Frankoma Pottery Mayan Dishware
If you have a flare for the southwest and enjoy natural earth tone colors, you would love Frankoma Pottery Mayan dishware to grace your dinner table and enhance any meal. Frankoma Pottery Mayan dishware is a southwestern line of dinnerware that was founded by John Nathaniel Frank. John Frank opened a pottery store in Norman Oklahoma and combined his name and the state he lived in to form Frankoma Pottery in the early 1930’s. It was an art teacher’s life long dream to have his pottery in every home. He moved his family and business to Sapulpa Oklahoma. After a fire that burnt his business to the ground he had to start all over again. His business really started to boom when he introduced Frankoma Pottery Mayan dishware in 1947. Frankoma pottery Mayan dinnerware has many lovely pieces for the whole world to enjoy.
What makes Frankoma Pottery Mayan dishware unique from other Frankoma lines of pottery is its Mayan-Aztec design and wonderful colors. The colors used by Frankoma Pottery Mayan dishware include wonderful earth tones such as Prairie Green, White Sand, Desert Gold, and Onyx Black. The colors that inspired many of his pottery line are the colors found in nature. A little bit of Oklahoma is in each and every piece of pottery. The vintage pieces can be identified by the Mayan Sequence around the edges of the pottery and by its trademark of random brushstrokes. It has the look and the design of the Aztec from a time long ago.
The most valuable Frankoma Pottery, the Pot & Puma, was made 50 years ago and can be identified by an “O” on the bottom of the pottery. The Pot & Puma is a trademark to represent both the artistic and also the sculptures of his craft. In order to find out the age of the pottery, look at the unglazed bottom of the pieces of his pottery. A light tan color, or Ada clay, is an indicator of pre-1955 pottery. A brick red or reddish color, know as Sapulpa clay, is post 1955 pottery. An easy way to identify if your pottery piece is a Frankoma Pottery Mayan dishware is by the stock number on the bottom (Only for pieces made after 1955). The stock numbers begin with a number, which identifies the different style of Frankoma pottery, followed by one or two letters. If the stock number begins with a 94, the piece is the Wagon Wheel pattern; if it begins with a 4, the piece is Lazybones pattern; if it begins with 5 it is Plainsman; if it begins with a 6 it is the Westwind pattern; and 7 is the Frankoma pottery Mayan-Aztec pattern.
To find your own Frankoma Pottery Mayan dishware, you have many choices. The vintage pieces are available on many auction sites that have antiques or collectibles. Many other pottery replacement websites also carry an inventory of Frankoma pottery Mayan dishware. For new pottery, Frankoma Pottery has a website where orders can be placed and pottery can even be custom designed. The new pottery pieces are all dishwasher safe, microwave save and oven proof. It is even used by celebrities like Food Network’s Paula Deen.
The earth has many beautiful secrets hidden within it. Thanks to John Frank and his Frankoma Pottery Mayan dishware, we now have the ability to bring some of this beauty into our homes. If you like to enjoy the natural beauty of the earth, especially the warm tones of the southwest, you must have Frankoma Pottery Mayan style dishware gracing your table. The unique style and colors will brighten any kitchen and add some visual spice to any meal!
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Sunday, February 24, 2008
DALVEY PLAYING CARDS
DALVEY PLAYING CARDS
Dalvey is a well-known company. Dalvey is a name that stands for the utmost quality and craftsmanship. The Dalvey playing cards are very unique in appearance and styling. It is also one of the most exquisite accessories to own or to give as a gift that will last a lifetime. I have only seen the Dalvey playing cards once, while I was traveling on a trip. The playing cards were very odd looking at first glance because of their round shape and many markings around the edge. I soon discovered they were made to look that way. The Dalvey playing cards were kept in a beautiful stainless steel case made of the finest quality. When the case was opened and the cards put away, I noticed an atlas on the inside top of the case lid. I wondered if it was a trademark for a world class product.
The Dalvey playing cards are derived from all ages of history and many cultures around the globe. Cards can be traced back to China. It was thought that sometime in the 10th century, the playing cards were used for entertainment and passing the time. The earliest versions of cards were very different from that of cards today. Many cultures around the world had a hand in the evolution of the Dalvey playing cards. Some of the characteristic of the playing cards came from Europe, Italy, Germany and France. The early European cards had a fifty-two card count in the deck. They had four suits, but had very different symbols on the cards. Europeans also used royalty for the figures used on the highest cards in the deck.
The Italians had a playing card that was hand painted with the utmost detail. The cards were very expensive and required a vast amount of time to make. The shape of the cards where round very much like the Dalvey playing cards. The cards resembled a small, precisely hand painted saucer. The circular shape of the cards aided in the ease of holding a large amount of cards, as well as ‘fanning’ them out, so they can only be seen only by the viewer. The hand painting of the cards later became a problem due to the rough texture on the cards. They were hard to shuffle and pass out to the other players. Later in time, the Germans figured out how to engrave the cards for manufacturing to produce vast amounts of the playing cards, which in turn, lessen the cost of the cards. The cards were printed on paper and were tested for their durablity. The plastic coating on the cards came at a later time. The German cards had symbols of acorns, bells, leaves, and hearts that were later made into hearts, clubs, diamonds and spades, just like the Dalvey playing cards of modern times.
