African wooden masks and carvings seemed to be cropping up more often at the auctions I attend. I wondered if people were shedding their links to the motherland and re-decorating, or families were discarding leftovers…
Month: April 2012
Lovely GE Monitor Top refrigerator
Posted in collectibles, and Kitchen
The refrigerator sat by the door, just inside the auction house. It seemed to be as pearly white as the day it was bought for $176.40 from Philadelphia Electric Co. On top was a round…
I was recently browsing the furniture space at an auction house, something I do pretty often because I usually spot such lovely antique pieces. I don’t buy, I just admire. I’m amazed at the awesome furnishings…
Checking your weight for a penny
Posted in collectibles, and Health & Medicine
I was enjoying my healthy lunch at Philadelphia’s Reading Terminal Market recently when I looked up at the back side of a scale. “Stop,” it hollered in bold red letters. “Have you weighed yourself lately?” I hadn’t,…
Remnants of slavery – auction ads & neck shackles
Posted in Black history, Ephemera/Paper/Documents, and slavery
I was flipping through a decade-old black history newsletter recently when I came across an article illustrated with two 19th-century ads announcing slave auctions. The headlines slapped me across the face because they were so jarring:…
“Is that a numbers book?” the woman asked, smiling, knowing the answer but asking the question anyway. On her face, you could see the memories. It was same look I had seen on countless others…
Topsy Turvy black and white doll
Posted in Dolls
The auctioneer had a hard time getting someone – anyone – to bid on the Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls. Several people had already bought what they considered the best of the dolls: Barbie and friends…
Store-bought weaves for a pittance
Posted in African American women, and Hair
As I approached the auction table, my first thought was that some women would kill for this. That’s an exaggeration, but the unopened packages of dark hair weaves, buns and extensions were the stuff of…
Nostalgic for roller coaster & ferris wheel rides
Posted in collectibles, and Toys
Which do you prefer? A fast and daring ride on a roller coaster or a serene swing on a ferris wheel? I’ve always chosen the roller coaster because life should be exciting, adventurous, challenging, and…