I had my eye out for mile marker 116.7 as we drove along the Pennsylvania Turnpike headed west last week. At that point, I would be in the vicinity of Negro Mountain Tunnel, though I…
Month: June 2010
Nude woman nutcracker – amusing or not?
Posted in Carvings, and collectibles
“Did you see the woman nutcracker?” my auction buddy Janet asked. I had gone through the tables at one of my favorite auction houses and had overlooked it. So I followed Janet to a table…
A story has been circulating over the last few days about a photo of two “slave” boys, one supposedly named John, found during an estate sale in North Carolina. The buyer was the collector Keya Morgan, whom…
For some time, I had been searching for garden chairs for my backyard. I had three aluminum ones with yellow and brown plastic strips that I had dragged around as I moved from city to city. Now, it was…
Licking and gluing S&H Green Stamps
Posted in Ephemera/Paper/Documents, and Home
I came across some books of S&H Green Stamps recently while combing through a box lot from an auction. They were inside an old Eckerd’s drugstore paper bag, the word “Stamps” neatly written across the…
We all save them – the newspapers and magazines chronicling historical events in the country. Sept. 11, 2001. World War II and other wars. The assassinations of the Kennedys and Dr. King. The first moon walk…
That cute green flapper dress was speaking to me. It was silk, beaded, with flaps around the bottom that I could imagine easily parting with my every step. And twirling when I turned, the whole dress…
Lewis Carroll’s book “Alice in Wonderland” keeps sneaking up on me. I’ve found two editions of it hiding among books and small items I’ve picked up in box lots at auctions over the past few months. I can understand why…
A bad taste for Nazi memorabilia
Posted in collectibles, history, and Personal items
I don’t get the allure of Nazi memorabilia. Hitler and his SS forces were some of the most vilest people on the face of the earth. So why would anyone want to even touch the…
A blues harp, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee
Posted in Music, and Performers
I had spotted the Hohner harmonica while digging through a box lot of junk in back of an auction house this week. There were about 10 long rows, a field of brown water-soaked boxes (and…