Our daughter, like most little girls, had a favorite toy. One Easter morning she got up and found a wonderful basket filled with candy and toys. One of the toys, a stuffed animal, was an eight inch, pink and white rabbit with a beautiful face. Jennifer decided to name it Esther the Easter Bunny.
She loved that bunny with abandon. Esther traveled with Jennifer everywhere — grocery stores, vacations, hospitals, to kindergarten and to friends’ homes. She couldn’t sleep if Esther wasn’t by her side. Yes, Esther was a well traveled bunny.
Once, when Jennifer was a patient in Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, MD, the time came to return home. Her father and I packed up all the toys she had acquired from the nurses and the parents of other patients and started for home. When we arrived, Jennifer asked us if we packed Esther. We thought she had Esther. We had a very difficult night.
One of the wonderful nurses phoned us that evening, asking, “Have you forgotten anything?” She knew we had because she found Esther under the hospital bed. She was kind enough to carefully wrap the bunny and send her to our house. The day Esther arrived, Jennifer celebrated with a tea party.
Most of us have items for which we have a special fondness. Whether it’s a doll, toy car, or something you inherited, you may have thought about the worth of it on occasion. The Austerlitz (NY) Historical Society is sponsoring the Austerlitz Antique Appraisal Day on Sunday, May 16, from 10am to 4pm at Old Austerlitz Village on Route 22 in the Columbia County village. A panel of accredited appraisers will be there to examine items. The limit is three per visitor, at $5 each. You’ll receive a verbal estimate of its worth.
Of course, you must care for the items you bring for appraisal since insurance restrictions require the museum personal not to handle them. The Historical Society is not responsible for objects left unattended.
The 1794 Morey-Devereaux House and the 1780 Harvey House will be open for self-guided tours.
Complimentary coffee will be provided. Lunch and other refreshments will be available for purchase.
Phone: (518) 392-0062
Check our Antiques & Collectables Events Calendar for New York and New England.
