Saturday, January 6, 2024

A Little Mourning for Leo and Ida

I found some interesting things around the end of 2023, one being a small-scale salesman sample of a tombstone made from a solid hunk of granite. And yes, it weighs a ton too! Why carry around the full-size versions while trudging door-to-door back in the day? There's definitely no need to send yourself to an early, backbreaking grave! They did this with highly detailed, doll-sized caskets and even mini vaults as well. They're very pricey, and quite collectable too. I also found an incredible assortment of deco era bisque figurines at a local estate sale. I'll be showing you more of these in upcoming posts as well, but for now here's one of them, a 1920's flapper with spit curled hair. Her head is a separate piece held on by a tiny strand of string so that her noggin can do a little bobbin' (some of you might remember the Smitty bisque nodder I posted HERE back in 2020.) Anyway, the funny thing about both of these finds was when I put them together on my desk: I set the flapper upright in front of the mini headstone, and then stepped back to take a few pix. As I zoomed everything into focus, her tiny head slowly tilted forward / down ON ITS OWN, into a sad mourning position. I'd be lying if I said that a chilly breeze suddenly blew through my office, and I will admit honestly that I still felt a slight tingle go right up my Karswellian spine. Of course, it's possible that she just knew little 'ol Leo and itty-bitty Ida. I guess we'll never know...

3 comments:

  1. Perhaps the lil' lady felt the need to show respect for those who have passed on, whether she knew them or not.

    This is one instance when you Don't want to keep up with the Jonses.

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  2. SpooOOOookeeey! I love these sales model tombstones. I have never seen one for sale before. That's a really cool one, too. I also think these bisque figurines are the coolest, I hope you bought a whole army of them. A flapper army.

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  3. I know that salesman -- back when it was a thing -- would have samples -- but I never thought a gravestone might be one of them!

    I suspect there's big collections of salesmen samples out there and its full of surprising stuff.

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