A lovely of array of vintage and rustic finds to share with you today.
The thing I really like the most about antiques and older vintage finds- is perhaps the “story” or history behind each item, along with the exquisite craftsmanship of days gone by, enjoy.
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Melissa Levinson Antiques
“She loved old things. The brown-brick place was a survivor of the 1907 earthquake and fire, and proudly bore a plaque from the historical society. The building had a haunted history- it was the site of a crime of passion- but Tess didn’t mind. She’d never been superstitious.
The apartment was filled with items she’d collected through the years, simply because she liked them or was intrigued by them. There was a balance between heirloom and kitsch. The common thread seemed to be that each object had a story, like a pottery jug with a bas-relief love story told in pictures, in which she’d found a note reading, “Long may we run. -Gilbert.” Or the antique clock on the living room wall, each of its carved figures modeled after one of the clockmaker’s twelve children.
She favored the unusual, so long as it appeared to have been treasured by someone, once upon a time. Her mail spilled from an antique box containing a pigeon-racing counter with a brass plate engraved from a father to a son. She hung her huge handbag on a wrought iron finial from a town library that had burned and been rebuilt in a matter of weeks by an entire community.
Other people’s treasures captivated her. They always had, steeped in hidden history, bearing the nicks and gouges and fingerprints of previous owners. She’d probably developed the affinity from spending so much of her childhood in her grandmother’s antique shop.”
― Susan Wiggs, The Apple Orchard
Architectural Digest, we all need a bed like this…
via:perfectthe
A graceful antique chaise anchors a vignette in Melissa’s L.A. showroom, where carved, gilded, and crystal-encrusted surfaces delight the eye at every turn.
For antiques aficionados, the thrill of browsing legendary markets in France, Italy, and England is hard to beat. You never know what you might unearth—from colorful Murano glass to delicate lace-trimmed linens to neoclassical furniture. Thanks to antiques dealer Melissa Levinson, you can browse the best of Europe’s storied flea markets right here. Melissa travels across Europe in search of one-of-a-kind vintage and antique furnishings, bringing back containers’ worth of treasures to stock her L.A. emporium.
via::andallshallbe
Priceless things matter not for their value, but because they offer us an enduring reminder of stability and permanence.”
― Barbara Taylor Bradford, Power of a Woman
Victoria Timashova
Decorative Painting, Instagram: oldiss_decor, Moscow, Russia
Aristophanes 16th Century Edition in contemporary vellum binding [the title and gilt lettering on the spine is later most likely 19th century]
Printed in Latin and Greek published in Frankfurt 1597
“Sometimes the people who’ve owned the books in this shop leave little clues between the pages, and not just love notes or pressed flowers.
You might come upon an unused Amtrak ticket tucked between the pages of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes or a sprinkling of crumbs along the gutter inside The Complete Engravings, Etchings, and Drypoints of Albrecht Dürer.
Makes you wonder what kind of person noshes on a salami sandwich over The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.”
― Camille DeAngelis, Petty Magic: Being the Memoirs and Confessions of Miss Evelyn Harbinger, Temptress and Troublemaker
A handsome classical bust rests atop a carved-wood sideboard.
Though much of its original finish has faded, this carved-wood piece still shines with sculptural beauty.
Victorian Passport 1886
via:lescoupsdecoeur
By: Johanna | beautelicieuse
“What is the sweetness of flowers compared to the savour of dust and confinement?”
― Peter Ackroyd
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18th C. Italian Vestment Pillows, Pair
VINTAGE MELISSA LEVINSON ANTIQUES
18th C. Italian Vestment Pillows, Pair
With its rich green and metallic hues and delicate detailing, this blown-glass lamp base is a true work of art.
Each piece tells a story: This 19th-century carved French armoire was made as a wedding gift from a father to his newly married daughter.
“The items people own reveal something about the owners.
Every quaint item that a person selects to surround themselves with has a basic quiddity, the essence, or inherent nature of things.
As a people, we assign a value meaning not only to the things that we presently possess, but also to the items destined for one generation to hand down to the next generation.”
― Kilroy J. Oldster, Dead Toad Scrolls
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