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As we enter the new year, I’m re-posting one more favorite post from 2007. Here’s a fun one from August.
My friend Lyza recently posed a great question which I’m now stealing: what’s the oldest thing you own?
Looking around my apartment, it’s hard to find anything older than the 90’s — and most of the objects I use every day were made in the last few years. I have a chair and a “chairside stereo” from the 60’s that I use as an end table. I have some art prints that may date from before 1950, but it’s a little hard to tell. Quite likely, the oldest thing in my apartment is the apartment itself — it was built in 1917. I honestly can’t find an object in here that’s older.
I think this is an interesting question, because it makes me wonder about my surroundings. Am I living in an unusually modern space, or does everybody pretty much live around new stuff? Have people always had all-new stuff, or is this a recent development? What does it say about my job that all the tools I use for work (computers and such) are all, at most, about three years old?
So here’s the question: what’s the oldest thing you own? And a related question: what’s the oldest thing you actually still use regularly? (The latter answer for me is my father’s 1967 Seiko Sportsmatic kinetic watch, which he bought in Vietnam.)
Note: check out the original post for 92 reader comments.
The oldest thing I own is a quilt made by my great great grandmother around 1900 using colored scraps from old housedresses. Great retro fabric! The oldest thing I own and use is my grandmother’s Art Deco bedroom set that she got in the early 1950’s.
posted by fridagirl on 1-1-2008 at 10:34 am
I guess it’s my house. It was built in 1920 and originally served as a church.
posted by John on 1-1-2008 at 10:54 am
The oldest thing I own and use is our kitchen set. My parents “lent” it to me when I got my own apartment in 1980. They bought it in 1959 when they bought their house. They also lent me a magazine/towel rack that they had bought at the same time. I still have that too.
posted by Sue on 1-1-2008 at 11:06 am
the oldest thing I have is the vintage cookbook from a ’surrogate grandmother’- from the early 1900’s- it’s priceless- has stuff like acne remedies and wart removal poultices- as well as recipes; the recipes tend to have quanties like ‘a pinch’ and other broad terms (don’t actually have it with me so can’t go check right now)
the oldest thing I use regularly: my vet school stainless steel surgical scissors from the early 90’s- scrubbed and bleached and in my purse- they’re great! (so most of what I use regularly is fairly new)
posted by ann on 1-1-2008 at 11:44 am
The oldest item I use regularly is a dining room set (table, chairs, sideboard) I inherited from my late mother which dates to about the 1890s. My husband uses the dining room table whenever he breaks out one of his RPGs. The oldest item I own is a copy of Dr Chase’s “Third, Last and Complete Receipt Book and Household Physician” from 1888 with descriptions of illness, recipes and more. It’s in poor shape but a fascinating read.
posted by Gwendy on 1-1-2008 at 11:57 am
i have a couple books of shakespeare from the 1800’s. don’t remember the exact date. found them in a little bookstore in europe.
posted by teri on 1-1-2008 at 1:34 pm
Somewhere in my collection of stuff there has to be at least one atom of hydrogen that was created in the Big Bang 13.5 billion years ago.
posted by Ego, Egoing, Egone on 1-1-2008 at 2:10 pm
The oldest thing I own, would be my house. According to the deed, this house was built in 1910. Bobby & I LOVE our cozy little “old” house. :o)))))))
posted by Marla on 1-1-2008 at 2:11 pm
So, I’ve got a few items that date back to about the 1930’s or so.
An old smokers/cigar stand and an aluminum dog-shaped nutcracker
I also have some ashtrays from Hotel Nord Roma. I couldn’t find a date estimate, but they’re from my great-grandmother who immigrated here from Italy.
posted by Juliet on 1-1-2008 at 2:21 pm
My beau owns a pair of Docksiders boat shoes; 1978. Yes, he still wears them. No, they don’t stink.
posted by Constant Reader on 1-1-2008 at 3:06 pm
I have a copy of Gulliver’s Travels that was printed in 1915. (Got it for 50 cents at a book sale.)
posted by Kirsten on 1-1-2008 at 3:33 pm
I have a hardcover copy of ‘Greyfriar’s Bobby’ that apparently was given as a Christmas present in 1912, from the inscription in it.
posted by Katherine on 1-1-2008 at 3:55 pm
Technically, I don’t own it, but my younger sister has a stamp from 1864.
posted by Allison on 1-1-2008 at 4:49 pm
I have a painting of an old Native American man (titled Standing Bull on the canvas) which is painted on leather and has a very thick and solid carved wood frame. It was in the house that my mother bought in 1972, and had been in the house for the entire length of the previous owner’s stay (she was very old and was among the family of the original owner, circa early 1900’s). We don’t know where it came from or if it’s worth anything, but my mother gave it to me when I bought my first house. We all love it… definitely a priceless artifact although I wish I knew more about its origins.
