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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.)
Comments (109)
Comment
i have a 1941 pin-up that my grandfather had with him during WWII. i still wear the doo-rags my mother wore in the 70s, a sweater from the 50s and my grandmother’s pearls.
posted by kat on 8-18-2007 at 12:59 am
We own 3 Italian manuscripts that date back to 1520 or so.
posted by Hepcat on 8-18-2007 at 1:04 am
At first I was thinking the oldest thing I use regularly was my 1972 printing of Joy of Cooking. It’s signed on the first page, in loopy script “Mrs. Harry Danzantt 12/73.” I figured one of my late 50’s cookbooks would be the oldest thing I own…
But my Griswold cast iron skillets (from garage sales) have been dated to some time between 1937 and 1957. broad range but even if they were the last skillets off the line in 57, it’s still pretty old. and I use em a couple times a week (I used both today)
posted by moonablaze on 8-18-2007 at 1:20 am
An antique chair from the 1800s. Besides that, a small “piggy bank”–but a dog wearing a top hat, which was my grandmother’s or some such thing, and is from the turn of the century.
I have a toy plastic car from the 1950s.
I have an old “spike” stick from an editor–where copy used to be “stabbed” when it was spiked (killed from the newspaper).
But the oldest thing I still use? Hmm.. also my grandmother’s pearls.
posted by Patti McCracken on 8-18-2007 at 2:11 am
I have a sword that is identical to one that was on “The Antique Roadshow” that was dated as 1850’s.
A pocket watch roughly 100 years old.
A bronze sculpture lamp from my great grandmother dated 1916.
Grandfathers Art Deco style watch that I guess is 1930’s.
An FM stereo from 1961 which is when FM stereo was new (april 19,1961). The booklet gives a detailed description of what FM stereo “Multiplexing” is and how it works.
posted by Tdave on 8-18-2007 at 2:20 am
I have several pieces of very old family jewelry which I wear regularly, one brooch in particular has been dated as antebellum (sometime in the 1840s-ish), though many are art deco/art nouveau pieces. My engagement ring (I’m not engaged or married, I just happened to inherit a ring – you’d think this would increase my marriageability, eh?) is from the 1880s.
My “good dishes” (ostensibly only brought out for “company” – yeah, right… my friends are SO never getting near them) are from the late 1800s.
My Mom uses a coffee grinder from the 1850s – not for its intended purpose, she stores her car keys in the little drawer.
There are also various other dishes and kitchen-y things, as well as a lot of furniture and knick-knacks, a few early photographs and old family letters… not totally “usable”, but readily available in our various houses.
posted by Megan on 8-18-2007 at 3:20 am
Oldest:
Agfa ‘folding’ camera (leather bellows, folds in on itself to make a small ‘pocket’ size package that weighs about about 1.5 pounds)from the late 1920’s.
Use regularly:
Nikkor 50mm 1:4 lens from the mid 1970’s
posted by John on 8-18-2007 at 3:48 am
I have an 1825 penny that my grandmother gave to me/ it is the size of a 50 cent piece with a woman on the front of it
posted by bill on 8-18-2007 at 5:19 am
A pair of (supposedly) 800 year old chopsticks from Korea. I don’t use them but they’re really nifty.
Also, several very old books printed in the early 1800’s.
The oldest thing I use regularly would have to be a 20 year old pocket knife, which isn’t all that old in the grand scheme of things.
posted by faust on 8-18-2007 at 5:21 am
my husband, hes 47. haha
and his grandmothers chair and dresser which are probably at least 70 years old, no way to know. I assume she got it new when she was a married woman as her first furniture assuming she was 20 at the time she died at 92.
posted by tam on 8-18-2007 at 5:45 am
My house was built in 1923, and the stove I use everyday is a World War II model. I sleep on a late 19th century bed, and the chifforobes are even older. I have original family photos from around 1900. It’s hard to say what’s the oldest, but most of my stuff is pretty old.
posted by Miss Cellania on 8-18-2007 at 5:59 am
I’m not quite sure.
I have a naval dress sword that supposedly dates to the civil war. It’s 19th century at a minimum.
I have a few old coins. I think my oldest is from 1852.
My baby cradle is old (the one I was in). Depending upon the source, it’s at least over 100 years old and maybe up over 200.
Oldest thing I use regularly? Using a definition of “daily, or almost daily), then it’s probably my living room furniture, clocking in at 4 years old. Unless you want to count looking in the mirror on the hall tree, that’s probably 50+ years old.
Taking a quick inventory guess, I’d say that 50% of my stuff is less than 5 years old. Another 25% is less than 10. Another 12.5 is less than 20, and so on going back in ever decreasing percentages.
posted by Jim Thomason on 8-18-2007 at 6:39 am
The oldest thing that I use regularly has to be the Time Life books on Photography from the early 70s. I found those at a weird shop in Wyoming this summer and they have been more useful than I thought they would be.
