Vintage Wednesday: Victorian Mottos

I'm a collector. I don't know why I'm a collector, but I am a collector. Maybe because I've always had a sense that history was valuable and needed to be preserved? Possibly because I compulsively put things in order? Maybe it's just that I was taught to see the beauty in the little things? I do know, however, that I've been a collector for most of my life.

When I was young, I was all about books, books, books. I'd beg for a dollar at a yard sale. I've drool over the first editions in the used book store. I'd pour over the illustrations by Harrison Fisher and Howard Chandler Christy. I loved the feel of paper, the typography, the bindings.

As I've gotten older, I'm more specific in my collections - probably because there's just not room to start a library and a museum in my house. It takes something unusual to catch my eye. But that's what's happened in the last year.

It started - as it usually does - with an estate sale. It was the estate of a collector, which is the very best kind for a collector. She collected crystal - loads and loads of crystal. But she also had some unusual things around the house tucked into closets and cubbyholes. As I walked through a bedroom, a picture caught my eye. It had pink and yellow roses on a black background and a rather gothic Victorian picture with the scripture, "The Lord hath been mindful of us". As I explored the rest of the house, that picture stayed in my mind and in the end it was the only thing I purchased at the sale... for about $10.

Several months later I was walking through another estate sale and found another picture with the scripture "Thou art my refuge and my portion" on it. The style was different in that it was printed rather than embossed and was on a white background, but it still had flowers and scripture quote as a theme. I think I picked it up for about $10 as well.

Well, once you have two, you have crossed the line from pretty object to collection. I then started looking for these types of artwork at the estate sales, flea markets, thrift stores and antique shops I visit. And what I've found is that I've been incredibly lucky to find the pieces I've found. Anything I've found online is $100 or more!

Apparently these pictures followed a trend in Victorian ornamentation called Berlin work. Berlin work incorporated colorful yarns (manufactured in Berlin) with low cost canvas or perforated paper (as opposed to linen or silk) that was accessible to the middle classes as an art form. The industrial revolution and the rise of the middle class gave many women the means to have leisure time and embroidery - which had been a pastime of the wealthy - became a pastime of the middle class. It brought color and art to the middle class home.

I'd seen the paper punched versions of these pieces complete with some inspirational motto, hymn reference or scripture verse worked in variegated thread. I'd not, however, seen much of the printed mutation of these works of art. And when trying to research the history, I found it difficult to trace the roots. After searching for scripture verse art and quotation pictures, among other things, I finally stumbled on the moniker "motto," which opened the door to the little history I've found.

In the meantime, I continue to keep an eye open to these little works of art. During my visit to Gettysburg, I found one more piece to add to my collection. This time it cost me all of $12, and had more roses along with Victorian and Nouveau motifs. This one says, "Love One Another" - another scripture reference. And so my collection continues to grow as I search for bargain additions in my newest treasure hunt.