Dear Lee, 

Collectors love the holidays. It is a perfect time for family heirlooms and flea market finds to take their place of honor on dinner tables and mantels or in entryways and yards.

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, we are starting to pull out our holiday decorations. Did you know that although Thanksgiving was celebrated by most of the United States by 1871, it was not a national legal holiday until 1941? Thanksgiving collectibles aren’t as popular as Christmas or Halloween items, but are they are quickly catching up. The most popular items are usually ceramic or glass turkeys and pumpkins.

In honor of Thanksgiving, we tried something different in this month’s newsletter: We found pieces needed for the dinner table from a recent auction. We thought it would be interesting to create a “collector’s Thanksgiving table.” The results (see page 27) are original and attractive.

Our Thanksgiving table already is a combination of family heirlooms and fun finds. Each piece has personal meaning. The centerpiece is a porcelain turkey that I’ve used for decades as a server or a vase. Our family eats off blue-and-white Spode porcelain plates with a floral pattern. We use sterling silver flatware that was a wedding gift to a family member just after World War I, and our water goblets are pressed glass from the 1880s. I top it all off with silver-plated figural napkin rings made about 1880 and an English sterling silver open salt from the 1830s with a cobalt blue glass liner I bought on my honeymoon.

Regardless of what is on the table, it is always a thankful and happy time to celebrate with family.

Happy Thanksgiving from the Kovels to all of you!

Terry Kovel

honeycomp paper turkey decoration

This honeycomb paper turkey has sat on Terry’s Thanksgiving table for over 30 years.

 

One response to “Thankful for Collecting”

  1. bulldoggrrl says:

    where can I see your table arrangement?

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