Up to the attic- Steamer trunks part 1

Before I began writing this blog I hadn't been in my home's attic for at least five years and have never spent more than a few minutes there. It's too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter and there are giant spiders lurking everywhere. I've never actually seen the spiders but I know they're hiding up there, waiting to jump on me. 

The attic steps. Giant spiderwebs spun by giant spiders.

I've been to the attic several times now. The first time I grabbed a few things and quickly fled down the stairs. During my second exploration I ignored the invisible spider threat and took time to walk around. Ugh. Silverfish and moths have attacked paper ephemera and clothes. An improvised hanging rack had broken and dumped a pile of clothing on the floor. Dust and cobwebs cover everything. Additionally, when a new roof was installed several years ago black roof-stuff sifted through cracks and fell everywhere in the attic. Thankfully there is no evidence of mice or other furry critters.


I'm thinking of doing a quick photographic tour of the attic to show the scope of what I'm trying to sort through. Clothing, furniture, books, toys, home decor... it's rather overwhelming. For now I've decided to focus on two old steamer trunks and chronicle what I find in them.

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I went upstairs and opened the trunks. Wow! When I started the attic exploration I vowed to only bring down a handful of things at a time. So much for that rule. If it were possible I would have dragged both trunks downstairs. They are filled with my mom's keepsakes.

I posted this picture previously. Now let's see what's inside trunk #1.

The top compartment lifts out.

The interior label.

VULCANIZED trunk fiber?

The July 15, 1953 issue of Life magazine featured the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. The old scrapbook has only blank pages inside.

This three-piece outfit appears to be from the 1950's, was never worn and still has the original hang tags. At top left is a skirt, top right a shirt and below them is a pair of shorts.

Two vintage scarves.

Well, I guess I have a handkerchief collection.

Moving on to the bottom compartment.

This coat with fur trim was on top. I brought it downstairs for further investigation. An online search didn't turn up anything except more coats by the same brand, Rothmoor. This is from the 1940's or '50's.

Is this mink?

The same coat photographed in sunlight. The color is a greenish gray.

Cute label.

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Pat Premo was a popular California casual-wear brand. The clothes have distinctive mid-century styling.   http://coutureallure.blogspot.com/ has pictures of similar playsuit-and-skirt combos by Pat Premo that date to the mid 1950's.

 

 The strapless playsuit has a back zipper and is styled like a swimsuit with sewn-in wiring for support.

Maybe no one will notice this needs a good ironing...
Oh look, everybody! A cat!

The matching skirt buttons up the front and has a similar pink gusset in the back. Um... am I the only one who thinks using the restroom would be a hassle?
                      

During a Naval cruise to South America in the 1950's my dad brought bought several skirts and matching purses in Guatemala. 

Two tiny dresses I wore in the late 1940's.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           
According to their labels the blue dress was manufactured by Creative and the plaid by Wee Tog. http://vintagefashionguild.org/ is an excellent resource for information about clothing labels but neither brand was listed.

The trunk also contained boxes and envelopes full of old letters, newspaper clippings, and family ephemera.
 
I moved on to trunk #2 and decided to break this into two parts. Online research has been pleasantly surprising... some of its contents date back to the 1930's.

   

Interesting old photo

I've been going through two old steamer trunks in the attic, chronicling what I've found, taking pictures, doing online research. One of the trunks contains an unexpected cache of 1930's mementos. Yesterday I saw this picture for the first time and wish I knew the story behind it.

 My father is seated at the far end of the table with his hand raised.

 Where was this picture taken? Written on the back...

Should be "Caimanera".

Pepe's Club in Caimanera, Cuba! Sounds exotic and slightly dangerous.

Who are these men and what are they doing in Cuba? Naval officers, maybe?

I still have that! #2

  December 1958. 

This rabbit fur muff and a matching hat were Christmas gifts from an aunt and uncle. 

I still have that!

 Not-Patty, my '50's Patty Playpal clone, models the matching set.

The wrist cord ensured that I wouldn't misplace the muff. It was snuggly warm during the cold New England winter but expecting a child to keep both hands confined in a small space was impractical.

A hidden plastic headband held the hat in place but was too tight so I never wore it.

The heads of small dead animals add such a festive touch.

 

The box is from The Halle Bros. Co., a defunct Cleveland, Ohio department store. An Internet search turned up an odd fact: Halle Berry, who was born in Cleveland, was named for the store. This sounded ridiculous but looking at multiple websites confirmed that it's true. 

Space cadets

I'm so old... I remember when the moon was the only object that orbited the earth. The first man-made satellites were so amazing and unbelievable that newspapers would list flyover times. We'd stand outside and gawk in awe as a tiny pinpoint of light moved through the night sky.

Before actual space exploration there were wildly imaginative and ofter hilarious interpretations of what the future would hold. This bracelet is one of my favorite recent finds while sorting through mementos of my childhood.  

The small round frame once held a tiny compass.

At first I thought the charms depicted Buck Rogers and friends but something didn't seem quite right.
What was the name of that TV show in the '50's...?
Captain Midnight? No.
Ummmm. Something Corbett?
Tom Corbett, Space Cadet! Yes!

An online search turned up an identical bracelet that sold at auction. Incredibly, it was in pristine condition and was still attached to its original display card that confirmed this is indeed Tom Corbett merchandise.

