Addy’s Birthday Collection

   Happy Birthday Addy! In honor of Addy’s birthday, we are going to take a closer look at her Pleasant Company Birthday Collection. Addy was born into slavery and didn’t know the day she was born, Mama remembered it was in the spring. Addy wants to celebrate her 10th birthday and her parents encourage her to choose her own special day. She decides on April 9th after hearing of General Lee’s surrender bringing an end to the Civil War. A special birthday for a special girl! ❤️

Pleasant Company sold the birthday story items individually, in small sets and as a grouped collection. The collection cost $200 in the 1990’s.

Let’s start with the Birthday Pinafore & Snood Outfit. The brown and cream checked pinafore has adorable triangle pockets trimmed in brown rickrack. The cream blouse has double puffed sleeves, rickrack and three tiny brown buttons. The outfit included fancy knit stockings and a snood to hold Addy’s hair back. The snood is trimmed with a cream ribbon and two of Sunny’s feathers.

When I first received Addy’s Lazy Susan Table and Chairs, I was surprised at how tall they were. In the post Addy’s Bedroom, I shared how I originally planned on the table sharing the space with the bed, similar to the setup in Kirsten’s Cabin. Once I saw it in person, I realized that wouldn’t work and it became necessary to create Addy’s Parlor. The table is an authentic reproduction of an 1800s table in a color called buttermilk red. It is about 11” tall if you include the Lazy Susan in the center. The black, wooden ladder-back chairs have woven seats and stand about 14” high.

Addy’s Ironstone Compote Set is simply beautiful. Mrs. Golden, the owner of the boarding house, had ironstone as her dishes. Ironstone was a sturdy type of practical pottery. This set is based off one of the most popular china patterns of the day called “Tea Leaf”. It was elegant yet simple and was done in either copper or gold on ironstone.

The set included two lavender glass tumblers, a copper pitcher and two forks and spoons with a simple flower design on the handle. The three doilies dress up the table nicely. During Addy’s time people used cloth napkins and did not wash them after every meal. Napkin rings would be numbered so that when you finished your meal, you could neatly put your napkin away and know which napkin was yours at the next meal.

In Happy Birthday, Addy!, Poppa finds an old busted ice cream freezer that had been thrown away and repairs it. The family has ice cream as a wonderful treat on Addy’s birthday. This ice cream maker isn’t just an accurate replica, it actually works! A recipe was included. I hope to make a tiny batch in it one day! To see more on the history of ice cream and freezers visit Samantha’s Ice Cream Snowballs.

Addy’s Party Treats included a parade lantern, banner of freedom, glass milk bottle, bunch of flowers, metal pie server and a metal pie plate with removable cherry pie. The pie has two removable pieces that fit into the pie to create a full pie. The newer version of pie slices have the balls of ice cream attached and do not allow the pie to fit together like the Pleasant Company version. This set has the two individual ice cream balls.

M’dear was a wonderful older blind lady that lived in the boarding house. She gave Addy a special gift of a tin box filled with benne candies and a note. Her bird Sunny had a special song for everyone. Sunny sits on a swinging perch inside his metal cage with working door.

I hope you have enjoyed this up-close look at Addy’s Birthday Collection. For more Addy close-ups visit Addy’s Starter Collection. Happy Birthday Addy!