I keep a scrapbook, but I didn’t always. I started to tape unimportant scraps of papers and receipts and tickets to things into a plain ol’ inglorious composition notebook about two years ago, when I suddenly realized that time was flying by and I had almost nothing to show for it. Heck, I barely even remembered anything happening for at least a year, and this from a guy who’s never touched a memory-damaging substance - so I decided to chronicle the proof. You know, just to have something to refer to when someone eventually asks me, “Where were you on the night of…?” I like to avoid unjust incrimination whenever possible. Also, just incrimination.

During my cleaning frenzy, I’ve come across a few artifacts that are supposed to have an amazing sentimentality for me, but only serve to conjure discomfort and a little bit of bile. For example, a cheap memorial glass from my senior prom.

As far as proms go, my school dropped the ball. It was a heavy ball, and it landed on the toes of every senior, which were broken and eventually turned gangrenous and had to be removed by the school nurse, who was equipped with only a hammer and a butter knife. This is my recollection of my high school, which sagely put the potentially toxic art and chemistry classrooms in windowless, airless cells at the center of the building. When an alarmingly large percentage of the teaching staff were found to have brain tumors, no one acted that surprised.

So, I have this glass, inscribed with the date of the prom and a cute little picture. The venue was grungy, and food was sub-par, it was expensive, and we had an unbearably bad DJ instead of a live band. The girl I attended prom with and I went to college together before she ran away to France, but not before having her own romantic adventures moments after we broke up, and calling me up at my friends’ dorm rooms while I played GoldenEye, pestering me to ‘come home’. These are not warm memories, but the prom cup remains on my desk. This is for two reasons.

First of all, it provides an excellent perch for my Madman action figure. And second, I feel obligated to keep it, for the same reason I’m obligated to carry around prayer cards from the funerals of dead relatives and bits of evidence from car accidents. These are negative mementos, so why do we keep them?

The best that I can come up with is that they’re important things, even if they don’t make us feel great. We are, if nothing else, the sum of all of these things. I still keep a large, wooden box of gifts and cute little things that my last girlfriend and I exchanged and I can’t yet see parting with. Years later, after we refused to talk to each other, and began talking to each other again, I was helping her clean her apartment and found a wooden box of things that I’d given her. We’re not talking again now, because that’s how these things go, but I hope that we both still have our boxes. It was almost seem morally offensive to discard anything so intensely personal. If I ever get an organ or limb removed, you can bet I’m going to ask for it in a plastic baggie. My dentist almost seemed grossed out when I asked him if I could have my surgically-removed wisdom tooth. It just seemed natural to me. I keep things.

So, this swollen, painful, obtrusive wisdom tooth of a glass from my senior prom probably isn’t long for this world, but it’s been a difficult decision to make. I have a black & white polaroid of my and my once-beloved all dressed up and ready to be punched in the face by prom disappointment, and it’s more evidence than I need. It takes up less space, and it doesn’t convey any fake-cute sentiments. And helpfully, writing so much about that fateful glass is helping me in the process of getting rid of it. I mean really, we didn’t even dance when ‘Moondance’ came over the tinny speakers. That song has ‘dance’ in the title. One is contractually obligated to dance to it. Well, that and ‘Rock Lobster’. What, they didn’t make you sign the contract?

I’m not that sentimental, but there are some things that need to stick around, whether we like it or not.

(And I encourage you to comment below about things that you’ve carried around for years and don’t particularly enjoy having!)

Thirteen Vintage Advertisements

All of these ads were taken from a June, 1956 issue of Woman’s Day. (As always, click the images to see larger scans.)

We’ll begin our look — as many people start their day — with muffins. No ordinary muffins, but rather pampered muffins who get their way despite their informal, nearly uneducated speech. “Us muffins love nuffin’ but Allsweet …so will you!”

This ad for Woodbury shampoo boasts, “A famous laboratory proves: Hair washed with new Woodbury Shampoo holds curl better, keeps set longer,” and claims this special “curl-keeping” ingredient also means your hair “can’t dry out”. I suspect this special ingredient is wax.

I do believe James Lees & Sons Company was slightly mad in the 50’s and this isn’t the first ad of theirs I’ve seen. This one has you thinking ‘magic carpet ride’ as her legs are hanging over the edge as the couple feasts, but instead, they go for “How to have your cake — and — those heavenly carpets by Lees.” (Where’s the “too”?) Then they say that the heavenly floating carpet is “just 3 dimes a day” — but neglects to say for how long… But overall this ad wins for it’s sweet illustration style.

