Friday, July 22, 2011

Cherished Collections (summer 2011 blog tour)


Casey over at Elegant Musings is hosting a cherished collections blog tour this week and I'm apart of it today. I'll be sharing with y'all some of the things I have collected over the years. I've been collecting several of the things that I will be showing you since I was about 16 or 17. =)


Wonderful old, vintage books are one of my favorite things to collect. After helping my mom collect books for our family for years, I finally realized a couple years ago that I could get some for myself. Here is just a small sampling of the books I have collected over the years (this isn't including my collection of sewing & costuming books). In this picture you can spot a first edition of On the Banks of Plum Creek {1939} (I only paid $1!). A 1888 edition of Swiss Family Robinson it was a gift from a school to a 16 year old girl for her first teaching job. A 1879 McGuffey's Third Reader and The Life of General Thomas (Stonewall) Jackson for the Young in Easy Words by: Mrs. Mary L. Williamson {1899}.


I have part of the Five Little Peppers series, 1940s novels (Mrs. Miniver, Anna and the King of Siam, The Egg & I), Bobbsey Twins, Nancy Drew, Ben-Hur by Gen. Lew Wallace, one of the first Paris tour books (1909), David Copperfield by Charles Dickens from 1867, and many more.


I also collect knitting and crocheting pamphlets from the 1940s - 1960s. I can't use them at this time because I don't know how to knit and I can't read crocheting patterns yet. But I enjoy collecting them.


Then there are the vintage sewing patterns. I have around 150 - 200 hundred vintage patterns (what you see is just a tiny sampling of what I have) from the 1900s to the1960s (I do have patterns from 1970 to 2010, but the 70s & 80s I consider more retro and the 90s, well, my childhood.) In the bottom row you can see my only two copies of The Delineator 1904 & 1905 and a 1928 Butterick Patterns pamphlet.


Sewing patterns aren't the only thing I collect and use (well, I use everything I collect). I started collecting and using vintage sewing supplies last year, here is part of my collection (which is more on the smaller size).

Now on to all the magazines I collect. Just this past month I started collecting movie and TV magazines (which I adore!). Though they are very rare and can be expensive to buy (which is why I love Etsy, I can search for cheeper ones). =)

Two of my pride and joys of my whole magazine collection. Life magazine from the week before Grace Kelly's wedding (there are some wonderful pictures in this one!) and a 1950 Spring/Summer Brides magazine (I love drooling over all the gowns!).

I like collecting Life magazines. Most of mine are from the late 30s and 1940s. With the bottom two being the start of my NASA space program collection (I just started last Friday). *laughs*


 
 McCall's, Woman's Home Journal, Every Woman's, Woman's Day, Family Circle, Look, Post, and Collier's also make their appearance in my collection (these are mostly from the 30s - 50s). I find that I don't really like collecting magazines from the 60s (unless they are sewing/craft related, or the space program). Though eventually I would like to collect magazines about President J.F. Kennedy.

Finally, here are the beginning's of my vintage jewelry collection. Just two brooches. I believe the one on the left is from the 50s, while the one on the right is from the 40s. If anyone knows the correct years for these two, feel free to let me know. :) As these are just guesses of mine.


20 comments:

  1. Love your collections! Especially the books and magazines. :)

    I wish I had decided to take part in this blog tour! I forgot all about it.

    ~Kristin

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  2. The "Floppy Hats" Life magazine! I simply adore that one. The library has it and I can browse through it all day long. Actually, the library contains Life magazines from the 30's to the present, which is fantastic! Old magazines are the best. As of now, I don't own any but I am reading a Betsy Ross book from I think the 1800's. Before the World Wars, at least.
    Love y'all

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  3. I love your collections, Ashley! I guess you could say I mainly collect fabric (hahaha), lady's head vases, and vintage jewelry. Though, I have been known to collect vintage suitcases and wooden crates! I love your vintage movie magazine collection, and the Life magazine with Grace Kelly looks soo pretty (+ the bride magazine... we love looking at that kind of stuff!). I do have a couple of new Life magazines, from their "Remembering" series. Oh, and just out of curiosity, is there a certain reason you want to collect magazines about John F. Kennedy?
    Hope you all have a lovely trip, and I'll look forward to you blogging about it!
    Much love~
    Achaia

    PS Hopefully we're going to do a little flea marketing today... I'm excited!

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  4. Wonderful collections! I have a collection of silver and pewter spoons gotten on travels -- I started it when I was 17 and visited my brother in Europe. I kept it up till now so I've got a LOT of spoons! Love it, but not the polishing!!
    ♥ So glad I found your lovely blog!

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  5. Wow!That is really awesome.

    And I thought my sticker collection was cool...

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  6. I especially love your antique book collection!
    Laurie...visiting from the blog tour

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  7. Wow, I love your sewing patterns and bridal magazines! Those magazines must have amazingly beautiful photos! I hope to find one of my own someday.

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  8. Lovely posts , girls! I love your unique way of creating all the posts and your special writing! Not to mention the name! I was wonderring if you would have time to check mine, possibly follow each other? Hope we keep in touch!

    Mary from http://teenfashiondiary.blogspot.com/

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  9. What wonderful collections you have. I've read several of the books you have. I have a paperback copy of Swiss Family Robinson and that is just one of my favorite all time books.

    Love the movie mags-I loved reading those when I was a teen.

    And of course I love your sewing related items.

    Great collections. Thank you for sharing.

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  10. wow! those are pretty cool. I'm impressed with the number an variety of time period on the vintage sewing patterns and the Life mags are really amazing as well. thanks for sharing.

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  11. Wow! Nice collections. Do you ever read your antique books, or are they too delicate?

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  12. Wow, Ashley you have an amazing collection so far! I am trying to catch up on the rest of the Cherished collection tour and could not believe your books and pattern collections. Opening this post was like opening a treasure chest. Absolutely wonderful, thanks for sharing. Your should post your Japanese tea set too!

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  13. Hello Ashley!

    I was just wondering if your giveaway sponsorer got my address, because I haven't received my prize yet. If she hasn't gotten it yet, I'll be happy to send it again. :) Thanks!

    ~Miss Grace~

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  14. I just absolutely adore old books and magazines, and your collection so far is amazing! :) I have an extremely old copy of Jane Eyre and Im still trying to figure out the age of it!

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  15. Those are so fun, Ashley! At a thrift store in town, there are tons of old Life magazines for sale..from the 40s on up, I believe! Or 50s..anyways, there's one about Jackie O, and Kennedy..and lots of movie star ones. I believe they are around 8-20 dollars, depending on the issue. Is that a "good price," do you think? I have been thinking they would be fun to get...:]

    ~Lucia

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  16. @Achaia I've just always been interested in Kennedy's presidency and assassination. Which comes from my dad who researched and asked the wife who's husband was in charge of security in Dallas what really happened. :)

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  17. @northwest is best Yes, I do read them. Most books I read are from the 1960s and earlier. :)

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  18. @Corrine Aw, thanks so much! I'll definitely post about my Japanese tea set sometime soon.

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  19. @Miss Grace I'll get in contact with her right now and see where your prize is. :)

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  20. @Lucia Marie For the LIFE movie star magazines I usually pay between $8 - 15. I find that the popular movie stars magazines {or important moments in history} are higher priced on sites like Etsy ($20 - $45). So those are great prices! :) I've even seen a Roy Rogers LIFE magazine for $85!!!

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