Get ready to experience our first Mercantile Monthly Mash-Up! “Victorian Valentines meet The Wild Wild West.” Join us Feb. 1-4, Thursday – Saturday 10AM – 6 PM and Sunday 10AM – 5 PM.  

Rare original Victorian Valentines

On the first weekend of every month we’ll have a new mash-up theme. Always fun! Always surprising! Always filled with finely curated items!  Here’s a few preview pics. Enjoy the photos, then come on in and lasso some treasures!  



See you soon at the Mash-Up!

Carol Fenn 1-2018

With a beauty that comes when form follows function, industrial lighting from the 19th and early to mid 20th century has come into its own.

Antique and vintage task lamps

Some prime examples

Vintage heat lamps can be converted

From factory floors, medical and dental offices, mines, etc., this form of lighting can add a very unique look to your home or office decor.

Some very interesting industrial-looking lighting can also be gleaned from the DIY (do it yourself) world. Clever people are making lamps out of chicken feeders, old strainers, bird cages, etc. It can be a great look and it’s always fun to reduce, reuse, recycle.

When you see photos of where they were originally used, some of the old medical lighting might be the stuff that nightmares are made of … LOL … but they’re just old lamps and they have SUCH a great look!

Surgical and dental lamps

Some of the most interesting industrial lighting pieces are “explosion proof” fixtures. Rugged 20th century models, developed for use in hazardous industries like coal mining or petrochemicals, they typically feature housings of caged wire.

Our August, 2018 mashup “The Industrial Age Goes To School” will showcase a lot of industrial pieces. Come on in to The Midtown Mercantile Antique Mall, 4443 E. Speedway, Tucson, AZ, and find that special piece to light your way!

Carol Fenn 7-2018

While America was in the midst of the Civil War, Sarah Josepha Hale, a 74-year-old magazine editor, wrote a letter to Lincoln on September 28, 1863, urging him to have the “day of our annual Thanksgiving made a National and fixed Union Festival.” She explained, “It now needs National recognition and authoritative fixation.”

Vintage Thanksgiving postcard

Prior to this, each state scheduled its own Thanksgiving holiday at different times, mainly in New England and other Northern states. President Lincoln responded to Mrs. Hale’s request immediately, unlike several of his predecessors, who ignored her petitions altogether. In her letter to Lincoln she mentioned that she had been advocating a national thanksgiving date for 15 years as the editor of Godey’s Lady’s Book.

Vintage Thanksgiving postcard

George Washington was the first president to proclaim a day of thanksgiving, issuing his request on October 3, 1789, exactly 74 years before Lincoln’s.

The document below sets apart the last Thursday of November “as a day of Thanksgiving. This document was written by Secretary of State William Seward. A year later the manuscript was sold to benefit Union troops
Washington, D.C.
October 3, 1863
By the President of the United States of America.
A Proclamation.
The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequalled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed.
Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the United States the Eighty-eighth.
By the President: Abraham Lincoln
William H. Seward,

Secretary of State

************

So thank you Sarah Josepha Hale. Without your persistence we may not all be enjoying a thankful gathering this coming Thursday!

Carol Fenn, 11-2018

First making its appearance in the 1930s, Hollywood Regency is marked by over the top glam. It was inspired by Hollywood’s Golden Era, as actors and actresses seized the opportunity to make their homes reflections of their fashionable lifestyles. Similar to Art Deco, Hollywood Regency is a much more eclectic style. It was used by interior designers who strove to create theatrical environments. The style was refined by interior designers like Dorothy Draper and William Haines. 

There’s never a dull moment with Hollywood Regency. Bold colors take over while simultaneously maintaining a sense of balance. In other words, color, but only one or two choices. Some color favorites include turquoise, yellow and orange. And don’t forget the base of black and white or gray. Metallic accents and mirrored furniture add to the fun. Hollywood Regency is also characterized by an element of fantasy, through things like palm fronds, Italian pottery, bamboo, animal prints and big bold figurines.  

