Old news

Today I ran across an intriguing question: What is the oldest thing you own? Part of me can't help picturing my own reflection in the mirror and thinking, "Me," but truth be told, I do have a few items that are more than 41 years old.


First off, there's our house. The Shambles was built in 1922. I own my grandmother's high school choir book from her senior year in 1921. On my wedding day my "something old" was a cameo brooch that once belonged to my great-great aunt; I'd guess it's from around 1910 or so. And one of my prize possessions is a beautiful Japanese baby doll given to my father by an elderly Japanese woman shortly after World War II -- he assumed it was hers when she was a little girl, so it probably dates from around the turn of the last century.

But the oldest thing I own (as far as I know) is a handwoven coverlet made by my great-great grandmother on my mother's father's side. It's a traditional red, white and blue pattern, and I inherited it after my parents died. My grandmother told me that Grandpa's grandmother died in 1865, so although I don't know exactly what year the coverlet was made, I do know it can't be any younger than 142 years old. And I'd say that's a good deal older than I am by anyone's standards.



(This isn't my actual coverlet, but it looks a lot like this one, down to the white line running down the center; I used to fear that it was a fold where the fabric was weakening, but now I believe it's a seam where two smaller pieces were joined together.)

What is the oldest thing you own?