The Americans soon discovered the playing cards. The cards begin appearing in all parts of the country. The Americans’ contribution to the deck was adding the joker. Maybe it was for one more chance to get that better hand in poker. Many of the card games that we still play today originated from games from centuries ago. The Dalvey playing cards are very similar to the round cards that were used by early travelers. Their circular shape and elegant travel cases helped the travelers carry their cards with them on long and short journeys alike. The round shape also helped in the ease of picking up the cards if they were dropped on the floor or table. The card game of poker is the game that comes to mind when we think of American card games. One can just picture a group of men sitting in a saloon with a hand of cards. This could have been the earliest version of the Dalvey playing cards. There are so many different card games to choose in playing. Anyone can vision a time when cards playing was a way to past the time and enjoy the company of others. One can also vision children playing cards on a wooden floor, which helped offset the time when chores were not needed to be done; however, they always had time for a quick game of rummy before lights out.
With all the centuries and cultures adding to the development of the playing cards, the Dalvey playing cards are truly a world-class card. We should have no doubt in our mind that the Dalvey playing cards will continue to be cherished for many, many years. To sum it all up, the Dalvey playing cards have a certain style and charm, which plays a part in the HAND on my HEART and is a DIAMOND in my eye that will SUIT me for a lifetime.
Dalvey is a well-known company. Dalvey is a name that stands for the utmost quality and craftsmanship. The Dalvey playing cards are very unique in appearance and styling. It is also one of the most exquisite accessories to own or to give as a gift that will last a lifetime. I have only seen the Dalvey playing cards once, while I was traveling on a trip. The playing cards were very odd looking at first glance because of their round shape and many markings around the edge. I soon discovered they were made to look that way. The Dalvey playing cards were kept in a beautiful stainless steel case made of the finest quality. When the case was opened and the cards put away, I noticed an atlas on the inside top of the case lid. I wondered if it was a trademark for a world class product.
The Dalvey playing cards are derived from all ages of history and many cultures around the globe. Cards can be traced back to China. It was thought that sometime in the 10th century, the playing cards were used for entertainment and passing the time. The earliest versions of cards were very different from that of cards today. Many cultures around the world had a hand in the evolution of the Dalvey playing cards. Some of the characteristic of the playing cards came from Europe, Italy, Germany and France. The early European cards had a fifty-two card count in the deck. They had four suits, but had very different symbols on the cards. Europeans also used royalty for the figures used on the highest cards in the deck.
The Italians had a playing card that was hand painted with the utmost detail. The cards were very expensive and required a vast amount of time to make. The shape of the cards where round very much like the Dalvey playing cards. The cards resembled a small, precisely hand painted saucer. The circular shape of the cards aided in the ease of holding a large amount of cards, as well as ‘fanning’ them out, so they can only be seen only by the viewer. The hand painting of the cards later became a problem due to the rough texture on the cards. They were hard to shuffle and pass out to the other players. Later in time, the Germans figured out how to engrave the cards for manufacturing to produce vast amounts of the playing cards, which in turn, lessen the cost of the cards. The cards were printed on paper and were tested for their durablity. The plastic coating on the cards came at a later time. The German cards had symbols of acorns, bells, leaves, and hearts that were later made into hearts, clubs, diamonds and spades, just like the Dalvey playing cards of modern times.
The Americans soon discovered the playing cards. The cards begin appearing in all parts of the country. The Americans’ contribution to the deck was adding the joker. Maybe it was for one more chance to get that better hand in poker. Many of the card games that we still play today originated from games from centuries ago. The Dalvey playing cards are very similar to the round cards that were used by early travelers. Their circular shape and elegant travel cases helped the travelers carry their cards with them on long and short journeys alike. The round shape also helped in the ease of picking up the cards if they were dropped on the floor or table. The card game of poker is the game that comes to mind when we think of American card games. One can just picture a group of men sitting in a saloon with a hand of cards. This could have been the earliest version of the Dalvey playing cards. There are so many different card games to choose in playing. Anyone can vision a time when cards playing was a way to past the time and enjoy the company of others. One can also vision children playing cards on a wooden floor, which helped offset the time when chores were not needed to be done; however, they always had time for a quick game of rummy before lights out.
With all the centuries and cultures adding to the development of the playing cards, the Dalvey playing cards are truly a world-class card. We should have no doubt in our mind that the Dalvey playing cards will continue to be cherished for many, many years. To sum it all up, the Dalvey playing cards have a certain style and charm, which plays a part in the HAND on my HEART and is a DIAMOND in my eye that will SUIT me for a lifetime.
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