Category Archives: Ethel Mertz

Brock of California, Ethel Mertz, Kitchen, Mid-century, Wall Plates

The Mertzes’ Kitchen : Ethel’s Rooster Plates

Ethel Mertz in her kitchen with rooster plates on the shelf

In the I Love Lucy episode Never Do Business with Friends, S2, #67 6/29/53, we get a rare opportunity to see the Mertzes’ kitchen. Apparently the set of the Ricardo’s kitchen could be used, with some modifications, as the Mertz kitchen.  In the screen capture above there are kitchen cabinets under the window, where Lucy had a stove and to the right are shelves similar to those in Lucy’s kitchen. On an upper shelf are some Brock of California, Chanticleer pattern plates and on the shelf below there appears to be a matching Brock bowl. Below that on the counter top sits an Accent shaker set as seen in Lucy’s kitchen usually positioned on top of the stove.

Brock of California Chanticleer Plate seen on eBay

(Thanks to Rickster for spotting the plates!).

Ethel Mertz, Pendleton 49'er Jacket, Wardrobe

Ethel’s 49er Pendleton Jacket

Ethel Mertz (Vivian Vance) wearing a 49’er Pendleton Jacket

The Classic 49’er Pendleton jacket was popular during the I Love Lucy early years and was seen on Lucy, Desi and Vivian in various episodes and promotional stills. Here we see Ethel (Vivian Vance) wearing hers.

Pendleton 49er shirt jacket
Pendleton 49er shirt jacket

You can tell whether a vintage Pendleton 49er jacket is a man’s size or woman’s size by the color of the label, the womenswear label is always white, and the menswear label is blue.  Early Pendleton labels did not have a Woolmark symbol,  it was not used before the mid 1960’s.

Ethel Mertz, I love Lucy Props, Kodak Camera, Lucy Desi Comedy Hour

Ethel’s Kodak Box Camera


Lucy Ricardo and Ethel Mertz sporting her Kodak Duaflex IV

In the Lucy Desi Comedy Hour, season 1, episode 5 “Lucy Goes To Sun Valley”, Ethel can be seen with a box camera in various parts of the episode. thanks to contributor Jamie, we have the ID of her camera: It is a Kodak Duaflex IV, which was manufactured from 1955 to 1960, as seen the following screenshots from the episode.

Kodak Duaflex IV

Kodak ad LIFE – Dec 2, 1957 – Page 100

I see several models on Etsy this week Click Here to view a current selection on Etsy
Following is a selection from eBay.com :

[phpbay keywords=”Kodak Duaflex IV” num=”8″ siteid=”1″ category=”625″ sortorder=”PricePlusShippingHighest” templatename=”columns” columns=”2″ itemsperpage=”10″ paging=”true”]

Ethel Mertz, I love Lucy Props, Little Ricky, Vintage Toys

Fred Buys a Toy Dragon for Little Ricky

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d2In the opening scene of the I Love Lucy episode “Lucy Goes to Scotland” Fred comes in with a Chinese dragon puppet to bring back to Little Ricky. When Lucy mentions she had never seen anything like this before Fred replies “Well when I was a kid they had toy dragons.” and Ethel remarks “When you were a kid they had real dragons!”
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The toy is an articulated Chinese dragon made of bamboo that has a hole in the base to insert a bamboo stick as seen on the show, similar to the vintage example pictured here.

 

See similar items on eBay

Ethel Mertz, Framed Prints

Ethel with Degas Ballet Print on I Love Lucy

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Ethel with framed print of a painting by Edgar Degas

In the episode “Oil Wells” (S3, 2/15/54) the Ricardos and the Mertzes fight over their shares of stock when they think they’ve been swindled. Soon after, Lucy spots Ethel in the hallway and asks for a five minute truce to discuss how they can get their money back. In the hallway is a framed print of a painting by Edgar Degas, “L’école de dance” (School of Ballet). We only get to see 3/4 of it, but here is what it looks like.

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Edgar Degas, “L’école de dance” (School of Ballet))

See more like this on eBay

50s Retro, Ethel Mertz, I love Lucy Props, Luggage, Mid-century, Travel, Uncategorized

Ethel’s PAA Airline Bag

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Ethel shows Fred her new PAA Pan Am airlines carry on bag

When Ricardo’s and the Mertzes board their Pan Am flight to return from their European tour Ethel is seen carrying her new PAA flight bag. “Isn’t that cute!” she says to Fred. “That’ll come in handy won’t it.”

paa-airline-bag
Here is a vintage PAA Pan American World Airways Bag on eBay – click picture for the listing on eBay
50s Retro, Art, Ethel Mertz, Figurines, Florence Ceramics, Framed Prints, Monte Carlo

The Mertzes in Monte Carlo: Nicholas Lancret Framed Print

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Ethel and Fred Mertz in their Monte Carlo room

On the wall of the Mertzes Monte Carlo hotel room is a well known Nicholas Lancret framed print called La Camargo Dancing. Also seen on the chest of drawers beside the door is a figurine we saw in the Mertzes Connecticut home in another I Love Lucy episode. A figurine of a colonial lady, Florence Ceramics “Charmaine”.

Nicolas+Lancret+La+Camargo+Dancing
Nicholas Lancret La Camargo Dancing Nicolas Lancret – La Camargo – c.1730, oil on canvas Washington, National Gallery of Art, Andrew W. Mellon Collection – © Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington

The woman dancing in the painting is Marie Anne de Cupis de Camargo a famous French/Belgian ballet dancer known as La Camargo. She was first woman to execute the entrechat quatre,  the first dancer to wear slippers instead of heeled shoes, and also first to wear the shorter calf-length ballet skirt and the now standard ballet tights.

Reference:

 

Ethel Mertz, I love Lucy Props, Mid-century, Vintage Electrical Appliances, Vintage Tape Recorders

Lucy and Ethel use a Tape Recorder

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Lucy and Ethel use a Crestwood tape recorder on I Love Lucy, Oil Wells episode.

Lucy and Ethel use a Crestwood Tape recorder on the episode Oil Wells (15 Feb. 1954).  The Ricardo’s new neighbors claim to be Texas oil tycoons  and a tape recorder features prominently in the story line. The Crestwood tape recorder was a new model that was widely promoted that year. Reporting on the appearance on the show  an article in the popular Tape Recording magazine 10-1954 p. 42  followed with a picture of Lucy and Ethel on set.

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Tape Recording Magazine 1954 Article mentions Lucy’s Crestwood Tape Recorder

On eBay recently I came across a listing for a vintage Crestwood tape recorder that looks very like the one used on the I Love Lucy show – click on the picture below to see the listing.

A Crestwood Taperecorder similar to the one used as a prop on I Love Lucy
A Crestwood Taperecorder similar to the one used as a prop on I Love Lucy
1954 Crestwood tape Recorder on I Love Lucy
1954 Crestwood Ad for the Tape Recorder on I Love Lucy

The Crestwood is the second tape recorder we have seen on the I Love Lucy show – previously we looked at the Webcor tape recorder used by Ricky to record his song “There’s a Brand New Baby in Our House“.

Lucy devises a plot involving the the use of a tape recorder in the episode "Oil Wells"
Lucy devises a plot involving the the use of a tape recorder in the episode “Oil Wells”

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