With so many great lots in our weekly Antiques auctions, we’ve been feeling a bit nostalgic here at Catawiki. In celebration of the good ole days, we’ve put together a list of 10 items that used to be commonplace in nearly every home. How many do you remember or better yet, how many do you still have?
10. A Box Television
Homes today still have televisions, but the skinny, wall mounted units today are not nearly the same as their boxy precursors. Do you remember the the first colour TV sets and how amazing they were? Or having to get up to change the channel in the days before the remote control?
9. Typewriter
Some time before computers and after pencils, man invented the typewriter to record his thoughts and feelings. Although mostly replaced by more modern technology, they are still quite a collector's item and highly prized by some. Bonus points if you remember the typewriter eraser too.
8. Mantel Clock
The mantle was a place to display all sorts of trophies, treasures and timepieces. The centrepiece of nearly every one was the mantel clock.
7. LP-player
In the days where cassette and even CD players are becoming modern antiques, people are returning to vinyl. They used to be a key entertainment feature in every home and today their popularity is being revived.
6. Rotary Telephone
Gone are the days when we were tethered to the wall whenever we wanted to have a chat thanks to cell phones. Did you also have your phone on a table with a notepad nearby full of doodles mindlessly drawn while on the phone?
5. Rolodex
The rolodex has been replaced with the contacts on a smartphone. So much for the old filing system of listing contact information on small paper cards.
4. Maps
In the days of GPS, maps have fallen a bit by the wayside. Antique maps have been a collectable for a long time and now that maps are falling out of popularity as a tool, will they become more popular among collectors?
3. Sewing Machine
Ok, many modern homes have sewing machines, but the fancy technologically advanced machines of today are not quite like the manually operated ones of the past. No other technology freed up more women from tedious manual labour quite like the sewing machine did.
2. Rug Beater
Perhaps you still have one of these at home as they haven’t completely fallen out of style. Using one of these to beat the dust out of your rugs was so simple and effective that there hasn’t really been a modern replacement.
1. Coffee Mill
Modern marvels in coffee machines mean we often no longer need to grind our own beans by hand, however earlier this was not so and nearly every home had a coffee mill. Some of the antique ones have become quite collectable as they make wonderful decorations as well as wonderful cups of coffee.
If you’re looking for some of these glorious antiques, you’ll find no better selection that our weekly Antiques auctions. On the other hand, if you have a collection of exquisite items from the past, you can also sell them at our auctions. It’s very easy to become a seller, simply register here to get started.