When lost is found

From top hats to typewriters, the near past yields treasures, objects of patina and presence.

"Something old" makes an enchanting gift or accessory, not just for a bride. I'm thinking about what is nearly gone, and how it might be rescued without slipping into weird hoarding.


Lost object

I was in a housewares shop the other day, and overheard a man say plaintively, "Oh, I was sure you would have them". The clerk replied, "Yes, we used to, but no one bought them." He said, "I've looked everywhere..."

I couldn't resist asking what they were talking about, "Bookends" said the man, "I want to give them as a gift." Where would you suggest he look?

I found this '60s Italian pair, rich sienna marble eggs originally from I. Magnin on Etsyfrom the well-named seller OddlyEphemeral. (Price, $199.)

Lost jewelry
  

Once literally the jewel in the crown, the hat pin is now a quirky charmer. Daniele wears hers on jackets (like a stickpin) and displays them on a large cushion on a living room side table, like sculpture. A Victorian branch coral and 10k gold hat pin is only $75 from Ruby Lane seller True Treasures of Palm Beach.

Coral hat pin

Lost fabrics

Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe

Quality fabric is an endangered species. 

When Jill Taylor was costuming the '50s-era film "My Week with Marilyn", her team scoured vintage shops, auction houses and markets because, though she made some of the actors' pieces, she said it was difficult to find fabrics that looked as lush as those produced in the '50s. 

Sewers stockpile vintage lengths of satin or tweed, but the rest of us search for the exceptions that remain in fabricated items.

Pendleton tote

The great American textile mills have closed steadily since the 1960s, so even though they seem a going concern, I'd buy Pendleton. 

The City Tote shows off a lush piece of jacquard weaving, made of fabric still produced in the US. Price, $88. (Stellar gift for someone averse to carrying leather.)

A glimpse of stocking

I'm not suggesting genuine silk stockings unless you or the recipient would swoon. If so, lace-top silks can be worn with or without garters, and come in many sizes (though not always in stock at stockingstore.com) for about $65 per pair.

Whether under a wedding gown or 50th anniversary cocktail dress, silk feels delicious, and not just to your hand.

Lost artist

When we sold our house, one of the things I mourned was leaving tiles custom-made almost twenty years ago by Matthias Ostermann and installed in a wall.

The Montréal-based, world-renowned ceramicist died in 2009, so I had no hope of finding more.

Matthias Ostermann tile

Last week I walked by a Montreal gallery and stopped short, my breath suspended, my arms in goosebumps.

In the window were a half-dozen pristine pieces; the gallery owner was selling part of her personal collection. I bought two decorative tiles; the mermaid is nearly an exact match for one in the wall.

The owner wasn't in; moved to tears, I asked her assistant to convey my thanks. Their appearance felt like a gift from beyond.

What are the materials, objects or artists that you wish to conserve?