The amazing thing about this ad for Breeze detergent is the promise of the free, full size Cannon kitchen towel. A twenty-five cent towel is mind-blowing (that’s nearly one day’s carpet payment!) but it reminds me of all those similar TV commercials for floral towels that I saw as a kid — during As The World Turns, no less!

This next ad I found a little strange for it’s placement in Woman’s Day. With a presumably female readership, it seems odd to find an advertisement pushing meat thermometers for bridal shower gifts as “A gift to please the groom”. Then I read more closely and it all makes sense: “This Taylor Dial Roast Meat Thermometer tells even the newest homemaker when any roast is done the way HE likes it.”

You can’t pick up a magazine from the 50’s and not find cigarette ads, like this one on the back cover which has Phil Silvers (as Sgt. Bilko) inviting you to, “Have a Camel — It’s a pleasure!”

Dennis The Menace wasn’t new in 1956 (he debuted in 1951), but Woman’s Day was sure excited that he would be appearing in the July issue. There were several ads for Dennis in this issue, but this was the largest. Most boasted “My son Dennis the Menace” as opposed to just “Dennis the Menace” — or stating who was making the claim. Anyway, it’s cool to see the mag so excited.

This old Wrigley’s Spearmint Gum ad disguised itself as magazine content by offering both a recipe for punch and another for Tasty Meltaway Cookies. Given a choice between Mom’s homemade cookies and gum I’d go for the cookies, but the ad isn’t for me — it’s for Mom who can refresh her hot-in-the-kitchen-baking self with the lively flavor of Wrigley’s. (Go ahead, Mom; take a pack and make me some cookies!)

There are few color pages in this vintage magazine — fewer yet, slick or glossy pages — but the Glass Container Manufacturers Institute was willing to go on an advertising spree to promote glass bottles. It seemed weird enough to see glass bottles pushed like plastic is today, but the corny “This is what makes the party, soft drinks bottled in glass!” was over-the-top adorable. Mom, grab a stick of gum, make me some cookies, and bring on the bottled soft drings ’cause we’re gonna paaarrrty!

Quick Elastic… A laundry starch? Sure, ‘elastic’ sounds more comfortable; but starch is supposed to be stiff — stiff enough to be “dirt-resisting”. Now doesn’t that sound grand? :shudder:

Soft-Weve, by Scott, fancied itself a real luxury. Not only was it showing off their lovely color palette as a fashion accessory (shown here in another color — go see it, it’s a hoot!), but it never once called itself a toilet tissue. Instead it repeats its mantra that Soft-Weve is of the finest “facial tissue” quality.

Here the lovely Metropolitan Opera singer Risë Stevens, who pimped lots of products, shows us how she uses Murine eye drops for tired eyes… Hmm, she drops little drops of the product in her eyes… Interesting…

Enjoy Jane Parker Bread — or the A&P will disembody you, just like they did this little girl!

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When we purchased our 1930’s era cottage style home, most of the door knobs were of the newer style on the passage doors and older square rod style on the entryway doors, all non-descriptive. As part of the restoration we felt the need to find older style knobs and handles. Thus the Quest began. Spotting older sets is easy- look for the square hole and you’re almost sure its antique.

We purchased from our normal sources, garage sales, flea markets, antique stores and auctions. Lots of styles and materials came our way. and soon we had far too many, THEN decided to choose one kind we liked and could use throughout the place. That type is an eight sided clear glass knob on brass base. These knobs are somewhat common with a long production life starting in the 1800s and adding colors to the original clear glass.

Left over was an array of nice pieces, many quite rare, so onto our Ebay site, and into our antique mall booth the extras went. To our pleasant surprise, collecting hardware is quite the sport. Used as we have for their intended purpose, but also used in decorator displays, we have seen them mounted and framed, stuck onto boards and used as coat racks and proudly lined up in glass cases.

Some displays mounted on all types of materials including barn boards, feature other hardware pieces, hinges, door bells, knockers, and pulls.

When listing these little gems on Ebay, a basic knowledge of age, style, materials, and when possible, the manufacturer, are important to the buyer. With the limited 55 character title Ebay allows, it’s useful to have key words in the title. Our guide book is “Antique Hardware, Price Guide”, by H. Weber Wilson from Krause Publishing.

It took about two years to collect the glass style we wanted and we still don’t have all the replacements installed.

This door leads to our main first floor bath. I have purchased an adapter kit from my local large hardware store. The kit allows me to replace the latch set and newer door knobs and use the antique knobs.

