[h-cost] historical stuff (some costume related)
I inherited a crapton of stuff from my grandmother's house. It's been stored dry, but not clean, in my brother's barn for about 10 years until I brought it home last weekend. There was a lot more than I brought, but I try not to think about that. The only interesting textiles I've found so far are a veil/scarf of some kind - extremely fine black lace. It was wadded up in a wood box (like for cigars, only it says candy on the lid) and a bag of hexagon quilt pieces that I haven't looked at closely. I don't know if the lace is nylon or silk - it weighs next to nothing and is fairly fragile. it's about 15 x 50 or so and looks like it would have been for church or funerals. Oh - and a tanned mink skin in a breadbag. The photos, however are a treasure. I have one large rubbermaid tote full of albums going back to the 1870s - most of the people are identified, and there is at least one photo of a child in a coffin. O.o There aren't too many dates on the actual photos, however. There is a story inscribed on the flyleaf about how that album was the only thing rescued from a house fire when the dad broke a window from outside and reached in to get it off a bookstand. There are two books inscribed to my grandfather in 1919 several years before he graduated highschool. Both are military in nature and full of photographs. I've looked them up on Amazon and they all seem to be in the same condition as mine and are priced from $9 to $900. lol There are some great photos of military uniforms of all kinds, and everyday wear of people in Croatia, England and Germany (and prob. others). I also have my great grandfather's wood bound school slate and another one from someone with the same last name (sibling?) and a tiny pair of leather baby shoes with my dad's name on the bottom. What does a person do with this kind of stuff? I don't have infinite storage. My brother kept it all, but didn't do anything with it either. I doubt much of it has a lot of value to people who aren't related to the family in some way. Denise Iowa ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
Re: [h-cost] historical stuff (some costume related)
I would bet that a Iowa-specific museum would be thrilled to get those photos you don't choose to keep. I don't quilt but I'd definitely make a blanket of the quilt pieces (maybe see if you can date the fabrics so you know who/when started the project). Other than that I can't help you. How very nice, however, to be able to touch your family again. LynnD in the city where we don't have that barn opportunity On Wed, Apr 27, 2011 at 12:09 PM, Land of Oz lando...@netins.net wrote: I inherited a crapton of stuff from my grandmother's house. It's been stored dry, but not clean, in my brother's barn for about 10 years until I brought it home last weekend. There was a lot more than I brought, but I try not to think about that. The only interesting textiles I've found so far are a veil/scarf of some kind - extremely fine black lace. It was wadded up in a wood box (like for cigars, only it says candy on the lid) and a bag of hexagon quilt pieces that I haven't looked at closely. I don't know if the lace is nylon or silk - it weighs next to nothing and is fairly fragile. it's about 15 x 50 or so and looks like it would have been for church or funerals. Oh - and a tanned mink skin in a breadbag. The photos, however are a treasure. I have one large rubbermaid tote full of albums going back to the 1870s - most of the people are identified, and there is at least one photo of a child in a coffin. O.o There aren't too many dates on the actual photos, however. There is a story inscribed on the flyleaf about how that album was the only thing rescued from a house fire when the dad broke a window from outside and reached in to get it off a bookstand. There are two books inscribed to my grandfather in 1919 several years before he graduated highschool. Both are military in nature and full of photographs. I've looked them up on Amazon and they all seem to be in the same condition as mine and are priced from $9 to $900. lol There are some great photos of military uniforms of all kinds, and everyday wear of people in Croatia, England and Germany (and prob. others). I also have my great grandfather's wood bound school slate and another one from someone with the same last name (sibling?) and a tiny pair of leather baby shoes with my dad's name on the bottom. What does a person do with this kind of stuff? I don't have infinite storage. My brother kept it all, but didn't do anything with it either. I doubt much of it has a lot of value to people who aren't related to the family in some way. Denise Iowa ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
Re: [h-cost] historical stuff (some costume related)
