Bring color into your home with these colorful vintage collectibles
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Yarn color cards
Thread color charts serve as an ordering aid for professional tailors and hobbyists, and show patterns with product names and numbers. Vintage versions also help tell the story of the evolution of sewing, such as Clark’s ONT (“Our New Thread”) catalog (pictured center), which shows a six-ply, soft thread developed in the late 1880s for a new product: the home sewing machine.
What it’s worth:
Today, collections of cards from the early 20th century can be assembled for as little as $15 each.
Dala horses
Dala horses originate from Sweden’s heavily forested province of Dalarna, a region known for its furniture-making. They date back to the 17th century. (They are believed to have been carved from leftover scraps of wood as toys for village children.) Over the decades, artisans began painting the pieces—red is the most traditional color—and decorating them in a floral folk art style known as. Gourds. Dala horses became known as symbols of Sweden after an exhibition at the 1939 World’s Fair in New York.
What it’s worth:
Today, prices range from $100 for horses created after 1950 to up to $1,000 for larger, centuries-old finds.
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Field Notes: Behind the Art of the Color Chart
Have you ever wondered how the paint samples at your local hardware store came to be so perfectly arranged? It turns out that this system took centuries—and the insights of doctors, naturalists, artists, and more—to develop, as anthropologist Anne Varichon explains in her new book: Color Cards: A History. Using nearly 200 diagrams spanning six centuries, the author traces the evolution of the logic and design behind color classification. (Many examples, including 19th-century silk ribbon patterns, have never been published before!) Enthusiasts will also enjoy naming systems dating back to the 14th century, when shades were called “lionskin” yellow and “donkeyback” gray.
Painter’s palettes
Wood is sturdy in the hand and has a natural tone that reflects the colors as they appear on the canvas. It has been the preferred material for oil painters’ palettes since the 15th century. (Today, tempered glass and ceramic are preferred for watercolors and acrylics.)
What it’s worth:
Palettes from the 1950s to the 1980s typically cost between $50 and $300, with prices increasing depending on size and age. However, pieces associated with well-known painters or art schools can fetch much more—a palette used by Picasso sold for more than $70,000 at auction in 2020!
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Educational wooden blocks
Designed to encourage creative play, wooden blocks have been a staple in kindergartens for centuries. For vintage versions that also look charming on a coffee table, look for block sets developed for schools in the 1960s and 1970s by Illinois-based Developmental Learning Materials (pictured center and right). They include geometric blocks that can be used to recreate patterns shown on the accompanying cards.
What it’s worth:
Sets of Developmental Learning Materials typically start at $20. Antique sets from the first half of the 20th century (pictured center left) are often more expensive, depending on condition and uniqueness of the block design.
RELATED TOPICS: The Collector’s Guide to Vintage School Supplies
Texas Ware Bowls
As families new to the suburbs began entertaining guests outdoors, sturdy melamine (a type of resin) tableware became more common. In the late 1940s, Dallas-based Plastics Manufacturing Co. began making cups, plates and more from the “Texas Ware” material, but its best sellers were mixing bowls with confetti-like patterns created by adding melamine pellets to a heated mold. To verify authenticity, look for a raised “Texas Ware” logo on the bottom and a number indicating the size.
What it’s worth:
Vintage bowls from the 1950s are very popular with collectors today and cost between $40 and $100, depending on size and color. (Rare blues and greens tend to fetch the highest prices.)
RELATED: Don’t miss out on these vintage kitchen items at estate sales
Start collecting!
Alison Allsopp is Style and Markets Editor at Country Living.
Stephanie Gibson Lepore is a copy editor and researcher at Country life. She enjoys writing about a variety of topics and making sure the facts are correct. When she’s not reading the latest Merriam-Webster Instagram post, you can find her browsing an antique store for home decor, reading WWII novels in a sunny spot, cheering (loudly) on her football team, or planning her daughter’s next birthday party (themes forever!).
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