I guess I have it pretty easy when it comes to my oldest possession since it’s a coin and is already dated for me. A 1799 US Large Cent is by far my oldest thing. Other than that it is books and photographs from the mid to late 1800s.
posted by HokieX on 8-18-2007 at 7:00 am
I have a photograph of my grandfather as a schoolboy – it’s from the 1910s or 20s. Pretty awesome.
posted by Tim on 8-18-2007 at 7:02 am
I have lots of old things, but my favorite memory is of one I no longer have. I was still using the waffle iron my parents received as a wedding present in 1947. The last Saturday we were in our old house (as I was making waffles) in 1996 my teenage daughter told me to never stop using it. It made a perfect waffle. As she said that the old thing burst into flames in the electric cord connection! I guess the old iron was just “bursting with pride”! I disconnected it and put out the flames. I put it in the “throw away” bag and shed a few silent tears. All those old childhood memories, my own and my children’s, brought a few quiet tears to my eyes. But I guess it what time to purchase a new waffle iron and move on.
posted by Peggy R on 8-18-2007 at 7:22 am
I just ended up receiving a Winchester rifle and shotgun from 1907 and 1908 respectivly. They were bought by my great-grandfather and have been in the family since. And yes they both work, quite well. But they aren’t going to be used now.
posted by Big B on 8-18-2007 at 7:28 am
#2 Hepcat: Wow. I hope you can read Italian! Just think that could be the Mapquest for one of Columbus’s voyages. (Assuming he wasn’t dead – not worth wikiing to find out.)
posted by GoingLikeSixty on 8-18-2007 at 7:58 am
The oldest thing I own is a ring that was my grandfather’s. My grandmother gave it to him sometime before WWII.
The oldest thing I use regularly is my mother’s old dining room table–it’s in my kitchen and it dates from sometime in the late 70s.
posted by Eric on 8-18-2007 at 8:18 am
i have my great-grandmothers dining room table and matching sideboard. the table used to seat 16 but a leaf was lost along the way somewhere and now its down to 12. i bought my house around it…if i lived in a studio apt., i’d sleep under it.
posted by mri on 8-18-2007 at 8:22 am
Great question! Er, lessee …
- I have my grandmother’s typewriter displayed nicely in my office (if not used regularly), and it dates from the 30s.
- I have a rusty sardine can I picked up in a garbage pile at a Nevada ghost town, which must be from the turn of the century.
- Some of my office furniture is from the 50s and 60s.
- I have three rusty red sap buckets on my porch which I’m told are at least 100 years old. (They’re kind of decorative now, as they’re not much sap to tap here in LA.)
posted by Ransom on 8-18-2007 at 8:41 am
I’ve a Roman coin that is easily the oldest man-made thing in my house. The oldest thing that we use regularly is our dining room table which was built in the 1870’s. We have pieces of functional antique furniture and a few old tools.
Some of the other favorites are an electric mantle clock from the 1940’s that still works. It has an interesting mechanism where the timebase is provided by the 60hz electricity which drives a coil that vibrates a gear, so it doesn’t have a motor in the traditional sense. You plug in and then give it a spin by hand to start it.
We also have a “missionary” couch from the 1920’s that was one of the first fold-out-sofa beds (and it still works – but is isn’t very comfortable to sleep or sit on)
posted by Christopher Palmer on 8-18-2007 at 8:55 am
Oldest item I have is a dirk that came over from Scotland with an ancestor following the Relocations after the 1745 Rising of the Clans.
Other than that, some tintypes from around the time of the War of Northern Agression – photos of relatives and such. And my great-grandfather’s father’s pocket watch, roughly circa 1880. A retirement gift. It still keeps time.
Items in everyday use? Three cast iron skillets and one cast iron griddle; they came to me from my grandmother, who got them from her mother, who bought them used in Enid OK around the turn of the century. Talk about seasoned? NOTHING sticks to these puppies!
posted by Doc on 8-18-2007 at 9:35 am
The oldest things I own are things I inherited–jewelry, a fur capelet, my Grandfather’s pocket knife. No idea which thing is actually the oldest.
The oldest thing I use every day is my Deep Space 9 keychain. It has a relief of the station against a blue background. The pewter’s so worn down the station looks like a blob and the paint’s chipping off, but I won’t replace it.
posted by Camille on 8-18-2007 at 9:59 am
I own a lot of old photographs, but my most distictive old possesion is a scrapbook that belonged to a young woman attending school in 1910, It full of cut out pictures of her friends, a party hat, and a page of school cheers.
I think the oldest thing that I use redularly is some silverware that seems old and a lamp whose age I am unsure of but would guess is old aswell.
posted by Colin on 8-18-2007 at 10:15 am
I have a lot of antique items that I have inherited also but everyday items are kitchen utensils I received from my grandmother who died in 1993 at 91 years old. I got a box of random stuff which included a glass measuring cup, metal flour scoop, cookie cutters, etc. All from about the 1940’s. The workmanship is unbelievable. The stuff is unbreakable and wears like iron. I wish that type of quality was still here in out disposable society.
posted by Shari on 8-18-2007 at 10:52 am
I have a 1949 Ferguson tractor which is still in use. But the thing in my life that I have personally had the longest- is a stuffed animal tiger that my mother gave me when I was 3 in 1965.
posted by Richiemagoo on 8-18-2007 at 11:02 am
I wear a Roman bronze signet ring from the 1st Century with a little figure of Minerva etched into it.
