The iguanas could’ve been chameleons, blending in so well among the other stuff crammed on the auction table, all crying out for my attention. I was taking my time, though, moving stuff around in the…
Month: July 2012
I can imagine Anne Tripp dressed in her best, her husband on her arm, their tickets in his hand as they approached the gate to Shibe Park in North Philadelphia. It was Thanksgiving Day 1945…
Readers ask about Huey Newton poster & signed art
Posted in Art, and Reader questions
Each week, I post questions from readers about items that they own, and guide them in finding out more about the items and determining their value. Here are this week’s questions. This one is in reference…
As we stood in her basement, the woman wanted to show me a photo of her family in an old copy of Ebony magazine underneath some papers. I had seen one Ebony and an early…
When the old TV tunes out
Posted in furniture
I knew it was way past time to buy a new TV set when the picture kept jumping back and forth from black and white to color. I had bought the Mitsubishi more than a…
The auctioneer held two shell casings in his hand – blanks, he said, noting that they were inscribed on the bottom as such. Before us, on the inside right arm of a clean white leather…
A black church’s first female minister
Posted in African American women, and Religion
Rev. Ralinda Golback’s heart was so full of praise that it was palpable. You could almost take it in both your hands and hold it, feel it, hear it, wrap yourself in it. She had…
Each Friday, I answer questions submitted by readers seeking information about items that they own or were given to them. I try to help them identify their items or find out more about their history. I also…
The box full of mallets wasn’t about to let me pass them undisturbed. They were piled high haphazardly, all sizes and all heavily used. I couldn’t imagine whom they had belonged to and how so many had…
Who can tell me what this is, the auctioneer quizzed us auction-goers as we sat staring at the next item up for bid. He was holding a small brass stand with a slanted head that, from where I…