Heurtoir...it was knocking!!

It was a plan, early on.  My obsession for door knockers had to be fulfilled...one last time!  We were in the perfect location...Provence.  It was Sunday, the largest antique day in the village of I'lsle sur la Sorgue.  But, it was raining.  Fear not...nothing will stop us.

We left early that morning, because as any of you know who have ever been to any kind of a market in a French town, parking is minimal.  You really have to plan ahead.

We were early enough to peruse the setting up of the individual tents and tables.  Early enough to enjoy a cup of coffee sitting near the church as the fruit, bread and cheese vendors were setting up.  That gave us time to decide which loaf of bread we wanted for the day.  Actually, we chose a loaf with Kalamata olives this day.

"Heurtoir" is what I was looking forward.  I had learned the French word and had a photo of what I wanted.  It saved time because I had a lot of looking to do.

Let me just say, that I was lucky enough to find 3 of them; I already have one at home.  They need a little loving care, but I am looking forward to finding them a new home.  As to how to display them, that is still a work in progress, but I am getting closer.  Thank you Trout, for letting me fulfill a crazy desire to obsess these old hands.

The search is over for now!

We are back in the states after an interesting trip. One of my greatest thrills was finding the door knocker I was looking for. It is not exactly what I wanted, but the price was right and I am liking it more and more.

We were driving through a little town in France, St. Jean d'Heurs, when we saw lots of crowds gathering. We knew right away it was an outdoor flea market. We parked the car and decided to take a chance. After a long walk, we arrived at tables set up selling everything from old shoes to fine crystal and furniture. Believe me, for a moment I forgot that I was flying home and could not possibly take all I wanted with me.

We had just decided to give up looking when we took one more turn and there they were, two of these door knockers. One was very, very old, very heavy and corroded with black and slightly damaged. It had a big price tag of 160 euros. Next to it lay this delicate hand. It was certainly not as old, but I thought it was lovely. The price was 35 euros and we bought it for 28.

We kept looking everywhere we went, but did not find anymore. I decided I will not stop looking. This just might be the start of a collection. I have plans to mount it on a piece of wood to hang in our home.

We hand carried it home and it caused security at the airport to open our luggage twice to see what we were carrying. I suppose on x-ray, it looked like a hand grenade. One security agent actually admired it.

As the volcano in Iceland is starting to erupt again, I am glad we are back in the states. I have many stories and so many pictures. I will need to get organized and put our adventures into type.

And some more knockers!

I have had several emails from friends saying they have found one of my knockers at eBay or online. I even received websites of restorative door knockers and all have been great. Actually, there was a perfect hand knocker on eBay that was extremely reasonable. But as one blogger friend said, the search is as much fun as the find. So, I am waiting until I get to France, specifically, Alsace Lorraine area, where I know I saw many back in 1981. Something about the authenticity of finding one in France is very exciting.

The collage above is framed and sits on our buffet in the dining area. It is composed of our photos and is very special. At first, I felt rather shy about photographing doors, but the more photos I took, the braver I got.

I am looking for one of these

I have mentioned before that I have a real desire to find an old Victorian style door knocker. When we were in New England this past spring, I missed getting one by one day. They had just sold the only one they had. So, the quest goes on.

This one pictured was photographed in France several years ago. At that time, I just admired them. Now, that I am not in France, I need one badly. Hopefully that situation can be satisfied this year when we travel to France. It has to be a lady's hand and very unique. Sometimes you find them holding an apple. Most often the hand has a ring. I have searched antique websites without luck.

What am I going to do with this heavy piece of metal? First of all, I hope it will not weigh too much for the suitcase. Second, I want to make a shadow box to display this 'knocker'. I am not a collector because I don't like a lot of "things' sitting around. I have inherited quite a few Hummels, but have only purchased one myself. Wish me luck on my quest to find the perfect knocker!!