Recent Acquisitions: Teakettle, Chalkboard, Salt & Pepper Mills

My collection has mostly grown organically, picking up a piece here and there as I came across them and at an affordable price. Recently, however, it feels like finding Merry Mushrooms in person at antique malls, resale and thrift stores, and rummage and estate sales is becoming more rare - even for the ubiquitous cookie jar and embossed canister. So I've turned to scouring online to find some of the more elusive fungi. But as interest grows, so do the prices. Now, not only do I challenge myself to find a piece I don't have, it must also be at a good price.

Of the five different teakettles (not whistling), this tea kettle can be considered a transitional piece. Offered from 1976 to 1977, it's the last 2-quart kettle offered, but has the curved spout of the 1978-1982 kettles. It also has a black plastic knob and handle, which will return to wood in the following years. Seeing this kettle in person also confirms that color is yellow. The other colors are gold and almond, which are super hard to distinguish from the catalogs and online photos.

Next is the Bulletin Board/Chalkboard. The dimensions from the 1980s catalogs are accurate but it was still surprising how much bigger I expected it to be, maybe standard corkboard size. While examining it, I discovered that the Merry Mushrooms insert is hard white plastic with a decal that's glued onto the frame.

Last is the Salt and Pepper Mill Set, briefly offered from 1979 to 1981. What I thought was white ceramic, or perhaps hard plastic, in the middle is really wood painted white with a decal of the Merry Mushrooms design. Interesting!