1960s

Vintage 1962 Milton Bradley Candy Land game board: 41 ppm Lead. Safe by all modern standards… but…

May 22, 2020June 7, 2024

Vintage Candy Land game board While the total content Lead test results for this vintage Candy Land game board (using high-precision XRF technology) are fairly low (and within the range of what is considered safe by all modern standards even for newly manufactured items intended for use by children), I do have concerns about vintage…

Haviland Chippendale bowl (Germany, c. 1960-70): 4,608 ppm Lead + 529 Arsenic. What style china do you have?

March 17, 2020March 24, 2023

7 Comments

Posted: Tuesday, March 17, 2020 Introduction: Tamara Rubin is an independent advocate for consumer goods safety, and she is also a mother of Lead-poisoned children. She began testing consumer goods for toxicants in 2009 and was the parent-advocate responsible for finding Lead in the popular fidget spinner toys in 2017. She uses high-precision XRF testing (a…

1961 P.D. Eastman’s “Go Dog Go?”: 131 ppm Lead + 11 ppm Arsenic! Are your kid’s books safe? Are they vintage?

January 30, 2020November 22, 2023

2 Comments

For those new to this website: Tamara Rubin is a multiple-federal-award-winning independent advocate for childhood Lead poisoning prevention and consumer goods safety, and a documentary filmmaker. She is also a mother of Lead-poisoned children (two of her sons were acutely Lead-poisoned in 2005). Since 2009, Tamara has been using XRF technology (a scientific method…

Folks have been asking if Lead in vintage books is a real poisoning concern. Here’s my response.

January 30, 2020November 20, 2023

21 Comments

This is an ad-free article. To make a contribution to help us keep our most widely-read articles ad-free, click here. Thank you. For those new to this website: Tamara Rubin is a multiple-federal-award-winning independent advocate for childhood Lead poisoning prevention and consumer goods safety, and a documentary filmmaker. She is also a mother of…

1960 P.D. Eastman’s “Are You My Mother?”: 58 ppm Lead + 971 ppm Antimony! Are your kid’s books safe? Are they vintage?

January 29, 2020January 29, 2020

8 Comments

Introduction (for those new to this website): Tamara Rubin is an independent advocate for consumer goods safety. She is also a mother of Lead-poisoned children. She began testing consumer goods for toxicants in 2009 and was the parent-advocate responsible for finding Lead in the popular fidget spinner toys in 2017. Tamara uses XRF testing (a scientific…

1960 Book Club Edition Dr. Seuss’ “One fish two fish red fish blue fish”: 97 ppm Lead. Are your kid’s books safe?

January 24, 2020November 22, 2023

4 Comments

For those new to this website: Tamara Rubin is a multiple-federal-award-winning independent advocate for childhood Lead poisoning prevention and consumer goods safety and a documentary filmmaker. She is also a mother of Lead-poisoned children (two of her sons were acutely Lead-poisoned in 2005). Since 2009, Tamara has been using XRF technology (a scientific method…

1957-1969 Jewel by Lenox China – Made In USA: 146,700 ppm Lead in the glaze. 90 ppm is unsafe for kids.

November 28, 2019November 28, 2019

2 Comments

When tested with an XRF instrument the dish pictured here had the following readings: 1.) Reading in the white center / food surface of the dish: Lead (Pb): 146,700 +/- 6,600 ppm Zinc (Zn): 5,684 +/- 323 ppm Titanium (Ti): 154 +/- 73 ppm Non-Detect (Negative) for Cadmium, Arsenic, Antimony and Mercury. 2. ) Reading…

c. 1970 Trenkle Alarm Clock (West Germany) – components as high as 22,400 ppm Lead [90 is unsafe for kids.]

November 22, 2019November 22, 2019

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1960s | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 to 1976 | 1969 | 1970 | 1970s | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | Alarm Clock | Clock | Made in West Germany | Travel Clock | Trenkle | Vintage Alarm Clock | West Germany | XRF Testing | XRFTesting

When tested with an XRF instrument this vintage (c. 1965-1975) Trenkle Alarm Clock (made in West Germany) had the following readings (note: only accessible components were tested): 1.) Glass / plastic of clock face: Lead (Pb): Negative / Non-Detect Mercury (Hg): Negative / Non-Detect Cadmium (Cd): 60 +/- 8 ppm Arsenic (As): Negative / Non-Detect…

1960s Sango brand (made in Japan) child’s teacup: 2,323 ppm Lead [90 is unsafe for kids] + 292 ppm Arsenic.

