What this flag must have seen! It started out as a piece of silk cloth in Philadelphia, painted by David Bustill Bowser with an emblem of a black Union soldier waving goodbye to a white woman…
Category: Civil War
Is it a real Civil War relic?
Posted in Civil War, collectibles, and history
I’m not a collector of war relics, but I’m always curious about history. That’s what drove me to stop and ask an auction-house assistant to take some Civil War relics from a glass case so…
Frank James’ gun, corpse’s belt buckle & gangster’s faucets at sale
Posted in Antiques, Civil War, collectibles, and history
The man was waiting to nab one of three outlaw revolvers used in bank robberies by the Jesse James and Younger gangs in the late 1800s. But the prices that most of the items were…
The dress had seen better days. Literally. From what I could see – I wasn’t about to touch it – it was stained and torn but still gave notice that it was fashionable in its…
Engravings of African Americans from Civil War book
Posted in Black history, Books, Civil War, and history
The engravings of blacks were the first that caught my eye. They were among a group of eight from a book published in the late 19th century by a woman named Mary A. Livermore, a…
The male auction-goer placed his numbered sticker right dab in the center of the fabric case. The sticker’s bright yellow color was a brilliant contrast to the faded and tattered gray lining of what looked to…
Friday at Auction Finds is readers’ questions day. I try to guide readers to resources to help them determine the value of their items. I’m not able to appraise their treasures, but I can do…
I don’t usually stop to check out the costume jewelry at auction, but I had some time to waste while the auctioneer was selling paintings, none of which had enticed me. So I combed through…
On the trail of black history in Boston
Posted in Black history, Civil War, Military, and slavery
We had just arrived at the Visitors Center in Boston Common when the woman behind the counter mentioned the Black Heritage Trail tour starting at 2 p.m. It was about 15 minutes beforehand, and we were…
A shout-out to women on their very own month
Posted in African American women, Art, Black history, Books, Civil War, Cooking, Ephemera/Paper/Documents, and slavery
I was reading an email a few days ago that reminded me that this month was Women’s History Month. Why are people whom society considers marginal given a small piece of the year to spotlight their…