What would you guess is the oldest thing in my house?

FIRST: I’m sorry so many of you had trouble receiving my post yesterday… I’m not sure what caused that… If you ever DON’T get my post, you can do as some did and click on the BLOG tab under the header of yesterday’s post, or you can simply go to your browser and type www.idreamofjeannemarie.com

…just remember there is no “i” in Jeanne… :o)

SECOND: I’m thrilled with your comments from yesterday’s post on Cecile, (I tried to read them as I was working at the yard sale set up yesterday) but I just now got home and it’s mandatory that I get in the shower!!!!! I have been there since 10:00 this morning and I was the last one to leave at 9:30… so I’m beat, and I’m doing the money first thing in the morning, and have to be back there for the early birds… 6:30, so I won’t be leaving any comments now, but I will in a few days… Thank you so much for all your kind words… I was thrilled at what you all said!
We only had a sprinkle of rain and we were prepared with tarps this year so nothing was damaged! Also the weather forecast has changed from an 80% change of rain to a 20% chance… WE are thrilled.

Want a sneak peek at our yard sale? We decided to use tents this year… and it was a real blessing… even just setting up the tables was better…and slightly cooler…

This is just a fraction of what we actually have. It’s down the driveway in the other direction, in the garage, under another tent, out in the open and it goes on and on and on….

[If you click on any picture, it will enlarge.]

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I wrote this post on Tuesday evening… smart cookie that I am!!!

We bought an 1892 fixer upper house 11 years ago…and yes, we are STILL fixing it up. There are things we’ve “discovered” as we were working on it that made us question our sanity as to why we bought it, but we did…and so we just keep plodding along. We didn’t actually know it was this old when we bought it… the seller told us it was built in 1935 or somewhere around then. We discovered a couple years after owning it, when we had to go to the courthouse for something, that it was an 1892… EEK!

Anyway, enough on that… it got me to thinking about old things, vintage things, antique things that we own…
I wondered what was the oldest thing in our house… was it some piece of furniture, something from when we were a baby, a painting or picture? We do have a pocket watch from my hubby’s great great grandfather that is engraved with the same year as our house…1892. Other than that, I figured out the oldest thing in our house is right in my sewing room! You’ll never believe it…it’s a magazine…a fashion magazine for ladies from 1894 and 1886. I actually have two issues of the magazine..one from June and one from September. The magazine is called Delineator and it turns out to be the oldest things we own.

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The magazines are very fragile and I keep them in plastic sleeves to protect them. I’m sure I probably should have them in some kind of “acid-free” paper thingy, but I look at them from time to time for inspiration and I’m not that worried about it. Rebecca will never be interested in them, and so I just enjoy them while I have them. Every time you turn a page in them, you hear a little tear on the pages, so I turn them very carefully and go slow.

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A subscription to Delineator was only $1.00, which seem crazy to us now… but that’s what this page says…

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The second page is just so beautifully illustrated…

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It’s pretty amazing to see the changes in things from 122 years ago. I find myself wondering who looked at this magazine, was she into sewing, did she knit, crochet, tat, was she a good cook, did she have children, did she make their clothing? It makes me wonder what people will be saying about us in 100 years… what will be in and what will be out? Who knows… so I thought I’d take us on a trip down memory lane for a few minutes and let you see some of the illustrations in my magazines… Enjoy!

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Can you believe these sleeves? I can’t even imagine what the pattern must look like…

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I especially like looking at the advertisements in the back.

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What in the world????

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It’s been so HOT everywhere lately…Swimming anyone???

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I hope you enjoyed the journey from the past… I always do…

See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne

13 thoughts on “What would you guess is the oldest thing in my house?”

  1. Love, love looking at your antique Delineator magazine! Thanks for sharing those interesting photos! Good luck with your yard sale. I know you will be happy when it is finally over. I hope everything sells so you won’t have to pack up anything!

  2. You are blessed to have those magazines. What a blast from the past!. How about doing a high quality scan of each page and making a PDF file of it. Then you don’t have to stress those fragile pages anymore and they will last a wee bit longer. Also you could share them, hint hint to other “ahem” interested folk. I have so enjoyed looking at your blog first thing each morning.

  3. Agree with April, in your “spare” time when you aren’t washing the walls with Gold Dust washing powder, you can scan the pages. I would love to see them all.
    Great post. Glad your sale set up went well. The shade/rain covers are a great idea. Worth it for sure. I’m sure you had early birds show up before 6:30. You know, the pickers!
    Snap some pics during a lull today. Don’t forget the sunblock.

    1. Forgot. Think our olds are some tin types of relatives and one done on canvas, probably 1840’s. The best is a quilt done by my 2nd great grandmother about 1872. Well used, but you can still see the workmanship. Was done in black and reds. Love that old stuff.

