Hidden treasures

Home renovations are always challenging, and sometimes quite surprising. Some time back I owned a Victorian house in Ballarat South, and during renovations unearthed a hidden cache of treasures behind the lounge room mantelpiece. The mantelpiece was installed during the 1890's, and over the years some of things placed on it had fallen down the small crack where it joined the wall. When I pulled the mantelpiece off for restoration, I found the space behind it packed with lost items. Many had been destroyed by years of heat or been eaten by insects, but quite a few were good enough to keep. Here are some of them.










From top left/right to bottom:
1. "Best wishes", postcard by Wildt & Kray, London. Printed in Bavaria.
2. Old postcard depicting a rose.
3. "My greeting", remains of an old Christmas card.
4. "May Christmas bells ring you happiness", Christmas card dated 1898 on the reverse.
5. Old postcard "Castle Street and Town Hall, Liverpool, England".
6 & 7. Old postcard "Methodist Church, Horsham, Victoria" (front & back)