We all save them – the newspapers and magazines chronicling historical events in the country. Sept. 11, 2001. World War II and other wars. The assassinations of the Kennedys and Dr. King. The first moon walk…
Auction Finds Posts
That cute green flapper dress was speaking to me. It was silk, beaded, with flaps around the bottom that I could imagine easily parting with my every step. And twirling when I turned, the whole dress…
Lewis Carroll’s book “Alice in Wonderland” keeps sneaking up on me. I’ve found two editions of it hiding among books and small items I’ve picked up in box lots at auctions over the past few months. I can understand why…
A bad taste for Nazi memorabilia
Posted in collectibles, history, and Personal items
I don’t get the allure of Nazi memorabilia. Hitler and his SS forces were some of the most vilest people on the face of the earth. So why would anyone want to even touch the…
A blues harp, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee
Posted in Music, and Performers
I had spotted the Hohner harmonica while digging through a box lot of junk in back of an auction house this week. There were about 10 long rows, a field of brown water-soaked boxes (and…
Leo Moss, black doll-maker from the 1900s
Posted in collectibles, and Toys
I was bathed in the black doll culture last weekend. I was shadowing doll-enthusiast Fern Gillespie at the 21st International Black Doll Show and Sale in Philadelphia as she visited and scouted doll-makers for a…
I think a soul has been deposited inside the yellow pitcher I left on my piano when I returned after an auction recently. Why else would it make me feel so good when I pass by it…
A shout-out from a Fuller Brush Woman
Posted in Movies, and Personal items
I heard from a Fuller Brush Woman the other day. She had read my post about the Fuller Brush Man letter opener that I had found among some small items in a box lot at…
My auction buddy Janet and I were standing outside the garage waiting for the auction to start at an estate sale when the two women walked up the driveway. They smiled, said hello, and disappeared…
An art auction that, well, wasn’t
Posted in Art
I dropped by an art auction last weekend sponsored by one of Philadelphia’s oldest African American art galleries. A friend told me about it; it was only about 15 minutes from where I lived, so I…