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Saturday, December 23, 2017

Recipe of the day. Squirrel Pot Pie.

#squirrel #cooking #game #1917 #goldmedalflour #estatesale
Recipe of the day. Squirrel Pot Pie. I can’t eat a squirrel, mainly because I can’t catch ‘em. This was found in a Gold Medal Flour cook book from 1917. There may be lots of good eats in there but this isn’t one of my favorites.

from Instagram

Monday, December 18, 2017

These 2 were not hiding in plain site.

#beatles #vinyl #45rpm #estatesale #connecticut
These 2 were not hiding in plain site. The best finds never are. Video reveal coming soon.

from Instagram

Saturday, December 16, 2017

Some pencils you buy just for the inscription alone.

#pencils #found #asbestos #dalecarnagie #estatesale #newtown #connecticut
Some pencils you buy just for the inscription alone. #pencils #asbestos #dalecarnagie #estatesale #newtown #connecticut

from Instagram

Friday, December 15, 2017

When searching through estate sales I like to get small.

#tools #backstory #estatesale #antique #whatisthisthing

When searching through estate sales I like to get small. They are actually referred as “smalls.” Often gathered out of desk, junk or workshop drawers - it these items that can have as big a story to tell as the signed artwork or Ming vase. I want to know where this came from, who manufactured it and why? I’ll find out eventually.

Sunday, December 10, 2017

It's the Little Things You Treasure

#projector #16mm #film #oilcan #antique #connecticut #estatesale #urbanarcheology
Tiny accessories that accompany the modern conveniences of early 19th century homes fascinate me.

How many times have you gone digging through a junk drawer, sewing desk, or movie projector only to find these single purpose oil cans? Usually they are stained and and dark, but sometimes they have the look of minimal use. This might be why we see cars that rarely, if ever, need their oil changed. We seem to want to believe that well built machines would never need any help from us.

Not true, if you are reading this and you own a car - go check your oil level! An untouched (or lightly touched) oil can is only desired by the collector or Urban Archeologist. Those machines ran hot and were running gears on gears and needed constant (or near constant) care to keep things running smoothly.
This little guy came out of a 16mm home projector case and although the accompanying 30's era projector still runs I can hear it crying for oil like the Tin Man.
from Instagram

Friday, December 8, 2017

Hiding in a pile of records - LIFE! from 1916

#ephemera #lifemagazine #shakespeare #estatesale #urbanarcheology
Hiding in a pile of records - this 1916 edition of Life celebrating ironically the anniversary of William Shakespeare’s Death (300th anniversary). It is with bated breath that I await my next Urban Archeological dig.
from Instagram

Tuesday, December 5, 2017

There Tiffany, and then there's TIFFANY!

#estatesale #tiffany #valueable #antique #urbanarcheology
The next time someone says “Do you want me to hand it to you on a SilverPlatter?” You say, “No thank you. The copper platter will be just fine.” Especially if the platter is an enamel-covered Tiffany one. I was helping a friend of mine clear out her parents estate recently, and among the many pieces her parents had collected was this one. Wisely, she had arranged an appraiser who had a vast knowledge and experience with fine antiques. It was amazing to see him hold this up flip it over and nonchalantly exclaim, “This is worth $50,000.” So, the next time anyone wonders why you want to dig in the past, you could say “I have my reasons... Like 50k of them."

from Instagram

Saturday, December 2, 2017

Inside or out - Digging in the past is time well spent.

#bottle #antique #connecticut #oyster #history #urbanarcheology #rhodeisland
Inside or out - Digging in the past is time well spent. Connecticut residents might be familiar with the Norwalk Oyster Festival, and after a sale last week I found out how large the Oyster industry was in CT and All New England. Photographing old bottles is not easy - so I will transcribe: “Patience Island Oyster Company, New Haven CT.” I first thought this was a pint milk bottle- nope- this would have been filled with shelled Oysters. The real mystery was trying figure out when Patience Island is in CT. It isn’t. The Island is located in Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island. In the 19th Century it would have as it’s only resident on the 200+ acre island -an Oysterman’s shack, with a single occupant whose job was to watch over the beds. Why a CT company chose a name that was a good day’s sail away maybe speaks to the size a quality of the beds and their Oysters. Not the slight purple hue on the bottle.
from Instagram

Thursday, November 30, 2017

I found a fortune yesterday.

