Prized Possessions

[breadstick]

I was recently given something very dear to me and I though I'd start a thread for our most prized possessions. When I was a kid, my Great Grandmother used to make cranberry relish for every holiday. It was (and still is) one of my favorite foods and what I will always remember about her most. My Grandmother has had this recipe that my Great Grandmother hand wrote God knows how many years ago. She heard me talking about Great Grandma recently and dug this out to give to me. This is now officially the coolest thing I own.

 

[BCP]

Ok...this is going to sound dumb....especially because it is easily replaceable, but a fancy version of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (all 5 books plus one short story) I got at Barnes and Noble. It's leather bound, has gold leaf decorations, and gold leaf pages. It looks like a fancy bible, but in reality it is a much better book than that

 

[breadstick]

Whatever makes you happy. I'm the last person that should be telling anyone how to live.

 

[C Reed]

My archive of negatives, prints, tear sheets and digital raw files. My work is the only thing that matters in my life.

Second is a copy of Bonde A'Parte signed by every photographer to contribute, all of whom I met in person.

Third is a box of letters and correspondence over the last decade. I've saved every letter, post card, and important card I've been sent.

 

[Uncle Erik]

I still have my first car - an old Mercury Comet. I've had it for 21 years now. While another is my daily driver, I listened to all the people who told me they wished they had kept their first car. It needs a paint job and a few odds'n'ends, but it runs great and the interior is all original.

I'm keeping my first motorcycle, too. Though that isn't quite the same because I've only been a biker for six months. No matter, my vintage Nighthawk will sit next to the Comet even after I get another bike.

 

[Austin]

Very cool heirloom.

 

[_MementoMori_]

My U.S. Reverend Slingshot. They're no longer made and they're extremely collectible. I think it's the only thing I own that appreciates in value.

 

[Thebigspendur]

I have alot of old antique pocketwatches. My oldest is from the 1700s and each time I hold it I wonder who the dude was who carried it when George Washington was president. Now how cool is that?

 

[petr]

rep

 

[BCP]

I have alot of old antique pocketwatches. My oldest is from the 1700s and each time I hold it I wonder who the dude was who carried it when George Washington was president. Now how cool is that?

That is very cool, awesome even. I love pocket watches (but own none) and love history, so that is a nice combo.

 

[chab]

Mine is my Dad's P-38 military can opener because I know he carried it on his keyring from his service days in the 50's until he died. Its not on my keyring and God forbid TSA ever again threaten to take it from me!

 

[paddy-boy]

I have a single shot 12 ga that was my great grandfathers, I couldn't tell you the make but it does have a hair trigger. I, also, have a Browning BPS that my father bought for me when I was 10.

 

[BCP]

I have a single shot 12 ga that was my great grandfathers, I couldn't tell you the make but it does have a hair trigger. I, also, have a Browning BPS that my father bought for me when I was 10.

First shotgun I ever fired was my grandpa's double barrel 12 gauge. He isn't dying for a long while though (he's 80, but still healthier than most people at 60).

 

[Ceri]

I have my Dad's bible. It was presented to him by his Sunday school when he joined up in 1943, and he carried it with him until he was demobbed.

It survived Arnhem, one of only two possessions he carried on the swim back across the Rhine - the other was his paybook. He'd have been the first to deny any religious reason for doing that, it was simply that had he abandoned it, his grandmother would have treated him worse than the Germans.

Any residual dampness was dried by the sun in Palestine, where his run of luck faltered and he was wounded twice in 1948 getting between the warring factions. He never really spoke about the war, but the Holy Land made a huge impression on a boy raised Welsh Methodist.

 

[causalfault]

My first guitar, for sure, a 1978 USA Fender Mustang. Ash body, three-tone burst, maple neck, black pickguard. All original except the strap buttons, which I replaced with Fender-branded Schaller strap locks a few years ago. I still have the original strap buttons, as well as most of the original case candy (including the instruction manual, and the envelope that contained two extra trem springs) all in the original case, which is now papered with stickers.

My grandmother (with whom I was very close) bought it new (she was in a country band in the early '80s) and gave it to me when I was 14 years old. About two years ago I got it tattooed onto the inside of my right forearm.

I've had a lot of differing opinions from a lot of people about this guitar -- sell it, refret it -- but I'm going to keep it until I have a son, daughter, or grandchild to pass it along to.

Like Uncle Erik with his old Mercury Comet, I've heard too many people lament getting rid of their first guitar, and combined with the familial connection this guitar has, I don't plan to ever let go of it.

I have a similar sentimental attachment to my first SLR, given to me by my uncle, a Pentax AE Super Program (I think it's a 1986 or '87) the summer before I went to Basic Combat Training. But I'm more of a musician than I am a photographer, so the Pentax doesn't get the ink-and-skin treatment. It's definitely been put to good use, though, and it will get plenty more over the next however-many years.

 

[pz93c]

Not a lot.

Some ceramics that my Grandmother used to make. Some seashells that my uncle collected. A watch my dad picked up in 'Nam. Other assorted crap nobody but me would want.