Uncovering Our History Through The Relics Left Behind
Posted in Black history, history, and Movies
I finally went to see the “Selma” movie, but I didn’t know what to expect. My friends had indicated that it moved slowly, and in my mind, that meant plodding. So I settled back in…
Posted in Black history, civil rights movement, and history
The big bold headline on the framed yellowed newspaper told me plenty about what the editors of the Baltimore News American considered the most significant on Aug. 5, 1964: “U.S Bombs North Vietnam PT Bases,…
Posted in Art, Books, Broadway plays, history, and Movies
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…
Posted in Dolls, Ephemera/Paper/Documents, Glassware, and history
Every now and then, I stumble upon an item at auction that stumps me. What’s its history, I wonder. How was it used? If the item is a painting or a print, I always want…
Posted in Art, civil rights movement, history, and Photos
No one seemed to want the framed poster of the smiling and jovial Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. The auctioneer’s voice lingered on the call-out for bids, but no hands with numbers…
Posted in Advertising, and history
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…
“Aunt Jemima on the side of a pancake box.” Those were the words we teased each other with as children growing up in Georgia. We were all familiar with the round-faced black woman with the scarf on…
My auction buddy Janet saw it first, the excitement and curiosity in her voice signaling that she had found a treasure. I looked up from viewing the small items on an auction table to see her reading…
Posted in Advertising, and history
The banner reminded me of a burlap bag, just monstrously larger and more pliable. It was hanging against one of those old exposed brick walls with the flaky white paint inside a warehouse where an auction…
Posted in Ephemera/Paper/Documents, and history
The huge family Bible was a testament of one family’s desire to ensure that their history lived beyond their own years. But here it was, abandoned on an auction table with other stuff much less worthy.…