  4. Jeanne… Loved the photos of old fashion magazines. I had some as well, and didnt know eho to give them to when we moved from Savannah, Ga. Back to California. They are so precious! I finally donsted them to SCAD .. Savannah College of Art and Design. They will have a good chance of being treasured !
    I didnt get a chance to comment in Addy and Cecile’s outfits.. Some of the most beautiful AG Period dresses Ive ever seen! The pleated sleeve detsil on one of Cecile’s dresses was inspired!
    Keep dreaming!!

  5. Jeanne,

    It’s been fun looking at your photos of the Delineator magazines as well as that well set up “yard sale”. I trust it brings in helpful funds. I’m also glad the weather wasn’t too taxing. The heat/humidity so many of us have been experiencing has been really draining.

    Thanks for another visit into your life.

    Take care.

  6. Oh my, Jeanne, how very interesting today’s blog is!! I too, love those old magazines and I actually have a newspaper from the day I was born, in 1942. It is so interesting to read and see what was going on back then. It is yellowed and very fragile, but I look at it from time to time, and see something new each time.

    Oh, those drawings of the clothes in the magazine are so precise and intricate! I love to look at things like that and wonder who the artists were. They did a magnificent job, but boy, those waists!!!!

    Oh, those ads are so hilarious! I can’t believe people believed that stuff, but then look at us today! That How to be Beautiful book, how funny is that! All that for 4 cents and free shipping too! And the Fat People ad! Can you imagine an ad saying that today?

    Oh, gosh, those horrible swimsuits! If I had to put all that on to go swimming in this heat, no thanks! I do believe Samantha has one of those, in navy, and it is cute, but would never do today!

    1. Hi Linda,
      My mom was born in 1942 also. She’s a September baby, so you are either older or younger.
      The ads are funny. The swimsuits are hysterical. Reminds me of “Cheaper by the Dozen”.

      1. Hi Laura!
        Since I am a November baby, your mother is a bit older than I am! Some “babies” we are!!

  7. What a neat find you have there. I just love old magazines. My mom has a cover from The Delineator from somewhere in the 1910’s. It was found at an antique store and framed. It has a girl feeding pigeons and I love it. Oh my, those collars and leg o mutton sleeves. Reminds my of Megan Follows blue dress from Anne of Green Gables. I agree with April that maybe you can find a way to share more of your magazine with us.
    The oldest item in my house has to be the violin that belonged to my great, great grandfather. It was made in 1787 and my grandfather played it and brought it with him when in emigrated from Germany in 1927. i wish I had been able to take lessons, but my daughter did and plays it.
    Hope that you are blessed with continued good weather for the yard sale. Maybe you’ll find a treasure again this year like your cabinet. I’m sure somewhere that you’ll find a few sewing supplies.

  8. I enjoyed perusing the pages of your fashion magazines, Jeanne. It’s easy to see how they might provide some wonderful inspiration for your dolly designs. My favorite of the ladies “lingerie” fashions was Figure 9, Fancy yoke with puff sleeves. I could see that made into a lovely dress for one of the LD or AG girls. The ads are a real hoot, but really are not that much different from today — beauty regimens, cleaning products, weight loss supplements — we’re still advertising the same type of things in 2016. What is the adage? “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” Thanks for another interesting post.

    Postponing the church yard sale seems to have been a good idea, Jeanne. Glad your forecast was revised in favor of fair weather and that you have acquired some tents for the sale in case of a stray shower or shelter from the heat. Know you are busy and working hard, but don’t forget to look after yourselves. Hope George’s leg is holding up. Sounds like “Cool Spoons” would be a good reward for your efforts! Continued prayers for dry days, a great turn-out, and record sales. Take care out there!

  9. April is a genius. I do agree that it would be nice to have the pages safely reproduced before it becomes impossible.
    Look at that lovely dress just before the advertisements start. Wouldn’t that be lovely in pink for one of the AGs? Or either of the two just above it. They’re shorter, perhaps for young women.

    The bathing suits are wonderful. Surely no one even tried to swim in one. Those were made for drowning. I think they were an improvement over Victorian bathing costumes, but not an improvement over much else.

    They reminded me of Cheaper by the Dozen too. I think the second volume — Belles on Their Toes, when styles were changing very fast, about 1940. Lillian Gilbreth was born in 1878. If she married in about 1900, and her husband died 20 years later, that would be about right for Belles. He was a motion study expert, and the “cheaper by the dozen” line was the way he referred to their 12 children. Lillian Gilbreth was a well known engineer, and she put 11 of her children through college (one died), retiring at 90. You had to be tough to wear those Samantha era clothes.

    1. Loved reading Cheaper by the Dozen. My mother too. I think I still try to take less steps or count them from the book/movie to accomplish a task. Crazy. You know to be efficient.
      Keep thinking we are related. 🙂

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