At 2,000 plus years, I’d say it’s, by far, the oldest thing I own.
posted by December on 8-18-2007 at 12:23 pm
The oldest thing my partner has is some sheet music from the early 1800s and various electronic music equipment.
I have several old pieces of jewelry and my great, great, great grandmother’s cast iron skillet set, which includes everything down to the cornbread cups.
Our apartment looks like Herman Miller mated with PeeWee Herman, so toss in an early 50’s boomerang coffee table, 60 or so lunch boxes, early Eames/Miller furniture and you’ve about got us.
Yes, we own new stuff (mostly tech related) but believe part of recycling is using what’s already around to make your world beautiful. I don’t think I’ve bought anything new, other than my laptop, in the last six years.
posted by Iris on 8-18-2007 at 1:01 pm
My Dad’s coin collection. i found a dime in it that dates back to 1916, as well as WWII era coins including indian head nickels, silver nickles, and steel pennies.
i also have my Mom’s old books, and part of a quilt started from flour bags from the 1940’s. i love history :3
posted by SillyWalnut on 8-18-2007 at 2:19 pm
The older things in everyday use are so well made that they’ve outlasted many newer versions: I use a cedar chest from 1850, a desk from 1935, a corkscrew from 1917, jewelry from 1880-1920, and kitchen gear from the 1930s nearly every day.
The oldest thing I own, though, is awe-inspiring just to hold: it’s a stone hand axe, with a quartz-like band/stripe, from Illinois (inherited, rescued out of archaeological context in the 1940s from a strip-mined site). It’s been dated at 5,000 to 8,000 years old and has seen so many centuries of use that indentations for the gripping fingers are worn into the stone. It’s amazingly comfortable to hold and must have been a precious thing to its owners. I am honored to have it.
posted by OldBat on 8-18-2007 at 3:06 pm
Prior to getting married a couple months ago my oldest possesion was my grandparents immigration papers and a photo from the late 1800’s. And then its my grandmothers sewing machine. At my wedding we received a box of 5 Roman coins so that is now the oldest.
The oldest thing we use everday is my husbands Lazyboy recliner from the 60’s – ugliest fabric in the world, but the most comfortable chair to sit in. Everything is relativly new. I know I’m going to inherit a bunch of my grandmothers items so I will really be stepping back in time here soon.
posted by Beth on 8-18-2007 at 3:06 pm
I think the oldest thing I own is a New Testament from around 1620. I am not religious, just like old stuff, including books. We have tons of other old things, mostly everyday items and a couple of items of furniture, inherited from my husband’s parents.
Still in regular use (besides the house we use for our office, which was built in the 1840s; the one we live in was built in 1934): a gigantic cast-iron and enamel stew pot/”Dutch oven” that is about 60 years old and belonged to my late mother-in-law. I also wear her engagement ring, from 1946, every day.
posted by Rosemary on 8-18-2007 at 3:06 pm
The oldest thing I own is a generational ring that has been passed down for at least 5 maybe 6 generations, so it must be from the turn of the century if not older. I have my grandmother’s wedding china from 1943 and do use it for company. Additionally, I have china that says “Made in Occupied Japan” which is interesting. The oldest thing that I use often is my grandmother’s copy of the Joy of Cooking from the 1950’s. Also the dinning room table is from the late 60’s.
posted by G on 8-18-2007 at 3:50 pm
I think the oldest thing that I can officially call mine is a pair of earrings from the sixties that were my great grandmother’s. My family has some antique stuff but I don’t want to hazard a guess at the ages…
I post mainly to reflect on Higgins’ question “Am I living in an unusually modern space, or does everybody pretty much live around new stuff?” I didn’t realize until I started traveling how “new” the world around me is, as far as infrastructure, history, architecture, and such.
I live in Alaska, and Anchorage of course became a modern city behind the times. We have no brick, as it’s too hard to ship up, and many old buildings were lost in the 1964 Good Friday earthquake. The oldest school is just over half a century old, and the state itself is less than that.
Thinking about “old” reminds me how little “old” there is around me. Visiting the lower 48, especially the east coast, is always a bit of a shock to me, in that way.
posted by Courtney on 8-18-2007 at 3:54 pm
Hmm, the oldest thing I, personally, own would be a gold ring that my great-grandmother left me. The oldest thing I still use is my grandma’s Betty Crocker cookbook. If I stand it up on it’s spine, it will fall open to one of our favorite recipes, and all the “good” ones are marked with dribbles of food and cooking gunk.
posted by Maggie on 8-18-2007 at 5:26 pm
The oldest thing I own is my great-grandmother’s mirrored dresser which she set up housekeeping with when she married sometime around the turn of the century. The house trumps that, though, being built in 1895, but it won’t be mine until 2034.
posted by Elizabeth on 8-18-2007 at 7:21 pm
I have an old wind up Timex from the 60s that I still wear occasionally (got it new for my 7th birthday..so 1968,I guess). I actually have a couple from that era,but this is the only one that still runs and I can’t find ANYONE who can fix the others).
