Cherished Collections (summer 2011 blog tour)

Casey over at Elegant Musings is hosting a cherished collections blog tour this week and I'm apart of it today. I'll be sharing with y'all some of the things I have collected over the years. I've been collecting several of the things that I will be showing you since I was about 16 or 17. =)

Wonderful old, vintage books are one of my favorite things to collect. After helping my mom collect books for our family for years, I finally realized a couple years ago that I could get some for myself. Here is just a small sampling of the books I have collected over the years (this isn't including my collection of sewing & costuming books). In this picture you can spot a first edition of On the Banks of Plum Creek {1939} (I only paid $1!). A 1888 edition of Swiss Family Robinson it was a gift from a school to a 16 year old girl for her first teaching job. A 1879 McGuffey's Third Reader and The Life of General Thomas (Stonewall) Jackson for the Young in Easy Words by: Mrs. Mary L. Williamson {1899}. 

I have part of the Five Little Peppers series, 1940s novels (Mrs. Miniver, Anna and the King of Siam, The Egg & I), Bobbsey Twins, Nancy Drew, Ben-Hur by Gen. Lew Wallace, one of the first Paris tour books (1909), David Copperfield by Charles Dickens from 1867, and many more.  

I also collect knitting and crocheting pamphlets from the 1940s - 1960s. I can't use them at this time because I don't know how to knit and I can't read crocheting patterns yet. But I enjoy collecting them. 

Then there are the vintage sewing patterns. I have around 150 - 200 hundred vintage patterns (what you see is just a tiny sampling of what I have) from the 1900s to the1960s (I do have patterns from 1970 to 2010, but the 70s & 80s I consider more retro and the 90s, well, my childhood.) In the bottom row you can see my only two copies of The Delineator 1904 & 1905 and a 1928 Butterick Patterns pamphlet. 

Sewing patterns aren't the only thing I collect and use (well, I use everything I collect). I started collecting and using vintage sewing supplies last year, here is part of my collection (which is more on the smaller size). 

Now on to all the magazines I collect. Just this past month I started collecting movie and TV magazines (which I adore!). Though they are very rare and can be expensive to buy (which is why I love Etsy, I can search for cheeper ones). =)

Two of my pride and joys of my whole magazine collection. Life magazine from the week before Grace Kelly's wedding (there are some wonderful pictures in this one!) and a 1950 Spring/Summer Brides magazine (I love drooling over all the gowns!).

I like collecting Life magazines. Most of mine are from the late 30s and 1940s. With the bottom two being the start of my NASA space program collection (I just started last Friday). *laughs*

 

 McCall's, Woman's Home Journal, Every Woman's, Woman's Day, Family Circle, Look, Post, and Collier's also make their appearance in my collection (these are mostly from the 30s - 50s). I find that I don't really like collecting magazines from the 60s (unless they are sewing/craft related, or the space program). Though eventually I would like to collect magazines about President J.F. Kennedy.  

Finally, here are the beginning's of my vintage jewelry collection. Just two brooches. I believe the one on the left is from the 50s, while the one on the right is from the 40s. If anyone knows the correct years for these two, feel free to let me know. :) As these are just guesses of mine.