It was a dark and stormy night .... Those famous words! Makes me think of images of Halloween ... or just a bad novel. I'll stick with Halloween, since I hate bad novels. Heard of sponaneous combustion? How about flames coming off the railing of your deck? Graveyards, headstones, spooky places for a walk anytime, but more so on Wednesday night ... fright night! And here's a hotel that looks like it belongs in the next sequel of Halloween. Have a Happy (and safe) Halloween.

It's time for our Annual Holiday Open House.   Join us on Saturday, November 3rd.  We will introduce our 2012 Holiday lines, including some wonderful vintage and handmade items. There will be specials throughout the store. Plus refreshments and prize drawings.  Our Holiday selection this year is loaded with beautiful ornaments, a forest of trees, advent calendars (both traditional and whimsical fabric ones ) ,  a variety of figures and dolls , and , of course, decorations galore! On the vintage side we have collected a number of treasures for you. Fantastic , old Christmas cards, die-cuts and ephemera, a couple of "Noel" candle holder figurines, some vintage holiday candles in their original boxes, ornaments from bygone days, old Santas, village houses and a large selection of Christmas tree pins. There's more, but you'll have to come on in to see it all. This is a great time to start your Holiday gift shopping as we...

I came across this ad for the St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco in the July 31, 1917, issue of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. $2 a day! Turkish baths! Times were different ... and so were paychecks.

Halloween decorative and gift items  will be on sale from October 16th through November 2nd Offer NOT valid on online or prior purchases, special or custom orders,  shipping, gift certificates or layaways.

We have a ghoulishly delicious selection of Halloween treats, decorations and gifts. Check out this gallery then come on in.  

The Christian Minister's Affectionate Advice to a New Married Couple We found this marvelous little book in New England. At first, we thought it was just another religious miniature book. Then we looked inside and found a certificate of marriage, filled out in beautiful penmanship, with a date of March 21st 1858. We just had to have it! For me, what makes an antique or old book so wonderful is not just the object, but the story behind it. The book got me to thinking. Who was this minister that wrote this little book with the ponderous title: The Christian Minister's Affectionate Advice to a New Married Couple. And what did he have to say about marriage? The author, Reverend James Bean, was Assistant Minister of Welbeck Chapel and one of the Librarians of the British Museum. His church Welbeck Chapel was located in the parish of Saint Mary-le-bone, in the County of Middlesex, in central London near Regent’s Park. Records are rather scant about this minister who authored...

NOW IN STOCK We have designed several notepads and have had them printed locally. There are two Los Gatos pads, two Paris pads and a cute little "Heartman" pad. These have 50 pages each and come in three sizes -- large 8.5x5.5", medium 5.5x4.25" and small 4.25x2.75". Large & Medium Los Gatos Notepads ($10.95 & $5.95 each) Large & Medium Paris Notepads ($10.95 & $5.95 each) Small Heartman Notepad ($3.50 each)

Fraternities have been around since ancient Greece and Rome. The term “fraternity” denotes a brotherhood, an organization of men who band together for a common cause and for camaraderie. The earliest fraternities were mystical groups that were quite secretive and intellectual. In medieval times, lay organizations (“confraternities”) allied with the Catholic Church formed so that the members could involve themselves more completely in prayers and the activities of the church. Other groups were tradesmen that formed guilds, a forerunner to the labor unions of the 20 th century. Logos of some of the most familiar fraternal groups. Clockwise from top left: Masons, Shriners, Knights Templar, Odd Fellows, Knights of Columbus, Knights of Pythias. Some of these early fraternal organizations still exist – the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine in the Catholic Church and the Mason’s are a couple. Others grew out of the Mason’s, such as the Shriners and Knights Tem...