Denise-- You could check with your county historical museum, or a local history center. The photos might be wanted. Kim -Original Message- From: h-costume-boun...@indra.com [mailto:h-costume-boun...@indra.com] On Behalf Of Land of Oz Sent: Wednesday, April 27, 2011 2:09 PM To: h-cost...@indra.com Subject: [h-cost] historical stuff (some costume related) I inherited a crapton of stuff from my grandmother's house. It's been stored dry, but not clean, in my brother's barn for about 10 years until I brought it home last weekend. There was a lot more than I brought, but I try not to think about that. The only interesting textiles I've found so far are a veil/scarf of some kind - extremely fine black lace. It was wadded up in a wood box (like for cigars, only it says candy on the lid) and a bag of hexagon quilt pieces that I haven't looked at closely. I don't know if the lace is nylon or silk - it weighs next to nothing and is fairly fragile. it's about 15 x 50 or so and looks like it would have been for church or funerals. Oh - and a tanned mink skin in a breadbag. The photos, however are a treasure. I have one large rubbermaid tote full of albums going back to the 1870s - most of the people are identified, and there is at least one photo of a child in a coffin. O.o There aren't too many dates on the actual photos, however. There is a story inscribed on the flyleaf about how that album was the only thing rescued from a house fire when the dad broke a window from outside and reached in to get it off a bookstand. There are two books inscribed to my grandfather in 1919 several years before he graduated highschool. Both are military in nature and full of photographs. I've looked them up on Amazon and they all seem to be in the same condition as mine and are priced from $9 to $900. lol There are some great photos of military uniforms of all kinds, and everyday wear of people in Croatia, England and Germany (and prob. others). I also have my great grandfather's wood bound school slate and another one from someone with the same last name (sibling?) and a tiny pair of leather baby shoes with my dad's name on the bottom. What does a person do with this kind of stuff? I don't have infinite storage. My brother kept it all, but didn't do anything with it either. I doubt much of it has a lot of value to people who aren't related to the family in some way. Denise Iowa ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
Re: [h-cost] historical stuff (some costume related)
Hi Denise, Depending on what area your family was from, the local archive or historical society (or even an university archives) would probably be interested in acquiring the photos and other memorabilia you found. Some of this material would be great for cultural studies as well as for genealogical research. Amy M. (genealogical researcher and librarian) On Wed, Apr 27, 2011 at 3:22 PM, Lynn Downward lynndownw...@gmail.comwrote: I would bet that a Iowa-specific museum would be thrilled to get those photos you don't choose to keep. I don't quilt but I'd definitely make a blanket of the quilt pieces (maybe see if you can date the fabrics so you know who/when started the project). Other than that I can't help you. How very nice, however, to be able to touch your family again. LynnD in the city where we don't have that barn opportunity On Wed, Apr 27, 2011 at 12:09 PM, Land of Oz lando...@netins.net wrote: I inherited a crapton of stuff from my grandmother's house. It's been stored dry, but not clean, in my brother's barn for about 10 years until I brought it home last weekend. There was a lot more than I brought, but I try not to think about that. The only interesting textiles I've found so far are a veil/scarf of some kind - extremely fine black lace. It was wadded up in a wood box (like for cigars, only it says candy on the lid) and a bag of hexagon quilt pieces that I haven't looked at closely. I don't know if the lace is nylon or silk - it weighs next to nothing and is fairly fragile. it's about 15 x 50 or so and looks like it would have been for church or funerals. Oh - and a tanned mink skin in a breadbag. The photos, however are a treasure. I have one large rubbermaid tote full of albums going back to the 1870s - most of the people are identified, and there is at least one photo of a child in a coffin. O.o There aren't too many dates on the actual photos, however. There is a story inscribed on the flyleaf about how that album was the only thing rescued from a house fire when the dad broke a window from outside and reached in to get it off a bookstand. There are two books inscribed to my grandfather in 1919 several years before he graduated highschool. Both are military in nature and full of photographs. I've looked them up on Amazon and they all seem to be in the same condition as mine and are priced from $9 to $900. lol There are some great photos of military uniforms of all kinds, and everyday wear of people in Croatia, England and Germany (and prob. others). I also have my great grandfather's wood bound school slate and another one from someone with the same last name (sibling?) and a tiny pair of leather baby shoes with my dad's name on the bottom. What does a person do with this kind of stuff? I don't have infinite storage. My brother kept it all, but didn't do anything with it either. I doubt much of it has a lot of value to people who aren't related to the family in some way. Denise Iowa ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume -- Amy Menary M.I.St., D.B.A., BA (Anthropology) ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
