Uncovering Our History Through The Relics Left Behind
Posted in Black history, Books, Ephemera/Paper/Documents, and slavery
I was checking out the upcoming sale at one of my favorite auction houses when I came across a novel by a female slave. I was familiar with William Wells Brown’s novel “Clotel,” but one…
Posted in Books, collectibles, and Comic books
I keep bumping into intriguing comic books at my favorite auction houses. Some seem to force themselves into my path, while others wait for me to stumble across them while I’m plying through papers and other…
I didn’t notice the letter to Thomas Jefferson lying there in the glass case at the auction house next to a document that I had to touch, to see. Jefferson’s letter wasn’t a piece of ephemera that had grabbed…
Posted in Art, Black history, and Carvings
I dragged my sister to an antiques mall just south of my family’s home in Macon, GA, over the holidays to see what was there. I’m always curious about how or whether antiques are different…
Posted in Christmas
A couple weeks ago I was reading my local newspaper when I saw a story about Christkindlmarkt, an indoor market with craftspeople, food and music in Bethlehem, PA. It sounded like fun, so I decided to go.…
The shoes were lined up neatly on the auction table, atop their original boxes, about 25 pairs of them. I had seen women shoes at auction before but never such a large number of men’s.…
The man was an island of calmness standing there behind a display of three chalk-like Santas positioned on top of a vintage sled. You could almost miss him amid the bustle of Christmas shoppers at Christkindlmarkt Bethlehem,…
Posted in Home
When the notice of the upcoming real estate sales came in the mail, I looked for houses that were selling contents. Seeing none, I tossed the notice on my desk and ignored it. It had…
I immediately made my way to the glass counter to look for the letter. I wanted to see this document written in the hand of a black Union soldier to his wife in May 1864.…
