It was beginning to feel like an invasion – the non-threatening kind, though. First, there were the cute pedal cars, a rainbow-colored mass of little engine-less vehicles that crowded rows of tables two months ago at…
Category: Home
I was walking among the furniture and other large tabletop items at the auction house when I came upon a display of oversized machines. There were about a half-dozen wood and iron contraptions – one of them was…
‘Mississippi Washer’ was no relief for black washerwomen
Posted in African American women, Black history, Equipment, Home, and Work
When I saw the wooden barrel in the rear yard of the auction house, I thought it was a planter, just like the ones I had at home, but much bigger and wider. As I…
Vintage sprinklers to unwrinkle your clothes
Posted in bottles, collectibles, Home, and Women
Did you see the sprinklers, my auction buddy Janet asked as I was looking at some item I was not likely going to buy at auction. When she said it, the image that came to my…
1950s TV lamps spark a feeling of awe
Posted in collectibles, Home, Lighting, and TV
Wow, I thought as I saw the two shelves of rather unusual but lovely lamps at the auction house. There were almost a dozen of them – all made of glazed ceramic in the colors…
My auction colleague Sly was incredulous. He had watched as a gilt painted wall sculpture sold for $14,000, and he couldn’t understand why. Maybe it was made by a named artist, I said, trying to calm him.…
Little girl’s dresser set with a sweet little note
Posted in Children, collectibles, Home, Trinket box, and Uncategorized
How cute, I thought when I saw the small porcelain dresser set on a tray inside a glass case at the auction house. There was nothing fancy about it: It was gilt-trimmed like many of…
It’s a table, but what kind of table is it?
Posted in furniture, Guess what it is, and Home
The antique table was beautiful from where I stood, and as I drew closer, it grew even nicer. There’s something about dark wood cut in a pleasing form that checkmates me. It had Louix XV-style…
The icebox was massive – and it was made of wood. I came upon it under a large shed that held box lots, tools, cheap art prints, books and everything else the auction house could…
A birdhouse masquerading as a doll house
Posted in Architecture/Buildings, and Home
The first thing I noticed about the small house was the front screen door. It was crudely made, painted white with real screen. It reminded me of the old basement screen door I’m about to…