Saturday, June 9

Blast from the Past ~ Letter Openers




All three of these belonged to my mother, and as usual, I didn't want to get rid of any. I suppose that is good; when I am gone, there will be one for each of my children.


The top one is the most interesting; the well-crafted head of an eagle has weight and heft. It is not easy to see here (although you should enlarge it), the blade is etched with this:


AIR-OLA RADIO CO.,Inc.

Huntington, WV



The middle one is Sterling Silver, and it has what I thought were hallmarks, but upon examination through a magnifying glass, I see that is says:


s.kirk & son



The last one has nice molded carvings, but it is just metal, not silver. It also has a nice heft to it, which I think is desirable in this implement. You can detect a slight up-turn in the point of this one. I have been known to pry out staples and thumb-tacks with it.



Do you have any favorite gadgets gleaned from the nooks and crannies of your parent's home?

25 comments:

Carli N. Wendell said...

Those are really cool--a little dangerous looking, but really cool.

Old stuff rocks.

Joy Des Jardins said...

Those are beautiful Judy...and I wouldn't have been able to part with any of them either. I've got a few things from my mother that I treasure and will pass on to my kids too. Some things are too sentimental to put in the hands of anyone other than family.

Travelin'Oma said...

I've got a little glass world globe paperweight that I took from my dad's desk that reminds me that he wanted to give me the world.

craziequeen said...

Those are very cool - but I have bigger and better knives than my mother....

My mother still has all her little trinkets.

Michele sent me to say hi, Judy :-)

cq

Tia said...

I really like the eagle-head one! Those are neat. Generally, I am not big on antiques and we tend to get rid of things on a reagular basis, so I don't have too many things laying around. Right now, getting ready to take off on our extended road trip everything is going to have to fit into a few plastic containers! That'll be a whole new level of "minimalism" for me! =)

rosemary said...

Given my most recent adventure I am sure you know the answer...china, furniture, vases, silver, rings, earrings, a set of the most beautiful serving pieces with porcelain handles....and on and on.

Sparky said...

Very nice.
I come from a family of 'do you use it? No? Then throw it away' I think it comes from years of moving every year, first because of the military marriage, and then I think because we were just used to it. So I have nothing like this around.

Kay Dennison said...

Those are great, Judy!

I have a piece of wood carving that my dad whittled when I was tiny. It's really interesting and I'll send you a picture when I get figure out some stuff on my camera.

OldLady Of The Hills said...

These are quite wonderful Judy...And I love that you cannot get rid of them. I don't think I copuld either. I have a few precious things that my mother had in our home...One is a BEAUTIFUL Vase that was my Grandmothers--her mother. And a few pieces of my Grandmas China...These things are so very meaningful, aren't they?

I love a letter opener....I have one but it is not old and it is not that good! I should look for something on ebay, right? LOL! That's all I need is to get one more object to put in this overburdened house!

srp said...

I don't think I've ever seen any like this.... and the little gems found in the nooks and crannies? I think I am about to find them out in the next few weeks. Arrrgh! It is exciting to move but terrifying as well!

Anonymous said...

AHAHAHA! Sharp pointy things are good. Yay!

Michele sent me to say hello.

gautami tripathy said...

I loved those. I got one too from my grand father.

Another thing I got is a tiny snuff box belonging to my great grand father made up of ivory with gold carvings.

Thanks for your visit. I too am glad to be here.

joared said...

Those are all wicked looking instruments but fascinating to think of as letter openers.

One of my favorite possessions from my mother is a large multi-colored glass marble. I still have too many other items, some of which I need to part with.

Jean-Luc Picard said...

They are letter openers with style. I wish things like that were made now.

Michele sent me.

Jamie Dawn said...

Those are really wonderful keepsakes.
AND they could make some really GOOD weapons.

Mr. Kenju: I think I hear a burglar in the house!
Mrs. Kenju: I'll grab the letter openers!

Anna said...

I am sure there are things in my parents home that I treasure although I cant think of any off the top of my head. These are beautiful Judy. I am so glad that you do have one for each child that will be a nice gift for them to have one day.

Anonymous said...

Those are very cool. I'm afraid I have nothing gleaned...could be because my parents are still in their home and my mother keeps her nooks and crannies free and clear of such bits of sentimentality. Thankfully, my grandmother's house is full of wonderful things which she is always sharing with me.

Pat said...

We have three or four but have you noticed how they are never around when you need then?

Eddie said...

We have a lot of "blast from the past" type of items in various drawers. Stuff we will never use but hate to depart with.
Yesterday I replaced my cell-phone holder for a better one. The old one will join the "blast from the past" items our sons will have to figure out what in the heck to do with someday.

Granny Annie said...

I would not have dreamed those were letter openers. Loved jamie dawn's comment!

Anonymous said...

great-looking letter openers.
I have one sitting somewhere that is not bad looking either. I never use it though...

Crimson said...

Gorgeous!! I want one! I have a really neat meat fork/tong thing that has a red wooden handle and is stamped with an old meat packing plant that was here for over 100 years. I have it hanging next to my lefse stick, I love it. Also a vintage sugar scoop with a red wooden handle from my great grandpas shop....great grandpa is 98 now!! It's old!

Beverly said...

I love your posts like this one. To have those items is so neat!

Shephard said...

Those letter openers can be like sculpted art... I always wanted to use one, but I never have the patience to pick one up and I can just rip through with my finger.
~S

Andi said...

Those are beautiful.