Do you have any family heirlooms?

[CuriousByNature]

DAMN!

 

@CuriousByNature for the win. Well-done sir.

 

I wonder if I can pivot this into an egg on my face punchline.

No need to pivot - always appreciate the feedback

[Guest]

Bad topic

If that's your opinion, (1) why read through the string, and (2) why take the trouble to make this comment?

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

No need to pivot - always appreciate the feedback

 

You realize with a quick bacon quip, we'd nearly have an English breakfast (or, brekkie, if you will).

[+ WilliamM]

If that's your opinion, (1) why read through the string, and (2) why take the trouble to make this comment?

 

 

Members of some families we all know barely speak to each other because of disagreement over things like this

[Rudynate]

My mother's family has some pieces of china that, according to family lore, were in the hold of one of the ships boarded during the Boston Tea Party. I thought this story was kind of a stretch, but I showed a picture of one of the dishes to a ceramics curator at the Royal Ontario Museum. He said the pattern was produced by Wedgewood in England during the 1760s. So it isn't impossible that the story is true.

[CuriousByNature]

You realize with a quick bacon quip, we'd nearly have an English breakfast (or, brekkie, if you will).

Nothing like a good English brekkie... especially the black pudding and fried mushrooms IMHO.

[samhexum]

Nothing like a good English brekkie... especially the black pudding and fried mushrooms IMHO.

 

Don't they have Jimmy Dean's breakfast sandwiches & bowls in England?

[CuriousByNature]

Don't they have Jimmy Dean's breakfast sandwiches & bowls in England?

That would be an abomination! Lol.

[Bargara Leatherboy]

I have a roll top desk that was my Dads, and a grandmother clock that was my grandparents. My father tells the story of when the box arrived in the house, my grandparents lived in Suva Fiji, so it arrived in the house after a sea journey from Sydney Australia, my uncle and aunt were hoping the box contained a wind up gramophone, being around 1925.

The clock hung in my parents house all my life, regardless of where we lived, so I was happy to have it, and will pass it onto my nieces or nephews when i pass

[+ Pensant]

I have some interesting things from my father’s side: a desk from 1835, two silver and gold monogrammed belt buckles from my great grandfather and great uncle, some silver baby cups, a sampler dated 1827 and my maternal grandfather’s Croix de Guerre. Sisters have silver and fine jewelry.

[+ Coolwave35]

My great-great grandfather murdered someone in Sicily in the 1800’s as a teenager. His mother sent him to America with the knife he used to stab the guy. My grandmother (92) still has it. After much negotiation, I’ve promised to keep it safe in the family when she passes. It also comes with a gold ring that’s been in the family at least as long.

[BtmBearDad]

Growing up, there were always pieces of furniture, decorative objects, china, jewelry, etc. that were referred to by the person it came from -ie; “Uncle Victor’s desk”, “Aunt Mamie’s china”, “Granny Isabelle’s pearls”. We knew they came down thru previous generations as heirlooms, and were not to go outside the family. There were also some pieces that didn’t get quite the reverence they deserved. I’m thinking specifically of a large silver bowl that was always on the table in my paternal grandparents foyer, then my mother’s. It was always referred to as “Paul” as in “I left the keys in Paul” or “I put your mail in/by Paul”. As we had a 2x great uncle Paul, I always thought it came thru him. It was only after my mother passed, I discovered it was actually an original piece of Revere silver. Probably not the best place to be dropping keys, yet that’s what I’m still using it for.

 

When my mother passed a few years ago, it was somewhat daunting going thru, sorting everything. My siblings took the items they wanted, yet there was so much left.

 

I have a good friend who worked at Sotheby’s who came to my mother’s to go thru things with me. I was surprised that some of the jewelry my sister didn’t take were much older than I had thought (mid 1700’s thru early 1800’s), and that the stones were real. A big surprise was a knife that has been used as a letter opener for decades is actually a piece of Georgian silver - it still sits on my desk to use opening letters.

 

There was also a good amount of militaria that comes thru my father’s side. Swords, helmets, medals, hats, a couple of uniforms, trench art, etc. with some pieces going back hundreds of years.

 

Between the china, silver, jewelry, furniture, militaria, etc., my friend dated the oldest piece to about 1500 (which fit family lore), with other bits covering the next 500 years. I have some in my place, with the bulk in storage. I can’t bring myself to sell it all, but I’m sure after I’m gathered to my forebears that is what my family will do.

[marylander1940]

This is what I call a heirloom! 

 

 

[Luv2play]

On 3/23/2021 at 4:47 PM, CuriousByNature said:

Nothing like a good English brekkie... especially the black pudding and fried mushrooms IMHO.

What about the kippers?

[Luv2play]

On 3/24/2021 at 12:36 PM, BtmBearDad said:

Growing up, there were always pieces of furniture, decorative objects, china, jewelry, etc. that were referred to by the person it came from -ie; “Uncle Victor’s desk”, “Aunt Mamie’s china”, “Granny Isabelle’s pearls”. We knew they came down thru previous generations as heirlooms, and were not to go outside the family. There were also some pieces that didn’t get quite the reverence they deserved. I’m thinking specifically of a large silver bowl that was always on the table in my paternal grandparents foyer, then my mother’s. It was always referred to as “Paul” as in “I left the keys in Paul” or “I put your mail in/by Paul”. As we had a 2x great uncle Paul, I always thought it came thru him. It was only after my mother passed, I discovered it was actually an original piece of Revere silver. Probably not the best place to be dropping keys, yet that’s what I’m still using it for.

 

When my mother passed a few years ago, it was somewhat daunting going thru, sorting everything. My siblings took the items they wanted, yet there was so much left.

 

I have a good friend who worked at Sotheby’s who came to my mother’s to go thru things with me. I was surprised that some of the jewelry my sister didn’t take were much older than I had thought (mid 1700’s thru early 1800’s), and that the stones were real. A big surprise was a knife that has been used as a letter opener for decades is actually a piece of Georgian silver - it still sits on my desk to use opening letters.

 

There was also a good amount of militaria that comes thru my father’s side. Swords, helmets, medals, hats, a couple of uniforms, trench art, etc. with some pieces going back hundreds of years.

 

Between the china, silver, jewelry, furniture, militaria, etc., my friend dated the oldest piece to about 1500 (which fit family lore), with other bits covering the next 500 years. I have some in my place, with the bulk in storage. I can’t bring myself to sell it all, but I’m sure after I’m gathered to my forebears that is what my family will do.

It sounds like a lot of this stuff should go to auction after you die, if it is still in your possession in that long distant time. There are people who will buy and appreciate this kind of stuff. Even today.

[Luv2play]

I am involved in a project to start up a new museum in my community after the old one closed because of building issues. The building housing it was built around 1827 and was built using stone, which over time started to shift because of subsoil issues.

So now I have the opportunity to update the collection and will add a few items from my own family which has been in this town since 1830. Pretty old for these parts as the province of Ontario only started in 1784 with the arrival of the Empire Loyalists, as we call them. The Americans called them the losers of the War of Independence, and kicked them out of the 13 colonies. Today they would be called refugees. Maybe that's why we are so welcoming to new refugees.