The Toot from the week

Toot-tee-toot. All sorts of bits headed to Spitalfields this week.Some Vesta cases, for matches originally but you could hide anything you want in them: paracetamol, aspirin maybe, all kinds of legal drugs.This one's from the Columbian Fair, which happened in 1892 to mark the 400th anniversary of Columbus landing in America. In a similarly Victorian style: an insurance plate. These would get bolted to the front of your house if you had insurance - so the fire engine knew to put you out if you were ablaze. If you didn't have one you'd just have to wail real loud, maybe the fire engine would come rushing and you'd scream 'HHHEEEELLLP, I'M ON FIRE, AAAAARGGHHH!' and they'd hand you a form to fill in. A nice copper pot, good for a load of thriving succulents I reckon. I'm liking all the warm coloured metals at the moments - the brass and copper. A tiny little toy jug, perfect for tiny flower arrangements. An Indian necklace. A whole load of childrens' book illustrations by a chap called Basil Reynolds, done around the 1930s. I thought they might be good so I found a specialist and sent them some photos . . . and they said they'd get back to me in a month, yawnsville! I have a sneaking suspicion I'll just flog them before then, I'm not really one for waiting about, but then maybe I'll regret it. Bah.Lots of tacky pendants, get your tacky pendants here, high-quality tacky pendants, come and snag one before they fall apart. A Victorian sewing box, seems it's been a bit of a week for Victorian stuff. A tool which is reckoned to be a leather skiver (that Botterman probably knows?). Isn't it a beautiful thing though? The shape is delicious.A Swiss rucksack. A whole collection of enamel pots . . . just to make Marie jealous really .A boater with a nice label inside. And a splendid shop cabinet, made from aluminium and glass, with a nice thick layer of paint.I also got a new dress, a factory dress, which I've been doing my pricing in - industrious like.
Good night.