The delicate designs of Chinoiserie can add to the exotic atmosphere. Commonly used Chinoiserie elements included scenic screens and pagoda-style mirrors, chandeliers, cocktail bars, chests, etc. 

Sputnik chandeliers are more commonly associated with Mid-Century Modern, but these so-called “permanent fireworks” were also used to make a glamorous statement in Hollywood Regency interiors. 

Come into Midtown for our own take on Hollywood Regency mixed with Halloween decor – “Hollywood Regency vs. The Monster Mash” – starts on August 29, 2019.

Carol Fenn, 8-23-2019

Did you know that by buying antiques and vintage items at Midtown Mercantile (4443 E Speedway, Tucson AZ) you can help support two local animal rescue organizations?  

Hope Animal Shelter maintains their booth on our main floor.  Since 2006, HOPE Animal Shelter has provided a no-kill, cage-free haven for abandoned dogs and cats while they await adoption. It offers a clean, loving environment that allows socialization and a smoother transition into a permanent home. HOPE ensures that their animals are well cared for both emotionally and physically during this trying time in their lives.

Some of the offerings in Hope Animal Shelter’s booth on the main floor

Dogs and cats at Hope

In the southeast corner of our north warehouse you’ll find TUCSON CARES booth filled with charming items from Kismet, the volunteer run vintage wares outlet for Tucson CARES. Tucson Cares (Companion Animal Rescue, Education and Support) is a grass-roots, 100% volunteer-driven animal welfare 501(c)3 that goes beyond rescue and adoption into other elements of the no-kill model, of which they are passionate advocates. They are whole-heartedly dedicated to ‘saving the savable’ and ‘treating the treatable’ animals of Pima County.

Cuteness resides in the Tucson Cares (Kismet) booth

We appreciate your help

So come on in. Buy some treasures for your home. And help save and bring comfort to Tucson’s needy cats and dogs.

Carol Fenn 10-2018

Tucson Modernism Week is upon us! Here at Midtown the annual Gala will be on Friday, October 11 from 5 to 8 PM. The ten-day modernism market being hosted by Midtown Mercantile merchants goes on from Oct. 4 – Oct. 13. Midtown is a designated affiliate of the Tucson historical preservation foundation. The market will feature Mid Century Modern vendors from around the country offering a curated selection of fine vintage MCM furniture and decor. 

Of course, we believe that the 10 day Modernism Market is the highlight of Tucson Modernism Week, but there are a lot of other modernist things going on all over Tucson. Lectures, tours, etc.  The 2018 home tour was wonderful. Here are some photos. Enjoy the modernism!

See you at the market!

Carol Fenn 10-2019

The 4th of July! Barbecues. Fireworks! Colorful flags flying everywhere. And in the midst of all of this revelry it might be fun to go back in time and look at some of the ways this American holiday has been celebrated in the past. We love the past here at The Mercantile. After all, we are an antique mall! We love all this old stuff!

Postcards, black and white photos of movie stars, (is that Marilyn Monroe?), cast iron banks, etc. all very collectible and fun to revisit. And check out those 4th of July costumes! Fun and festive!

Happy 4th from The Midtown Mercantile Antique Mall!  Enjoy these photos and enjoy your holiday. And don’t forget the apple pie!

Carol Fenn 7-2018

Father’s Day is coming up. You have a few more days to find a special gift for your special dad! Come on in to The Midtown Mercantile Mall where we can fulfill Dad’s dreams!  

It’s Father’s Day from morning ’til night!

I thought this would be a fun time to share some mid twentieth century Father’s Day advertising and a few great old Father’s Day cards. It’s so much fun to go back and revisit these images.

Dogs love dad too!

Some might be quite questionable though. After all this was a time when folks were being told, through advertising, that smoking cigarettes was actually good for you! Yes, it’s true!

Yep, this is a real ad!

Anyway, enjoy these ads. Enjoy the cards. And we’ll see you at the mall. Heck, bring Dad in with you! It’s nice and cool in here … he’ll like it!

Carol Fenn 6-2018