When vintage umbrellas come up at auction, I usually ignore them. These were made for keeping the rain at bay and many are usually tattered or torn. So, I bypass them.
At auction recently, though, umbrellas arranged in sets on a table stopped me. I wasn’t drawn to the fabric design, because they were not opened. What forced me to stop were the handles.
They were priceless. One grouping had gold-tone handles with mother-of-pearl inlays. Another set had an umbrella with a cloisonné handle, and yet another had one with a Bakelite handle. Others handles were of intricately carved dark wood. One set included a cane with a sterling top and a bas-relief carving.
I had to take a second look. Some things do that to you, make you want to stop for a minute and just enjoy them in their beauty. I’m struck that way pretty often at auctions; usually, it’s the color of an object.
The colors of these umbrella fabric were pretty basic – solid beige and blue and green and black, with no snazzy designs. I’m not even sure of the condition of the fabric, because I didn’t bother to open the umbellas. The handles looked to be in fine shape, though. The previous owner (or owners) either kept them as collectibles or barely used them.
I can understand not using them. The handles made them too impractical to just open up in the rain to be damaged. I’d be too busy trying to keep the handles dry and getting myself wet.
I didn’t bother to bid on them but I did wonder how I would use them. As decoration in an umbrella stand, with the lovely handles poking out? They would certainly be a conversation-starter.
I could not imagine taking either of them out on a day like today, when it’s been raining like crazy where I live on the East Coast. These umbrellas – unlike the one drying out on my porch that’s not supposed to fold in heavy winds – were made of light materials and seemed to have been for show more than anything else. I doubt if they could shield me from the wind-swept rain we’re enduring.
Since I don’t know much about umbrellas, I wasn’t able to tell how old they were or who made them. And from what I read in researching them, it’s hard to date umbrellas. They go back for centuries as protection from the sun or rain, either held by servants over royalty or later by common people over themselves. They apparently became popular in the 19th and 20th centuries, and now we can’t seem to live without them.
Most of the websites I visited had great photos of opened umbrellas because for most people that’s what draws them. I appreciate a bold pattern, but I tend to look mostly at the handles of the vintage ones.
Like just about everything else, umbrellas and canes have their own collectors group. The International Association of Antique Umbrella and Cane Collectors has a display of umbrella handles with prices in the hundreds of dollars. I found another site that offered information on the history of umbrellas as well as tips on dating (whalebone spokes? Pre-1850; long metal shaft, 20th century), buying and restoring them.
At the auction, the umbrellas inspired some spirited bidding. The grouping with the cloisonné umbrellas (the maroon and burgundy grouping above) got the highest price: $80. The wood-handled grouping sold for $$70. My favorite – the gold tone and mother of pearl – sold for $60.