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My mom found this Marx Mystery Space Ship at a thrift store in the early 1960's. The colorful plastic flying saucer is about 8" wide.

     

 

This toy has an unusual feature. The ship houses a large gyroscope that's activated by turning a crank.
  

I still have a few tiny spacemen and a couple of small rockets. Somewhere.

*Right now there are several Mystery Space Ships available on eBay. Most are receiving bids and are surprisingly reasonable- less than $40.

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In 1962 Telstar, a communication satellite launched by the US, inspired a popular instrumental song. Later that year another version, Magic Star, added lyrics that were really awful. I've been working on this on and off for a couple of weeks and those dumb lyrics have been playing in my mind. ARGH! STOP IT!

This is stored in a tote designed for 45's. Each record has a small number sticker like the "3" shown here that corresponds to its title's position on a master list.

While writing this I had a vague memory of a space book I hadn't seen for decades. On the top shelf of a bookcase, so high up I had to use a step ladder, I found not one but five books. The first four were a series sponsored by General Mills and published in 1957- 58. Willy Ley, the author, was a science writer and space advocate who was a scientific adviser for Tom Corbett, Space Cadet.

 

The fifth, published by Life Magazine in 1964, was written by futurist and science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke, who wrote 2001: A Space Odyssey.

These books contain fascinating predictions for the future based on information available at the time. Despite the fanciful illustrations they're surprisingly accurate.

Old photographs + I still have that!

It was only recently that I decided family photographs could be thrown away. This is another example of my feeling obligated to keep things because they meant something to deceased family members. I was looking through a box containing hundreds of photos and kept finding pictures of the front yard in the springtime year after year, over and over again. At that moment the cull began. So far I've thrown away over 300 pictures with no guilt or regret.

In an envelope marked "1962" I found pictures of myself wearing a particular dress I thought I had seen hanging in the attic. This was one of the select garments my mom held onto while we were moving from place to place. After my dad retired and we moved here my mother kept ALL my outgrown and outdated clothes. Seriously.

I went upstairs and located the dress immediately. I looked around and felt like I was standing in a well stocked 1960's closet. Mom strung a clothesline back and forth, sideways and crossways between rafters and eventually filled it with clothing. A makeshift wooden clothes rack had broken and there's a pile of mid '60's mod classics that needs to be picked up and placed... somewhere.

It's a shame that steps weren't taken to preserve the better garments. I saw a long formal gown that had been covered with a plastic dry cleaner's bag that's so old it's disintegrating. Silver beads on a floaty chiffon tent dress had tarnished. Darn this blog! Without it I would have continued to ignore the attic and wouldn't suddenly have a ton of vintage rescue projects.

On a positive note there are more photo/clothing match-ups to come. :)

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The original picture taken in 1962. That's my daddy's Plymouth.

The same dress fifty years later.

Front (without belt)

The dress is made of printed chiffon over gold satin with a crinoline half slip. In the original picture it looks like I was wearing an additional crinoline to make the skirt more poofy. There is no label, only a size tag attached to the slip.
This was stored for 40 years in an unfinished attic with no climate control. Because it has been on a hanger for so long the weight of the skirt has caused some of the bodice seams to separate.

Back

Snap-front belt. Hasn't aged well.

Under-skirt

Crinoline

I don't know what to do. Newer clothing can be donated to a local charity. But what about oldies like this? What about the garments that should be removed from the attic immediately? Where can I put them? Argh!

Mid-century attic finds

I've been writing a yet-to-be-published post about the attic and snapped a few quick photos. When I looked at the pictures later I noticed something... besides the thick layer of dust on everything. What is that thing on the left-hand side? I went upstairs to investigate.
                                                                         

Amazing! Gravel art is a collectible example of mid-century decor. This was made from a craft kit, similar to paint-by-numbers. The piece is about three feet wide and needs some minor cleaning. Where can I hang it?

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These unusual metal cattail lamps have their original stitched parchment shades. Both need to be rewired.
The Chinese lady lamp is another early '50's relic. My mother selected it when my parents bought Heywood-Wakefield Ashcraft living and dining room furniture at Kazanjian's in Newport, RI. I wish I had the skill and ambition to refurbish the Hey-Wake.

The two steamer trunks are pre-1950. I haven't opened them for at least 20 year and don't recall much about their contents. I know the trunks are full of sentimental mementos including letters my dad wrote to my mom during World War II. Yep, it's time to open them again and rediscover more old treasures.

1954 Best and Co. children's catalog

This house... oh my word. So many fascinating vintage relics are hidden away in unexpected places. I opened my old toy chest and found a stash of things that have been fun to explore, including this catalog.

Best and Company sold clothing and accessories for children and teens. The catalog has so many wonderful examples of '50's styles it's hard to decide what to show here. There are pages and pages of dresses, a reminder that we wore long pants and shorts for play and dresses almost everywhere else.

There are so many pictures I used smaller-than-usual images to help the page load quicker. Click on a picture to enlarge it.

GIRLS

My mom loved hand-smocked dresses.

Do children wear hats anymore?

TEENS

The waistlines are bizarrely tiny.

BOYS

Classic saddle shoes and rolled-cuff dungarees.

SHOES & ACCESSORIES

Instead of using photographs all 48 pages of illustrations were drawn by hand. I'd like to know more about the artists!