| Author | Message | ||
     kevin Citizen Username: Kevin Post Number: 169 Registered: 2-2002 |
I think that we should break this topic out from the other thread which was primarily about artifacts burried outside. What type of artifacts or treasures have you found within your house from one of the original owners - be it behind cabinets, inside walls, in the rafters, under insulation, etc? Me, I found a collections notice in its envelope from the 30s. It must have been sent as a result of the great depression. It was behind a built-in dresser. I'll have to remember where I put it to recall what it said and the amount owed. | ||
| kathy Citizen Username: Kathy Post Number: 709 Registered: 5-2001 |
I found a carpenter's invoice form from when the house was built, folded up and used as a shim behind a hinge plate. | ||
| bobk Supporter Username: Bobk Post Number: 4294 Registered: 5-2001 |
We found a number of copies of 1926 Orange Transcript newspapers when we pulled the plaster down for an addition. It appears the plasterer stuffed them in the walls just for the hell of it. This led us to believe that our house was built in 1926, which was incorrect. We were later visited by a guy who grew up in our house in the 1930s who indicated the area where we found the paper was a small addition built in the 1920s. A friend in Brooklyn found an absolutely magnificient brass bound carpenter's folding ruler in the walls of his brownstone. Some folks have all the luck! I was hoping to find cash or bearer bonds, but what the heck..... | ||
| barbara wilhelm Citizen Username: Bartist Post Number: 103 Registered: 1-2003 |
i found in the basement booklets about what to do in the event of a nuclear war. | ||
| extuscan Citizen Username: Extuscan Post Number: 250 Registered: 6-2001 |
Our house had numerous renovations since it was built in 1927. The original owners had thier initials etched into the shower door... kinda cute. (Had to rip it all out when the bathroom started pouring water all over the front hall) Biggest item? Early 1950's Crosley Television. This would be a very early model because its in a huge wooden case but the screen is only about 5" across. It was in the crawl space under the den. The basement was converted into a rec-room sometime in the 50's complete with a wet bar and this little "built in" where the television went. Worst "Renovation"? Some former owner completely paneled over the living room in plywood. We ripped it out. There were nice leaded glass windows that had been covered with a giant wall of waffle glass, shelves, all backlite with flourescent lights. They didn't do much electrical work though, as the light switches were "shimmed out" from the original boxes with Legos. Neatest Non-Renovation? The Maid's Quarters. I guess nobody owning this house ever had a maid. The attic bathroom was very nice, hard wood floors, pull cork tub... all never, ever used. The toilet still had its delivery sticker right on the front of it. Entire attic area still had original paint job and wall paper until we had to painted in hopes of making the house more sellable. The bedroom windows were ripped out in the 1950s and replaced with the most enourmous attic fan. HUGE. That thing worked GREAT. For whatever reason, someone put the 1940's oven in the basement. And it sat there, in the laundry room, for ages. We finally got it out of there when the raised wooden floor rotted out and mushrooms were growing in it. The ivy on the side of the house grew in through the windows so there was ivy all over one wall. The laundry room had three really neat old sinks with brass knobs that we polished up just for fun. The basement had five sinks! The bar had a sink, the washroom had three, and the bathroom had a cheezy 70's vanity. What was cool in the bathroom though was the "toilet" wallpaper. They had toilets morphed into various themes... Throne Toilet, Red Baron Toilet, strange stuff. There was other stuff, but this was decades ago. The garage attic and the attic above the attic are still left un-explored by us. | ||
| Lizziecat Citizen Username: Lizziecat Post Number: 130 Registered: 5-2003 |
We found a silver pocket whiskey flask (empty) and a silver jigger in the third floor bathroom. Don't know why it was in the bathroom. | ||
| HarDen Citizen Username: Harden Post Number: 11 Registered: 2-2003 |
When we revovated our attic, we found a box concealed in the walls. It contained a former owner's papers, bank statements, personal letters. The family name is Wooley. The most exciting was a bill for dues from the Maplewood CC dated 1924--$50 plus tax | ||
| Joan Citizen Username: Joancrystal Post Number: 2356 Registered: 5-2001 |
Built in radios (which use tubes)in the the master bedroom, upstairs bathroom and kitchen. | ||
| ros Citizen Username: Ros Post Number: 115 Registered: 5-2001 |
I found a hoe with the phrase "Victory Garden 1942" inscribed on the side, and a heart drawn on the wall, dated from 1945 with wallpaperer's name (after I steamed off the wallpaper, of course!) | ||
| jab Citizen Username: Jab Post Number: 160 Registered: 3-2003 |
