First, I saw a dark wooden sign with large white letters that told me I was at the right place: The historic site of Dr. James Still, known as the “Black Doctor of the Pines.”…
Category: Medicine
A few unusual and some lovely things
Posted in collectibles, Decorating, Home, and Medicine
One of the things I love about auctions is the adventurous nature of them. You never know what you’ll come across – either staring you in the face or hidden among a motley crew of…
Some of the best buys are in box lots
Posted in Advertising, Auction, collectibles, and Medicine
When my buddy Janet and I started going to auctions years ago, we’d wait around for hours until the last of the box lots were sold. By then, many of the buyers had gone home, overwhelmed with…
Using scantily clad women to sell ointments
Posted in Advertising, Ephemera/Paper/Documents, and Medicine
When I first saw the trade cards, I assumed that the women in deep necklines and sexy poses were selling exactly what they were showing. Usually I ignore such images at auction, leaving them for…
I spied the bronze bust on a top shelf as I approached the stall in the antiques mall, but forgot it as soon as I entered and headed to see what was in the back…
Antique embalming machine that’s unnerving
Posted in collectibles, Death, and Medicine
The machine seemed to have a twin. I had seen a contraption like it two months earlier in another room during a special sale at the auction house. Is it possible that two of these…
As soon as I saw the name on the tin half-buried under other items on the auction table, an image formed in my head: A woman lying prostrate on the floor, her head slightly raised…
Cotton boll is soldier’s 1941 gift from South
Posted in collectibles, and Medicine
Not another wad of handpicked cotton, I thought to myself, cringing at the sight before me as I approached the auction table. It seemed that unprocessed cotton was becoming a staple at auctions, but perhaps…
What torturous chair is this?
Posted in furniture, Health & Medicine, Medicine, and Unusual
The metal chair with the white seat looked like some kind of torture equipment – used either by the prison system to end a mind or some sadistic hospital to control it. I stumbled onto…