Re: [h-cost] Men's Outfits in Brueghel
-Original Message- I have one of her patterns, http://www.reconstructinghistory.com/products/rh606-early-tudor-common-mans- outfit-1, which I am planning on using to make the hosen, but as far as I can tell,it looks like it needs to be tied to stay up. I was hoping for tips on getting them to stay up without being tied. I mean, the three pictures I showed, they COULD NOT be tied, I mean, on two of them, you can see the ties, and they are definitly NOT TIED. Also hubby does have the uhmbeer belly such that he needs a belt on his pants, but the guys in the paintings don't exactly look slim. snip) jordana Your first pic. 1570 http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/26.72.23#ixzz1KelyC2bv The man on the left appears to have a belt. Hosen were known at times to be tied to the shirt. most cases that I have seen, the tie that is at the waist band in front acts like a front button on regular pants, plus the codpiece ties may act as an additional form of support. This has a somewhat zoomable image of the series. http://www.sothebys.com/app/live/lot/LotDetail.jsp?lot_id=159397000 here you can see in the first print that the somewhat dressed up is Venetian pants, which would have in some cases a belt. Margo Anderson has a pattern http://www.margospatterns.com/ Details of Bruegel's harvesters 1565 http://tinyurl.com/3ng9gy6 Here is more of Bruegel's works that can be zoomable http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/b/bruegel/pieter_e/index.html Pick the category. Click on the little picture and a new screen pops up click on the 200% for a close up. Though the lower class folks tend to be behind the times somewhat, your *Peasants Making Merry outside a Tavern 'The Swan'* c. 1630 http://www.wga.hu/art/b/bruegel/pieter_y/peasants.jpg is 30 years past SCAs cut off date. The further away from the cut off date the more you need to question the look. SCA cut off date is December 31, 1600. Note that no one should give you grief if you show up to an event in post SCA period garb. In the above pic. the man on the left with the woman and talking to the woman in pink, if you note the gray vest appears to have the hosen tied to it in the back. Same with the man in yellow in the wedding pic. 1607 http://www.wga.hu/art/b/bruegel/pieter_y/wedding.jpg Found it http://www.reddawn.net/costume/peasant.htm I knew I had seen a research site. De ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
Re: [h-cost] historical stuff (some costume related)
Whatever you do, please do keep the photos, and if they are identified, as you say, there may be someone in the family who cares about them. IT would be amazing if somehow you had the time to scan everything, and add text. I persoanlly collect Victorian photos, since I have only about 3 from my own family (although a few going back to WWI). They are treasures. I Would suspect that your local historical society (county or state) would love to take them off your hands (but you should scan them first) Yours in cosutmign,Lisa A On Wed, 27 Apr 2011 14:09:18 -0500 Land of Oz lando...@netins.net writes: I inherited a crapton of stuff from my grandmother's house. It's been stored dry, but not clean, in my brother's barn for about 10 years until I brought it home last weekend. There was a lot more than I brought, but I try not to think about that. infinite storage. My brother kept it all, but didn't do anything with it either. I doubt much of it has a lot of value to people who aren't related to the family in some way. Denise Iowa ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
Re: [h-cost] historical stuff (some costume related)
Strong suggestion, especially re: photos!! Contact a name-based genealogy group for a couple of surnames in that line. GenForum.com has some. Post there, ask if anybody wants the photos (AFTER scanning). Bonus: you may get some photos id'd by more distant relatives. Treasure. . . do not hasten to dump anything until you know for sure what you have! == Marjorie Wilser =:=:=:Three Toad Press:=:=:= Learn to laugh at yourself and you will never lack for amusement. --MW http://3toad.blogspot.com/ On Apr 27, 2011, at 12:09 PM, Land of Oz wrote: I inherited a crapton of stuff from my grandmother's house. It's been stored dry, but not clean, in my brother's barn for about 10 years until I brought it home last weekend. There was a lot more than I brought, but I try not to think about that. The only interesting textiles I've found so far are a veil/scarf of some kind - extremely fine black lace. It was wadded up in a wood box (like for cigars, only it says candy on the lid) and a bag of hexagon quilt pieces that I haven't looked at closely. I don't know if the lace is nylon or silk - it weighs next to nothing and is fairly fragile. it's about 15 x 50 or so and looks like it would have been for church or funerals. Oh - and a tanned mink skin in a breadbag. The photos, however are a treasure. I have one large rubbermaid tote full of albums going back to the 1870s - most of the people are identified, and there is at least one photo of a child in a coffin. O.o There aren't too many dates on the actual photos, however. There