A tiny button holds the interior handle in place and once removed, I can twist a screwdriver into the back plate and it pops off. That reveals two screws that are removed and on the door edge two more screws release the end plate and mechanism.

Replacing the parts may require some trimming, I had to file a top and bottom flat at the mortised end, but lucked out when the new end plate fit snuggly into the mortised slot.

The newer back plates are larger than the old style, but adapter flange enlargers, or key set door back plates can hide the larger holes. In my case

I used the old back plate on the interior and a flange extender on the outside.

Old knobs often lack the holding screws so look for spares at the time you buy your replacement mechanism and flanges.

As a very average handy man, I consider this a fun challenge, and my ½ hour job only took about 1-1/2 hour.

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We recently entertained some friends from out of state. They had not been to our home for about 9 years and were inquisitive about where we found our “treasures.” It made me stop and think about just where I did find them. And it brought back some fond (and not-so-fond) memories – I’m happy to share them with you!
Probably my “all time favorite” is our dining room chandelier. It is brass and has a lot of prisms and glass beads. Quite lovely. But it did not always look this way. When I first found it, it was in 3 bags, seated on the floor of a garage.

My sister and I had gone to a rummage sale. She always beat me to the costume jewelry, which was her ‘addiction.’ So I did not even bother rushing to the table where they were displayed. Who wants to be elbowed out of the way every time? Not me.

So I sought bargains elsewhere. I was looking at some porcelain figurines on a table and my foot bumped a bag and I heard a “clink.” I asked the seller what was in the bags. She replied “my sister and her husband are opening a bread & breakfast. They decided to replace the old lighting fixtures with new ones and those bags hold the parts of their cast-off.” I was curious and picked up one bag.

To my amazement and great pleasure, I found a very large, cut glass prism! I looked further and found a lot more. The next bag had the brass arms and the third held the strings of beading. I tried my best not to be too excited and casually asked “how much do you want for this?” Her reply got my heart racing “$5.00” she said.

I am so used to bargain-hunting that before I even thought about it I blurted out “would you take $4.00?” “Oh, sure” she said, “my sister will be glad to get rid of it.” I paid promptly.

When we got to the car, my sister showed me her little pins, then asked if I had any luck. I tried to stay calm and said I thought I had been lucky.

We got to my house and hubby and I pulled it out of the bags. We were in awe. I knew it was in pieces but he can ‘fix anything’, just ask anyone! So, he took it to his workshop and in two days we had it up, replacing our other chandelier. (On an even further positive note, we sold that newer one for $35 at our sale. Probably to the lady who wanted to open the B&B!)
Another of my ‘bests’ is this charming framed picture. It features a little girl who resembles “little red riding hood” and the frame is beautiful. My hubby actually found this one. We went to a ‘block rummage sale’ with a lot of houses that participated. I went to one side of the street, he to the other. Along the way, he yelled to me “do you like this picture?”

I could not see it well, but what I could make out, I definitely liked and responded to the affirmative. He brought it to the car and I took a better look. And instantly loved it! I asked “how much” and he smiled broadly and replied “$5.00.” Yikes!

I rarely find nice jewelry at yard sales and especially so if my sis was along. But we went to a sale along Lake Michigan, ritzy place, and the lady had a lot of Oriental items. Not being a big fan of this décor’, I thought I’d be leaving early. But on her table, underneath a shawl, was a ring. It was gold (I thought it was “the real thing”) and had a green stone. She had $25 on the tag, but instantly said she’d take $20 for it – this was her third day and no one had even inquired about it. I paid her what she wanted.

It just FELT right. When I got to the car, I pulled out the magnifier and verified that it was 14K. The stone turned out to be jade. I wore it for a year or two and then sold it at our antique booth for $125. That was about 7 years ago and someone is probably writing a blog about the bargain they found at our booth. The circle of (antiques) life. Ahh.

When you are ‘into’ antiques, you don’t often go to the sales that advertise ‘kids toys, toddlers clothing’, and the like. But I was with a friend who had grandkids and she wanted to stop. “OK”, I said, “but make it snappy.” I looked at the books and games, nothing old enough to add to the collection or sell. But then something caught my eye and by the stuffed animals and Barbie tricyle, I saw a face peering out – it was a metal horse. I looked closer and discovered it was a very old child’s toy.

Made in England, called a Mobo. It had some wear to the paint, but overall, it was quite nice. He only wanted $15 for it, telling me it was ‘old and had been ridden by numerous kids in the family.’ I did not quibble – paid him and popped it in my trunk. Hubby looked at it and was uncertain – nothing he’d seen before. We put it in the garage.