I found a secret cabinet inside of a closet. There is also a very old pencil drawing right on the plaster wall that the previous owners discovered when they removed wallpaper 30 years ago. They put a frame around it witha note of when it was discovered. There is a name on the drawing, which indicates that it goes back a very long time to the original family. Our cat found a very realistic toy mouse under the stove, apparently left behind by the previous owner's cat. | ||
| imacgrandma Citizen Username: Imacgrandma Post Number: 215 Registered: 5-2001 |
HarDen - Do you live on Prospect, on the Springfield side from Prospect Church? | ||
| HarDen Citizen Username: Harden Post Number: 12 Registered: 2-2003 |
imacgrandma. Yes I do....Tuscan school is my backyard. | ||
| jgberkeley Supporter Username: Jgberkeley Post Number: 3434 Registered: 5-2001 |
A set of the original blue prints for this house, found laying inside a wall. Interesting pencil notes written on them, making small changes to installation details. I noted that the blue prints require that a 'new additive' (Lead) be added to all paints to increase the life of the paint work. Behind a built in book case, several first edition books. In the attic under some insulation, parts for gas light fixtures. Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark; professionals built the Titanic. | ||
| eratosthenes Citizen Username: Eratosthenes Post Number: 25 Registered: 9-2003 |
In the attic, lying in the insulation: a bullet, Colt Western .45. I believe this is a round used by enthusiasts of the old Colt revolvers, but please correct me if you know better. No bullet holes. | ||
| Greg Spreeman Citizen Username: Mr_greg Post Number: 10 Registered: 1-2004 |
We were tearing out some plaster and found, like the person above, that the plasterer used newspapers to hold in the plaster until it set. It's the sports section from March of 1927. One article talks about Ruth and how he may be the only good player on the Yankess. There is also a picture of Ty Cobb as manager. Also found catalogs and newspapers from the 40's-mid-60's. | ||
| bobk Supporter Username: Bobk Post Number: 4524 Registered: 5-2001 |
Era, on the bottom of the casing their should be a number of stamped names and numbers. There are websites where from this information you can find out how old the cartridge is. I doubt if it has much value, but the search might be interesting. | ||
| Tom Reingold Citizen Username: Noglider Post Number: 1988 Registered: 1-2003  |
Inside the wall, we found two duplicate invitations to an army battalion reunion party. The party was to be held in 1920. Very cool! Tom Reingold the prissy-pants There is nothing | ||
| Moose11217 Citizen Username: Moose11217 Post Number: 25 Registered: 12-2002 |
In the attic we found three grade books from the mid-1950's from Priscilla Pollister, a biology Professor at Hunter College. Her husband was Arthur Pollister, a highly regarded biologist who was a Professor at Columbia for many years. I don't know if they lived here or the books wound up here some other way. | ||
| Barb Citizen Username: Flannery Post Number: 78 Registered: 8-2002 |
A 48-star American flag nailed to a wall in the basement. It's framed and hanging in our stairway now. | ||
| blackcat Citizen Username: Blackcat Post Number: 165 Registered: 6-2001 |
An old license plate and mostly newspapers stuffed in the walls. Insulation I guess. | ||
| musicme Citizen Username: Musicme Post Number: 574 Registered: 5-2001  |
A card from a realtor in response to a query from the original owner's request looking for land. Eventually, the owner peiced together seven acres going from Prospect back to the high school field. 1910. Also a couple of '70's Playboys and an empty bottle of Four Roses. | ||
| Tom Reingold Citizen Username: Noglider Post Number: 2940 Registered: 1-2003 |
Hmm. Where were those things hidden?  | ||
| sac Citizen Username: Sac Post Number: 1132 Registered: 5-2001 |
A bulletin insert from the "Prospect Street Presbyterian Church" sometime in the early 1900's. It included an announcement about a church picnic at a location in Livingston, I believe, with a comment that this was about an hour's drive away. | ||
| debby Citizen Username: Debby Post Number: 341 Registered: 5-2001 |
What a great thread! Once when my husband was running some wire in the basement he hit an obstacle that the wire just wouldn't pass. He did some digging and disassembling and got to the blockage - two cardboard boxes containing "Quality Latex Prophylactics" - stuffed between the floor joists. They looked like something out of an antique Sears Roebuck catalogue. | ||
| Musetta Citizen Username: Musetta Post Number: 60 Registered: 6-2003 |
We found a "secret" staircase; it leads from a closet in the family room to the upstaris hall closet (we have not removed the walls or closets though) The home was built in the 1800's and what is now the family room was part of the former kitchen. We also found an old well in the crawl-space under what is now the kitchen - the kitchen addition was put on in the 1924, along with plumbing :-) |