is a story inscribed on the flyleaf about how that album was the only thing rescued from a house fire when the dad broke a window from outside and reached in to get it off a bookstand. There are two books inscribed to my grandfather in 1919 several years before he graduated highschool. Both are military in nature and full of photographs. I've looked them up on Amazon and they all seem to be in the same condition as mine and are priced from $9 to $900. lol There are some great photos of military uniforms of all kinds, and everyday wear of people in Croatia, England and Germany (and prob. others). I also have my great grandfather's wood bound school slate and another one from someone with the same last name (sibling?) and a tiny pair of leather baby shoes with my dad's name on the bottom. What does a person do with this kind of stuff? I don't have infinite storage. My brother kept it all, but didn't do anything with it either. I doubt much of it has a lot of value to people who aren't related to the family in some way. Denise Iowa ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
Re: [h-cost] historical stuff (some costume related)
Do not give it to a historical society unless they have a lot of exhibits of photos. Many museums tend to leave items like this in storage for years where no one can view them. (When I worked as an assistant Curator, we had a wonderful collection of photos that showed the building of the Empire State Building. Based on the height, would could tell what month and year the photos had been taken. I was the first one to cataloged them and they had been sitting on a dusty shelf in a highly under used military related library for years. I doubt anyone's bothered to take a look at them since.) Instead, scan each of the photos in (making digital copies is a good idea anyway since many photos fade or become damaged over time) and label them. This way, you have your own virtual copy of all the photos and you can sell the originals if you like. You can also give a CD to others and/or post the pictures online so a lot of other people can enjoy them. There are several blogs that specialize in blogging about old photos. I know they would love to see what you have. -Isabella Message: 1 Date: Wed, 27 Apr 2011 14:09:18 -0500 From: Land of Oz lando...@netins.net To: h-cost...@indra.com Subject: [h-cost] historical stuff (some costume related) Message-ID: ximss-18001...@cgpb4.cgp.netins.net Content-Type: text/plain;charset=utf-8; format=flowed I inherited a crapton of stuff from my grandmother's house. It's been stored dry, but not clean, in my brother's barn for about 10 years until I brought it home last weekend. There was a lot more than I brought, but I try not to think about that. The only interesting textiles I've found so far are a veil/scarf of some kind - extremely fine black lace. It was wadded up in a wood box (like for cigars, only it says candy on the lid) and a bag of hexagon quilt pieces that I haven't looked at closely. I don't know if the lace is nylon or silk - it weighs next to nothing and is fairly fragile. it's about 15 x 50 or so and looks like it would have been for church or funerals. Oh - and a tanned mink skin in a breadbag. The photos, however are a treasure. I have one large rubbermaid tote full of albums going back to the 1870s - most of the people are identified, and there is at least one photo of a child in a coffin. O.o There aren't too many dates on the actual photos, however. There is a story inscribed on the flyleaf about how that album was the only thing rescued from a house fire when the dad broke a window from outside and reached in to get it off a bookstand. There are two books inscribed to my grandfather in 1919 several years before he graduated highschool. Both are military in nature and full of photographs. I've looked them up on Amazon and they all seem to be in the same condition as mine and are priced from $9 to $900. lol There are some great photos of military uniforms of all kinds, and everyday wear of people in Croatia, England and Germany (and prob. others). I also have my great grandfather's wood bound school slate and another one from someone with the same last name (sibling?) and a tiny pair of leather baby shoes with my dad's name on the bottom. What does a person do with this kind of stuff? I don't have infinite storage. My brother kept it all, but didn't do anything with it either. I doubt much of it has a lot of value to people who aren't related to the family in some way. Denise Iowa ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
Re: [h-cost] historical stuff (some costume related)