#magazine #fortune #estatesale #antoniopetrocelli #graphicarts
I found a fortune yesterday. This 1938 edition is in pretty good shape considering it turns 80 next year. The real prize is learning about Antonio Petruccelli. He created over 25 covers for Fortune, as well as other covers and graphic blandishments. Usually I enjoy these for the old ads, but now they become works of art from cover to cover.

from Instagram

Sunday, November 26, 2017

Urban Archeology is all about persistence and willingness to dig in odd places. In the basement of a Newtown sale this weekend I was presented with piles of random hardware with a “Free” sign floating over them. I will always go hunting through these because they@become “catch-all’s” for bits of history. It this bin I came out with a filed service pinback for WWII infantry. #found #estatesale #military #wwii #antiques #urbanarcheology


Urban Archeology is all about persistence and willingness to dig in odd places. In the basement of a Newtown sale this weekend I was presented with piles of random hardware with a “Free” sign floating over them. I will always go hunting through these because they@become “catch-all’s” for bits of history. It this bin I came out with a filed service pinback for WWII infantry. #estatesale #military #wwii #antiques #urbanarcheology

from Instagram

Saturday, November 11, 2017

An unfortunate name for a man that sells adventure. From 1929.

 #found #oldpaper #travel #advertising #humor #notelonmusk #urbanarcheology
An unfortunate name for a man that sells adventure. From 1929. I look for the humor in things, fortunately old advertisements offer an almost inexhaustible supply. I can believe that I am the only one to make this connection. How many husbands came home to announce "Guess what everyone!? We're going on a Boring cruise!"
A tip of the hat to Elon Musk for naming his tunnel digging company "The Boring Company." I see what you did there.
from Instagram

Monday, November 6, 2017

20 ways to say I Love You.

#love #peace #hope from a 1942 Mailer to soldiers. #wwii #mail
20 ways to say I Love You. This section is from a template for mailing servicemen in 1942.

from Instagram

Friday, November 3, 2017

From the booklet "The 12 Healers" by Physician Edward Bach

#herbalism #books #humor #cure #montypython #urbanarcheology #1933
From the booklet "The 12 Healers" by Physician Edward Bach in 1933. These are best read with an English accent and should be considered for a Monty Python-esque skit.
from Instagram

Thursday, November 2, 2017

Saturday, October 21, 2017

Saturday, October 14, 2017

Almost a Hoard, but definitely a dig! (video)

Fall is a prime season for estate paling and this weekend is no different. If you're willing to travel it could be worth the trip no matter what you are looking for.  In this video I document briefly a sale in Western CT, Danbury to exact. I found what I was looking for...

Tuesday, October 10, 2017

Oh crap! I'm a collector! I found these thinking I would turn them around to a friend of mine for a quick mini profit. After doing a little research and learning that Dorothy Kindell was called the "Naughty Potter" from Latina Hills CA. And that this is only half the set.... I can't sell them! I need to find the other 3. #found #pottery #kindell #1950s #art #stripper #naughty #cool #rare #estatesale #urbanarcheology


Oh crap! I'm a collector! I found these thinking I would turn them around to a friend of mine for a quick mini profit. After doing a little research and learning that Dorothy Kindell was called the "Naughty Potter" from Latina Hills CA. And that this is only half the set.... I can't sell them! I need to find the other 3. #pottery #kindell #1950s #art #stripper #naughty #cool #rare #estatesale #urbanarcheology

from Instagram

Sunday, October 8, 2017

Found during a dig....1956 summons from the Bronx. The infraction? DIRTY SIDEWALK! The reverse listing of all the other infraction is just as enjoyable....still trying to figure how someone "retards" traffic. I find all traffic retarded. #oldpaper #estatesale #found #police #ticket #summons #bronx #whydoesinstagramshadowbanme


Found during a dig....1956 summons from the Bronx. The infraction? DIRTY SIDEWALK! The reverse listing of all the other infraction is just as enjoyable....still trying to figure how someone "retards" traffic. I find all traffic retarded. #oldpaper #estatesale #police #ticket #summons #bronx #whydoesinstagramshadowbanme

from Instagram

Thursday, October 5, 2017

A Visit to a Collector's Compound (Sale preview Video)

The fun part about UA os being able to see sales while they are being set up. Providing a video to these businesses is win-win. Take a look:

Tuesday, October 3, 2017

Saturday, September 30, 2017

Monday, September 25, 2017

Game of Throwns - The magic of Urban Archeology

When I want to explain my method for discovery at these sales - I can't. There is no trance, Zen state, or Vulcan mind-meld I enter, yet there certainly is no clinical explanation either.  I walk in and look around - like every one else does.  Sometimes my discoveries make me think that some other force is at work - luck maybe? Another weekend, another case in point.