And a Zippo lighter that I can tell from the strike marks on the bottom was produced in 1938. I’ve got a BUNCH of Zippos…probably at least one from each decade…and I carry them in rotation. But that one’s the oldest one I own. So far.
posted by BamBam on 8-18-2007 at 7:49 pm
The oldest things I own are probably my books… I frequent used bookstores and have some old books that were passed down to me by my dad. I have one on my table dated 1952, and that’s just the first one I’ve checked. I probably have some that are even older.
posted by Kris on 8-18-2007 at 8:13 pm
As for oldest in the home, we have an old clock from the early 20th/late 19th century, and some silverware from the 1930s that gets used for special occasions; and for oldest in regular use, I have a dress from the late 1970s that I still wear fairly often. I have a few early 20th century books, too.
posted by Erin on 8-18-2007 at 9:03 pm
I have some continental plate rocks that are over 1.3 billion years old.
posted by Bill H on 8-18-2007 at 9:22 pm
I have a First Ed. Dracula book … 1897, if I remember correctly… and not 2 weeks ago, I made cookies with some 80-100 year old homemade cutters ;)
posted by Renee on 8-18-2007 at 9:56 pm
My house itself is an antique, and filled with four generations of my family’s crap. My great-grandfather didn’t throw out newspapers ’cause he thought they’d be worth something someday, so those are in the attic. There’s lots of old things from when my house was a farm owned by Harvard, but the only thing we still use is the firestove in the winter or when the power gets knocked out.
posted by Schmooz on 8-18-2007 at 10:38 pm
the oldest thing i own is a fish fossil, given to me by a friend at a museum (it wasn’t nice enough to display).
i still wear a ton of old jewelry, but i don’t know how old any of it is…
posted by hana on 8-18-2007 at 10:43 pm
I have a pair of shoes I wore in junior high, I still wear them to this day. They are 26 years old, and look it. Still the most comfortable shoes I own.
posted by messy on 8-19-2007 at 12:47 am
Oldest thing that was made by human hands? Definitely any of the many, many “native” artifacts (points, scrapers, axes, etc) that I’ve collected over the years. Probably 12,000-14,000 years old or there abouts.
Oldest “modern” thing I own is probably one of the older books I have from the mid-late 19th century.
posted by Dan B on 8-19-2007 at 4:02 am
In my home library, my oldest books are arranged by the year of publication. So that will make the oldest thing I own…let me find it…the oldest dated book I have is from 1851; there are others that may be older, but are not dated (could I be more repetitive?).
posted by Emily M. on 8-19-2007 at 8:29 am
i have a 130 year old leather bound complete works of Shakesphere(sp)? with wood block prints throughout, its beautiful and i rescued it from a home that was being demolished in lebonanon ct about 25 years ago.
posted by max prague on 8-19-2007 at 8:34 am
My oldest is a 200 year old spinningwheel.
I also have my 150 year old desk and large tool cabinate.
and then there is my husband aged 58 years old
posted by dramaqueenmama on 8-19-2007 at 9:08 am
I recently bought an antique needlework sampler from eBay and found its dated 1793…that was a nice surprise…
and I collect antique diamond rings and have a few from the 1880’s and 1900’s…
does dirt/dust count?
posted by donner on 8-19-2007 at 9:23 am
I have a sweater that I bought in 1987 (I was 13) that was SO in style, went WAY out, and came right back around again. Best of all, it still fits.
My coin collection has some pretty old pieces, but I haven’t dragged it out of storage in a few years so I’m not sure what-all is in there.
My father’s great-grandmother’s rolling pin is also pretty old – it was one of the few things they brought with them when they came to the States from Russia around 1900. I use that a lot.
My parents have a hand-brushed mirror over their fireplace that dates back to roughly 1650, and that’s pretty cool.
posted by Rachel on 8-19-2007 at 10:16 am
I have my family bible dated to 1859 that was brought over from Germany when my family immigrated.
I have both of my grandfathers’ briar pipes from the 50’s and both of their 12gauge shotguns from the 60’s. I’ve used both pipes on occasionally and I use the shotguns on a regular basis.
