Collections of Vintage Chicken Stuff

When Scholastic picked up

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, the idea was that it would be a series. Tillie Lays an Egg is a picture book, but the pictures are actually staged photographs of my hens in tableaus filled with vintage objects that happen to have chicken motifs. I happily set about finding and purchasing all sorts of things that had great poultry graphics, like this canister of louse powder:

louse powder

 

And these tablets:

tonic

 

But, in the publishing world, there’s never a guarantee. My editor was let go. My new editor wasn’t interested. I was left with boxes of stuff for photo shoots that would never happen. It’s time to let it go. Most of it has little monetary value, but these objects should be owned by someone who’s going to look at them, and so I’m selling much of it on eBay (here’s the listing.)

front

Have you had collections and then sent them on to other homes? I know that many of you have poultry paraphernalia. What do you have displayed?

Comments:

  1. this happens with me with books I will want to learn all I can about something and buy every book I can on the subject, Interests change and I sell them off or donate them.

  2. I think you should try again… our grandchildren love that book and ask for more Tillie books! PLEASE:)

  3. I live in a small house so my collections aren’t that big. My teapots, mugs, and candleholders have been divided up into monthly boxes so I get to see -and use- them. Otherwise there isn’t much point in having them. My books are another story. I have boxes and boxes of books everywhere. I do reread my favorites, but really, I need to send them on.

  4. I have a friend whose grandparents owned a poultry farm in PA, and over the years she has given me a few vintage items that I truly treasure. One is a Jiffy-Way egg scale, and the other is a chalkboard sign that says Fresh Eggs, Poultry MA-CO Rations.