Driving my daughter to her practices every Saturday means I have just about 60-90 minutes to try and find a story to tell. I stretch this imaginary bungee cord as far as I can before a text calls me back for pick up. It's not unlike a timed event at some estate sale competition.  Can I do it? A warm summer-like day does cause the sales to blossom like so many dandelions that carpet my lawn. "Maybe there's a chance..." I thought.  30 minutes and 2 sales later and I am not feeling too confident. I think about the good corners where signs can pop up and I consider the time left until pick-up, "Let's see how far I can stretch that bungee." I think.

Sure enough the corner I envisioned one town away produces a single sign and I am back on the hunt. If you can imagine the roads in your towns, you know that some are short and sweet and others can be long and circuitous. This road was the latter, fortunately, within a minute of travel I had arrived.

A sign posted by the driveway "Tag and horse tack" sale causes me to exhale with a whinny. As I searched I came across boxes that had been pulled from a damp barn or storage unit. Sometimes oder and discoloration can turn me away, but then I remember that sunlight is the best disinfectant. A little patience and a little persistence are the other ingredients in curing distaste. Combine all three and - It pays off.

I don't collect comic books, but I do collect items from eras I've never seen. With all the Hollywood interest in superheroes, these characters are part of current pop culture, but who is this guy?

From wikipedia:
The original Golden Age Blue Beetle was Dan Garret,[18] son of a police officer killed by a criminal. This Fox Feature Syndicate version of the character debuted in Mystery Men Comics #1 (August 1939), and began appearing in his own 60-issue series shortly thereafter. Fox Feature Syndicate sponsored a "Blue Beetle Day" at the 1939 New York World's Fair on August 7, 1940, beginning at 10:30 a.m. and including 300 children in relay-race finals at the Field of Special Events, following preliminaries in New York City parks. The race was broadcast over radio station WMCA.[19]

The Blue Beetle was born in what was known as the Golden Age of comic books (meaning - if you find one from the late 1930's in good condition - it's Gold!) What I had found was the second iteration of Blue Beetle by short-lived Charlton Comics. This series lasted about a year in 1964.  I had found #3 in the series and it's value was in question and of secondary interest to me.

The real surprise was inside, as all of these comic books have the requisite "Mail Bag;" kids write in to voice their support, pleasure, disdain and even ideas. The editors, or someone, kindly responds in italic.

These are always light reading and meant more to excite future readers to feel some control in a part of the world the publisher has created. The question I have always wanted an answer to: Are these letters real? On the 2nd page I found a name that's difficult for the publisher to have fabricated:

Yes, that is the father of the "Game of Thrones" series George R.R. Martin! Just 16 years old at the time and already articulate and interested in the finer details of a character and his backstory.

There you have it. A random find based on a minor curiosity for nostalgic subject matter. By stretching the figurative "bungee" to almost breaking, the universe cracked open and a mythical dragon swooped down and deposited this icon from its golden talons - sparing me in the process. Once again, with no planning, I am  honored to be able to discover an artifact containing a timely-relevant association with the present day.

Saturday, September 23, 2017

I should leave comic collecting to the experts. OR...maybe not! (Updated in the latest post)

#comicbooks #1964 #estatesales #urbanarcheology #comics
I should leave comic collecting to the experts. I couldn't resist this one found in a box of random items. Move over Iron Man! Charlton comic books lasted about a year and were bought by D.C. In 1983. This one from 1964 is in fair shape for its age.

from Instagram

Sunday, September 17, 2017

Books I almost bought for the cover art alone - Jimmy Wins A Prize

#childrensbooks #oldbooks #humor #estatesales #fleamarket #newmilford #turtles
You maybe didn't know that the competition was turtle eating. Jimmy knew, oh yes...Jimmy knew.  My apologies to the illustrator, who did an excellent job. Twisting this out of context is my job. The idea that Jimmy needs to eat the turtle before the magic spell consumes him might make a more popular and contemporary spin on an otherwise simple children's story.

from Instagram

Saturday, September 9, 2017

I can't buy everything I see, but it is difficult even with the things that are small. Old pencil boxes are on my kryptonite list and if the top was present, I would have bought it. #found #pencils #old #drawing #cool #estatesale