I have some of my great grandmother’s jewelry. My mom’s 45s and LPs from the 60s. I’ve also got lots of Knick-nacs and trinkets from the 40s, 50s, and 60s.
posted by Ssquach on 8-19-2007 at 12:23 pm
I forgot about my 66 VW Bug, that I drive at least once a week. My dad has been driving it lately (every day).
posted by Ssquach on 8-19-2007 at 12:24 pm
The oldest thing I own? I have a book of entomology from the 1800s. But then again I love antiques…
I have a 1950s wool coat that I use in the wintertime,
posted by Becca on 8-19-2007 at 1:29 pm
I’ve been wearing my motorcycle boots since 1968.
posted by easy rider on 8-19-2007 at 1:49 pm
I have an obsidion meteorite. Whats neat about that is not only is it possibly 1000″s or millions of years old, but it has also traveled millions of miles in outer space………cool!
posted by John Brown on 8-19-2007 at 3:16 pm
I have my mother’s wedding ring (1960, though the gold and diamonds are much older) and my grandfather’s first telephone (late 1940’s–still works).
posted by Lalita on 8-19-2007 at 7:49 pm
A 350 year old book on “horological astrology”. Which my idiot friend cracked the binding of… jackass.
posted by Tom on 8-19-2007 at 8:02 pm
I’ve managed to hold onto a nicely fasioned wood Aztec Caledar, with each character detailed and color balanced, and the whole thing was laquered up in 1980 in Mexico City, where I witness my parents buying it for something like 3500 pesos. I keep it in my dining room, and sometimes have conversations with the guy in the middle.
posted by Johnny Cat on 8-19-2007 at 9:29 pm
I have a meteorite that is 4.6 billion years old. It’s older than the Earth.
True.
posted by Philip Plait on 8-19-2007 at 10:57 pm
I’ve got some fossils, but I don’t think that’s quite what the question meant. I regularly use my great-grandfather’s leather shaving kit bag (1910 or so). I’ve got a few pocketknives from the 40s and 50s. We’ve got some documents, photos, etc. from the mid-1800s when my family came to America.
posted by Sam on 8-19-2007 at 11:24 pm
I think having mostly new stuff IS mostly a new thing. People didn’t have so many possessions in past centuries, and things were more often made to last, or at least not made with “planned obsolescence.” Technology is developing especially fast right now, too, so people will change things like computers fairly often.
I think it also depends on where you live and how recently your family (or you) moved there. (You can’t usually bring several generations of accumulated stuff when you move.) I live in a part of the U.S. where it’s hard to find a building older than 60 or 70 years. Nowadays, though, I get to spend some time in Europe, and regularly walk in and out of buildings that are in full, casual, everyday use even though they’re hundreds of years old.
For me here, the oldest thing I have is probably some pots from World War I, and the oldest thing I use regularly is probably a music stand from 1973. For me in Europe, the oldest thing I have and use regularly is my house, which was built sometime 1860-90 (not especially old for those parts). Someone did visit me there once with a musical instrument from the 1550s (a viola da gamba) which we all got to play. I wish I could say I use THAT regularly!–but at least I can say that its owner does.
posted by Esha on 8-20-2007 at 6:27 am
I own a fish fossil that is approx 44 million years old. I have hundreds of Roman and Greek coins dating as far back as 275 b.c., U.S. fractional currency from the 1860’s. I also own a house that was built in 1893.
With all of that said, the oldest thing in my house has to be my wife’s computer. I’m confident it predates the abacus.
posted by Cory on 8-20-2007 at 6:52 am
The wedding rings my wife and I wear were originally worn by my grandfather’s mother and my grandmother’s father. My ring dates to about 1907 and hers to 1915. Both have the original engravings on the inside of the bands. My wife’s has a small diamond that we’re told is cut in the old European craftsman style that is no longer done.
I’m storing most of the heirlooms from my mom’s side of the family, including some handmade Czech Christmas ornaments, old china and silver that came over from Europe, and plenty of old photos. Somewhere also is a copy of the local paper from the day after the moon landing. That’s a really cool item. –RN
posted by RSN on 8-20-2007 at 7:14 am
I collect old keyboard instruments such as player pianos, pipe organs, reed organs, and others – my oldest is about 1869. I own a number of old books, the oldest being a 1699 leatherbound example of the Compleat Angler. I own two mantel clocks from the 1920’s, a number of old Kodak box cameras from 1890’s and early 1900’s, my grandfather’s old railroad watch from the 1930s, and a bunch of stuff I can’t remember right now. The oldest thing I use every day? Probably the metal 25-tablet Anacin aspirin tin that I’ve carried in my pocket since the Vietnam war. It’s long since worn down to the bare metal. Also carry a Bausch and Lomb pocket magnifier from the same timeframe – the older I get the handier it is :-)
posted by Craig Landrum on 8-20-2007 at 7:20 am
I like this question because i thought of exactly the same some days ago. After some heavy rain the basement at work had about 5 cm of water on the floor. When we were cleaning out the things destroyed by the water i came across some technical drawings from 1957. Hand drawn as those were at that time. The water had just made them look even older (cooler) so i brought them home and will soon be on my wall.
As i live in a nearly 1 year old appartment most of my stuff is less than 1 year. Besides those drawings my oldest stuff are probably 10 years tops.