About a month later he was at a Cracker Barrel Restaurant. There, on a shelf above the check-out counter, was another one! He was excited and asked to chat with the manager. When she arrived, he inquired about the horse – what did she know about it, how old was it, was it for sale, and if so, how much?

She was taken aback but responded that these antique items are not for sale and she really knew nothing about it. It was a fairly new restaurant and she explained that when they were ready to build, a ‘team’ of pickers would come to the area and get nostalgic items – they’d also select other antiques from a warehouse and bring them in.

He was a little disappointed, but at least felt it had enough value to be so displayed. We took it to a summer flea market and put a ‘ridiculous’ price of $100 on it. It sold in 12 minutes. We have since seen two others in antique malls. We’ve learned they were made in Kent, England, are circa 1947, and actually called “Mobo Bronco” riding horses. One was in very poor condition and that price tag was $225. The other was in a condition that was similar to ours and had a tag of $350!

Another blogger somewhere, is bragging about this treasure they found from the ‘rubes’ in aisle 11. But we made our profit and had fun – so there!

Another time we went to an estate sale. It was the last day, sometimes a good time to attend. Usually things are half-price or at least there is room to wiggle. We saw these beautiful candle sticks in the basement. The gent who was in charge in that room said they had been in a trunk and not noticed until earlier that day when the trunk had sold.

We thought they were beautiful, but when he said he wanted $50 for them, we played our ‘good cop and bad cop’, being hesitant to make a commitment. Then he thought for a moment and said ‘oh, prices are 50% off today so they could be yours for $25.” Scooped those up and put them in our dining room. A wonderful find!

We continue to shop for additions for our home and some to sell. While it may sound easy, just yesterday we went to 11 garages sales, put 30 miles on the van, and came home with just $4.00 worth of ‘goodies.’ And that’s a pretty strong word for them. “Mediocres” would be a better word. But who knows what the next garage, front yard or estate sale might hold?

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Awhile ago, hubby and I ran a good-cop-bad-cop play for a box of old sheet music. I’m still going through it all, delighting at all the great graphics, fabulous lyrics and cool connections to composers, songwriters and other folks as I list it here in the Collectors’ Quest community. (You should know me well enough by now to know that researching is a huge part of the joy of collecting for me.)

You shouldn’t judge sheet music by it’s cover any more than you should a book, but let’s face it, the nifty graphics and photos of celebrities are mighty cool. It’s one way that sheet music is a coveted cross-collectible.

Harry Potter fans wave their wands bidding paddles for sheet music with wizards, cat lovers and Halloween collectors fancy the Black Cat March, vamps vie for roaring 20’s sheet music (along with theater and movie memorabilia hounds, if it’s from a musical) — all competing with music lovers for vintage sheet music.

Along with songwriters and composers, there are often multiple performers, and multiple arrangements (piano, guitar — even for the ukelele).

For over two centuries sheet music has been printed; so no one, really, is exempt from collecting sheet music once they see what’s all available.

The wide variety of sheet music isn’t the only reason to love it. Since some songs were printed in millions of copies, even very old sheet music can be easy enough to find — and affordable. Condition is always a part of an item’s value, so if you’re charmed by something enough not to care about its condition you can get vintage sheet music for a song. While this makes sheet music an area of collecting which is easy for beginners, those who like a challenge will find many printed musical ‘holy grails’ to spend a lifetime pursuing as well.

Being both small in size and light in weight makes printed music not only inexpensive to ship but easy to store too. While some preserve their collection in neat protective plastic sleeves, others put the pretty papers behind glass and properly frame them (we hope) — not just for safe preservation, but to display as part of their home decor.

While there’s so much to love about old sheet music, there’s more unloved, under-appreciated sheet music in this world than this collector cares to think about.

This point was driven home when the seller of my most recent box of vintage sheet music asked me, “You’re not going to paper your walls with this, are you?”

Stunned, I could only manage to tell her, “No, of course not!” But on the way to the van I had to ask hubby (and myself), “Can you do that? Paper walls with sheet music?”

Not that I would. But the idea of seeing walls papered in sheet music is very intriguing… Perhaps one day I’ll investigate that and other altered art projects with copies made from scans. (I’d hate to make a collector — or seller — cry.) But right now, I’m having lots of fun with them as they are.

For more on collecting sheet music, see ParlorSongs.com.

Images of wizard and cat sheet music via SheetMusicCenter.com.