I can't buy everything I see, but it is difficult even with the things that are small. Old pencil boxes are on my kryptonite list and if the top was present, I would have bought it. #pencils #old #drawing #cool #estatesale

from Instagram

Friday, September 8, 2017

Saturday, September 2, 2017

Out on the hunt early - I bag an Alligator Bag

#luggage #skins #odd #unique #cool #endangered #1930s #artdeco #alligator #estatesale #rare #briefcase #urbanarcheology #newmilford #connecticut
When you see animal skins and furs at estate sales I always pause (not paws) and ask:"Is that endangered and can it be sold?" If you purchase Ivory someone may read you the riot act, or to force you to read the reams  and reams of documentation about what Ivory is legal to buy. Alligator is not currently on the endangered species list, but I could be wrong. Asking an Alligator, however, could put you on the endangered species list. It is best to check the laws of the State you are purchasing it in. Me? I only take pictures...much safer.

from Instagram

Saturday, August 26, 2017

A True Dig (video)

My estate sale friends allow me early access, not because I want first pick at the best deals - No. They know I want to help them uncover those things that have not been found yet. Here, My friend Justin of Just In Antiques at the Brickhouse allows me to join him in a previously unpicked part of a recent sale.

Thursday, August 24, 2017

They must have raked in the cash!

#magazine #newengland #Elks #ephemera #promotional #promotionalproducts #nostalgia #estatesale #1928 #illustrationart #urbanarcheology #cash #rake #idiom #humour #humor #advertising #urbanarcheology
 They're showing you a rake and cash so there must be some truth to this ad from 1928. Some of the best fun you can have for a dollar is to visit your local library's summer book sale and dig through the vintage paper section. I am featuring ads this month from several copies of "The Elks" magazine I purchased.


Sunday, August 20, 2017

Advertising that's positively negative

#magazine #illustration #advertising #Elks #ephemera #promotional #promotionalproducts #nostalgia #estatesale #1928 #illustrationart #urbanarcheology #humour #humor #advertising #cigarette #smoking #embarassing #dating #oldpaper #ephemera
You've stranded your fiancé in the city late at night and the solution is to light a cigarette?
Another advertising masterpiece from a 1928 Elks magazine. Embarrassing or devious?

Thursday, August 17, 2017

Click bait ala 1928.

#magazine #newengland #Elks #ephemera #promotional #promotionalproducts #nostalgia #estatesale #1928 #illustrationart #urbanarcheology #collectible #language #french #francophile #humour #humor #advertising #urbanarcheology
Click bait ala 1928. You too can learn to talk "in French". Top half of an add for language lessons. More of the self help ads courtesy of the elks magazine. Good clean Francophile fun.


Tuesday, August 8, 2017

Look! He's imitating a Pianist!

#magazine #newengland #Elks #ephemera #promotional #promotionalproducts #nostalgia #estatesale #1928 #illustrationart #urbanarcheology #collectible #music #piano #humour #humor #pianolessons #urbanarcheology
Illustration layout is truly an art, and ads like these that place photos of people at odd and exaggerated  positions to call attention are a favorite of mine. If you see someone sitting at a piano it is bad manners to shout across a room and call them out...even if you are 12 feet tall.

Saturday, August 5, 2017

Can you guess the profession?

#foundphoto #nostalgia #estatesale #justinantiques #timemachine #workers #groupphoto #childlabor #urbanarcheology #oldphoto #antique #camera
Can you guess the profession? My good friend Justin opened his new location in New Milford, CT: Just In Antiques & More at the Brickhouse. Unfortunately, I don't have the answer. As is the case of these old photos, few had the foresight to think that strangers would like to know.


Sunday, July 30, 2017

Remember when banks gave gifts for saving money?

#medals #banks #banking #thrift #antique #collectible #Connecticut #estatesales #urbanarcheology #everypicturetellsastory #reward #premium #swag
Those were the days of toasters and incentives to get the money out of the mattress and into the local economy.  Today I feel as though it's back in the mattress.


Monday, July 24, 2017

Vintage watercolor pencils


I found these ancient watercolor pencils at a tag sale.  I wanted to buy them but decided to just take a still image instead. Self control hmmm. Normally I would consider buying every color pencil or marker I see - but that kind of normality just leads to hoarding.

Wednesday, July 19, 2017

Scrapbooks - they can be illustrious

#estatesale #books #oldmagazines #toon #howto #thingsfoundinbooks #nostalgia #cartoons #cartooning #draw #scrapbook #connecticut #picking #1930s #illustration #illustrator #urbanarcheology #cartooning #humour #funny #bookcollection #humor
Scrapbooks often have no context. They may have been busy work for bored children or more possibly a reflection on the fascination of high quality color illustration. How could you just throw away such high quality art when the magazines pile up? They couldn't - so we find scrapbooks like these from the 30's and get a look at images commissioned by advertisers to leap off the page as if real.
from Instagram

Saturday, July 15, 2017

The odds and ends you see... Rocket Chalk.

