Hi my friends, I hope you are well and happy and remaining sane in this very crazy world. Today’s post is about my recent find, is it real or reproduction? I hope you’ll stick around to learn if I scored a vintage find or am happy with a nice, but common piece of decor.

In the world of collecting, there is always a debate about authentic vintage vs reproduction.  Some collectors would eat their own feet rather than buy anything reproduction.  After Modern Farmhouse hit the big time in popularity there was a big push by many big box stores to offer farmhouse decor. Normally this signals the death of a style… Just like any style, there are changes over time, and as soon as a style becomes over-used, just about the time it hits the big box stores, that’s when you’ll see it begin to fade away. The one constant has always been country style.  Country design has remained strong for decades and is still one of  the most popular styles all over the world.  “Modern” Farmhouse is presently the reigning iteration of country style, but heads up! We’re beginning to see some changes….  more on that in upcoming posts.

There’s nothing wrong with buying new. Cute, new decor has its place. What it doesn’t have is age or history or character. A house filled with nothing but cute, new things often feels flat, and for sure will look like thousands of other homes decorated with identical things. I always suggest adding some pieces with age. You don’t need to live in a museum, or a “Cracker Barrel House,” however, adding a few old things adds interest and texture, and helps tell the history of your family.

Do I always buy vintage? The majority of my decor is authentically old, if I see something reproduction I really like, I won’t eat my feet…. If it adds to the story of my home I’ll buy it.  The fact that some of my things have been around for a couple hundred years is gratifying…. to me….  Mr B could care less. He’s all about function. He does have things from his family that have been passed down, but truth? I’m the one that encourages him to display them, he’d be just as happy without them. “Things” don’t make him happy.  Sometimes I wish I had his attitude. I wasn’t born that way. I love my things, I just like ’em old.  I’m a keeper of history. I don’t want to live in a museum, or a Cracker Barrel House but I also don’t want to live in a Rooms To Go home, where everything  is all shiny and new, and  horrors!! matchy matchy! That might cause me to nibble on my feet a bit. Kidding… Maybe…..

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For the record, I don’t  look down on, nor criticize anyone for the age of things they choose to put in their home. I prefer vintage. It’s a personal choice that suits me and my love of old things. Your home should suit you and reflect YOUR choices.  As always, there are exceptions. My exception is holiday and seasonal decor, I buy both vintage and new…. and hope Mr B doesn’t notice another bin in the attic when it’s time to bring it all down.

Like most everywhere the pandemic put a big damper on going out. Small businesses were closed for months.  Restrictions have finally loosened up a bit here, and I took the opportunity to go to my favorite little shop a couple of times. Both times I left with treasures. Once with a charming (to me) stoneware pitcher, and the last trip I left with a vintage book and an amber canning jar. I’d never seen a vintage amber canning jar, I didn’t know if there was such a thing. It was priced at $12.00 and that indicated it wasn’t old or highly collectable. I bought it because I love my brown and amber bottles for fall and winter and don’t really care if they are old. I consider them seasonal and their age doesn’t matter. Of course I Googled Amber canning jar as soon as I got home.

Turns out there IS such a thing!  There are also reproductions. The Putnam Company manufactured the Trademark Lightning canning jars in the 1880’s. Taiwan introduced its reproduction jars in 1986. Both Amazon and Target sell amber canning jars with screw tops. Vintage amber jars don’t have screw tops, so that was my first clue that I might have found something unique. If you just want decor and don’t give two hoots whether your jar is old or not, by all means order the new ones. I probably will….. but I was really curious about the jar I purchased for $12.00. Was it vintage? Or a good repro?

Let’s take a look at the evidence; all vintage Putnam Jars have the following:

Ground lips (the ridge/edge on the lid.) 

Metal collar with hole for the bail wire

The lids are embossed with Pat’d Apr 25, 82

The side seams extend underneath the bottles for about an inch

The wire bale around the neck of the jar has multiple twists

The top of the lid has 2 knobs to hold the wire in place

The bottom of the jar is embossed with Putnam and a mold number other than 227….

(although there were some real 227’s there’s another list of identifiers for that) 

Does my jar have all these identifiers? Do I have a treasure? I looked closely….. and the verdict is……… YASSSS! Boys and Girls! I have an authentic Trademark Lightning Canning Jar!!! Eureka! Gadzooks! This is the Bomb Diggity!!! And for $12.00! The least expensive one I could find on-line is $99.00, and some are priced at $250.00!!!! It also had other indications not listed here that confirmed the age this old jar, so I am confident I have the real deal.

You know what??? It doesn’t really matter. I bought it because I liked it. I bought it for Fall and Winter. I don’t give a rat’s patootie if someone is asking an absurd amount of money for one….. But I AM PROUD to be the latest caretaker of this piece of kitchen history. I can tell this jar has seen a long life.   I can’t help but wonder how many women used this to put up veggies and fruit for their families. I wonder how it survived all these years…. The fact that it’s a bit high on the rare find scale means I will care for it more carefully so that a future collector can sigh over having one. It’s no longer just a seasonal piece of decor, stored out of sight with Christmas and seasonal stuff …. it will be displayed proudly with my other, priceless, to me, objets de crap.

(the term, objets de crap attributed to my friend Christine Rogers)

You never know what you will find when entering a thrift or antique store. Treasures and junk are shoulder to shoulder just waiting for the right person to come along and take them home…  As always, I leave you with this thought: Your home is YOURS, tell your story in it, not the story of someone else. Add some things with history…. or not. It’s your choice.

Create your sanctuary, one room at a time, no matter where you live.

Create the home that speaks to your heart.