What is the one family item you wish you had? - just for a bit of fun

[Tephra]

A rather large tea chest from my Nanna's attic.  It was full chock-a-block of all her dresses and hats and feather boas..............playbills from the theatre and costume jewellry.   Think 'My Fair Lady' and that's what the dresses were like.........  It vanished.   

Or, if I couldn't have that, then the sideboard my Grandfather made in the living room......yes, he made it in the living room and, once it was finished, it was too big to be moved so there it stayed.......it might even be still there!!!

Barbara

[Bellejazz]

I thought of something else, photos of my Mum as a child. Her parents had a house fire and lost everything so I have no idea what she looked like as a little girl.

On Sunday evenings before we were allowed to light the gas mantle, I was allowed to get the Bradbury family scrapbook out of the cupboard and look at it in the fading light. There was everything in it - photos, of course, celebration cards, postcards and small handmade craft items all from about 1880-1935. I often wondered what happened to this magical book and shall, almost certainly, never know.

What a wonderful thing that would be and what a shame it has been lost.

[deeiluka]

The glass fronted bookcase from my great grandmother's house.....it was full of all these really old wonderful books that I was allowed to sit and look at when we visited.  I didn't realise it until I was older,  but many of the books were accounts of early happenings in the settlement of South Australia.

I'd love to have them now.......

.....dee

[ankerdine]

On another tack, I don't know if it should be on a separate thread or not, though it is generally on topic. I am sure someone will advise me.

I have inherited two oil paintings by an very amateur artist. They came from a friend of my father, Alexander Bradbury, and the signature on the pics is J. Parton. The origin of the pictures is Staffordshire c1930s, and they are both in Bakerlite frames. I think if this J. Parton was related to me then I would like to have the paintings returned.

If anyone knows of this J. Parton could they PM me please.

It's not so sunny today. What a pity.

Judy

[MarieC]

The death certificate of my missing gggrandfather Edward Martin, telling me where and how he died!  (And since that is only a small thing, could I add the Roman Catholic baptism records of his parents, Thomas Martin and Agnes Jenkins!)

MarieC

[stoney]

One item......just one item?

Grandad's tools - stonemason by trade.....

Or -

Mum's balance scales and weights - she was a baker and confectioner, but only ever used the scales when we'd been fruit-picking so she could work out quantities for jam.....

Or -

G-Grandad's Naval paraphernalia, presented to him when he retired (distant cousin has them, but has let me have a look)....

Or -

Any of the books, jewellery or ornaments that belonged to my Grandmother, which my Aunt had, and are now probably in some packing case in a dark cellar in New England - since my cousin came over and cleared the house after Aunt's death and just shipped everything back to America with him (and they don't have any real meaning for him as he was born in Africa and never really had much to do with Grandma!)....

.....now, which of all these things would I really like? Hmmmmm... 

[LoneyBones]

I would realy, realy, realy love to have access to the original family photos and family bible in the possesion of my cousin, who isn't interested in Family History and doesn't answer my emails because she's too busy quilting, before she gets too old. And before I do too. 
Leonie.

[KathMc]

Oh I get that Lonelybones. I would love 2 boxes of old photos that are in the attic of my mom's cousin's house. They have talked of throwing the pictures out because they don't know who so many people are. I got them to hold off on that, but they won't let me even take them to look at them, identify some (which I was able to do in their kitchen one afternoon), and scan them. And they are stuck in a corner of an attic. 

Kath

[genjen]

The torn off half of a photo of my grandmother and ( we believe) her first husband. It is generally thought that her second husband, my grandfather, destroyed the picture of his predecessor, though why he needed to when the person in question was long dead is a bit of a mystery.

Jen