#estatesale #movingsale #oddity #oddsandends #1960s #rockets #chalk
The odds and ends you see... Rocket Chalk. The age of rockets and the promise of space travel added sleek shapes and fins from cars to Chalk? No fins here, but with rocket Chalk you won't stay long after school writing "I will not drive by an estate sale." 100 times. Seen at my friend's - Windy Cats Estate Sales in Brookfield, CT.

from Instagram

Monday, July 10, 2017

Found at the The annual Friends of the Newtown Library Book sale

#books #bookcover #bookcollecting #booksale #newtown #sciencefiction #imagination #drones #drone #fiction #story #interesting #future #futurology #urbanarcheology #oldbooks
The annual Friends of the Newtown Library Book sale is a Mecca for book collectors, avid readers and me. There is always a selection of ancient tomes of all sizes and old paper to choose from. This pulp science fiction title was strangely prophetic.
from Instagram

Saturday, July 8, 2017

Prismacolor obsession.

#toon #doodle #comic #comicartist #cartoon #illustration #illustrations #artist #art #motivate #motivation #inspiration #draw #drawing #ink #pen #pencils #prisma #prismacolor #weekend #hope
Prismacolor obsession. At the estate sale sneak peak I conducted recently, I found a set of older prismacolor pencils and decided to buy and then display them with the 2 other eras of these magical sticks. Newest at the top oldest at the bottom. I don't know how old. Getting ready to color...with them.
One item I learned is that, no surprise, the older ones are better than the newer ones. If you ask around to fans of the pencils many will tell you that now they are made in Mexico they break more often. I have made no empirical study to verify this - but I will tell that now I have another excuse to buy old pencils when I see them at sales - like I needed an excuse!

Here is a sample of my Prismacolor obsession:
Prismacolor

from Instagram

Wednesday, July 5, 2017

Two worlds collide again! Art meets Archeology

 #estatesale #books #oldmagazines #toon #howto #thingsfoundinbooks #nostalgia #cartoons #cartooning #draw #famousartistschool #westport #connecticut #picking #1959 #illustration #illustrator #urbanarcheology #cartooning #humour #funny #bookcollection #humor #learntodraw #bethlehem
Two worlds collide again! While traveling to March Farm in Bethlehem, CT to pick cherries with the family, I happened on another good pick. When you ride through the hills of Connecticut you will eventually come across the make-shift yard sale. Sometimes these are just home goods and toys - the typical we-have-too-much-stuff sale. Every so often you come across an old farm property where the stuff they have too much of is very old.

This day it would be the latter. With a little convincing I was able to bring the family trickster to a rest and assure wife and daughter that I wouldn't be long. This was one of the few times where I could be close to honesty regarding their wait time. While I could have spent half an hour, it really only took a few minutes to take it all in. The grand prize was a table full of farm journals from the 1930's.  I wanted all of these for the ads alone, but managed to hold off and chose just 3.

The Famous Artists School was a Correspondence course in drawing, Cartooning and other skills- the founders were actually famous artists, illustrators, cartoonists in the biz. I have the over sized set of binders that hold the course work and every now and then I find something else from there. Born out of the Artist colony in Westport CT they also published this magazine quarterly. This one is from 1959 and features an illustration of Westport on the cover.  I like it.

from Instagram

Friday, June 30, 2017

Another production still from unknown origin.

#foundphoto #mystery #film #filmproduction #behindthescenes #1960s #actor #actress #urbanarcheology #picking #searching #interesting #colorfilm #stills #productionstills
Another production still from unknown origin. There seems to be an early 60s military informational vibe with all of them, except maybe this one. See if you can figure out what's going on and who is behind it.

from Instagram

Saturday, June 10, 2017

Wanna know how I find all these bizarre cool and unique things I post?

#speaking #treasure #history #picker #pickers #picking #estatesalefinds #estatesale #garagesale #tagsale #cool #unique #storytelling #ted #inspirational #motivational #urbanarcheology #confessions #humor #humour #fun #thingstodo #connecticut #
Wanna know how I find all those bizarre cool and unique things I post? If you're in Connecticut stop by the Brookfield library- the show starts at 7pm.

from Instagram

Wednesday, June 7, 2017

When 2 of my worlds collide...

