Posted 5 years ago
IronLace
(963 items)
I don't know about you, but I love looking at random stuff in tins. I've had this little stash for many, many years, & it never fails to lift my spirits when I open the lid.
I bought the tin around 25 years ago...& it soon became a repository for all manner of odds & ends. There's a few earrings that belonged to my mother, broken bits of jewellery, bits of toys, even some glass eyes from old plush toys. Basically, those miscellaneous things that don't really fit in anywhere but are too charming to throw away. As a person who likes everything categorised & organised, this is a fun way of dealing with such "orphan" detritus. The buttons have their box, as do the buckles & beads & all the rest of more easily categorisable things. This one's for the leftovers, which are no less loved.
The tin is a late Victorian toffee tin with a reproduction of a popular Victorian portrait known as "The Red Boy".
Manufacturer's details on the back of the tin:
Made in England by A.S. Wilkin Ltd.
Cremona Park
Newcastle On Tyne
Makers of Cremona & Red Boy Toffees.
Shout out to MALKEY, it's from your beloved home town...
I used to love finding tins of old buttons etc at op shops and estate sales .. there was always treasure in there not monetary treasure but little glimpses into someones life ....
These are the best sort of collections.
Small, time consuming, not particularly expensive, and most importantly, very personal.
So true, Marty...these humble accumulations are rather poetic, as you said little glimpses into someone's life...old sewing boxes are another example of this...traces of a past seen in miniature. Such things are poignant indeed...
So well said, Karen...yes, the personal is what matter here...it's like a time capsule, a message to oneself in a secret code made of objects...