Antique Trunks
JE sent me two very interesting leather covered domed antique trunks, complete with leather straps. This prompted me to write about something everyone seems to have, a steamer trunk. We …
A Big Little Books and Disney
KM sent me a treasure from his mother’s childhood. A tiny little newsprint book, in a somewhat worn condition: Mickey Mouse: The Mail Pilot, Big Little Books #731 (Disney file …
Vintage Couture: It’s Back!
As woman who loves flashy clothes, when EJ emailed me a photo of a 1980s “CD de Christian Dior Robes de Soir” ball gown, with huge shoulder pads and sixteen …
Grace Howell Gentlewoman Painter
Another fabulous piece in MMG’s art collection, signed Grace Howell in the 1930’s, caught my eye. In the first two quarters of the twentieth century, a career female artist member …
Pewter Plates with a Royal Feel
EW sent me two scalloped pewter plates, one with a lion and the other portraying a lizard or dragon. Both are pewter, eighty-five percent or so tin with lead and …
How to Date an Ancestor Portrait
MMG crammed many lives into one glorious one as a tennis pro, interior designer, and antiques dealer, and now wants to downsize. She sent me photos of her collections. One …
Pandemic “Home-Work” Part Two
This COVID experience taught us that no one lives forever, and the importance of certain tasks: insurance, heirship decisions, donations. Situations call us to act from our center, and we …
Scottish Chest Tells a Story
My history with Scotland includes meeting my son’s father there. So when DG sent me an old Scottish chest of drawers, the prospect of fruitful research thrilled me. DG grew …
Pandemic “Home-Work” Part One
Two interrelated crises (one social and one biological) challenges the way we deal with our home environments, and how we tend our home and hearths. The recent loss of my …
1930s Refrigerator Market Boom
In the 1930s, the early years of refrigeration, the refrigerator market boomed. Inventors became busy with new ideas for many types of units for the home. A whole slew of …