“Oh my God,” I heard the woman exclaim loudly. I’m sure she didn’t mean for everyone in the room at the auction house to hear her. But most of us had the same reaction when…
Author: sherry
Remembering Aunt Sarah & her dolls
Posted in Dolls
I met Aunt Sarah some years ago when I lived in Florida, and drove with her niece and my good friend Yvonne to Jacksonville to visit her and Uncle Stafford. Aunt Sarah was a sweet…
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…
Celebrating the royals with collector’s plates
Posted in collectibles, and dishware
Everywhere I turned at the auction house, I saw Queen Elizabeth II’s smiling face on a comemorative plate. It was both jarring and refreshing to see her happy and smiling, especially after observing the stoic-faced image of…
Queen Charlotte – Britain’s first biracial queen
Posted in Black history, history, and Women
I had never heard of Queen Charlotte until after the royal wedding on Saturday. A friend who spent the weekend immersed in all things royal mentioned it. She’d read that a woman with African roots…
Memorial cabinet cards in remembrance of a loved one
Posted in collectibles, Death, and Ephemera/Paper/Documents
I was flipping through some cabinet cards at auction recently when I came across an unusual one. Cabinet cards normally bore a photo of folks dressed in their finest with the name of the studio…
Daily schedule for 1970 TS Bremen Caribbean cruise from NY
Posted in Ephemera/Paper/Documents, and travel
I had never heard of the TS Bremen, but when I saw a schedule for a 1970 cruise to the Caribbean, I quickly picked it up. Cruises are still big business, and I was curious…
Birdhouses created in a child’s hand and manner
Posted in Animals, Architecture/Buildings, Children, and Home
I spotted the shelves of birdhouses from a distance at the auction house. They were arranged neatly in a cabinet near a wall – some of them alike, several reminding me of an abstract painting. I…
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…