#estatesale #books #oldbooks #huey #toon #howto #thingsfoundinbooks #nostalgia #cartoons #cartooning #draw #drinks #1935 #illustration #illustrator #urbanarcheology #cartooning #humour #funny #bookcollection #humor
When 2 of my worlds collide...this estate sale treasure of a book from 1935 on how to cartoon also had play money from 1947 tucked in the pages. That's a a 2fer.
from Instagram

Saturday, June 3, 2017

Gold is where you find it - In The Ceiling!

Every weekend is another opportunity to not only search for gold, but also provide a useful service to humanity.  My good friend Justin Krul (of Just-In Antiques and More!) advertised an estate sale in Sandy Hook CT (still going on as this is being written).   My initial scan of the home found it to be extremely well set-up and very clean. My first discovery were some cool albums
#found #vinyl #vintage #old #music #bawdy #goodolddays #humor #funny #album # #record # stripper #nostalgia #albumcover #estatesale #estatesalefinds #urbanarcheology #listen #recordcollection #photography #treasurehunting #justinantiques #takeitalloff

My plan is always to make a 2nd and 3rd inspection and each time to look deeper and deeper into the house (with permission).  My goal is to find what was missed, the hidey-holes and cubbys that we all consider as safe places...so safe, we  forget about them.

A common place to hide items is above ceilings - so much dead space and flat surfaces they are hard to resist.  This is where I come in.  In this sale I was able to uncover valuables the owner would have left to the next buyer, or whoever may have stumbled across them.  Watch this short dig report and see the discover as it happened...

The epilogue is: Justin returned the items to the owner and they were ecstatic and confessed that her father would often hide these things before going away on a trip. This happy ending to the story is what makes Urban Archeology so satisfying to me.  

I love album covers.

#speaking #treasure #history #picker #pickers #picking #estatesalefinds #estatesale #garagesale #tagsale #cool #unique #storytelling #ted #inspirational #motivational #urbanarcheology #confessions #humor #humour #fun #thingstodo #connecticut #
I love album covers. I also love a good treasure hunt. Although I rarely buy vinyl at sales I still can't help going through a stack of them - they are like glossy pages of an oversized picture book - some beautiful, some bawdy, some both.

from Instagram

Wednesday, May 31, 2017

Found photos are fun.

#foundphoto #army #1963 #production #miltaryvehicle #truck #repair #howto #glossy #government #veteran #military #service #urbanarcheology #armedforces #vfw #remember #photography #picture #jeep
Found photos are fun. This is a production company still for what looks like a gov't instructional film for servicing a 1/4 ton truck in 1963. Maybe Arlo Guthrie knows something about all these 8x10 color glossy photos with no description on the back?
from Instagram

Saturday, May 27, 2017

I would rather be right than be President!

When you search for those odd bits of paper and gadgets lost in the crevasses of the past, you are bound to uncover items that reveal an odd coincidence. I will share the coincidence further down, but first, watch this 60 second video reveal:


I purchased a mass of papers from Ridgefield CT estate sale where I found a friendly and generous family that was happy to sell them to me.  As I examined the basement of this home I noticed several scrap books and papers on top of a large plastic container of still more papers. I stopped and connected with a family member to ask if I could look closer. After a brief pause he exclaimed that the papers had been sorted and I could have the entire lot for $10.  I offered my card and explained my goal to researching and share these items in an appropriate manner. A few minutes later I was conversing with more family members who expressed some relief  to see these items go to someone who would appreciate them.

Among numerous tax bill receipts paid in the 19th century to the State of Ohio there was one letter that stood out. As you see in the video it was one of those letters were the envelope is the letter. (Scan coming soon) It didn't say much except that "Here is a copy of you policy - Whitman Mead." Inside was a campaign ribbon like I have never seen..

This silk ribbon espouses the benefit of joining the fight for the Whig Party candidate for president: Henry Clay.  In these times when we are so divided as a nation it was amazing for me to look up something about Henry Clay the candidate. I learned that the most pressing issue of his campaign was whether or not Texas should be allowed to join the union.  Why? Well with all that land there would be a greater need for slave labor...thus jacking up the price of slaves.

The coincidence? As I examined the envelope, I fretted at the fact that I couldn't see the date on the hand cancellation - Inside Whitman Mead has written a date on the top as April 22, 1844.

I looked at the date written there and had to check my phones calendar twice - that date I spend the letter was exactly 173 years from the day he wrote it!  To open a gem such as this on its 173rd birthday was truly cause for celebration.