Posted 10 months ago
bohemiangl…
(184 items)
This poor piece was languishing underneath almost 150 years of dirt and smoke in a dealer's booth at the flea market this weekend. This was the same dealer I bought the Moser trinket dish from for $10.00. This dealer is a really nice guy, but glass is not really his main thing. I spotted this piece in his booth and he had $15.00 marked on it. Other than being really dirty, I knew it was very old and looking it over carefully, I could see that there was no damage at all. I said, "how about throwing in this old thing for another $10.00?"
"Sure", he said, and I happily left with my Harrach vase, which after a long soak in soapy water and a healthy scrub with a wet magic eraser, came out really beautiful. The form and decoration I attribute to Harrach, Neuwelt, ca. 1865. The middle two photos show the before and after.
If These Shirts Could Talk: The Tantalizing Tales Behind Used Clothes
Jockeying for Position: How Boxers and Briefs Got Into Men's Pants
Gloriously Grotesque 19th-Century Pipes
In the Hot Seat: Is Your Antique Windsor a Fake?
Love at First Kite: How Pizza and Pente Led to One Oklahoman's High-Flying Obsession
Blood, Sweat, and Steel: My Afternoon with the Ace of Swords
'The Great Gatsby' Still Gets Flappers Wrong
Say Ahhh: An Oral Surgeon's Quest to Reimagine the Garage-Band Guitar
Forget TV Pickers, Meet the Real Mavericks of the Antiques World
Coveting The Craziest Cat-People Collectibles




Very nice cleaning job! Wet magic eraser?
Jeff - Mr. Clean Magic Eraser Original - I kid you not. I wouldn't recommend using this an all glass, but for this smooth-surfaced frosted piece, it did the trick taking off that black grimy stuff without damaging the enamel. It's the first time I ever used one on glass - after all, I was only risking a $10 item.
Oh the tools of the trade!
Cool. Thanks for the tip! I may try it out on the inside of a Heckert Sutterlin that was obviously heavily used in the past. I've been trying to figure out how to get rid of the black/hard water residue inside the bottom.
For those tuning in at home - don't try the magic eraser on gold etching ink - it will take it right off. I would only use it on plain glass or baked on enamels - and carefully at that.