Wedding gifts: History and items
(Editor’s note: DeeDee Wood is the owner of Black Cat Curiosities, an online antiques research and sales venue.) June is the month when a lot of people “tie the knot,” but from where does the custom come to bring a gift to the occasion, and what items, that would now...
Oil lamps have shown way for years
(Editor’s note: DeeDee Wood is the owner of Black Cat Curiosities, an online antiques research and sales venue.) Since the dawn of time, people have tried to illuminate the darkness with an artificial source of light. As an alternative to candles, the oil lamp was...
A brief history of wallpaper
(Editor’s note: DeeDee Wood is the owner of Black Cat Curiosities, an online antiques research and sales venue.) Wallpaper can totally change the look of any room. Elegant sweeps of floral themes, animals, birds and scenes can transform an ordinary wall into something...
Irish furniture: It’s all in the details
(Editor’s note: DeeDee Wood is the owner of Black Cat Curiosities, an online antiques research and sales venue.) Antique Irish furniture, particularly pieces made during the Georgian period, which dates from 1714-1837, saw subtle differences in their European...
President Theodore Roosevelt’s Teddy Bears
(Editor’s note: DeeDee Wood is the owner of Black Cat Curiosities, an online antiques research and sales venue.) In honor of February, two things can combine together in the antiques world to represent holidays in the month. President’s Day and Valentine’s Day both...
Looking at the history of the winter white sale
(Editor’s note: DeeDee Wood is the owner of Black Cat Curiosities, an online antiques research and sales venue.) anuary brings snow, cold, and the end of the holiday season. Marketing techniques from 1878 are still utilized today, with the invention of the Winter...
Unusual Christmas tree ornaments of the past
(Editor’s note: This is the third of a three-part series featuring art and antiques of the Eastern Shore. DeeDee Wood is the owner of Black Cat Curiosities, an online antiques research and sales venue.) Christmas tree ornaments always bring back a bit of nostalgia and...
The poison of arsenic in Victorian era
(Editor’s note: This is the third of a three-part series featuring art and antiques of the Eastern Shore. DeeDee Wood is the owner of Black Cat Curiosities, an online antiques research and sales venue.) Arsenic is a by-product of the industrial age, a bright green...
Haunted Antiques
(Editor’s note: This is the third of a three-part series featuring art and antiques of the Eastern Shore. DeeDee Wood is the owner of Black Cat Curiosities, an online antiques research and sales venue.) Chesapeake Ghosts is an unusual tourist industry business on the...
The Pearl Button Factory of Federalsburg, Md.
(Editor’s note: This is the third of a three-part series featuring art and antiques of the Eastern Shore. DeeDee Wood is the owner of Black Cat Curiosities, an online antiques research and sales venue.) Part Three of our Three Part Eastern Shore Antique Roadtrip...
