All posts by Patricia

Art, Framed Prints

Pair of Cavalry Prints on I Love Lucy

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Framed Cavalry Prints on I Love Lucy

In a previous post we looked at  small military prints in the livingroom on I Love Lucy. The pictures on the show are mid-century framed reproductios from an old book on broad sword exercises with some color added. The vintage framed prints are hard to find. However I found that the original book is archived online  so you could print out some to frame. Below is a scan of the page showing   pictures from the book like those seen above in the screen grab from the show.

Source:

https://books.google.ie/books?id=UfwpAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage

https://archive.org/details/newsystemofbroad00step

 

Lucille Ball, Lucy Style, Perfume

A fragrance used by Lucille Ball

 

floridawater

A blog reader (who heard it directly from Lucie Arnaz) mentioned to me recently that Lucille Ball liked to use the fragrance Florida Water. Florida Water is a classic unisex cologne – also used as an aftershave – that dates back to 1808. It has a sweet orange fragrance with notes of lavender and clove. (Click Here for a selection at Amazon)
FloridaWater-Ad
FloridaWaterLabel
Reference:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida_Water

Charleton Mantel Lusters, Mid-century

Mantel Lusters on eBay currently

lustres
Seen on eBay this week a pair of vintage Charleton mantel lusters similar to those seen on the piano on I Love Lucy –  the shape and make is the same  but the painting style and prisms are  not an exact match however the design is similar.charlton-mantel-lustres-lucy
More details on eBay at http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-I-LOVE-LUCY-SHOW-ANTIQUE-MANTLE-LUSTERS-LUSTRES-CANDLE-LAMPS-SPEAR-PRISMS-/391474858951

50s Retro, Kitchen

Ricky Eats Van Camp’s Pork & Beans

Ricky-eatsVan-Camps-Pork-and-Beans
Ricky eats Stokely Van Camp’s Pork and Beans the brand name is concealed.
Van-Camps-Pork-and-Beans-Tin
Vintage Stokely Van Camp’s Pork and Beans Tin Can 31 oz.

In I Love Lucy Season 2 Episode 19 – The Club  Ricky Ricardo eats from a  large can of Van Camp’s Pork & Beans. The brand name is covered over for the screen but the tin is recognizable.

From vancampsbeans.com: “Pork & Beans
America’s #1 Pork & Beans since 1909! Van Camp’s Pork & Beans traces its roots back to 1861 when Gilbert Van Camp and his wife Hester opened a family grocery store in Indianapolis, IN where they canned fruits and vegetables. Gilbert’s son, Frank, discovered that their Pork & Beans tasted even better when served hot in tomato sauce. He began to advertise the notion, and an American favorite was born. ”

Van-Camps-Pork-and-Beans2Van-Camps-Pork-and-Beans-adReference:

Cruet, I love Lucy Props, Olde Thompson, Stewart B McCulloch

Dulling of Props on I Love Lucy

Dulling substance is more obvious on the cruet on in picture on the left
Dulling substance is more obvious on the cruet on in picture on the left

Previously we looked at evidence of a dulling substance in use on on one of the mantel statues  on I Love lucy.  An anti-reflective coating is used when needed to reduce glare for the cameras. Above on the left is a instance from Little Ricky Learns to Play Drums where the cream colored Olde Thompson  ivy cruet has been darkened sufficiently to appear gray in tone.  The picture to the right is from an earlier episode where the same cruet appears lighter.
Here is an example of the same make Olde Thompson cruet in its original state.

1950s Furniture, 50s Retro, Hollywood, I Love Lucy Nursery, Mid Century Lamps, Mid-century

Lucy’s LA lamps in Sinatra Movie

table-lamps
On of a pair of table lamps on the Hollywood set of I Love Lucy

A pair of table lamps similar to Lucy’s LA  lamps appear in the moview A Hole in the Head (1959) starring Framk Sinatra and Edward G Robinson. The are seen at either ends of a green sofa. Screen captures below. The neo-classical column lamps in the hollywood regency style have gilt details.aholeinthehead-franksinatra59 aholeinthehead-59-lamps

1950s Furniture, Hollywood, I love Lucy Props, Plants

Lucy’s LA plants

plantontrellis
A trellis with plants is seen on I Love Lucy LA set. The plants appear to grow over time. Note the dates in the photos above which suggest they are real plants. An original color publicity picture of Lucy and Desi below appears to have been taken in front of the same trellis. The tall plant has red branched and small flowers/leaves with a shape similar to a type of orchid . An orchid expert at PacOrchidExpo on instagram has looked at it a said it is not an orchid.  My search fror a shrub with red branches  on google came up with Red twig Dogwood ( Cornus sericea ‘Cardinal’) or Cornus Sibericaredtwig-doogwood
On the left is a Red twig Dogwood shrub and on the right is the original color photo of Lucille and Desi taken on the I Love Lucy LA set. The red branches do look similar. Could the small flowers seen in the photo be from  another plant?lucy-plantphilodendron

The lower plants appear to include Philodendron,   Anthurium ‘Flamingo Flower’  and a Rubber Plant.rubberplant
dogwood-sibirica
This one is Dogwood Siberica ( Cornus siberica) with small leaf clusters.

lucyanddesiLAset

plantsincolor

My photoshop impression of the plants in color based on the color photo.

Thanks again to johndalessio and PacOrchidExpo on instagram for valuable input.