I also have a lot of old silverware, china, hand-held tools and other odds and ends from my grandmother and her parents. My grandmother was born in New York in 1913 and her parents were born in England in the 1800’s.
My own personal “artifact” is a Christmas ornament that I made in 1983 (I was in kindergarten) that still hangs on my tree every year. I hope it lasts until my grandkids can see it.
posted by Jill on 1-1-2008 at 4:52 pm
I own a 18K gold closed faced pocket watch purchased by my great-grandfather in the 1830’s. I wear it everyday. It keeps time within a few minutes. I don’t do digital watches. There is something very comforting about the skill and care required in an age gone bye.
posted by Bruce Ades on 1-1-2008 at 4:58 pm
My oldest personal item is the first edition of a book, Recent Political Thought, published in 1934. I bought it from a used book shop, cheap.
posted by Heathen Dan on 1-1-2008 at 5:20 pm
The oldest item in our house (itself a former church with an 1887 cornerstone) is my wife’s family Bible, with a presentation inscription of 1813. My oldest personal possession is a double-barreled pistol with a maker’s mark that traces to 1828 or before, but as eldest son I will someday inherit ‘the family lamp’, which our tradition said was made by an ancestor in England and carried to The New World by his son. Antiques Road Show dated it as ‘early 1600s’.
posted by Doc on 1-1-2008 at 5:35 pm
I have a set of Dickens from the 1860s.
My apartment is from the early 1900s, but I also use a 1920s wind-up alarm clock every day. (I collect vintage alarm clocks.) I actually trust my old alarm clock more than modern ones.
I have a lot of old things–things really aren’t built like they used to be.
posted by Amanda on 1-1-2008 at 5:36 pm
The oldest thing at our house are German bibles from the 1830s. I also have twin lens reflex cameras from the 50s, family photos from late 19th century, my great-grandmother’s scrapbook from the 20s, sock monkeys from the 50s, and half my wardrobe dates back to the 60s. Safe to say I own waaaay more things from the past than the present.
Except my computer. :)
posted by Lauren on 1-1-2008 at 5:41 pm
Other than the hydrogen atom, I might win. I have a Mogollon bowl that my mother left to me. It is about 1300 years old, or 700, I forget which. Her father dug it up in New Mexico (illegally). My mother kept match books in it. I keep pens and bedside stuff in it, so I’d guess it’s still in use. What do I win? A new Mogollon bowl?
posted by cathy on 1-1-2008 at 5:54 pm
Hmm…Either the 1903 pocket watch or the late 1800s mirror I inherited from my father’s family. Belonged to my great-great grandmother.
posted by Grey on 1-1-2008 at 5:56 pm
Nearly everything (I’d say 80%) I own is from an antique store or a dead person I personally knew. I own so many 19th century books I couldn’t count them. I type up tons of stuff on a typewriter and have for years (never owned a printer, and it looks waaay cooler), and i never listen to CDs indoors (only in the car), just records. Technology, for me, peaked at about the mid 50s. I would’ve been happy to stay at that stage, and yes, I even mean that for the computer and cell phone and blah blah blah.
And I’m 24.
posted by Sarah on 1-1-2008 at 6:35 pm
I have 4 Christmas ornaments that were my grandfather’s when he was a young boy. He would be 104 if he were still alive, so they must be about 100 years old, give or take a year or two. They are this old metallic wire wreath with gold and burgundy balls hanging in the middle, a white felt-covered reindeer, an angel made of gold foil and cardboard, and a gold plastic shiny bell that was the first mass-produced plastic in the U.S. Not as old as a 1300 year old bowl, but still special to our family.
posted by NoelleTheTeacher on 1-1-2008 at 7:40 pm
The oldest thing that that can be proven is a document granting an ancestor an army commision in the American Revolutionary War, but there are a few things around that are probably older; and I own a couple of books from around 1800 (I love that those books have been held and read by so many other people). The oldest thing in regular use is a 1903 Henry Miller upright piano, and it still sounds fantastic.
posted by taylor on 1-1-2008 at 9:17 pm
The oldest thing I own is also the oldest thing I use regularly: my grandpa’s cane. Grandpa Wright was born in 1895 and passed in 1984. I don’t remember a time when Grandpa didn’t have this cane.
posted by Kim on 1-1-2008 at 9:40 pm
My grandmother recently gave me a roman coin that came to her in change while running a family grocery store in Toronto back in the late 40s. It is from 1613.
posted by Kevin on 1-1-2008 at 10:15 pm
I have a wood stand-up file holder from the mid-late 1800’s. It was used in some federal agency to hold records of Union soldiers. I even have a copy of the advertisement for this make/model of file holder!
posted by Pat L. on 1-1-2008 at 11:44 pm
I have a birth certificate from 1860 of my g-grandfather. I got it in a box of family pictures. I took it in to get framed. I told them “Be careful it is 140 years old. I figure it is my job to preserve for another 140 years”
posted by dr howard on 1-2-2008 at 12:22 am
The oldest thing I own and use on a regular basis is a heavy duty (thick) field knife made for the Germans in 1909.
