As staff members at Kovels, we study hundreds of books and auction catalogs filled with all types of vintage and antique treasures. We love reporting on the items bought by others, but we thought we would reflect on some of our own “heirlooms” for which we are very thankful.
1. Terry: I still thank my late husband, Ralph, for this gift, a typewriter pendant. He had “I love you” printed on the front “roller” and “Know Your Antiques” engraved on the back. The keys are opal, my birthstone.
2. Kim Kovel: I have a berry spoon that was given to me by my parents. I use it every Thanksgiving to serve our family’s secret cranberry sauce recipe. It reminds me how my father loved making and perfecting the cranberry sauce every year. He was the best taste tester, always finding the perfect balance between tart and sweet.
3. Janet, Kovels’ graphic designer: One of my favorite heirlooms is a sampler stitched by relative, Hannah Oliver, at age 9 in 1810. She was my grandmother’s great-great-great-aunt. I’ve had it professionally cleaned by a reputable gallery because of water and mildew damage which resulted in color bleeding and fading, but it is now “archival” for generations to come. It reminds me of my relatives in Rye, Sussex, England, whom I know little about, and the types of domestic skills required by young women of the time.
4. Hamsy, Kovels marketing director: I inherited this Japanese porcelain tea set from my maternal grandmother. My grandfather used to work as head of security in the house of a Dominican ex-president. The set was gifted to my grandparents by him and his wife when my grandparents were married.
5. Cherrie, a Kovels copy editor: My family is Canadian and my grandmother gave me a Canadian-made stoneware jug with a cobalt blue oak leaf painted on it. It dates to the 1860s-1870s and was made in Brantford, Ontario. I always remember it sitting on my grandmother’s hearth and now it sits on my hearth, reminding me of my grandmother. Also, my husband’s grandmother used to sew by hand and made some braided rag rugs for us when we were first married, more than 40 years ago. We still have, and cherish, a few.
6. Liz, a Kovels’ writer and editor: We have a Tiffany silver pitcher that was a gift that my mother-in-law and her sister gave to their parents for their 25th wedding anniversary in 1941. My mother-in-law set a “lovely table” with beautiful dinnerware, silver and cut glass for every meal, even the simplest, and even when rambunctious grandchildren were present. She never put plasticware out for the children — she expected them to carefully handle goblets and serving pieces and she expected their behavior to match. While my in-laws have passed on, that silver pitcher is still on my table for every family gathering, reminding my children, and now their children, that being together is a blessing and to have high expectations.
7. Renee, one of Kovels’ price recorders: My mother received a Hummel Madonna & Child figurine when she was married in 1956. She always treasured it, as I do now. And my husband received an Elgin pocket watch from his father, who received it from his father. My husband still carries and uses it today.
8. Beverly, another Kovels’ editor and price recorder: I have my grandfather’s 1936 Central High School class ring. He was proud of his education and his subsequent work for G.M. I was touched that my grandmother wanted me to have it.
9. Mozella, another Kovels’ price recorder: I am thankful for my great-grandmother’s china set that I inherited. It is so special to me because out of all the women in my family, she chose for me to have it!
We are grateful for our readers and all things collectible! Happy Thanksgiving!
I am so very thankful for my mother-in-law who has given me so many precious heirlooms from her mother & grandmother and now she has passed and we have so many of her heirlooms. And when I go I will be honored that someone loves my stuff as much as I do if they buy it at MY Estate Sale! I have so MANY beautiful things that I treasure and love to look at. I just found at an Estate Sal, that nobody wanted…a small tall redware crock about the size you’d put wooden utensils in on your counter. It is very old & usually found in stoneware, not redware.
Thank you Lord for letting me find it!!! Was meant to be mine! Now for the fun part….researching it!!!
I too have some lovely treasures inherited from forbears through generations since 1860’s including my great great grandfather’s silver cigarette case.
Waking up every morning. Family, both here and departed. The ability to remember (I have seen first hand what Alzheimer’s can do). That I have enough to live within my means and for the realization that it is all any of us truly need.
I am also Thankful for Terry and Ralph Kovel and the many years they both had/have helped me navigate the business of Antiques and Collectibles of all kinds, and now to Kim Kovel as well for carrying on the tradition of Kovels that her parents started.
I am the keeper of the family stuff, too much to even list. My favorite is an oil painting of my gggg grandmother born in 1820. I have it hanging in my parlor. My whole house is filled with memories. You can come visit Terry.
I’m thankful for the assortment of oddities I’ve inherited. I’m thankful that if hoop skirts ever come back, I’m set, having two of the hoop sets. If the zombie apocalypse happens, I can at last eat that piece of fruitcake from a jewelry store that celebrated my grandparent’s wedding in 1921. Actually, it looks pretty stale. I’m grateful for the assortment of photos of mystery relatives that we’re only now starting to identify. I’m grateful for being here because they left me their genes.