Currency

The Writing of...The Birth of the Travel Memento

Our path to an Object feature for the September/October 2025 issue of the Magazine ANTIQUES was a journey. It was fitting, then, that the topic we finally landed on was, in fact, a journey, too. Or, rather, a type of journey. Ben and I have long been fascinated by the things people collect to remember places. Sure, there are the memento key chains, mugs, and tshirts, but you can keep those. We're more interested in sculptures found at a surprise estate sale on the side of the road, post cards mailed back home in advance of our return, and ephemera we collect in labeled jars. 'Rehoboth Beach 2023,' one reads. Another, 'Friendship Long Island 2019.'

Call us magpies, and you wouldn't be far off. We pick up little things here and there — some precious but most worthless to anyone but ourselves. It makes getting rocks out of the house hard when decisions must be made by committee. "Does anyone here want to vouch for the memories imbedded in this rounded river stone?" 

As we prepare to move into our new house at Eden Hill — the house we've been working on for years — these conversations have gained a new fervency. Do we really need the rooster I painted as a 'paint-your-own-pottery' spot in 8th grade, but that reminds me of my mom's short-lived rooster statue collection? I don't, but maybe I do. So perhaps I should keep it just in case? You can run circles around yourself chasing the logic of holding onto a small object. 

For the magazine, we looked at this same tendency through a particular lens: The Grand Tour. 

Image from Object feature in the Magazine Antiques N/D 2025
The Grand Tour began at the dawn of the 17th century as transportation improved just enough to make travel-for-fun an enjoyable endeavor. Only the richest could partake, and they moved slowly across Europe, often spending month in a single city. As travel options improved from carriages to trains, the geographic range of the Tour and the variety of the people involved both expanded. More people went further faster, and local economies were built on what they picked up along the way. Often, particularly clunky objects were sent home in advance of their return, housekeepers managing the delivery of crates and chests full of art and objects. 

For the piece, we looked at this transition period, where local economies shifted from appealing to a local market to a tourist market, and the ways in which this changed means of production and the value of ones work or, often, that crumbling ancient column no one really owns — yet. 

This piece for the magazine was made particularly fun by the Guest Editor, our friend Pieter Estersohn. Photographer, writer, and fabulous guest for any occasion, Pieter brought his lens to the magazine in a way that elevated imagery and demanded more of the words that went along with it. We can only hope we rose to the challenge. 

Read the Object feature in the September/October 2025 issue of the Magazine Antiques HERE, and remember to support the magazines you love by subscribing
Image of page from the S/O 2025 issue of the magazine Antiques
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