It’s been my backpack and camping knife for almost 20 years now. One of the best pieces of equipment I own. I wish I had bought a second one as a back-up when I bought the first one. Just in case I ever lose it or damage it.
posted by Matt on 1-2-2008 at 2:41 am
I’ve got a couple trinkets from my grandparents, early 1900’s, but the oldest things in the house are a few books, including those dated MDCCLXXIX, MDCCLVIII, 1806, and a few others from later in the 19th century.
posted by Karl on 1-2-2008 at 8:08 am
The oldest thing I use regularly is my work printer, which is from 1987. Seriously. And I doubt I will ever get a newer one. It screams and groans like a dying animal, and prints weird black lines throughout everything, but the supervisor claims in still works great. I happen to disagree.
posted by bryn on 1-2-2008 at 8:50 am
Oldest thing I own: 1874 Silver Dollar
Second Oldest thing: Students Greek primer from the 1890’s
posted by Jason! on 1-2-2008 at 9:25 am
I have a small collection of fossils I have found: some squid shells, and other snail like things. I’m guessing they go back perhaps 100 million years? What do I win?
BTW, I read down the list expecting several posts just like mine.
posted by creesto on 1-2-2008 at 10:11 am
A 65 million year old ossified part of a dinosaur tendon.
posted by BJB on 1-2-2008 at 10:24 am
I have a couple of Catholic books from my mothers (adopted) great grandfather’s sister from 1863, and a medal from a secret society (the heptasophs) who apparently became sooo secret I can’t find anything on them after about 1870.
posted by Jeff on 1-2-2008 at 12:48 pm
I am the proud owner of a legally purchased archeological artifact: The clay foot of a small ceramic pot dating back to the 12th century.
That makes the oldest thing I own about 900 years old.
It put me back $3 and doesn’t look like much of anything save for the catalogue number painted on it’s end.
posted by Brammimonde on 1-2-2008 at 1:39 pm
I have a few fossils that I found 3 feet under creesto and BJB’s fossils.
posted by Scott on 1-2-2008 at 1:42 pm
Unless you count my hunk of petrified wood, the oldest item I own is a Spanish ‘pieces of eight’ silver coin. (The eight reales coin was often cut into eight pieces to pay for smaller items, hence its name.) Mine was minted in Peru from plundered Inca silver in 1679.
The oldest thing I use on a regular basis is my grandmother’s cane, which my father also used. I inherited it when he died. It must be at least 40-50 years old, since she died 23 years ago and had been using it almost as far back as I can remember. I’m absolutely positive she didn’t buy it new. She never bought anything new.
posted by airship on 1-2-2008 at 2:32 pm
My house was built in 1911….
I have a pair of socks I got at the Boston Marathon in 1990 that have been successfully matched and not lost in the wash for 17 years…
posted by Mark on 1-2-2008 at 3:14 pm
My apartment building was built in eighteen fifty something, originally as a train station (it is cool, my windows are huge and my ceilings are HIGH). Also, I have my grandmother’s old Lithuanian prayer book from like 1910 or something.
posted by Celeste on 1-2-2008 at 3:52 pm
The oldest thing I own, and use regularly, is my kitchen table. I got it after my grandmother passed and I know that my father remember’s it from _his_ grandmother’s kitchen. The table still has a brass label stating who made it and where, though I don’t know what it says, off the top of my head. I also have my grandmother’s bureau that I use all the time.
posted by Karen on 1-2-2008 at 4:50 pm
I have a Swedish Bible that I assume my forebears brought over when they emigrated to the United States in the 19th century. (There might be a date in the front, but my husband is asleep in the room where it is.) But as far as things we use (because I don’t read Swedish), we have two little old chairs, one that is a “telephone chair” from the ’20s or ’30s, and one that is a folding wooden orchestra chair that is dated 1896 on the bottom.
Our house was built in the early 1950s, and most of our furniture and a lot of our knickknacks are from the ’30s through the ’70s.
posted by kittymama on 1-2-2008 at 10:04 pm
A green t-shirt from the mid seventies, printed to celebrate my dad’s graduation from college.
Moth holes included.
posted by Sophie on 1-3-2008 at 10:15 am
I have a book of photographs from around the world that was published in 1892. It has detailed captions that reflect the biases of the author.
posted by Kathy on 1-27-2008 at 5:36 pm