- Christopher
posted by Christopher on 8-20-2007 at 7:21 am
My shoe chair (it’s where I sit to put my shoes on) is circa 1880. The cedar chest (my “hope chest” for those in the know) in my mudroom is circa 1910. My bedframe is circa 1920. The clawfoot tub I bathe in every day is circa 1930. My milk-glass lamp on my bedside table is 1960 or so. Speaking of milk, the kitchen window is full of old milk bottles streaming greenish light from various somehow related to either me or my roommate family dairies. There’s a bunch more too. I’ve never bought an antique. It’s all from the family.
posted by Lindsay on 8-20-2007 at 7:22 am
My oldest possession is an antique ‘poison’ bottle ca. 1790’s
(I collect poison bottles so I have a lot from the 1800’s). Oldest possession I use regularly is my grandmothers decorative serving plate probably from 1930’s.
My brother has my grandfather’s miners helmet/hat from when he worked the mines in the Pittsburg area. That is from around 1910.
posted by JaneM on 8-20-2007 at 7:35 am
I’ve got several coins from the 1800’s; most of which I picked out of change in my pockets.
Oldest thing in daily use has to be our dining room table; near as I can determine it was built in the 1880’s. My daughter’s bedroom set was inherited from my parents, and that has to be around 100 years old, and has beautiful inlaid wood designs throughout. That set was acquired when my folks bought the house I grew up in. The family they bought it from was very well-off, and left behind many, many pieces like that that are cherished by my family still.
One neat thing I picked up at a rummage sale a while back is a Burma Shave jingle book (check my blog for scans). It was tucked into a book that I bought, both of which were printed back in the 1940’s.
posted by Dave on 8-20-2007 at 8:12 am
A 60 million year old slab of copralite (dinosaur dung). Which I love to show kids and then tell them what it is. I took it into work last week to remind myself that some shit never goes away–it just gets old.
posted by anika143 on 8-20-2007 at 9:22 am
I have an original 1915 program from the groundbreaking yet controversial film “The Birth of a Nation” by D.W. Griffith. It’s really fascinating because there are all kinds of quotes from politicians, historians, and other public figures, about how they believe film is going to be the next powerful medium. I’m sure today our politicians would stay as far away as possible from the promotion of a film that is based on the novel “The Clansman” and deals primarily with the creation of the KKK, so it’s also an interesting snapshot of the social climate of the day. I’ve tried more than once to see how much it might be worth to collectors, but eBay has had such wildly ranging prices that it’s impossible to really gage what interest there is in this historic collector’s item.
posted by SpaceMonkeyX on 8-20-2007 at 9:38 am
My mother gave me an ugly dresser from my great-grandmother. It had been painted so many times it took me three weeks to get it stripped down to its natural finish. When I did it was a beautiful rosewood with gold inlays. And on the inside of the top drawer was a medal with a marking that showed that it had been made in 1809. I sealed the natural finish and still use it in my bedroom.
posted by Jenn on 8-20-2007 at 10:40 am
I have a family Bible from 1722 and a stone that was once in the wall of the castle my ancestors lived in over in Scotland. I also have a belt buckle (?) that was supposedly worn by Stonewall Jackson, a clay pipe owned by Thomas Jefferson and a cast iron pot used in the 1800’s to feed my great grandfather and his brothers and sisters.
Oldest thing I use today is my 57 year old heart.
posted by Matt on 8-20-2007 at 10:55 am
I’d have to say the atlas from 1806 is the oldest. Always good for a laugh at parties to point out how mistaken cartographers where about certain parts of the globe – Greenland being directly connected to Canada being one!
posted by Terry on 8-20-2007 at 11:00 am
Dave – I forgot all about Burma Shave signs! When I was a little kid (a thousand years ago) we used to ride the highways quite a lot. Once of our favorite things was Burman Shave signs! It really broke up the trip for 6 pre DVD, iPod, MP3 kids. Thanks for the memory
posted by JaneM on 8-20-2007 at 12:20 pm
I have a family bible dating back to somewhere around 1840. It has birth, marriage and death records in it, and it is stained with red mud. I asked where the mud came from, and my grandfather informed me that it was buried for a short while so that it would not be “looted by Yankee soldiers during the War of Northern Aggression” (my grandad’s term, not mine)
I also have very old milk in my fridge.
posted by Allison on 8-20-2007 at 12:28 pm
I have many books ca. 1850-1900 (that I have read), many pre-1960s clothes patterns and buttons (that I have every intention of using), and a few peices of pre-1940s furniture. I have lots of polished rocks, but know little about them so I don’t want to hazard a guess as to age. Probably the weirdest old thing I own is a feather pillow that belonged to my great grandparents–they would have bought it some time around 1920. It sounds gross, but it’s the best pillow ever and I don’t sleep as well on any other.
posted by leiarenee on 8-20-2007 at 12:44 pm
my dad bought that same watch when he was in vietnam too! the only difference is that his is silver. he still wears it everyday.
posted by itsabecky on 8-20-2007 at 1:11 pm
My father in law and I are history buffs so I was thrilled when he gave me a roman soldier’s ring for my birthday one year.
This is the oldest thing I own, but depending on how you look at it my wife definately beat she has a very stylish neclass made with a fossil.
posted by Matthew CT on 8-20-2007 at 1:13 pm
Oldest things owned:
1879 Springfield Rifle my grandfather bartered for in the ’30s.
An iron bed frame that belonged to my gggrandfather, around the same time period.
