A friend posted this meme on his Facebook page today and jokingly quipped, “My wife.” 
But being the deep thinker that I am, instead of quickly responding with something like “my vintage Huey Lewis concert tshirt which doubles as my favorite nightgown” I thought I’d turn the question into a blog post.
I have a lot of old stuff. Probably the oldest is a bedroom suite that I inherited from my maternal grandmother, my beloved Nannie Grace. It was an antique when she bought it, but she went one step further and antiqued the antique. Sigh. Apparently it was a popular thing to do in the 60’s and 70’s.
I’ve considered having her antiquing process undone and the furniture restored to its original mahogany, but one restorer explained to me that the paint Nannie Grace applied is probably the only thing holding it together at this point.
It’s still a beautiful set, and I’d estimate it at possibly 145 years of age.
There’s also this piece from Nannie Grace
And this poor old clock that was my Daddy’s:
But my favorite old thing is my side saddle.
My maternal grandfather, Grandaddy Carl P., bought this saddle when I was very young. He promised it would be mine someday and here it is. Like Grandaddy, though, I really don’t have anywhere to display it. He kept it in his workshop and Studly always gives me space in the garage for this sentimental piece. It deserves better, so if anyone has a suggestion for how I might incorporate it into my decor I’m more than willing to listen.
What’s the oldest thing in your house? Why do you have it and what does it mean to you? Inquiring minds want to know.
Peace, people!
Praying for Eyebrowz 
Buy an antique rocking horse and let it have pride of place in the lounge?
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Might be on the costly side, but there’s a thought!
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My dresser is my oldest piece….. it’s at least 100 years old. I found it wedged in a pile of dressers at the Good Will. It had been horribly painted so heavily that it had dried drips in the paint. I stripped it with a green paint stripper- which took several applications. I did a whitewash on the body of the dresser so that it’s not opaque and you can see the grain of the wood. The drawer fronts I left natural and just sealed. It’s the perfect size for my small apartment and gets daily use. One of my faves!
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Oh! I wish the comments allowed photos. I’d love to see this piece. Thanks for weighing in.
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I’d drape that side saddle over the back of my couch or perhaps the big armchair in the corner where less people sit. The oldest thing in my house is my grandmother’s Indiana ruby red glass molded candy dish, which is from the 1890s. It’s been in a trunk forever. I recently dug it out and put it on display. While it’s been really safe in that trunk, it’s not very easy to enjoy the thing if I never see it.
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Good for you! We have to risk sometimes.
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Ready? I have, encased in a glass frame, a page from a Roman Catholic breviary. OK so far? Hand written, illuminated, from a German monk. Here it comes. Dated 1458. Now THAT is OLD! I don’t often think of it; probably I walk past that bookcase shelf fifty times a day. But it is beautiful, special, sacred to me. It holds memoriesofatime when I was in college and our German teacher brought the book back. I was fortunate to receive a page–not for free, mind you. But I have had it since 1960.
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Oh wow, James! That is incredible! Again I’m wishing for photo sharing capabilities on WP comments.
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Smaller than a 3 x 5 card, on thin vellum-like paper, Latin I can hardly make out, with blues and reds and light brown lettering. It is beautiful. What is more amazing is that the lettering does not show through to the other side. Amazing. I do wish I could affix a picture.
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Maybe a blog post featuring it???
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I guess one of the oldest things I have is my mom and dad’s wedding photo, which is almost 100 years old now. Crikey! Mom is wearing an indigo silk, embroidered dress, she still had the skirt portion when I was a dear little urchin. She’s wearing soft looking boots, with buttons up the side. She still had a button hook that she used to do up those buttons. Dad is looking suitably dignified in a dark suit, the pants of which are not quite long enough. His shirt has a high, stiff looking collar.
I also have a photo of my mom on her First Communion day, she looks very pretty. 🙂
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Oh, what a terrific piece of history! You’ve described it in a way that I can almost see them. How old were they in the picture?
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Mom would have been about 21, dad about 26.
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Our oldest artefact is the clock in this post https://derrickjknight.com/2016/02/05/phases-of-the-moon/ that you have already liked.
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Wish I could double like it! That’s such a lovely piece.
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Many thanks, Leslie. Thank you for liking it twice
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