2. My man friend does not. He volunteered to come with me last weekend (we're on the hunt for a pew or similar) then promptly passed out on an antique settee, a la Miss Scarlet O'Hara.
3. I really need to get to Point Pleasant (NJ) more often. The many antique stores are fabulous, especially now when there are many "clearing out for end of winter" sales.
4. Last Saturday, I bought a fabulous Wm. Rogers silverplate, glass-lined ice bucket.
5. I got a really, REALLY good deal on it.
6. I'm not sure if I should leave the patina as-is, which is pretty charming (believe it or not, the mister has an opinion here; he likes it as-is and feels, "it has good character, especially with the glass interior." (Yup, he said that. Verbatim. When he says things like this I beam with pride.). There's a dealer on Etsy who agrees, but there's also something to be said for the highly-polished lustre of silver like the piece Eddie shined up for his store.
I hope you enjoyed my bucket list (tee hee hee). It's almost 70 degrees (!!) at the shore house so I'm keeping it brief today so I can enjoy the weather...and probably heading back to Point Pleasant solo. I'd love to hear your thoughts -- should I polish or not?
27 comments:
I say: Polish it, then shoot it so we can see it in it's shining glory. The patina will come back pretty quickly, THEN you can decide if it looks better one way or the other :-)
xoh
p.s....2 bucks!!!????? WTF!? You truly ARE gifted!
Maybe a little polish with hints of the old... hmmm
ENJOY the weekend!
Fifi
Wow! $2??
I love it the way it is. Polished silver is beautiful for solid sterling or really valueable pieces but I think the beauty in this one is its age.
What do you plan on doing with it? Im always worried about buying metallic things for serving food or ice in because of the lead content.
Laura, I know I'm going to sound like a fussy maiden aunt, but silver is meant to be polished! LOL!
AND there is something you might try...
There's a solution that involves using baking soda and tinfoil (read online about it), and if you dip silver in it, it makes the silver tarnish re-bond to the surface. You probably wouldn't want to get any inside the bucket... or does the lining come out? Anyhow, I just read a whole thing about that, and there is a scientific reason for doing it. LOL! PLUS it saves elbow grease.
Even if you choose to use elbow grease... that bucket needs a good cleaning. You might have nutty guests (moi?) who might think they were being poisoned by tarnish even if the tarnish is only on the outside. Unpolished silver = dirty silver! ;-)
XO,
Sheila... the silver queen! :-)
OH... and $2 is a GREAT price! Way to go!
Mr. Shorehouse and Mr. Magpie sound like they inhabit the same universe. Mr. Magpie is most definitely allergic to shopping!
Seems like tarnished silver is in now...I like it both ways!
You got a great deal.
There is a flea market next Sunday we are going to try to go to! Can't wait til our trip. Hope we get to meet up!
Gosh, decisons, decisons.
INdecisiveness may or may not be my problem.....
I like both, or either.
Sorry Laura. I know I am not much help.
Heidi had a good point, to polish and then decide, b/c yes...it will come back.
I vote polish! I got some great old silver plate pieces at the City Opera Thrift Store in NYC and they looked terrific polished up (and trust me, within the blink of an eye they were tarnished again) so you the other post-er who said they'll tarnish back up quick and then you can see which look you like better is more than right!! ;) Terrific find!! (I also totally vote for going back to Point Pleasant by yourself! It's been my personal experience that it's usually easier to troll for antiques without the menfolk) ;) Happy hunting!
Uh, I'd shine it up..., I polished old door hardware (not that I'm comparing that to your super lovely bucket)and it looks so fresh now..., I would not want to go back! If you polished it, it will tarnish again over time.., so you could just try it out.
Well Laura, after sleeping on this a few nights I think that if you are going to display this ice bucket~leave it as is. If you are going to use it, give it a good once over as recommended by previous silver zealous bloggers.
I'm not very good at advice but I will sure point you in the direction of those who are...
xoox
Jane
Since I am lazy when it comes to thing like polishing silver, I say leave it in its natural state --and go out and enjoy the gorgeous shore weather you are having Laura!
Good morning Laura :)
I say polish it and let it go back to tarnish if you like it better. If you don't you'll always wonder ;)
I loved your post about Maggie. My childhood dog was a black Lab named Maggie :)
Enjoy the beautiful weather!!!
xoxo,
rue
Love it, love it...I say leave it alone, I like patina as it gives it some character. You could have bought a new one that's all shiny.
That said it's not like if you clean it and you don't like it then it won't look like that again after a few months ;)
Love the list and the find. I'd leave the patina -- it takes time to build that character! Wish I could joint you for a P.P. trawl as I've been so intrigued by what's sold down there! Great post.
I love your bucket list! I would polish; if you don't like it that way it will tarnish again. What a find!
I love it unpolished... but polished would be beautiful too.
What a find you lucky girl! Silver tarnishes right away so I say leave the patina.
Two bucks? Really? Only two dollars... you pay more for the polish! (I would polish just to see).
That's fabulous.
As for Mr. Shorehouse, once Toad fell asleep in an antiques store. It wouldn't have been so bad except that people started talking about the guy snoring while sitting upright in a chair. Yep, it was Toad.
You asked, have a party and we will all help you decide "to polish or not to polish" as we polish off chilled cocktails and assorted canapes.
cha ching.
You sure can find the hidden treasures!! I adore this bucket! With the vintage silver I find I sometimes leave the tarnish look and when I want to give it a little shine I set there and polish it. I enjoy the process of polishing thinking of the hands before that did the same thing. Look at it this way if you polish it and don't like it, it will tarnish again. Trust me. lol...
Laura,
What a great find. Enjoy your warm weather...sounds absolutely fabulous!
Oh Laura - I will not let Karrie see this post - she LOVES William Rogers, and she would die to know you got that lovely bucket for $2!!
Great shopping!
Karla
that's an awesome deal! i wouldn't polish it. but i'm lazy. lol.
i don't think i could stop myself from polishing it.
it'd be so pretty!
Funny, I was down in Point Pleasant last weekend. Had the bug to do a little antiquing. The ice bucket? Maybe just a little clean up with some silver polish, but try to leave the patina in the crevices. The good thing about silver is that you can clean it up but it will oxidize all over again and your patina will be right back. I am really looking forward to yard sale season this year. We will have to compare notes on the best sales.
♥, Susan
Graat deal, Laura! I love that bucket. I'd probably polish it up if it were me, just to see how pretty it could look. It'll get tarnished again in no time. If you & I lived closer, I'd surely go saling with you! I don't have a lot of friends here in my town that enjoy it either. My hubby certainly does NOT, so I'm on my own.
Hey, btw..we are definitely coming to NYC in May. My hubby has just found out about a conference he is attending, so we are killing 2 birds with one stone, so to speak. Maybe we can hook up then! Like May 10-14 or so.
Hello,
I stumbled upon your blog and saw your great ice bucket find. I found a lovely one last year but not at that great price! Polishing it will make you appreciate what a true find you really have. Quintessential Magpie is right you can clean it the easy way with the foil and baking soda, and it's cheaper than polish although I did have to use a little for that soft gleam look. Recently spent a dreary Sunday doing the silver and it sure brightens up the place and just in time for Spring! I took some photos of the before and afters thinking I will get around to putting it on my blog soon.
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