I was sifting through the leftovers in a box lot from auction, not seeing anything of interest or value when I spotted an aluminum horseshoe-shaped keychain with a penny in the center. Then I spotted…
Category: Personal items
Fancy little match safes to keep you from catching on fire
Posted in Advertising, collectibles, Personal items, and Tins
The first time I came across a match safe at auction, I wasn’t sure what it was. It was about the size of my palm, a little bigger than a pill box, and simple. Likely,…
Inkwells recall a different era of keeping in touch
Posted in collectibles, Ephemera/Paper/Documents, and Personal items
The emerald green inkwell caught the eye of my auction buddy Janet. She had intended to bid on it, but she was in another room waiting for a sweet little antique Underwood typewriter to come…
‘Colored and scented’ wedding rice in a can
Posted in collectibles, Culture, and Personal items
The cardboard can was almost hidden among the other small vintage items on the table. I didn’t notice it while I was eyeing the handheld grater and other kitchen gadgets. When I ventured to the other…
Elvis & Lone Ranger on TV-shaped lapel pins
Posted in Advertising, Personal items, and TV
I’d seen cereal-box premiums that were the rage during the early years of TV advertising. These were aimed at children, enticing and coaxing them to get their mothers to buy cereal so the kid could…
Niagara Falls novelty moccasins you could send through mail
Posted in Ephemera/Paper/Documents, history, and Personal items
The tiny moccasins were both cute and crude, but I was drawn to them by the bright yellow tag hanging off them. The moccasins had been mailed unwrapped to a woman in Delaware, and I found…
A counter jar full of colorful cigar bands
Posted in Art, collectibles, and Personal items
The big glass jar was chock full of colorful cigar bands, all looking as if they’d just been delicately removed from too many cigars. Individually, they were about size of a man’s swollen ring finger. I…
A lovely doll steamer trunk with a Victorian feel
Posted in Children, Ephemera/Paper/Documents, Personal items, and travel
When I first saw the small trunk sitting atop a glass case, I thought “treasure chest.” It was black all over with stained wooden planks and tiny round nail heads both decorating and holding the…
Dainty hankies are reminiscent of a different woman
Posted in Clothing, collectibles, and Personal items
My Big Mama Annie Lee never went to church without white gloves and a white handkerchief. I especially remember her gloves folded over her left hand and on her right arm, the pocketbook where she kept her handkerchief. In…