Last week I promised you a peek into some of my random boxes. I’ve chosen to show you the hat box first because of it’s sheer peculiarness (yeah, I know that’s not a word, but it works for me).
I’m always excited by the thought of hat boxes, it seems such a romantic, old fashioned thing. The only time I had one to myself (apart from this one) was when I hired a hat when we were invited to attend a garden party at Buckingham Palace. I hat to carry the hat in its box on the train and then the tube, trying all the while to look elegant, and failing miserably, but I was so excited when somebody asked me what was in the box and I was able to say ‘a hat of course’!!
Anyway, this box came to me, or more accurately, my daughters, via my dad, who I’ve already mentioned was a bit of a magpie when it came to odd things. It had belonged to an elderly lady who had occupied the downstairs flat of his house as a sitting tenant when he bought it. She had died without family and he disposed of most of the contents as best he could. However, when he found this and the odd selection it contained he thought his grandchildren might like it. They were quite young at the time, and did indeed delight in discovering the contents one by one – 29 bits and pieces in all!
I have to confess, it’s probably only seen the daylight once or twice since we first got it some 20 odd years ago, and I suppose I really ought to get rid of it, but I’m not sure quite how. I haven’t the heart to throw it out, but I’m not sure anyone else would want it either. So I guess it’s going back into the depths of the cupboard once this, it’s heyday, is over!
By the way, I know nothing more of the old lady, except that I suspect she had fond memories of Austria!
So, what’s in the box…..
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- A teeny tiny carved wooden fox
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- a plastic tortoise with a wobbly head and tail
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- a wooden spinning wheel
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- two carved wooden deer
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- a wooden squirrel
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- A truly naff minature of Edleweiss marked ‘Oberammergau’ on the back
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- a wooden owl
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- carved wooden donkey
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- A wooden swiss cottage in a box
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- A wooden spinning wheel
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- a deer with one ear – press the bottom and he collapses. He is marked ‘Brindlewald’
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- a wooden bear
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- a wooden monk (well, why not!!)
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- Carved Austrian lady carrying a basket of flowers
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- a quite horrible porcelain figure with a horse
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- A wooden eagle
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- Two carved St Bernards
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- Carved hiker with a chipped hat carrying rope
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- Eight white fine porcelain horses
That’s what’s in the box!
I visited Oberammergau and loved all the wood shops! We sell estate sale items on our e-Bay store, oddities like this. There are collectors of all sorts out there who will pay to take them off your hands if you are truly ready to part with them.
Yes, I’d thought of ebay, but the things are so small, I’m not sure they’d be worth the effort. Might do one of these days though!