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Hi there readers as usual I hope you are all safe and well wherever you maybe I myself have had a bit of man flu but I’m getting over the worst of it and decided it’s time for another blog.

I thought we could look at and have a little chat about some of the more quirkier or questionable pieces that have been acquired and added to the collection.

I have to admit as a collector there’s no better feeling than seeing a full cabinet of beautiful pieces all pristine and exquisite but what is a collection if you do not add a few odd bobs to the mix.

Before I go ahead I would like to mention it’s my 8th year collecting and the time has flown by with me reminiscing and remembering the very first piece I bought right up to the latest piece that came through the door recently.

In this time I’ve amassed literally thousands of pieces bulldog related met some incredible people along the way and have had folks I’ve helped out turn into really good friends I’ve had radio and pod cast cast offers and as recently as next week I will sitting down with a journalist whom wants to do a article on the collection its history and the website itself is showing more views which is great news and makes me a happy chappy.

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I have quite a few pieces that I class as quirky funny looking or unusual so I took some time to choose the pieces I’m showing to talk about otherwise a fifth of the collection would be seen in this blog lol, please note I’m not an expert on all pieces and have little info on many a piece I have and if you do recognise a piece I’m babbling on about please do not hesitate to get in touch and correct me.

Let’s start with this piece and as you can see straight away it’s a match holder and has ashtray compartments, I think the piece is around 1900 and French the whole thing is made from tin and given a brass type effect it even has the old matches from when it was last used.

I’m not sure if these were mass produced as I have only found the one so far and I try and guess what kind of establishment back then would have used these and as the piece has more than one tray I’m thinking it was for a place like a bistro or restaurant way back when smoking was the norm or even seen as fashionable, this fella surely makes it as quirky and maybe not to every body’s taste now smoking is out of fashion (AND BAD FOR YOU !!!)…

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As I’m based in the UK I may have objects that I see as quirky but to others that live in other countries where some of the pieces originate from may disagree and this next piece I think is one of those pieces, this is a big metal spittoon and was made in the USA hmmm yucky lol.

It’s certainly a talking point to have one of these I suppose it’s up there with collecting things like bed pans but it does have a bulldog on it so I bought it.

These were common place not just in the USA but many countries around the world had their own forms and makes and the object would of been used communally by many a tobacco chewer that needed to spit out he’s used chewing tobacco and didn’t want a soggy pocket, I’m just jesting these were invented to keep bar floors clean.

The main attraction of this piece back then was the gentleman’s ability to get his aim right and spit out straight into the object and this became a pastime in itself with betting games I.E. whom could spit the furthest and still reach the target.

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I have to be the first to admit I know very little about this shiny little piece other than it does test for silver and has stone eyes of some kind yet no hallmarks to be seen, maybe this piece is a vintage silver desert bowl as you can see once turned over but if you know your silver then you will know silver melts ice faster than air does so I can’t see these being used for ice cream.

I have seen an ice bucket recently with the same style head and that was a pewter piece from Portugal and that was 1940s in date I do so hope a piece gets recognised and someone fills my head with great new info…

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This next piece has to be one of my favourite pieces in my metals section and certainly is a bit quirky with a funny face to go with it, I bought this fella from a French seller but cannot say for sure wether he was made there. He has a shiny brass metal effect look to him and those funny Google eyes too whist sitting on a small slab of real marble that gives the whole piece a nice weight and the whole piece has a tactile feel to it. Again I’m not sure if he was massed produced wether he was part of a pair of even he’s date of manufacture but I do not mind and still find him a good edition to the collection.

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I’m hoping someone will write in or leave a comment about this next fella as all I know is and was told that he comes in pairs.

So firstly he out does quirky I’ve never seen a piece like him and not even sure he’s a bulldog but when I went to but him I took into account the piece itself, he has small ears like a bulldog with rose buds a tiny tail and very big head the part I get confused with are the ruffles on the front you don’t see this in figurines of bulldogs I’m sure of it but if you have any helpful info please get in touch or just a differing opinion I do not mind.

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Finally a piece I do know a bit about lol, these are wooden inkwells in the form of the older style bulldog head with brass and glass inside to make up the well, this piece was made by Army And Navy in America in the 1860s it is an original in its own right but these were made as a cheaper option to bronze or silver inkwells of the time.

I have to say I love this look and have a few pieces just like this form and a great example is the pieces from Austria in the late 1890s.

This style isn’t to every body’s taste yet they still remain very collectible and can command quite a high price in auction if in pristine condition.

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Before I go I would like to say thank you to some folks, Thank you to Jools Stone a great freelance blogger and travelling journalist for the assistance he has given me I did not expect half the kindness this fella has shown so far and the help he has been giving me not just on the website but social media too. I like checking out his blogs as I find far off places interesting to read about.

Thank you to all at My Local Services (a business directory and forum) the members are friendly and the team behind this company are very helpful towards their clients, lastly Thank you to all those that have chosen or choosing to link up one of the latest link ups is with www.essentaillydogs.com a fantastic site that promotes holistic and natural products to insure you have a tip top dog.

Collectibulldogs is growing in popularity which is amazing and we reached 20k only yesterday and if your one of the numbers in the graph below thank you very much for musing my little website…

Happy collecting folks