Monday, May 17, 2010

Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall...

WooHOO!!!! I've finally found one!!! I have been looking for one of these 50's mirror/shadowbox beasts forever! The first time I saw one was 3 or 4 years ago...I had loved vintage cars and architecture up to that point, but it was that mirror that opened my eyes to the broader vintage world...


How can you not love her??? She's so glamorous, over-the-top, unnecessary (in the best way possible) and just screams 50's amazingness with a touch of glitzy kitschness...


She's just got so much goin' on...and I LOVE it. Starbursts and speckles and 50's scribble with angles and mirrors and chicken-wire and shelves and boxes and ahh!

I will admit I drove a wee bit far to get her (*cough* Pittsburgh*), but in my defense I got a lot of other stuff on the same trip! But here's the kicker... she was $50!! (which is more than worth it to me!). She's missing one little section of mirror, BUT the guy then says "If you want, I have a couple similar ones with the same speckled mirror from the same company.. you can make 2 perfect ones from the 3...". My mouth just about dropped! Two others?!? Here's the next best one, IMHO...


Isn't it awesome?? The other is still my favorite, but I love the little speckled spheres and the fact that it's asymmetrical!

I couldn't get the best picture of the 3rd, but this one will be donating a couple of speckled mirror strips to the other 2 (some strips are already removed)...



And to honor this wondrous occasion, why not an awesome 1930's episode involving the true Snow White (Miss Betty Boop), Cab Calloway, and another magical mirror...



15 comments:

  1. I love it!!! At the vintage store near me those things are listed at about $150.00. Nice job!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh that is one of the best one's I've seen. It gives Mary Deluxe a run for her money!! Love it. Zootsuitmama

    ReplyDelete
  3. omg I almost got that mirror, arrrgh!

    You got that from craigslist in mckeesport pgh right?
    I saw that listing and really really wanted to get it (have wanted one too) but the area it was in is not the best, the people are nice, but the area or at least parts are not great, so I knew Hubby would say no, oh poo! :OP

    But I am happy that you got it, it's good that it went to a fellow vintage lover, and oh my that she had two more (both of which are totally awesome too!) is like a dream come true, congrats!

    I just found your blog, love it! I am also totally jealous of your seafoam nash rambler, that is a total dream car (although I really love belairs lol!) and I agree the best color, we hope to get a vintage one like that someday, that's our ultimate vintage dream.

    My blog hasn't been updated in 2 years since I used to decorate shabby chic (ugh! lol!) and I am redecorating 40s 50s and a little 60s sorta tropical/asian/atomic mish mash so I'll update that and flickr when I'm done soon.
    I'd love to see pics of your decorating! :O)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Erin- Yea! It was the same mirror haha! Great minds think alike! The mirror was actually on there a while, which surprised me. I have to say it was a bit of a questionable area...but not nearly as bad as the area of Pittsburgh I ended up going to for the lamp I recently got on the same trip! I'd love to see some pics of your stuff, and will definitely check out your blog! Right now I just moved out of the place I was renting, so unfortunately no decorating pics for now haha..but I will definitely post some as soon as I have a space! It's killing me to have all my stuff in storage and not able to decorate with!

    And I know I loved the Rambler!!! Unfortunately she needed much more work than I initially thought, so I had to sell her recently :(. I would have been ok with a lot, but I just didn't have the time or money to deal with bad frame rust...

    ReplyDelete
  5. Nice! My grandma has two and Im hoping I get them someday. *sigh* BTW I used to live in Pittsburgh!

    ReplyDelete
  6. What the what?! You find the best stuff, I need to move to where you are! lol

    ReplyDelete
  7. OMG, the first one?! Kill me now. Fan-TAS-tic score. I have one that looks almost exactly like your 3rd, but I'm bored with it by now and have been pining for one like your 1st! Way to go!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Although this cartoon was obviously made early in Betty's career and LSD wasn't invented until 1938, I have a sneaky suspicion Max Fleischer was on SOMETHING because this cartoon is waaaaaay over the top. And your mirror--awesome!!!

    ReplyDelete
  9. You are seriously killing me here Nick!!! I have been wanting one of these forEVER!!! See my post: http://mintchocolateranch.blogspot.com/2010/02/right-under-your-nose.html

    ReplyDelete
  10. That is an amazing find, gorgeous resplendent 50s beauty. I love the inclusion of the jazzy Cab Calloway rotoscoped glory in Betty Boop's surreal "Snow White". If it makes you feel better I've made long journeys to retrieve Nintendo games and systems...

    ReplyDelete
  11. Ya, I'll let you know when I get pics up on flickr and my blog, like I said, my blog is not updated, the pics are old and my decorating is WAY different now than whats on there, lol, I need to update soon.

    We just picked up a cool RCA Victor 1949 TV yesterday I saw on craigslist for 10 bucks!!! It is a little beat, but just cleaning it and putting lemon oil on the wood it looks so much better! I just love craigslist! ;O)

    Oh, that would be so hard to have stuff in storage, I would miss my stuff too!

    What a bummer about the rambler :O( Ya, lots of work isn't so bad, parts n'at, but frame rust is a big deal. Hope you find something even better! :O)

    ReplyDelete
  12. BakeliteBebe- Haha that's too much! I too have had an obsession with these, and have been looking for one foreeever! That first one you had a picture of I remember seeing on craigslist a year ago for only $50...I think. I have beat myself up so many times over for not getting it!!!! But I will definitely keep an eye out for any others!

    Van- Haha thanks! And I know I love that cartoon! It's so trippy/vintage/bizarre/awesome!! And this actually makes it the second time I've driven out to Pittsburgh (is there just a lot of good stuff there or something?) for a vintage thing! And haha yea it's good to know I'm not the only one!

    Erin- Definitely! I look forward to pics of it now and your new finds! I know what you mean too- I love getting things home and scrubbin' them down and showin' them they can be beautiful again! I agree- I'm a total craigslist junkie! And with the Rambler...yea...frame rust (on a unibody car too!) is NOT easy to solve haha... The new buyer was happy with it (even seeing the rust), so I'm happy he's happy!

    And speaking of craigslist...I need to get a post up! I got some AWESOME finds today!!!

    ReplyDelete