Hammered Aluminum

When Barbra Streisand began collecting Arts & Crafts furniture, it became way too expensive to continue collecting, so we started hunting hammered aluminum, or what my mom called the "poor man's silver" that was popular in the 1940's and 1950's.  I always loved the hammered dish that mom used to put the Christmas dates (dusted in powdered sugar and stuffed with a walnut.)  That was the beginning. Then we went crazy and bought it on eBay, flea markets and thrifts shops. Long story short, we have way too much.  Occasionally I take out some favorite pieces and display them.  They seemed right after the ornateness of the holidays, simply "silver" hand hammered pieces.

These pieces all have clear stamps on the back noting their maker and often time the number.

These hang in my kitchen, and are among our favorite pieces. Wendall August Holmes forged created the Noah's Ark plate and the Child's Alphabet tray.

I should probably start parting with some of my treasured finds, but they each recall a memory wherein my husband and I went antiquing or thrifting, scoured the goods, and experienced that jump in the stomach, and said to one another, "Look what I found!  Let's get it."  The thrill and joy is in the hunt.  And so we'll keep these pieces and rotate them so that we can remember our adventure, and time together.  Happy hunting!