Oldest items still in use:
Another iron bed frame from the ’20s that my son uses.
An antique wash stand that was my wife’s ggrandmother’s. Prob late 1800’s.
And my all time favorite, my grandfather’s 1972 Ford pickup used for playing on the weekends.
posted by Craig on 8-20-2007 at 1:29 pm
The oldest things I own are several roman coins dating to 300-400. I also have a number of medieval knives dating from the 10th to 16th centuries, and a small collection of Spurs and pilgrimage badges from the 14-16th centuries.
posted by Fernando on 8-20-2007 at 2:02 pm
I have a bed that’s been handed down in my family for over 200 years. The original bill of sale shows it being sold, new, in the late 1790s for $5, a princely sum at the time. It’s been modified to fit modern mattresses, and I use it nightly.
My sister has the chest of drawers that matches the bed.
posted by Jenny on 8-20-2007 at 3:13 pm
I have my grandmothers engagement ring (1935) and a brooch from my great grandmother from the late 1800s.
posted by Francine on 8-20-2007 at 7:10 pm
I have a 5000 year old measuring cup from Israel.
posted by Elizabeth on 8-20-2007 at 7:29 pm
A school geography book dated 1872.
posted by Griff on 8-20-2007 at 7:54 pm
The oldest thing for me is a copy of Milton’s Paradise Lost from around 1860. The oldest thing I use is probably the sofa-bed I’m sitting on from the 1960s.
posted by Beirne on 8-20-2007 at 9:52 pm
I have an Egyptian Eye of Horas amulet that dates back to around 2500 B.C. Its very small. No bigger than a quarter. The details are worn down quite a bit but still easily distinguished. Its very cool.
posted by Jon on 8-20-2007 at 11:05 pm
The oldest thing I own is an 8th century Byzantine silver ring with some mysterious etchings on it. The next oldest is a first edition book of Longfellow’s Poems, 1846. My sterling flatware is from 1912, and my grandmother’s white gold flip ring (cameo/onyx) is from 1935.
posted by Diana on 8-21-2007 at 10:44 am
An unabridged dictionary copyright 1910. It used to be in my great-grandfather’s newspaper office in South Dakota.
posted by Rance on 8-21-2007 at 12:26 pm
The oldest thing I have IS the oldest thing I use daily (with the exception of some jewelery from Grandma). I use the desk that was in my mom/aunt’s room when they were kids. It fits into the corner, and no one could have known in the ’50’s how PERFECT it is for a computer monitor!
posted by Elizabeth on 8-21-2007 at 4:32 pm
I have a set of Dick’s Works from 1860 and a copy of Tropical and Polar Regions of the World from 1873.
I’ve also got a pocket watch that is about 100 years old from my great-grandfather.
Several books from the turn of the century (1899-1900) also grace my bookshelves… I’m a bit of a bibliophile.
posted by Chris Hansen on 8-22-2007 at 12:09 am
My house is 130 years old.
posted by Steph Mineart on 8-27-2007 at 1:56 am
Sept. 20, 2007
The oldest thing I own is a book entitled “American Constitution” dated 1891 and a Spanish coin dated 1871
posted by Juan on 9-20-2007 at 2:19 am
I have bone china from the 1890’s and a bunch of old jewelry from the 20’s. And a really old looking camera, those accordion looking ones, but I have no idea when it’s from.
posted by Benita on 1-1-2008 at 11:20 am
I have some family pictures from the 1890s. Also have some books from the mid-1800s.
I wear some of my grandmother’s hats from the 1920s and ’30s.
posted by Jem on 1-1-2008 at 7:07 pm
My alarm clock.
… What? It happens to be the oldest thing I own. I bought it when I went to college when I was sixteen, which would make it, ah… 1997. It’s never failed me.
I do have a set of tables that might be older, but I have no idea. I got them for free from a couple my sister was friends with.
Ah, the joys of living in a tiny apartment.
posted by Stephanie on 1-1-2008 at 10:48 pm
I have a Japanese katana which was forged somewhere between 1350 and 1400 CE by a smith named Kani Mitsu of the Seki school of Mino Provence. I used it for several years when I practiced Kenjitsu. It is now retired in a shirosaya.
posted by Paul on 1-2-2008 at 8:08 am
Great reading all the replies :) very interesting stuff everyone has :)
I have a 1917 Corona Typewriter (before they merged with “Smith”) … it doesn’t work but i think it’s the oldest thing i have.
For everyday items, either my 1974 Fender Stratocaster or a Timex watch i found in my dad’s garage when we cleaned it out … it was in a box that had never even been opened and the original leather band was so old it cracked and kind of crumbled when i tried to bend it … so however long it takes for leather to do that lol … maybe from the 70s? it’s a windup … “kids” at work are amazed i have to wind it once a day lol
posted by kelly on 1-2-2008 at 10:18 am
The oldest thing I have is a Confederate $5 bill, so that thing is at least 142 years old (U.S. Civil War lasted from 1861 to 1865).
