Most of us have books in our homes. I know that because tons of them keep turning up at auctions. I don’t believe I’ve been to a single auction that hasn’t had a stack of…
Stacked books as furniture pieces
Posted in Books, Decorating, and Home
Tag: auction
A shout-out to women on their very own month
Posted in African American women, Art, Black history, Books, Civil War, Cooking, Ephemera/Paper/Documents, and slavery
I was reading an email a few days ago that reminded me that this month was Women’s History Month. Why are people whom society considers marginal given a small piece of the year to spotlight their…
The pain of selling a relative’s estate
Posted in Death, Family, Home, and Personal items
The woman watched as the auctioneer directed bidders to a burgundy leather recliner on the porch of the man’s home. We were standing in the living room and a few of us glanced toward the…
Doll memories that last forever
Posted in Dolls
The woman’s vision was as vivid as the day she walked into the museum in San Francisco and happened upon the room: “In the museum one of the rooms had a display of an antique…
Jumping for joy with Duke Ellington
Posted in Ephemera/Paper/Documents, and Music
I was perusing the catalog at Swann Auction Galleries recently when I came across a photo of Duke Ellington and his band, all handsome and stylishly dressed in heavy overcoats on what was apparently a cold…
Spike Lee, a railroad & other nuggets of black history
Posted in Black history, and Ephemera/Paper/Documents
I was looking through the catalog at the African American manuscript auction when Spike Lee came through the door. There were so many goodies wrapped up in so much history that I had kept my…
“Ain’t I A Woman?” I always think of that Sojourner Truth plea every time I see Royal Doulton female figurines at auction. They are so lovely in their bone-china skin, beautifully painted gowns and their elegant…
Coolin’ it with the Blues Brothers
Posted in Movies
It’s been 30 years since John Belushi was found dead from a drug overdose at a hotel on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles. Belushi was one of those crazily natural comedians – whether playing…
I got my first credit card when I was in graduate school in the 1970s. I was a student at Ohio State University on a fellowship and had enough money to warrant a card. It…