Nostalgia by mail

My mailman has recently reminded me with his deliveries that I am one lucky lady.

I’m lucky to have sweet friends, friends who think of me when they’re out antiquing or rummaging around estate sales.  They know me well enough to know about the many things I hold dear – from buttons to Victorian pictures.  I gathered up the treasures I received in the mail in the last few weeks and thought I’d share them with you – brushing off the dust of many years and letting their beauty show once again.

I was so surprised when I received a gift from dear Beth, out of the blue.  She knows I’m crazy about Scotties and said she thought of me when she saw these book ends. What an adorable pair – carved in wood, you can just see their expression.

Christine knew how much I love vintage mother of pearl and sent me these old belt buckles, along with some great embroidered handkerchiefs.   Can you imagine the time it took to stitch these simple flowers?

I received this very old cube of black glass pins and rhinestone buttons from Lori.  I’ve never seen anything like it and imagine the pins were used for pinning clothes (toilet meaning dressing table or area in older times).  I’ve done some research on these pins and it seems quite rare to have so many pins still on the cube.

Kerry sent a text from an estate sale asking if I had “any use for old tintypes?” – she was drawn to the ones with the rosy cheeks.  I think she knew the answer.

I would rescue every old picture if I could, after all, these were someone’s cherished family members.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve wondered about the faces in the pictures – who were they?  What were they thinking that day?  What became of their life?  Do they have any living relatives  – if only I could send them the pictures so they could be kept in the family.  And what if they had no family left to remember them, which was most likely the case.  Well then they have come to the right place.  I pull out my piles of old pictures and collection of velvet Victorian albums (a future blog post in itself) and reminisce about people I have never met.  It feels good to reflect on these strangers, as they were not always strangers.  And who would want to be forgotten?  Thank you friends for reminding me of that.

Now speaking of treasures found, I’m hoping to squeeze in some time at the BIG Luckett’s Spring Market tomorrow.  It’s my idea of heaven (even if I’ll have a 2 year old in tow – I’m determined!).  I hear a bunch of blog friends will be caravanning in from the Frederick area.  Who knows, I might see you there! 🙂

Have a nice weekend & thanks for visiting!