Meet Gertrude

Remember my art show sales? How I wanted to do something to celebrate? I wanted to spend the money (or, at least, a significant portion of it) on something that I would enjoy, and would last (and thus be a lasting reminder of the successful show). I ended up going for two things... both of which were more than I would have otherwise spent, but which I think I'll enjoy for years to come. One was a Golding spindle, which I've drooled over for ages. (The order has been placed, but the spindle hasn't arrived yet. I went for a Seth Golding spindle with an art nouveau design.) The other is Gertrude, a cast iron dog door stop:

I was initially thinking of her as a "he", but when I tried to come up with a name, Gertrude is what stuck. So she's a "she". (No, she is not anatomically correct, so I was free to make up my mind.)

I bought her from a local vintage/antique store, who acquired her from an estate sale of a woman who collected cast iron things back when they weren't worth anything. (I really liked the unicorn plaque which also came from the same estate, but it was large, purely decorative, and *way* more than I could afford.) The shop owner estimates Gertrude is from around the 1920s. Doing some googling, I think she's made by Hubley (there's no marks indicating manufacturer), and is referred to as a Boston or bulldog terrior.

Right now she's guarding my bedroom door, but once I take care of some boxes, she'll be holding my home office door open for me. (It really gets blown around by the wind in the summer, and is higher than the ugly plastic doorstop can really handle.)

If I think of Gertrude as a sculpture that is also useful, rather than a doorstop, her price is more reasonable. But what the hey... it was found money from selling my art. ;)