Sunday, December 31, 2006

Flower Starburst

This is the other tie most recently added to my collection, purchased from the second-hand store in Seaside back in the last week of November. I had originally planned to post it last week, but then remembered that I had for months been planning to post the wintery tree in honor of the Winter Solstice, instead.

Not to mention that this tie seems especially appropriate for posting on New Year's Eve, as the stylized floral "starburst" pattern, as I'm calling it, does resemble a burst of fireworks, at least a little.

I'm not sure that the scan does the true color of the tie justice, at least not exactly. To my eye, the real color is just a bit more "peachy" and less orange than it appears on the screen.

I've posted a second, full length shot, taken with my digital camera, to help you gain the full effect of the tie. You'll notice how the color and pattern abruptly changes to the darker orange with the polka-dots so as to insure that the knot would be tied in that color, contrasting with the rest of the tie.

Beyond that, I can't really think of much to say about the tie. No labels have survived to transcribe. The tie has no brocade woven into the fabric itself, but relies on its warm colors and vibrantly dramatic design for its stunning effect. A very nice tie, indeed! Especially since it only cost me $2.00!

Sunday, December 24, 2006

Winter Solstice

Well, I lied. Last week, that is, when I promised that this week I would post the second of the two recent acquisitions to my collection. But I had forgotten that this week brought us the Winter Solstice, the longest day of the year, and that I had mentally promised myself that I would post this wintery beauty in recognition of that event. So my other new acquisition will have to wait for next week.

I have to confess that I have never understood why the first day of winter is also the shortest day of the year. And that the days will be getting longer from here on out, and the sun will be spending more time in the sky each day, with the weather presumably getting warmer. It seems like the winter solstice should come smack dab in the middle of winter, not at its beginning. Oh well, I'm not the one who makes these kinds of decisions, obviously.

I have seen pictures of this tie elsewhere, but can't recall just where right now. Ah yes, here's one place. Which is a page on Knot, Kollectors of Nasty Old Ties. Anyway, it's definitely a favorite. The tie's one label reads:
Wembley
Reg. U.S. Pat. Off.

Sunday, December 17, 2006

Blue and Yellow "newbie"

This tie, along with another (to go up next week) is the latest addition to my collection. While on the "vacation from hell" a couple of weeks ago (my wife and I both came down with the stomach flu), we managed to visit one junk store--oops, make that a second-hand store (we always refer to them as junk stores) in Seaside, down on the Oregon coast.

This tie, and its companion were tagged at $4.00 each, a real bargain, but not only that, they had pink tags, and all pink tags were half price that day, so I actually only paid $2.00 apiece for them. They're undoubtedly worth much more than that. If the prices at vintage clothing sites such as RustyZipper are any indication, they are easily worth $15-$20 each, possibly more.

Blue and yellow together aren't my favorite color combination, but it is nevertheless a nicely designed tie, much more interesting than plain old stripes would be. Note the stylized leaf-shape brocade pattern woven into the fabric, or could those perhaps be incipient paisleys? Nah, I don't think so. Most of them aren't twisted enough at the end for paisleys.

I've also loaded a full length image of the tie, so that you can see how the pattern progresses up the tie, and notice the abrupt line where the yellow comes back. As with so many ofther ties I've posted, the knot is intended to be entirely in the yellow color.

The tie has two labels, both a seller's label and a manufacturer's label. The latter is so interesting that I decided to scan and load a picture of it as well. There are three cockaded and booted gentlemen resembling the Three Musketeers of Alexandre Dumas fame. Each has a capital letter "W" emblazoned on his lower half. An early example of "WWW!" It almost looks like the three are drummers, and that the "W's" are written on the drums, with each fellow rapping out a drum roll, but I can't make out quite enough detail to be sure of just where their arms are placed.

The label reads:
Wilcrest
All Silk
Pure Dye
Wilson Brothers
Made in U.S.A.
The seller's label reads
Desler's
Seaside, Ore.
Based on that label, this tie never made it very far from its original point of sale, as Seaside is where I picked it up, well over half a century after its presumed original date of sale.

A fine addition to my collection! And a lucky find, to boot.

Sunday, December 10, 2006

Blue and Gray, Black and White

Here's another vintage beauty, this time with a color scheme featuring blue, gray, black and white. Still a suitably wintery palette. The swirling, branching patterns woven into the fabric itself are almost more dramatic than the tie's own pattern.

This is another of those ties in which the knot was intended to be tied with its own different but coordinating pattern. I've loaded a separate image of the upper portion of the tie, showing the abrupt break in the pattern where the knot would have been tied.

The tie has one label which reads:
Wembley
Reg. U.S. Pat. Off.

Sunday, December 03, 2006

Navy Blue Op Art (sort of) Design

It's time, regretfully, to move away from all of those wonderful autumn leaves, as winter has definitely arrived, at least here in the great Pacific Northwest. We were on the road, down in the Willamette Valley, west of Portland, where we received several inches of beautiful snow on Monday and Tuesday last week.

While we were away, they had ice and snow here in the Olympia, Washington area. On Monday, initially only five (5!) people managed to make it in to work at the State Library, or so I heard tell when I got back.

The ice was long gone by the time we returned, but the cold weather lingers. So, here's a tie that seems more appropriate to winter weather, it's pattern perhaps suggesting streaks of rain and wind, if you wish to let your imagination flow in that direction.

The "crop circle" like images you see near the base of the tie, and a few inches higher, are actually the brocade, woven directly into the fabric. As are the slightly curved, more or less horizontal parallel lines you can see nearer the top of the image, some sweeping over the dark triangle, and some just higher up, curving in the opposite direction.

I decided to scan and mount a picture of a portion of the backside of the tie. Interestingly, in this case, the pattern of navy blue lines from the front is not carried over onto the back, which gives a better opportunity for viewing the interesting patterns woven into the fabric.

The tie has a single label, sewn into the small end, which reads:
Haband
Paterson, N.J.