best. gift. ever.

[michael c]

i had a celebratory dinner with some friends last night and received a gift...

i opened an envelope and there was a signed "certificate of authenticity" from a company called "ellis props/graphics.hollywood's original prop house.established 1908" and then i opened the box and there was a "victorian style silver salt and pepper set" utilized on dark shadows.

how cool is that?!

needless to say as soon as i got home i put an episode in that featured the collinwood kitchen(a showdown of sorts between liz and laura)but the set was not visible.i'm so curious to know where/when it was used on the show.it's too old fashioned i think to have been used in the diner set so it must have been somewhere at collinwood.or maybe at the bangor pine?i can't recall where else we would have seen something of this nature.

having friends know you're a d.s. fanatic has it's perks.i've received many cool gifts over the year(books.comics.vids)but this is really something special.

love it!

[Nancy]

i had a celebratory dinner with some friends last night and received a gift...

How very, very cool.  Congrats!

[The Doctor and K9]

You are fortunate to have such generous and thoughtful friends.  They must care about you a great deal to go out of their way to locate items like these.  I hope you enjoy them. 

[Lydia]

Yes indeed, you're lucky, mscbryk.  The most I ever get is, "Hey, I hear Johnny Depp is going to be in a Dark Shadows movie!"

I don't suppose there would have been a salt and pepper set on the table when Maggie, dressed in Josette's gown, came downstairs to have dinner with Barnabas.

[Gothick]

There's a scene early in PT 1970 where Hoffman has prepared dinner for Mr. and Mrs. Collins in the Drawing Room.  I don't recall salt and pepper shakers on the little tray, but they might have been there.  I would guess that these items might have been acquired originally for use in 1897 but I'm trying to recall when anyone was shown having a meal that involved a proper table setting?

What a wonderful gift.  However, in the build-up, I was expecting something related to Mrs. Isles--perhaps an autographed photo from her?

Best wishes,

G.

[Janet the Wicked]

I got a silver plated finger bowl for Christmas one year. Certificate says it was in Quentin's room.

[Lydia]

How big is the silver plated finger bowl, Janet the Wicked?  I feel very uncultured because I have no clear idea of how big it should be.  Big enough for fingers but not for hands...I'm thinking eight inches in diameter and maybe three or four inches deep, but that just doesn't sound right.

And mscbryk, could you tell us more about the salt and pepper set so we can keep an eye out for it?

[Janet the Wicked]

Five inches in diameter - three inches deep. I'll take a pitcher of it with my celly phone and try to download...upload...or whatever it's called. Give me a chance. I just woke up. Ellis prop company. I've looked at several photos of Quentin in his room, but haven't spotted it. But then, Quentin has a lot of junk in his room, so who can tell?

[Janet the Wicked]

I've attached a picture of the finger bowl. Hopefully this works. I couldn't post the picture. Don't know how. Copy & paste not an option.

[Lydia]

I like it, but I wouldn't have known it was a finger bowl.

[michael c]

gothick,

considering how i've waxed rhapsodic about ms. isles over the years i can see how one could assume that the "best gift ever" might be something more alexandra-centric but i love having a prop actually used on the series.perhaps alexandra handled them at some point.

lydia,

the salt and pepper set is actually somewhat nondescript.despite being labled "victorian" they're rather simple silver shakers.i actually thought that they were pewter at first.they're also marked "made in england" on the bottom.

i'm determined to find them.again i'll say that they're too old fashioned for the diner.i can't recall a formal sit down meal during 1897(although being labled "victorian" i can see how one might make that connection)or in any time period other than the present with the exception of the elaborate silver chafing dish affair hoffman served to quentin and maggie in 1970pt. that gothick mentioned.perhaps i'll look there.

i love them.

[Janet the Wicked]

I like it, but I wouldn't have known it was a finger bowl.

I don't even know what a finger bowl is. But that's what it says on the authenticity papers.

[Nancy]

It's where you put your finger a night before you go to bed.  

[Zahir]

*snerk*

Actually, you put your fingers in the bowl and then wipe them with a towel for cleanliness.  I think they're also used to soften the nails before cutting them.

[Janet the Wicked]

Quentin probably had liquor in his finger bowl.