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A “JAZZY” SCARECROW

Several years ago I had the opportunity to purchase a California Originals Scarecrow cookie jar. I thought it would be great to display with my Halloween/fall jars. The dealer/friend who sold it to me said, “The jar is mint other than the paint that is peeling on the pumpkins around the base. If you aren’t happy with the condition, just return the jar. Don’t send a check yet; see if you want to keep him,” she said. When the jar arrived he was just as she described him. I was pleased. The price was right and I didn’t think it would be a big deal to have the paint touched up on the pumpkins, so I sent her a check. I got to thinking it would be easier to have the lady who has a ceramic shop in her home do the touch-up work. She lived near me and I wouldn’t have the expense of shipping the jar to a professional restorer.

I called and made an appointment to get the Scarecrow repainted. When I took the jar to the ceramic lady, she told me after looking at the jar, “It would be no trouble to fix the pumpkins and not much money either.” One day she called to tell me that the jar was ready to pick-up. You should have seen my jaw DROP to the floor when I saw the jar! She said, “I thought I would just jazz him up a little, he was so drab with so much brown. If you don’t like the way I have painted the jar, you can just scrub off the paint.” I was nearly speechless, as I looked him over. Most of the jar had been repainted! Finally, I managed to say that I liked the paint job, which was true. She had even sprayed him with glaze, “So he wouldn’t look so dull,” she said. After paying her, I took my “jazzy” scarecrow and went home. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry!

After giving the matter some thought, I decided to look on the bright side. I wouldn’t sell the jar without saying he had been repainted nor would I get out of him what I had paid; but I liked the way she painted the jar. It was skillfully done. I decided that since I didn’t intend to sell him at this point, my lesson could have been worse. I thought it would be better to enjoy the jar and remember the lesson. If my cookie jars are to be preserved for someone else to enjoy in the future, I need to be a better caretaker with my decisions in regards to them.

Education is usually expensive, even sometimes painful. I learned a much-needed lesson. By cutting down on the time and expense of repainting the jar, I sacrificed its authenticity. I took my original condition jar to a skilled artesian, who had no understanding of the value of collectibles and how they can be affected by change of any kind. Had I sent the piece to a restorer who understands collectibles, only the work I requested would have been done. Furthermore, it would have still looked original.

Below on the left are pictures of my “jazzy” scarecrow, front and back; next to them is Barbara Crews’ untouched California Original Scarecrow picture. (The lady really did do a great job!)

Jazzy Scarecrow - Front Jazzy Scarecrow - Back Barbara Crews - California Originals Scarecrow

Should the need arise for me to seek restoration work on a jar, it wouldn’t be much of a decision choosing a restoration expert or the lady down the street! Was I a green collector when this happened? Nope. I am sorry to say, I had been collecting about nine years!

Sandi Phillips

Perhaps the footnote of this piece should be that not all collectors like ANYTHING at all done to a jar; they feel it ruins the authenticity and lowers the value. While others feel that like giving an old barn a new coat of paint, or in this case a cookie jar, it makes it a whole lot nicer to look at. You have to make the decision what is right for you and your collection. Indisputably, should you go to sell a jar that has had restoration work done on it, you should represent it as such.