“Often, the story of an artifact’s journey is more remarkable than the object itself.” Author and anthropologist Mackenzie Finklea wrote these words about museum curios, but the sentiment rings true for even the most fetching decorative item. Our readers have fallen in love with a variety of collectible treasures—each one with a story that makes it particularly precious.
~~~
When I turned five, a friend of my mother’s gave me a small British eggcup for my birthday. My father was British, and eggcups are a very British tradition. Even at that age, I was fascinated by this petite floral delicacy. But I never suspected I would become a pocillovist, an eggcup collector.
My parents liked to vacation in Maine, and when vacation days were rainy, my mother and I went antiquing. I looked for eggcups and continued the search many decades onward. What a wonderful excuse to enjoy these shops and to learn about other types of antiques. I also purchased many new eggcups, not just antiques. Those with nature themes enchanted me.
Eggcups are not easy to display since they are small. Thus, in some homes they were carefully wrapped and stored in boxes. Ten years ago, my husband and I purchased our retirement home in Arizona. I was determined that here I would display all my eggcups, and I found the perfect cabinet. My husband added lighting.
The most wonderful thing about my collection is the memories it revives. My mother is always beside me when I look at the eggcups, and I enjoy reliving the antiquing adventures we shared.
JHANE MARELLO
Prescott, Arizona
When we were cleaning out the family homestead to sell, approximately fifteen years ago, I loaded more than eighty pounds of antique clothing buttons (carefully packed) onto the moving truck to go from Michigan to Vermont. I was told that the collection was mine from the time I was in the seventh grade.
Grandma loved her buttons and was a collector most of her adult life, through both World Wars. I had caught glimpses of them as a little girl a few times when she opened a drawer of her sacred button chest. Then, after she passed away in the 1970s, we had a visitor come from the National Button Society. My family and I had no knowledge of antique buttons and didn’t know what to do. I remember we stayed up late into the night poring over boxes and boxes of buttons. After looking over the collection, our guest told me that I was a very lucky girl to have them.
Once the buttons arrived in Vermont, they sat in their boxes for three years. I had no idea what I was going to do with them. I didn’t know anything about button collecting, and I wasn’t sure whether I even wanted them. Then, one day I did some research online and found a state button club. I called, and my husband and I were immediately invited to a meeting.
That was twelve years ago, and a whole new world has opened up to me since then. I love and cherish my little antique works of art, most of which are from the nineteenth century. I continue to study their history and construction, clean them, and carefully display them so they will be preserved and safe for years to come. I have met wonderful fellow button collectors, have served as president of my state club, and belong to The National Button Society and a regional button association. I have even given talks to groups from time to time.
I am thankful that these tiny objects came into my life. I will continue with my passion as long as I am able. My life has been enriched in many ways because of them—special friendships, the push to study and learn the connection of my buttons to history, a deep appreciation for the craftsmanship involved in their making, and, probably most of all, the connection it has given me to my grandmother.
What I wouldn’t give to have a few hours—or even twenty minutes—to talk to her about her collection! An old photo of Grandma as an eight-year-old (taken around 1900) hangs in a shadow box with some of her prized delicate buttons in a special place in my dining room. Whenever I host a button club meeting, sitting with everyone around the dining room table, Grandma is with me and her buttons once again.
AMY LARSON
Rutland, Vermont
I am a huge fan of vintage items, especially old post cards. Whenever I would visit antiques stores or garage sales, I would find myself consistently drawn to them. My collection grew through the years, and I soon began sorting them into various categories: Easter, birthdays, Christmas, etc.
I found I was adding a new word to my vocabulary: “ephemera,” collectibles originally not intended to have lasting value. Of course, to me they do have value. Each one is unique and comes with messages intended for friends and loved ones. Then, as you turn them over, the eyes are greeted by a variety of graphics. Some are flowery and traditional, some whimsical, others hilarious.
Through the years, I have shared my collection with various ladies’ groups in our area. I am always close by, encouraging the women to send postcards. One can purchase them at stationery stores or bookshops, and stamps are relatively inexpensive. Plus, each card sent would truly brighten someone’s day!
GLORIA GOSSETT
Dublin, California
My mother was an avid antiques collector because she had New England ancestors. When I was growing up, I was surrounded by beautiful old items and furniture, with which she tastefully adorned our home. As I approached the age to marry, she would give me some antique “hope chest” things. Although I received many of these from her, my very favorite is a wash basin and water pitcher made in about 1800 in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.
I prefer rugged, useful antiques over the more formal ones, and this bowl and pitcher fit that description perfectly. The set is obviously handmade and quite primitive in form. Crafted of pottery, each piece has a crude glaze of mustard gold streaked with rich brown and touches of green. You might say that it is so ugly that it’s beautiful! When I had my furniture appraised for insurance purposes, the professional appraiser was not able to trace my bowl and pitcher. Many years later, an artist friend did some research and found a set identical to mine that had gone for sale at an auction. I then had my treasure’s appraised value—much higher than ever expected!
The washstand that generally held a basin and pitcher had two cupboard doors in the front. I looked and looked for just the right one, but they were all too narrow. Finally, I found a washstand that was wide enough to fit my very large bowl. I removed several layers of gray paint and restored the chest to a beautiful pine finish. For many years now, the piece has graced my home.
I sometimes wonder about the farmer who originally used my basin and pitcher to wash his hands after coming in from the fields. The little dish that is part of the bowl could have provided him with a bar of homemade soap.
GRETCHEN K. FINCH
Whitefish, Montana
A 1926 carousel horse—imagine that! The classified ad listing this antique for sale some forty years ago spun my heart like an out-of-control merry-go-round. My husband and I borrowed my brother’s station wagon and drove across two counties to consider purchasing this rare find. His condition—broken teeth, glass goat eyes, missing horseshoes, neon orange park paint, carved graffiti on his cheek—did nothing to dimmish our enthusiasm as we handed over payment and settled him into the vehicle for the long ride home.
Numerous side jobs later, I had saved enough to hire Gerry Holzman, a local carousel carver, to repair and restore Zephyr, as he is now named. And what a handsome steed he has become with his new gray goat and dark breeze teased mane, faceted jewels sparkling on his bold painted trappings, new metal shoes on uplifted hooves, proper horse eyes gleaming, and a gold detailed saddle that continues to seat visiting children, who grip the pole and giggle as their imaginations run wild.
Gerry once told me that every time you ride on a carousel, you extend your life by one year. I like to think that having an antique carousel figure in your home enriches your years immeasurably.
CATHERINE HARPER
Mattituck, New York
Photography Stephanie Welbourne Steele
Styling Melissa Sturdivant Smith
Collection Owner Julie Huh
To read more stories about our readers’ cherished collectibles, see the Reader-to-Reader column in the July/August 2023 issue, available on newsstands and at victoriamag.com.
