This dress was my great grandmother’s. She lived until she was 96. She lived out in the woods in Clarksville County, Ga. in a small cabin. She had lovely long blondish white hair until she moved to the old folks home at 95.   She liked to collect antique salt and pepper shakers. I have a few of these in the photos here. I admired how she lived, so in touch with the land and wilderness. She used to send me out with a bucket for me to pick berries, then when I returned she’d bake a pie. I thought she was very strong and independent to live out there for so long after her husband died. The land she lived on was beautiful and remote.

This is me wearing the dress when I was about twenty.  I still have this dress but I can’t quite fit into it anymore.  I also have this beautiful wall hanging that my mother gave me of my great grandmother’s bed sheet from when she first got married.  Back then it was customary for a family member to embroider a bed sheet for the newlyweds.  This bed sheet is from the early 1900’s.  One of these days if I get some better lightening in here I might repost a picture of this.  I didn’t want to turn on my Japanese lamp near it since it reflects  in the glass.  As I have said before my apartment is a mix of old and new.  So the mix is eclectic.

In the early eighties I used to sell vintage clothing to small shops. I walked around with a shopping cart and went door to door.  New York did not have so many corporate stores back then. Canal Jeans usually had a small boat outside their store that was filled with vintage dresses for one dollar. I used to buy many of those and do minor repairs before I resold them. I also went to flea markets all around town and sometimes Pennsylvania to buy antique dresses and items.

I once found an authentic flapper dress from the twenties! It fit my tiny frame so I wore it dancing at the Ritz after working on securing some of the beading. After that I had it dry cleaned and resold it for $100, which was a fraction of what I paid for it. I am sure the vendor resold it for much more at their own antique stall at a vintage market.

This little glass lamb has got to be from the 1940’s.  When my father was a small boy his mother told him he could have it “if he was good at the dental office.”  The little dolls were also his.  The vase of the woman with the basket was in our kitchen window when I was growing up.  The Dresden vase was a gift from a friend’s friend before he went into a retirement home.  He wanted to make sure his belonging would be appreciated.  Its a lovely vase, most Dresden vases were destroyed during the war.

This antique jewelry box was in my mother’s sweetheart’s family for a very long time.  The colors in it are so pretty.  The little glass hand holder for rings and the bird plate are things I found when shopping for vintage or thrifting.  The antique brooch and the letter A handkerchief belonged to my grandmother on my father’s side.  The antique handkerchiefs I have collected through the years.

These salt and pepper shakers were part of my great grandmother’s collection.  I also have one of her sweaters.  I will wear it in a later post when I have a friend handy to take a picture of me.  The glass vase with flowers is something I found years ago.  The antique clock is something my mother gave me from our five years of living in Germany when I was little.  The green yarn doll was mine since I was about seven.  My mother made it.

My mother bought this lovely lamp when I was about twelve.  I always wanted it “someday” so she gave it to me when she left New York to move to Florida.  I took a picture of it in the evening when the room was fairly dark to share with you the lovely glow it scatters on the wall when its lit in the evening. I also took one in the daylight just so you could see the lamp itself better.  My mother spray painted it an antique gold.  I really love this piece and sometimes at night I just sit and look at it for awhile.

The jewelry box above that looks like ivory carved with roses all over it isn’t real ivory.  Its a lovely piece and something I have had since I was a little girl.  I found the golden crocheted doily below the lamp at a thrift shop in Pensacola, Florida when I was visiting my family.  I also have an antique printers block  that was given to me by a friend years ago.  I hang crystals and little collectibles in it.  I remember when these used to be filled with type set pieces from when I was a child.  My father was a journalist.  Many a night I had to wait at the newspaper late for him to finish work.  I remember watching the men set the type for the next mornings’  newspapers.

I treasure these pieces that were passed down to me in my family and through friends.   I really haven’t bought too many other pieces of house ware knick knack items since I am too busy reusing the old.  Generally I have lived in one or two bedroom apartments and am currently in a large studio since my daughter grew up.  So I hang onto these pieces which cuts down on needing to buy more.  I wouldn’t have room for more pieces right now.  I have a lot of artwork.  Some of it is mine and some from friends, or my daughter Emily.  I have several more pieces however most of them are glassware and dishes.  I will save them for another post.  I hope you enjoyed my collection of collectibles!!