About a year ago, I wrote a blog post about a sculpture that was displayed at the 1939 New York World’s Fair by artist James House Jr. A reader recently wrote me about two pieces…
Month: September 2012
Mystery needle case with a family history
Posted in Mystery Finds, and Sewing
I knew what the barrel-shaped box was when I saw it among some items in a box lot I had just brought home. It was smeared with dust, and the particles had settled into what…
Bert Williams in black face on sheet music
Posted in Black history, Broadway plays, Ephemera/Paper/Documents, Music, and Performers
I could tell there was another clear frame behind the one with a sheet-music cover of a black woman in orange kerchief lovingly holding a white child in night clothes. I wasn’t sure who was…
Hair perm machine leads to black female inventor
Posted in African American women, Beauty Products, and Hair
The monstrous machine with the painfully looking tentacles was the first thing that captured my eye when I entered the auction house. It looked like a lamp with a round dirty globe, but I wasn’t…
By Kristin E. Holmes On any vacation road trip, you expect your fair share of restaurant potholes, but on a recent 10-day drive through New England, the food was pretty delish. It helped that longtime…
The Martha’s Vineyard of artist Lois Mailou Jones
Posted in Art, Black history, Culture, and travel
We weren’t sure where we were going. My travel buddy’s smart phone was offering directions by car, not on foot. But Oaks Bluff was a walkable little town, and I was determined to find the…
Brimfield – African American tintypes and a lot more
Posted in African American women, Books, collectibles, Photos, Tins, and travel
I listened as the owner of the booth told a customer about his radio show and how he could guess a caller’s collectible or antique item without seeing it. I found the notion unbelievable, and…
Portland, ME – a city full of surprises
Posted in Art, Black history, Culture, and travel
I was a bit giddy on this crisp Sunday morning, the air more fall than summer, as my travel buddy and I walked down a hill toward a restaurant on our first day in Portland, ME.…
A garage-turned-collectibles shop in Maine
Posted in Art, collectibles, Figurines, and Halloween
We had taken a wrong turn out of Kennebunkport after watching black-clothed surfers riding and flipping on small tidal waves. They looked liked tiny seals against miles and miles of the ocean blue Atlantic behind…
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…