Lovely Lady’s Inkwell
Before my friend V moved to Casa Dorinda she sent me a picture of an inkwell that’s been in her family since 1896. She wondered about it for years, and …
Fabulous Noble Person’s Trunk
By the coat of arms in double cartouches I know the gent who owned this trunk in the 17th century came from Lyon. The triple fleur de lis and the …
Clay Artists Sewer Connection
C sent me this wonderful figure of a ram. She asked what it is, what they used it for, and who made it. It looks primitive, made of clay, glazed …
Grieving, Loss, and Personal Possessions
How in the world do you downsize while grieving? This is a subject dear to my heart, because when in a grief situation, I wanted to DO something. I wanted …
Return to Real or Fake Galle
Since I wrote an article about “Real or Fake Galle” glass in 2018, I’ve received questions from all over the world. After a reader from Santa Barbara sent me an …
Vintage Maritime Lamp Mystery
I stopped at the Art of Consignment on Gutierrez in Santa Barbara this Sunday, and saw something I’d never seen before. A wood box contained something that looked old and …
Back-In-The-Day Bottle Box
My partner John, a bicycling enthusiast, brings me things he finds in people’s free piles. There’s always the “free stash” these days, as folks grow tired of their spaces. This …
Do You Own An Original Painting?
In Winter of 2020 LS wrote me that he purchased a nineteen by fifteen-and-a-half inch painting. A note on the back said, “Attributed to Kyffin Williams 1918-2006, British.” LS found …
Artists and Their Dachshunds
Lump, Archie, Amos, Bear, Stanley and Boodgie, not to mention Pouce, are/were all dachshunds owned by artists. I believe artists become attracted to the fierce independence of these little dogs, …
Suzuki Illustrates Zen
JS picked up this great book in a flea market: Suzuki’s Zen and Japanese Culture. This classic has gone through hundreds of printings in hundreds of languages. I found it …