 Handwoven Ratan Cover (8257)
One of the reasons I like umbrellas are the incredible creativity that is exhibited in their creation. As of this writing I have absolutely no reason to believe anyone else cares about umbrellas or the writing I have done on them. I don’t even know that one person has even read about them in this web site. This is Sept. 28, 2006, the day after my new and first grandson was born. I’m using milestones in my life to mark where we are with this web site. I don’t even know of another, or have I met a umbrella collector. I am enjoying this new adventure, as I am a relatively new collector myself, about three years. I’ve had some of my gadget umbrellas longer than that, but I was collecting gadgets not umbrellas. It wasn’t until I bought Manny Banner’s cane, umbrella, and cased umbrella handle collection, that I officially became a collector. He had all the covers on the umbrellas redone at Uncle Sams Umbrella Shop in N.Y.City, and not only were they really mint, but I didn’t think they would sell. I have found out since they will sell, but to people that want a functional decorating item, not umbrella collectors.
Ratan is a reed thats smaller than a wicker reed. Not only did the person who hand wove this micro ratan cover do it in an octagonal circle, with a different length at the end of the stays than between, and in a cone shape, as it’s higher in the center than at the edges. When this person, man or woman, got to the other side of the circle, they spliced an almost invisible seem to finish the circle. I don't really know what to call this, but because it's not waterproofed, I'm going to call it a parasol, for protection from the sun. Normal umbrella covers that are waterproofed, aren't that easy to make either, as the banded colors each need to be a separate piece of cloth to match perfectly on top of each stay, to create the desired look. I love the way the patterns look on the after cane umbrellas of the 1930’s to 50’s. This cover is all one piece, and I can’t imagine the talent needed to make it. I bought it in France last week, for $400. It’s one of my most expensive parasols, but for the work it would have taken to make it today, it doesn’t seem too much. You don’t get much of a cane today for $400, and I seldom find one I like today for that price. It will take some time to see whether this will be a good investment or not When I started collecting canes nearly 40 years ago I didn’t do it for the money, I just liked them.My Canes have increased a lot in value over the years, inspite of not knowing their were other collectors back then, as there were no other collectors in Michigan, at least that I knew of. It turns out that there were a lot of collectors, I just didn’t know them. What makes this different, I know there aren’t many collectors today, which I think makes umbrellas more risky as an investment. Several cane collectors have told me they are reluctant to start collecting something else, they don't really understand all umbrellas from the 17 hundreds to 1930 are really canes used as umbrellas. It is not until after canes that short umbrellas became a separate collectable. The good news for me is, you can buy very rare antiques for not much money, and they have nowhere to go except up.
Category: 1850-1930 - Umbrellas used as canes
Sub Category: Other
Listed: 2006-09-30 10:00:57
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