A Gaggle of Brollies
This year the FFF+ Group have decided to have a monthly challenge called "Freestyle On The Fifth". A different theme chosen by a member of the group each month, and the image is to be posted on the 5th of the month.
This month the theme, "bird" was chosen by Beverley (www.flickr.com/photos/137349496@N06/).
This is my first invitation to participate in "Freestyle On The Fifth", so I would just like to thank the FFF+ Group for allowing me to add my photos to the pool.
This second entry was inspired by my umbrella and parasol collection. I have a large collection of brollies, antique and new, including a few with hooked bird handles.
The one on the right is the oldest in my collection. It is an 1820s silk parasol. It is French, and when opened, the circumfrence of the silk shade is remarkably small by today's standards, as was the fashion then. The handle of pear wood is carved into an elegant duck's head. It's beak is made of copper, and its eyes are made of drops of amber. It was a gift to me from a very dear friend who was also an antique dealer.
The middle one is a "Paragon" umbrella made by S. Fox and Company in England. It an exuberant example of roaring 20s fun! This umbrella was made in the era when plastic was a new and expensive material. The handle is wood, but the head, also a duck, is made of Bakelite. Bakelite was the first plastic made from synthetic components. It was developed by the Belgian-American chemist Leo Baekeland in Yonkers, New York in 1907. This umbrella comes with its original tassel around its handle and its original sheath. S. Fox and Company was established in 1868 and still manufacture umbrellas in England to this day. This umbrella was also a gift to me from another dear friend who was also an antique dealer.
The umbrella on the left is a Mary Poppins umbrella. Whoever has seen either the 1974 Walt Disney film starring Julie Andrews, or the 2018 Mary Poppins Returns film starring Emily Blunt will recognise this snappy parrot brolly who talks back and scolds Mary Poppins. This umbrella has a hand painted wooden handle and was brought back for me from New York by friends who saw the Broadway musical of Mary Poppins in 2007.
The avian themed paper they rest against is luxury paper that I bought from Borders bookshop when they were closing down. I always felt the paper was too pretty to use and would come in handy some day!
So here we have my "Gaggle of Brollies" entry.
A Gaggle of Brollies
This year the FFF+ Group have decided to have a monthly challenge called "Freestyle On The Fifth". A different theme chosen by a member of the group each month, and the image is to be posted on the 5th of the month.
This month the theme, "bird" was chosen by Beverley (www.flickr.com/photos/137349496@N06/).
This is my first invitation to participate in "Freestyle On The Fifth", so I would just like to thank the FFF+ Group for allowing me to add my photos to the pool.
This second entry was inspired by my umbrella and parasol collection. I have a large collection of brollies, antique and new, including a few with hooked bird handles.
The one on the right is the oldest in my collection. It is an 1820s silk parasol. It is French, and when opened, the circumfrence of the silk shade is remarkably small by today's standards, as was the fashion then. The handle of pear wood is carved into an elegant duck's head. It's beak is made of copper, and its eyes are made of drops of amber. It was a gift to me from a very dear friend who was also an antique dealer.
The middle one is a "Paragon" umbrella made by S. Fox and Company in England. It an exuberant example of roaring 20s fun! This umbrella was made in the era when plastic was a new and expensive material. The handle is wood, but the head, also a duck, is made of Bakelite. Bakelite was the first plastic made from synthetic components. It was developed by the Belgian-American chemist Leo Baekeland in Yonkers, New York in 1907. This umbrella comes with its original tassel around its handle and its original sheath. S. Fox and Company was established in 1868 and still manufacture umbrellas in England to this day. This umbrella was also a gift to me from another dear friend who was also an antique dealer.
The umbrella on the left is a Mary Poppins umbrella. Whoever has seen either the 1974 Walt Disney film starring Julie Andrews, or the 2018 Mary Poppins Returns film starring Emily Blunt will recognise this snappy parrot brolly who talks back and scolds Mary Poppins. This umbrella has a hand painted wooden handle and was brought back for me from New York by friends who saw the Broadway musical of Mary Poppins in 2007.
The avian themed paper they rest against is luxury paper that I bought from Borders bookshop when they were closing down. I always felt the paper was too pretty to use and would come in handy some day!
So here we have my "Gaggle of Brollies" entry.