloviation to the children of a lesser god. Just watch the well done doc "Made in the Motor City" for the Velvet story...starting around the 13:28 mark.
 http://video.dptv.org/video/2365438277/
I made the journey to the hinterlands and came back with an old Velvet lid, an ancient Velvet Jar, and a plastic Velvet bucket.
Here's the lid...it doesn't go with the 2lb jar, but was near it in the dusty workshop in the basement...

"Crunchy" variety....77 cent

Slight scuffs...bit 'o rust...overall good condition.
The plastic bucket...it was being used to hold flame retardant....how apropos.

Needed a great deal of cleaning...

It's in decent enough shape...some scrapes and scuffs, discoloring and wear...

And the Jar...

No lid....label scuffed & torn at the bottom...

Took some slight yet careful cleaning...and the glass returned to a brilliant hue.
Now the specs that only a few crackpots really care aboot....

A "4930" on the bottom...the "Homogenized" process and sales pitch started with Velvet (Zuckerman claimed that Velvet was the 1st peanut butter to utilize the process) in 1944. A 1949 jar? Perhaps...

The other markings....a "Jug" shaped symbol, perhaps of the glass fabricator...and a lone 8.
You want to know more about Velvet? http://myjewishdetroit.org/2014/12/fresh-pure-delicious/
Cut-and-paste 'till your little black heart is content.
I always try to hit the estate sales in the "less traveled" areas...they seem to pay more dividends. Besides...how many times can you draw water from the same well before it runs dry? Who cares....not me, I've got other sales to hit home-slice! $3 for those 3 forgotten gems was all I had to part with....Instant Karma & succotash! 

Pet Milk Pyro milk bottle

The beauty of the blog? It lends itself for much more research on individual artifacts and expounding on their historical background....right, just more space to pedal my propaganda!
Anywhoo...found this PET brand Pyro milk bottle at an estate sale in Livonia MI a week or so ago...a bottle collector/hoarder who packed their home full of relics...more on that at a latter date.

PET milk. They of the condensed milk & small metal can. Some of my earliest memories are of my Grandparents using PET as creamer in their coffee....an old custom, so I've been told on numerous occasions, that the working class only gave up with the proliferation of the modern Super-market. PET is a very syrupy concoction...many used it in their coffee with no need for sugar at all.

Long history with PET...its 12 month shelf life made it extremely popular in a bygone age when shipping products abroad was a slow process.

www.petmilk.com/history/

And upon confabbing further with my matriarchal unit I learned that my dear Babcia used PET as a baby formula for my dearly departed godmother....as per my Mum's recollection....PET, diluted with water, and a touch of  karo syrup! Good sleeping!

Which brings me back to the bottle I purchased on the cheap...its a PET milk bottle...with a non matching milk cap...but what the hey? Bottle is in excellent shape...PYRO lettering is great too.

Nice purchase...that 1 sale proved to be a cornucopia of treasures...all in a days work!

Junque Shop Antiques in DETROIT

I've been meaning to stop into JUNQUE SHOP ANTIQUES on Michigan Ave in Detroit for ages.....either get side tracked or their not open. Well today was the day.....Joe offered a free cup o' Java and some great conversation.

Unique store...many smalls & regional artifacts...

The basement is the home to more architectural paraphernalia....

A place that I will frequent more often now that I know Joe's hours!