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The Umbrella

Empyrium

One of the Regulars
Messages
175
Location
Land of the Rising Sun
BJBAmerica said:
Nice!....Always have wanted to get a Brigg or Fox "stick" umbrella, but, at least at present, neither is within my budgetary range.

There is always hope for the future though....LOL!

at least you can have a fox candlestick holder for now lol
F0X_CANDLE_0705.jpg
 

Ada Veen

Practically Family
Messages
923
Location
London
James Smith & Sons

If anyone is interested in Umbrellas the James Smith link you gave above is worth perusing. They have been handcrafting umbrellas for hundreds of years - I was in there yesterday, as I bought a friend an umbrella, and they truly are things of beauty, as is the shop itself:
124485_c0be88a9640.jpg

"Apart from being the leading umbrella company for 170 years and the first name in sticks and canes, the shop on New Oxford Street is a legend in itself. It is a perfect example of Victorian shop front design and has remained virtually unaltered in 140 years. Inside it is a unique experience; most of the fittings were designed and made by a fitter kept in full employment by Mr Smith."
feb07-26.jpg


And take heart if you live over the pond!:
"Much of the business for sticks comes from America where there has always been a shortage of good sticks and canes. One client even asked the company to make him a stick in every English wood possible - he received over 70 sticks in total."

I'd definitely recommend a visit to anyone coming to London.
 

tonyvan

New in Town
Messages
7
Location
Vancouver, BC
I've had a James Smith umbrella for 15 years. It wasn't cheap - 110 pounds at the time, but I still have it.
It's been repaired once (free, by James Smith), and I've just had it re-covered so it'll be good to go for another 15 years.

I bought it for a number of reasons.
1. So it would be the right size.
2. Because it has ten ribs - a small thing, but a 10-rib umbrella is SO much cooler than an 8
3. Because the buying experience was so good
4. Because I could choose any handle (I went for an applewood hook)
5. Because it was so expensive, I know exactly where it is at all times. In the past, I'd lost so many cheap umbrellas simply because I wasn't bothered about them.


As an aside, I was tempted by one of their walking-stick umbrellas, as I had had a motorcycle accident a year or so previous, and needed a stick to walk. However, the logic of the umbrella-stick failed me.
If it's raining, what do you do? Put it up and fall over?
Or do you need to carry one for wlking and one for rain-sheltering...?
 

MB5

One of the Regulars
Messages
205
Location
Oregon
Qwkslvr said:
Here in Cheyenne, the wind blows for three seasons with some incredible gusts. What umbrella would you fine folks recommend to survive windy conditions?

I use an Eddie Bauer vented umbrella. It has only inverted on me once, and that was when I was trying to catch the wind with it to test the venting.
 

Vintage Betty

My Mail is Forwarded Here
Messages
3,300
Location
California, USA
Some day I'll post my small but interesting parasol and umbrella collection. In the meantime, here's a sample of one of my umbrellas. The lining is completely shot and I haven't recovered it yet, so I didn't bother to show it off.

I believe this is a crude Victorian umbrella, but I haven't checked the spokes (?) for verification - I just scanned it quickly to throw it on this thread and stored it again as I thought people might be interested.

Vintage Betty

parasol_horse1.jpg
parasol_horse2.jpg
 

dhermann1

I'll Lock Up
Messages
9,154
Location
Da Bronx, NY, USA
VB: I have a walking stick with a similar handle. It looks like either ivory or bone, and it's split. I'll get pix. My old landlord gave it to me. Very thin and delicate. The shaft screwed into the handle, but the threads are all rusty, and as I said the horse hoof handle itself is split. I'll probably have to wait till the weekend for the pix. BTW, I just received my Fox brelly. I got the cheaper metal shaft with the wood handle. It's very nice, but I'm not sure it's worth ten times as much as my cheapo that looks very similar. The cheapo's handle came loose from the shaft, tho, so maybe it is better.
 

Vintage Betty

My Mail is Forwarded Here
Messages
3,300
Location
California, USA
dhermann1 said:
VB: I have a walking stick with a similar handle. It looks like either ivory or bone, and it's split. I'll get pix. My old landlord gave it to me. Very thin and delicate. The shaft screwed into the handle, but the threads are all rusty, and as I said the horse hoof handle itself is split. I'll probably have to wait till the weekend for the pix. BTW, I just received my Fox brelly. I got the cheaper metal shaft with the wood handle. It's very nice, but I'm not sure it's worth ten times as much as my cheapo that looks very similar. The cheapo's handle came loose from the shaft, tho, so maybe it is better.

My wood is split too, as well as the end of the umbrella. I need to repair the whole thing, but it isn't even close to being on my to do list, nor has it been for years. :whistling

I don't really like the pale wood on this item; I'm tempted to repair, stain and lacquer the whole thing.

When do we get to see pics of your new brelly?

VB
 

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