I wonder if a vagabond ever owned one of my vintage suitcases. I wonder where they have been. A vagabond generally had no place of permanent residence, they as you say lived out of their baggage. Perhaps they just couldn't settle down, perhaps they were running from another form of baggage, maybe they just wanted to see the world in a time when it was safer to do so.
When I graduated high school, I remember my grandmother trying to convince me to buy a set of luggage. I wasn't opposed, I just failed to understand why. I wasn't planning on going anywhere, I had no dream to see the world, why should I spend my money on luggage? It seems to me that generations ago luggage said something, who you were, where you had been and most of all where you were going. Important things were nestled inside for family vacations, college trips, and babies born. "A time when excess wasn't fluent, you owned what you needed, not necessarily what you wanted,. Simply said- it fit in a suitcase. It was who you were.
I never knew this man, I bought his case at a sale, I looked him up on the internet, he was born in 1945, war
time. A time when many things were thrown in a bag
A time when many bags never returned home
A time of great heartbreak
The heartbreak of the Holocost
Mr. Ulmer was a restaurant owner and he died on Christmas day 1997. What kind of life did he live? Where did he go?
What is valuable now, do we know? I think we know, we just forget. Day to day we move along a little like a vagabond. Unsettled, untethered, wandering back and forth in our lives, keeping busy to buy things. Things that we would never pack in a suitcase.
I admit I wander, looking for things I do not need, forgetting to celebrate the things I have. One could say no one needs vintage suitcases and they would be right.
But, I look at them and I see what was, what should be. I touch them and wonder what touched the owner. Who were they?
What was their life like.
Was it joyous, filled with family and friends and Sunday dinners.......
or did they meet too early an end.
Did they long to escape?
Did they elope?
Perhaps they packed it all up and stood at the edge of the Grand Canyon, dressed in their finest, they gasped at the beauty before them.
Perhaps they fled in fear and they gasped at the horror they saw.
But they lived, and they owned these, and now I do. I treasure every one of them. I wish I knew their stories.
Vintage Inspiration Friday
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blessings and thanks for visiting
26 comments:
I often wonder things like that about others treasure I collect, perhaps someday someone will wonder the same thing about mine.:)
Francine
I wonder about things too.
sometimes I wonder why families don't see the need to continue caring for certain items. It's a amazing that you took the time to look up the previous owner of your suitcase!
You have a caring spirit.
Too bad PriorLives doesn't host her prior lives party anymore...this would be a perfect addition to a linkup!
I enjoyed reading this, you have quite a collection. Pat
Lovely post, lovely suitcases. I love that you found some info on the owner of that case!
Beautiful displays of suitcases! We often wonder about previous owners of things we get from estate sales! The sadest things are the boxes of photos that no family member wants....sigh! We just adopt them and use them in our store :) Loved the story about the trunk....oh to know the whole story about him ~ fun!!
Enjoy your treasures!
Karla & Karrie
So sad to think about, but so true too!
Great post. I often wonder about who had the old things before us. My house is over 100 years old and I often wonder about the people who lived here before me. Love all the old suitcases!
Love the old suitcases. Great post. I often wonder some of the same things...guess some things we just can never really know...
I love old suitcases. And you have such a knack for repuposing them. I've seen them made into cute dog beds and dig feeders too.~Ames
How great to find information about the owner of your suitcase. I often think about the ladies that used bowls from my mixing bowl collection. Thanks for sharing. Connie :)
I'm an old luggage lover, too. I love the ways you've displayed and used yours. I don't think I'd come up with the idea to put books in one propped open, but I'll steal it :-). Oh, and the doily, so pretty. I have one, my most recent acquisition, that looks like one my father had, wrong initials though.
Janet
Beautiful post! What treasures suitcases are :)
Greetings from Australia ♥
~Pernilla
Great inspirational post! Love all the different uses for vintage suitcases.
Mary Alice
Came over from Shabbilicious. Your post was very poignant and thoughtful. My collection of cases and trunks are fluid - in and out, but there are a few that are true friends. Loved all the vignettes!
Distressed Donna Down Home
Oh, Shannon. I share your love and the mystery that surrounds old luggage. It always makes me wonder whose hand held that plastic, or leather, handle...and where did they go with that bag? I have several and right now I use them for storage...my daughter also loves them and has them stacked as a side table. Such sweet memories they evoke- xo Diana
Beautiful post. I, too, try to imagine who once owned the vintage treasures I collect. My imagination takes me to some amazing places. Thanks for sharing.
Love,love your post today. Gives us all much to think about...
I love all of your vintage suitcases.
No, we probably don't need vintage suitcases but if something so simple brings joy, then I say bring on a few..
Thanks for sharing.
Michele
What a beautiful post...it put a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes.
Your photography is beautiful but it's nice to think how much you treasure your collection and appreciate not only it but the people behind it :)
You have the great find of suitcases. I reacently became aware of suitcasing..wish I could remember exact..but there is a childrens musium in Tokyo about the holocaust and the children involve, with the key element a suitcase.
PS I just became your newest follower. I like your list of blogs you like.
very interesting... very!
Cute I love old suitcases and a cute blog. I'm a new follower coming from a blog hop! I would love if you followed back at www.iheartpears.blogspot.com
Hello Shannon, your suitcase collection is amazing. I feel the same way about vintage things, oh, the stories they could tell. I wish I had your decorating savvy!
Your new/old bed is gorgeous, too. How very, very romantic. And belated Happy Birthday to you!
Thanks so much for sharing this wonderful post about who has owned our collectibles. Old treasures have so many stories to be told! That's probably why we love them.
Jody
You have a wonderful collection of cases, Shannon. And the vignettes you have created around them are amazing!
Thanks for linking to Time Travel Thursday. Hope to see you again this week. Be sure to stop in tonight to see yourself featured.
Blessings,
Liz @ The Brambleberry Cottage
Love all your vintage suitcases and love your post. It made me remember the verse in the Bible that talks of us all being just sojourners here on earth for a little while (mary Paraphrase) and how we are to store our treasure in Heaven.
bee blessed
mary
Love all your cases and trunks! Thanx for sharing at THT!