The lost art of the formal dining room service
(Editor’s note: DeeDee Wood is the owner of Black Cat Curiosities, an online antiques research and sales venue.) Thanksgiving is coming soon, and during this time period, more formal dishes might come out of the pantry and grace tables with dishes only used during...
Couple opens ‘unique boutique’
(Editor’s note: DeeDee Wood is the owner of Black Cat Curiosities, an online antiques research and sales venue.) Since January 2026, there has been a unique vendor boutique store a few miles East from the Dover Bridge on Dover Bridge Road, named after a phrase Crystal...
Preston Historical Society, Preston, Md.
(Editor’s note: DeeDee Wood is the owner of Black Cat Curiosities, an online antiques research and sales venue.) As you pull into the quaint, picturesque town of Preston, Md., you will see an impressive house on Main Street, the Wilson/Noble House, the oldest house in...
What washes ashore on the Chesapeake Bay?
(Editor’s note: DeeDee Wood is the owner of Black Cat Curiosities, an online antiques research and sales venue. This is Part 1 of this year’s annual Antique Discovery ‘Road Trip.’) It’s antique road trip time again, when normally for a few months out of the year,...
Antique Fishing Gear
(Editor’s note: DeeDee Wood is the owner of Black Cat Curiosities, an online antiques research and sales venue.) Summer brings to mind many things, but in the heat of July, in many places around the world, tackle boxes, nets, floats and fishing poles come out for a...
Summer flea markets: History and offerings
(Editor’s note: DeeDee Wood is the owner of Black Cat Curiosities, an online antiques research and sales venue.) June is here, and that kicks off the prime summer flea market season. Roadside stands, dusty remote barns, city lots and tents of treasures, flea markets...
Gifts for Mother’s Day
(Editor’s note: DeeDee Wood is the owner of Black Cat Curiosities, an online antiques research and sales venue.) Mother’s Day was established in the United States in 1914. Ann Jarvis, a social activist, conceived the holiday to honor her mother, and all women who...
Collecting gardening tools
(Editor’s note: DeeDee Wood is the owner of Black Cat Curiosities, an online antiques research and sales venue.) Early spring has arrived, and you might be headed out to the garden shed to dust off the tools of yard and garden care. Old garden tools, such as trowels,...
Clubs and Parlors
(Editor’s note: DeeDee Wood is the owner of Black Cat Curiosities, an online antiques research and sales venue.) Social clubs, such as women’s clubs, debate clubs, religious groups and others, often held spring meetings and re-emerged with the first flowers, when the...
History of Amberina Glass
(Editor’s note: DeeDee Wood is the owner of Black Cat Curiosities, an online antiques research and sales venue.) February is the month of receiving bouquets of flowers, but are the vases or containers utilized to showcase the beauty of these tokens of love ever...
