When I first looked at the black and white photo, I noticed the grim-faced African American man with folded arms and averted eyes standing with two other men near a parade float. The three were stationed like…
Category: Ephemera/Paper/Documents
The letters were each neatly tri-folded in a shoebox, and I could tell that they had been typed because the heavy imprint of the keys was clear through the paper. I was not sure how long…
I often get emails from readers who are overjoyed at stumbling onto a blog post that awakens a pleasant memory. That was the case for two emails I got recently. They pertained to whimsical creations…
“Transportation Of Dead Bodies.” The words snapped me to attention as I edged around the auction table to take a closer look at the box lot of papers. Someone had placed the official-looking document flat and neat inside a…
Readers ask about Harlem Magicians program & dummy doll
Posted in Dolls, Ephemera/Paper/Documents, Performers, and Sports
Fridays at Auction Finds is readers’ questions day. I try to guide readers to resources to help them determine the value of their items. I’m not able to appraise their treasures, but I can do…
First look at copy of Negro Motorist Green Book
Posted in Books, Ephemera/Paper/Documents, and travel
The book looked much smaller than I had imagined. I guess I was expecting something with more volume and heft, given its enormous importance in the lives of African American travelers during the 1930s-1960s. The…
Woman tries to reclaim her home in 1930s Jim Crow South
Posted in Black history, and Ephemera/Paper/Documents
“I am a poor Colored Woman trying to have a home for living in my old age My husband and I have put all our life earnings in this place and now it is taken…
American Red Cross Clubs for blacks in WWII Paris
Posted in Black history, Ephemera/Paper/Documents, history, and Military
The map with the red cross was innocent enough. Anyone seeing the symbol would automatically know that it represented the American Red Cross before seeing the name across the top. I didn’t think much about…
Reader asks about Ebony greeting cards for Black History Month
Posted in Black history, Ephemera/Paper/Documents, and history
Friday at Auction Finds is readers’ questions day. I try to guide readers to resources to help them determine the value of their items. I’m not able to appraise their treasures, but I can do…
Readers seek hat stretcher & Prohibition medical prescription
Posted in Clothing, collectibles, Ephemera/Paper/Documents, and Personal items
Friday at Auction Finds is readers’ questions day. I try to guide readers to resources to help them determine the value of their items. Sometimes I get inquiries from readers who want to buy items I…