Description: An extra large jumbo round base 6 1/2" diameter x 4 1/2" high Oshiro Co., Pasadena CA cage style flower arranging metal frog. It weighs over 2 1/2 pounds! Marked Patent No. 2,057,537. "To Prevent Slipping Lay Piece of Paper Underneath" in raised lettering on base. Overpainted green on silver colored metal (galvanized?) A photo of J. Oshiro's (aka Zentei Oshiro) patent drawing application is shown, dated January 2, 1933 for a "Flower Holder". I will include a photocopy of this patent. This patent was taken out by J. Oshiro who built Raymond Florist in Pasadena, California in 1933. This humble Flower Holder is a piece of Japanese-American history and the role California "Japantowns" or "Nihonmachis" played in our diverse past. SIDE NOTE: Pasadena’s Japantown, of which Mr. Oshiro was a part of, concentrated in the Central Business District and South Raymond-Fair Oaks Avenue industrial-commercial district, was established in the early 1900’s. Moving from agricultural work throughout California, Japantown communities began to develop in urban centers. While some Japanese immigrants became more conversant in English, they often branched into related businesses, such as wholesale and retail produce, grocery stores, nurseries, and gardening. Why do they call it a flower frog? What's interesting is that none of the patents around flower frogs actually call them that - they call them flower holders or flower arrangers. While no one really knows why they're called frogs, the best guess is that it's because they live in water, like a frog. The etymology of the term "frog" has proved more difficult to research than the actual items themselves. The term "frog" as it relates to a holder for flower stems does appear in 1968 in the Random House Dictionary of the English Language, but it is not listed in the Oxford and Chamber's etymological dictionaries. How it came into general use remains a mystery. Over the years flower frogs have been referred to by many different names; such as, flower blocks, flower bricks, flower holders, and floral arrangers. Flower frogs are made of lead, pottery, glass, and bronze, and were designed to live in the water at the bottom of a bowl to keep the trickiest flower arrangements firmly in place. The openings, into which stems of flowers are inserted and secured, are the raison d'être of every frog—an object with a surprisingly long history. The oldest U.S. patent dates to 1875. The earliest known examples of flower frogs date back to the 14th century and were used in the Japanese art of flower arrangement known as ikebana. This technique required the strategic placement of only a few perfect blooms, so a holder was necessary to keep the stems in place. Early forms were fashioned from iron. Later, shapes ranged from crabs and turtles to decorative openwork designs and pincushions (or kenzan, which translates to "needle mountains" in Japanese). The frog itself was often part of the look—clearly visible in the shallow water at the bottom of the requisite low, flat bowl. How you use flower frogs in arrangements depends on the type you have, but the process is straightforward: Simply add them to the bottom of a bowl or vase and stick stems onto the pins or into the holes.
Price: 100 USD
Location: Claremont, California
End Time: 2024-11-15T11:17:36.000Z
Shipping Cost: 0 USD
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Item Specifics
Return shipping will be paid by: Buyer
All returns accepted: Returns Accepted
Item must be returned within: 14 Days
Refund will be given as: Money Back
Brand: Oshiro Co., Pasadena, CA
Type: Flower Frog
Model: Patent 2,057,537
Material: Metal
Country/Region of Manufacture: United States
