Thirties Polka Dots

Back in early 2007, when I featured ties from the thirties (or ties that I have some reason to believe are from the thirties), I thought I had shown them all. All of them in my collection. But I missed at least two. So I'm going to include them now, to go along with the new one I acquired and presented a couple of weeks ago.

To see the earlier thirties, era ties on this blog, visit the early months of 2007. Here are some links:

• January, 2007
• February, 2007
• March, 2007
• April, 2007

There was only one thirties tie posted in April, though, and since the month will be displayed in reverse order (last first), you'll have to scroll to the end of the month to see that final thirties-era tie.

OK, so what about this one? It's kind of plain on the surface. Nothing really fancy. But when you look closer, there is an elaborate and ornate design that close up, provides a sense of richness and opulence not at all visible from a distance.

Small embroidered polka dots in alternating white and red are scattered evenly over a maroon background that is not solid. Instead, there are curvy lines embedded in the fabric, barely visible in the scan, that come off the edge of the tie from the left, make sweeping 90 degree turns heading directly up the tie, then turn again to run horizontally across the tie, and then up again. Each segment between turns is about an inch in length, and the lines run parallel to each other across the surface of the tie.

There is a label printed directly into the fabric of the lining of the tie, inside the large end. It reads as follows:

Haband
Cravat
Constructed of
high grade rayon
with an inner lining
insuring long wear
and
good tying qualities.

I've reproduced the line breaks in the original label, but not the actual look, of course. The letters are all upper case, and the "Haband Cravat" portion is a much larger font size than the rest. And there is an elaborate heraldic style crest separating the "Haband Cravat" text from the rest.

All in all, typical of 1930-era ties. Unprepossessing in its appearance, until you take a closer look, upon which it shows a much more elaborate design than one's initial impression.

Another from the thirties

No tie got blogged last weekend. No time. My apologies to anyone who cared enough to check the blog.

I believe I've exhausted any and all ties in my vintage collection that depict actual things from the real world. So now we're back to abstract designs of one sort or another.

Back in 2007, to kick off my second year of blogging ties, I featured my somewhat limited collection of thirties-era ties. I say somewhat limited because at that time I only found twelve ties to post that I believed to have originated in that decade.

Now I'm presenting another, which I have acquired at some point since those ties were featured here on the blog. In fact, this is a fairly recent acquisition, although I don't remember for sure if it turned up this year, or sometime last year. My wife found it at a thrift shop somewhere, and acquired it for me.

I'm not sure how well the colors will show up in the scan, on a computer screen. It appears somewhat dull at first glance, but a closer look reveals the usual glamor associated with ties from this ear. The pattern on the tie is woven directly into the fabric in a kind of embroidery manner. And the lighter colors gleam and glisten in the light.

I'm highly suspicious of the shape and width of this tie. It does not appear even in width as you descend toward the point, actually narrowing slightly, which is not normal. Looking inside, there is about an inch of fabric tucked in above the point. This tucked portion narrows dramatically as it ascends. If one were to unstitch the tie, and refold and repress it, utilizing this tucked in portion, the tie could be made to have a dramatic flare in width at the end, just prior to the pointing in at the bottom. I suspect it may have been like that originally.

The tie has one extant label sewn into the back of the short end which reads simply "Resilient Construction."

Lyre on Navy Blue Background

When I was presenting the vintage musical ties in my collection, I completely forgot about this one, and it's probably the best of all! Yesterday I was looking for a musical tie to wear to church, and amongst all my modern ones, I came across this vintage beauty, always one of my favorites, and suddenly realized I hadn't put it up here on the blog. A major oversight.

I think that when I get ready to post next week, I may post-date this entry, so that it is moved into the slot created by my not posting a tie week before last. That way, when folks scroll through the entries, it will fall into place with the other musical ties. But I'll leave it here for now, so that anyone looking for a new entry this week will find it.

The lyre is a symbol of music, and as such, often appeared in hymnals and on other musical publications, used in a symbolical manner. This particular example very likely does not really depict a playable instrument, but is also a symbolic representation.

Note also the elaborate brocade pattern woven into the fabric. I will admit that I adjusted the contrast on the image slightly, to bring out the brocade more clearly. In reality, the brocade is almost exactly the same shade as the rest of the tie fabric, although plainly visible, especially in the right light. It has the effect of changing appearance in the light, so that at one angle the brocade appears lighter (as in the scan), but turned at another angle, the brocade pattern appears darker, and the rest of the tie fabric seems lighter. It creates a VERY rich effect.

The tie has only one label extant, which is printed directly onto or into the fabric on the reverse side of the large end, and it reads somewhat enigmatically "Crecian Art."