Denise What part of Iowa do you live in? I 'm interested in some of your material. The recommendation to scan the photos should be expanded to scan everything you can run through a scanner. In other words, do all the documents, as well. Oh, and take photographs of any objects. Even old milk cans and eggbeaters are interesting to some of us. ;) Also, the library and archives of the State Historical Society in Des Moines maintains an archive of papers, pictures, etc. I've dug into their materials every time I've gone back to Iowa to do research. The Historical Society also maintains a museum in the same complex. Contact information: State of Iowa Historical Museum State of Iowa Historical Building (Des Moines) 600 East Locust Des Moines, Iowa, 50319 515-281-5111 State Historical Museum 9 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Tuesday - Saturday Noon - 4:30 p.m. Sunday Closed Monday and official state holidays Admission is free State Historical Society Library and Archives 12:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. Tuesday - Friday 9 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.Saturday Closed Sunday, Monday and official state holidays and on any Saturday which precedes a Monday or follows a Friday holiday. Archives, photograph, and manuscript collections are closed Saturdays, unless arrangements are made in advance. Arrangements can be made to use archival material on Saturdays by requesting the needed material from an archives staff member prior to noon on the preceding Friday. The Iowa Museum Store 9 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday Closed Sunday, Monday and official state holidays Ginni Morgan Iowan by birth (with relatives darn near everywhere) costumer, genealogist, historical researcher Land of Oz lando...@netins.net 4/27/11 12:09 PM I inherited a crapton of stuff from my grandmother's house. It's been stored dry, but not clean, in my brother's barn for about 10 years until I brought it home last weekend. There was a lot more than I brought, but I try not to think about that. The only interesting textiles I've found so far are a veil/scarf of some kind - extremely fine black lace. It was wadded up in a wood box (like for cigars, only it says candy on the lid) and a bag of hexagon quilt pieces that I haven't looked at closely. I don't know if the lace is nylon or silk - it weighs next to nothing and is fairly fragile. it's about 15 x 50 or so and looks like it would have been for church or funerals. Oh - and a tanned mink skin in a breadbag. The photos, however are a treasure. I have one large rubbermaid tote full of albums going back to the 1870s - most of the people are identified, and there is at least one photo of a child in a coffin. O.o There aren't too many dates on the actual photos, however. There is a story inscribed on the flyleaf about how that album was the only thing rescued from a house fire when the dad broke a window from outside and reached in to get it off a bookstand. There are two books inscribed to my grandfather in 1919 several years before he graduated highschool. Both are military in nature and full of photographs. I've looked them up on Amazon and they all seem to be in the same condition as mine and are priced from $9 to $900. lol There are some great photos of military uniforms of all kinds, and everyday wear of people in Croatia, England and Germany (and prob. others). I also have my great grandfather's wood bound school slate and another one from someone with the same last name (sibling?) and a tiny pair of leather baby shoes with my dad's name on the bottom. What does a person do with this kind of stuff? I don't have infinite storage. My brother kept it all, but didn't do anything with it either. I doubt much of it has a lot of value to people who aren't related to the family in some way. Denise Iowa ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This communication with its contents may contain confidential and/or legally privileged information. It is solely for the use of the intended recipient(s). Unauthorized interception, review, use or disclosure is prohibited and may violate applicable laws including the Electronic Communications Privacy Act. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender and destroy all copies of the communication. ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
Re: [h-cost] family photos
Wow! I TOTALLY agree with everybody who's told you to scan the photos before you give them away or sell them. (I'd keep them, but that's my personal interest.) Scan the front and the back of each photo if there's information on the reverse side - like the photographic studio's ad, often with the address, sometimes the date. I have set up several albums on Facebook with some of my old family photos, identified and dated. One of the albums is general, one is of Family Pets (with people, of course!) and another is Family Brides. My relatives seem to get a kick out of this. Martha ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
[h-cost] Dating vintage sewing stuff
