Last weekend, Mike and I attended a housewarming party at our friend Ingrid’s new apartment. While touring her incredible space I paused to ask about a particularly striking carpet in the music room. “I’m so glad you asked,” responded our hostess. “That carpet belonged to my grandmother and it’s one of the only things she owned that survived World War II.
“She was a Hungarian Jew living in Budapest and towards the end of the war the city was in chaos,” Ingrid explained. “There wasn’t much of anything and she was reduced to cutting up the carpets and burning them for heat. She held out on this one because it was her favourite. In October 1944, my grandparents, my father and aunt were forced to leave their house and go into hiding because the Arrow Cross Party was rounding up Jews and taking them to the Danube where they were being shot.
“My grandmother gave this rug to a neighbour, along with the candlestick (left), which was originally one of a pair but its mate was lost during a previous escape. When the war ended and the family went home, they retrieved these and a few other treasured belongings.
“In the early ’60s, my parents convinced my grandmother to come and live in Toronto with us. She brought these few precious things with her. A year later, homesick for her country, she returned to Europe, but she left the carpet and candlestick with my parents who have passed them on to me.
“I come from a very small family — just Mom, Dad and me — so this rug and candlestick are especially prized because they encapsulate such an epic chapter in my family’s history.”
Prized Possession will be an on-going styleNorth feature; please email info@stylenorth.ca with your own stories and photos.
July 3rd, 2009 at 7:39 am
Wow. I was really moved by this one.
What a great idea for a book. I can see it on my coffee table already ‘Prized Possessions’ by Christopher Jones. What do you think?
Looking forward to reading more stories that come your way.
July 3rd, 2009 at 8:03 am
kj — exactly how I felt! Your thought about a book is perfect! Good luck with this new stream of posts Chris. Brilliant idea.
July 3rd, 2009 at 9:48 am
love this post and idea. what is magic about ‘vintage’ is often the history behind the object. I have a few such treasures and will email you in the future!
July 3rd, 2009 at 1:10 pm
What a lovely post, I am so sentimental. I have clients who have incorporated precious items into the design, I’ll pass this on- a great theme for a post!
July 3rd, 2009 at 1:18 pm
I put the question to Mike like this: “If you had to sell everything, what would be the last thing to go?” His answer was so surprising; he said his Metro kitchen unit because he used it to find his way back to his first love, professional cooking. I had absolutely no idea that this nondescript, utilitarian item meant so much to him.
We only have a few possessions of any real “value” but none of them is on my list of prized possessions; for me it’s the beautiful, four-poster bed my stepdad made for me with his own two hands and the footstool that my mother painted with a personally meaningful scene — my feet rest on it every time I type at this computer, which is every single day.
Interesting how our prized items are about sentimental value as opposed to monetary value. Hmmm . . . this promises be a fruitful new styleNorth category.
July 3rd, 2009 at 11:43 pm
LOVE this idea Chris! I’ve often considered this when PB gets a bout of homesickness, and talks about us moving to the UK. Obviously we wouldn’t move a house full of furniture and possessions…but what are my non-negotiables? What would I pay to ship across the world? Lets just say it certainly would not be the most expensive things we own!
July 4th, 2009 at 1:21 am
WOW Chris – I too love this post! What an amazing journey those precious items have had! I definitely gravitate to the emotional tug-on-my-heart stories (I can tear up on commercials for goodness sakes)! I would have to say my photo albums are my important keepsakes. As I sit here and type there are a few special ones I can think of; a black and white photo of my Mom holding my hand as I’m learning to walk; a young photo of my brother and sister; my dad as a teenager with my Gramma swimming in the lake; a cute candid shot of Dave, a picture of my dog Timber in the backyard (I swear he’s smiling); and a beautiful photo of my sister and her husband on their wedding day). And I agree with those above – bring on the book!