Trash AND treasures

My efforts to organize/declutter/clean the house are coming along slowly but steadily! When I impose myself high expectations about something, I seem to loose focus frequently... Or I want to do so many things at the same time that nothing seems to get finished... But I will make sure to share all my progress with you soon!! I am filling the car with Goodwill donations and I have also re-started listing items on Ebay (my computer is slow, so that alone has taken quite a bit of time), which you can view here.

As I go through closets and drawers, it is fun to rediscover things I had forgotten about...

A couple of years ago I found an intriguing little box at Goodwill... It is not something I would normally buy, but I loved the detail of the handpainting and I was also intrigued by the writing on the bottom...






































I paid $2.99 and hurried home to google the name Duc d'Angouleme. This is what I found out:


The Duke of Angouleme (Louis-Antoine of France) was born in August of 1775, and was the eldest son of King Louis XVI of France's youngest brother, the Comte d'Artois and his wife Princess Marie Therese of Savoy. If you have seen the movie Marie Antoinette (who was married to King Louis XVI), you may remember the part where her nephew the Duc of Angouleme was born... When his father became the king in 1824 as Charles X, Louis-Antoine became the last Dauphin of France. He later married his cousin Marie-Therese-Charlotte, the eldest child of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. In 1830, he became King Louis XIX of France for a disputed reign of twenty minutes...


Quite interesting, don't you think? I do not know if this piece has any monetary value, but the history behind it is just fascinating!! I do not know what they would have used it for... I don't think they had pills at that time! Maybe for smelling salts? Jewelry? It is quite small, only 3 1/2 inches wide... What do you think?

This has given me an idea for a post, I will soon be sharing with you some of my favorite bargain finds!! Everyone has some! Like the lady on a blog who found a vintage dressform at a garage sale for $1.... Stay tuned!!