Speaking of costume-related inheritances, I recently inherited my 93-year old grandma-in-law's sewing stuff--all of it, including some stuff she probably should have thrown away 50 years ago! But since I find old wooden bobbins with only a couple of feet of thread left on them fascinating, I'm definitely not complaining. There are some definite scores. I now own a Bernina 830 (original, non-computerized sort) along with 50 zillion accessories, and a beast of a White 844 that--if sheer weight of the machine is anything to go by--can probably sew through about 50 layers of heavy upholstery without even noticing. I haven't gone through more than about 1/4 of the fabric (a lot of it is still in storage halfway across the country) but my linen and silk and bizzaro funky 60s 70s prints collections have already expanded greatly, along with my vintage sewing pattern collection (though sadly g-ma-in-law was about a foot shorter and much much thinner than I--sigh). And I now have every different kind of sewing notion imaginable, and cool vintage buttons, and so many spools of thread that I'm having serious trouble figuring out how to store it all. And the amazing antique laces that she inherited from HER grandmother. oh, it is to drool! OK, sorry, I'll stop bragging. (See, there are advantages to the scarcity of modern seamstresses: if g-ma-in-law's daughters or nieces or other blood relatives had been into it, I probably would have lost my chance to go on this fun treasure hunt.) Anyway, looking through all these old sewing notions, and having an interest in history, I can't help but wonder how old some of this stuff IS. G-ma-in-law started sewing young, so for all I know some of these things could be 85+ years old, although I think most of the oldest stuff is more likely from the 50s and 60s, and I know there's plenty of stuff from the 80s and early 90s. So my question is, does anyone have any resources to suggest that might help me date some of this stuff? Or any highly specific memories, such as in 1963 thread stopped coming on wooden spools and went up to $0.12/50 yds? Or anything else that could help me to not throw away something cool? -E yay! House PS--as I go through the collection, I plan to start offering stuff that I don't expect to ever use up for free to anyone who is willing to pay the shipping. I expect to move within the next year or two, and I really really don't want to have to move boxes upon boxes of quilting fabric or 80s pastel suiting or appliques of someone else's initials PPS--uhm, yeah, no, not the antique lace. Mine. =} ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
Re: [h-cost] Dating vintage sewing stuff
I have some of my great aunt's stuff, and one of the pearl button cards says .25 for 12 half inch buttons, if that helps. She died in 1970. Thread used to be all cotton, not polyester, but I'm not sure when the switch happened. I remember sewing polyester double knits (ugh!), in 1968. Maybe check the old Sears reproduction catalogs for prices. Sharon C. -Original Message- From: h-costume-boun...@indra.com [mailto:h-costume-boun...@indra.com] On Behalf Of Elena House Sent: Wednesday, April 27, 2011 10:26 PM To: Historical Costume Subject: [h-cost] Dating vintage sewing stuff Speaking of costume-related inheritances, I recently inherited my 93-year old grandma-in-law's sewing stuff--all of it, including some stuff she probably should have thrown away 50 years ago! But since I find old wooden bobbins with only a couple of feet of thread left on them fascinating, I'm definitely not complaining. There are some definite scores. I now own a Bernina 830 (original, non-computerized sort) along with 50 zillion accessories, and a beast of a White 844 that--if sheer weight of the machine is anything to go by--can probably sew through about 50 layers of heavy upholstery without even noticing. I haven't gone through more than about 1/4 of the fabric (a lot of it is still in storage halfway across the country) but my linen and silk and bizzaro funky 60s 70s prints collections have already expanded greatly, along with my vintage sewing pattern collection (though sadly g-ma-in-law was about a foot shorter and much much thinner than I--sigh). And I now have every different kind of sewing notion imaginable, and cool vintage buttons, and so many spools of thread that I'm having serious trouble figuring out how to store it all. And the amazing antique laces that she inherited from HER grandmother. oh, it is to drool! OK, sorry, I'll stop bragging. (See, there are advantages to the scarcity of modern seamstresses: if g-ma-in-law's daughters or nieces or other blood relatives had been into it, I probably would have lost my chance to go on this fun treasure hunt.) Anyway, looking through all these old sewing notions, and having an interest in history, I can't help but wonder how old some of this stuff IS. G-ma-in-law started sewing young, so for all I know some of these things could be 85+ years old, although I think most of the oldest stuff is more likely from the 50s and 60s, and I know there's plenty of stuff from the 80s and early 90s. So my question is, does anyone have any resources to suggest that might help me date some of this stuff? Or any highly specific memories, such as in 1963 thread stopped coming on wooden spools and went up to $0.12/50 yds? Or anything else that could help me to not throw away something cool? -E yay! House PS--as I go through the collection, I plan to start offering stuff that I don't expect to ever use up for free to anyone who is willing to pay the shipping. I expect to move within the next year or two, and I really really don't want to have to move boxes upon boxes of quilting fabric or 80s pastel suiting or appliques of someone else's initials PPS--uhm, yeah, no, not the antique lace. Mine. =} ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