November 22, 2019March 20, 2020

When tested with an XRF instrument this Sango teacup (made in Japan) had the following readings: 1) Test focused on silver banding on handle: Lead (Pb): Negative / Non-Detect Mercury (Hg): Negative / Non-Detect Cadmium (Cd): Negative / Non-Detect Arsenic (As): Negative / Non-Detect Antimony (Sb): Negative / Non-Detect Gold (Au): 755 +/- 64 ppm…

1960s Purple Enamelware Ashtray: 601,600 ppm Lead [more than 60%!] + 11,100 ppm Cadmium [This was my mother’s].

May 23, 2019May 23, 2019

This is just ONE reason that I don’t like enamelware. I have enormous sentimental attachment to this particular piece because it reminds me both of my mother and my childhood. It reminds me of all the craft fairs that we used to go to when I was young (where we would sell my mother’s pottery)…

c. 1967-1976 Royal Doulton Bunnykins Baby Bowl: 61,800 ppm Lead on the FOOD surface (90 is unsafe for kids)

December 7, 2018January 31, 2024

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Published: December 7, 2018 Updated: September 2022 What’s frankly terrifying about this bowl is how much paint has worn off of the decoration on the inside food surface. Take a good look at the image below (you can click on it for a full resolution image). To see more Bunnykins sets I have tested, click HERE….

1966 Hardcover Book, “It’s Wonderful To Be In Love”: 387 ppm Lead

November 4, 2018January 24, 2020

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1966 Book, “It’s Wonderful To Be In Love” by Rosalind Welcher. When tested with an XRF instrument this book had the following readings: Front Cover: Lead (Pb): 387 +/- 21 ppm Arsenic (As): 39 +/- 15 ppm Barium (Ba): 317 +/- 150 Chromium (Cr): 372 +/- 72 ppm Bromine (Br): 6 +/- 3 ppm Zinc…

Vintage (c. 1938-1960) Ceramic Harlequin by Homer Laughlin Co. Fiesta Plate: 287,600 ppm Lead [90 ppm is unsafe].

August 5, 2018August 20, 2019

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This little yellow plate was purchased at an antique store in Oregon in 2018. While there is not a maker’s mark on the back of the dish, the store owner had researched the plate and came up with this description: Vintage Yellow Ceramic Harlequin by Homer Laughlin Co. Fiesta Plate, c. 1938-1960 When tested with an…

#Leaded: 1963 Hardcover Printing of “Volume 14 of The American Heritage New Illustrated History Of The United States; The Roosevelt Era”

June 24, 2018January 24, 2020

2 Comments

Most vintage books have at least some amount of lead. The amount of lead that is considered toxic in a modern item manufactured and intended to be used by children is 90 ppm or higher in the coating (or paint) and 100 ppm (or higher) in the substrate. This 1963 printing of “The Roosevelt Era”…

#Leaded: 1965 Great Detective Stories Hardcover Book

June 24, 2018January 24, 2020

Most vintage books have at least some amount of lead. The amount of lead that is considered toxic in a modern item manufactured and intended to be used by children is 90 ppm or higher in the coating (or paint) and 100 ppm (or higher) in the substrate. This 1965 printing of “Great Detective Stories”…

Vintage “Horizon Blue” Pattern Pyrex Casserole. c. 1969-1972: 72,000 ppm Lead [90 is unsafe for kids’ items.]

April 19, 2018September 2, 2019

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This vintage “Horizon Blue” casserole by Pyrex tested positive for the following elements at the following levels (on the painted exterior design with a one-minute test, using an XRF instrument): Lead (Pb): 72,000 +/- 2,200 ppm Cadmium (Cd): 33 +/- 11 ppm Arsenic (As): ND Mercury (Hg): ND Gold: (Au) 504 +/- 170 ppm…

#LeadSafe: 1969 Hardy Boys Book

March 7, 2018January 24, 2020

1969 Hardy Boys Book. The Secret Of Wildcat Swamp. Hardcover. Book Cover: 27 +/- 8 ppm lead. Interior pages: ND (non-detect) for lead. Tested with an XRF instrument. Personally I avoid letting my children use vintage books, because they almost always test positive for lead (plus we live near Powell’s, one of the largest book…

1966 Peter Pan ’45 of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer: 3,777 ppm Lead

December 28, 2017December 28, 2023

1 Comment

1966 Peter Pan brand Christmas record: Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer Paper sleeve: Lead-free Vinyl record: 3,777 ppm Lead For context, the amount of Lead considered toxic in a newly manufactured item made for and intended to be used by children is 90 ppm Lead in the coating and 100 ppm Lead in the substrate….