Oldest everyday thing is probably my house, built in 1949.
posted by Chris M. on 1-2-2008 at 12:47 pm
I have a sword from the War of 1812 (I think), some old photographs, and a book I picked up at a “jumble sale” in London in 1981. The book is from the early 1800s. I also have in my possession a few dozen letters that were written to my grandmother when she was a young teen (maybe around 1916) and was out of school with a lengthy illness. The teachers made the kids write to her, I’m sure, and the letters were much kinder than the comments they often made to this German immigrant who didn’t understand what “monkey” meant when they called her that.
posted by Terry on 1-2-2008 at 7:08 pm
If you want human-made objects, we’ve got a Roman enameled pendant — not well dated, but from the time they were occupying Britain, so say 2nd or 3rd century CE.
If you’re accepting natural objects, we’ve got some miscellaneous fossils (trilobites, fish, dinosaurs), so hundreds of millions of years old, but my husband the paleontology buff would have to give you more precise dates
posted by Liza Jane on 1-15-2008 at 9:58 am
Currently wearing my grandmother’s wedding ring, a thin gold band inlaid with seven tiny diamonds — circa 1940.
Also have about 50 old cameras, dating from 1910’s – 1970’s, a collection of demitasse tea cups and saucers from Occupied Japan (1945-1952), a first edition of “South Pacific” (1947), and an old school Nintendo (circa 1987).
posted by Lindsey on 1-15-2008 at 1:01 pm
I have a limestone ushabti dating back to roughly 1600 B.C.
It comes complete with sand…
posted by Amanda on 1-15-2008 at 1:32 pm
I ‘inherited’ my mom’s antique baby grand piano when we bought my parents’ house a couple of years ago and she decided they don’t have room for it in their new place.
The piano is 106 years old this year, was originally purchased by Mom’s grandparents and spent it’s first 70 years in the parlor on the farm before we got it. Three moves and three decades later it’s badly in need of refinishing (it might have been black once but now it’s dingy brown), horribly out of tune, and eating up about 1/4 of my living room.
Here’s the weird, small-world-isn’t-it-insert-Twilight-
Zone-music-here part. My mom is from farm country south of Sioux Falls, SD. The piano was made in my dad’s hometown in Illinois farm country south of Rockford. The piano factory closed eons ago and was turned into one of those quaint, small town micro-malls with all sorts of mom-and-pop shops and a cafe where Granddad and his cronies used to have breakfast every week. I got to go with him once. Looooong ago.
posted by eroe777 on 1-18-2008 at 11:13 am
The oldest thing I own, and still wear, is my fathers Navy P coat. It was issued to him in 1965.
posted by TACU2 on 1-18-2008 at 1:10 pm
The oldest things I own are guitars:
I have a rare (rare enough enough that there’s no record of it in Gruhn’s Guide) Kay flat top from the 1950s.
And I have three Stella’s from either the late 50’s or early 60’s.
Only one of the Stellas is somewhat playable because the Alberta climate eats old guitars. The Kay, which was my main guitar for many years, has also suffered quite a bit. I’m hoping to restore it soon.
posted by Tiddo on 1-18-2008 at 1:44 pm
hey, eroe777, isn’t that one on the Fox river, like in Jacksonville? I think I got to go there once.
posted by kitsana_d on 1-18-2008 at 4:29 pm
I have a coin from constantinople, dating about 1500 years ago that my grandfather dug up on a dig in China about 25 years ago.
If you count the oldest non-man made thing i own, then it’d be a piece of amber that my late uncle gave me. He dug it up in Africa when he was a kid, thats at least 30 million years old.
posted by Chad on 1-18-2008 at 6:33 pm
Because I am away at school, I have very few antiques here in my dumpy apartment. Here in the apartment, the oldest thing I have is my baby blanket, which I affectionately named, “Bobby” when I was old enough to talk. Bobby was given to me in the hospital when I was born in 1983. He is currently torn to shreds (due to years of love) and stored in a ziplock bag in my nightstand.
Back at my parents house, the oldest thing I own are a pair of twin beds and a matching dresser from the mid 1940s. The set was my mom’s while she was growing up, then they were mine. Whenever I have kids, they will go to my daughter.
In the apartment where I am now, the oldest thing I use on a daily basis would be a set of bookshelves that I bought with my mom at Target in the mid 1990s. Everything else is pretty much new and from Ikea.
At my parents house, we have a couch, two chairs, and a rocking chair that belonged to my great-grandmother and are from the late 1930s. We refinished them and use them often. The only problem is the couch and the two chairs are really uncomfortable, but we are not allowed to get rid of them because they hold too much sentimental value to my dad. When we watch tv, I sit on the floor because it is more comfortable.
posted by Lizzy on 1-20-2008 at 12:46 pm
I have a piece of the Campo meteorite which i wear around my neck…It fell @5000 years ago and is billions of years old…
posted by jobu on 1-21-2008 at 1:35 am