By Kathy A. Megyeri
Book: “The Heirloomist: 100 Heirlooms and the Stories They Tell,” by Shana Novak
What do you consider an heirloom that you most treasure? What will you pass down to your heirs or donate to your favorite organization?
Author and commercial photographer Shana Novak was left a set of Lenox china, a crate of crystal stemware and twelve sterling silver table settings by her grandmother, so she recorded the stories attached to such gifts including the dinner parties where it was used, what was served, and where the guests were seated. Thus, the seed was planted to photograph other people’s treasures to record heirlooms that tell people’s stories and celebrate their artifacts in “The Heirloomist.”
Novak has photographed over 1,500 heirlooms, has been on TV, had her work displayed in a museum, and wrote this celebratory and sentimental book. “I’m still searching for the magic and recording the joy in all the heartbreaking, formative, and inspiring things that belong to us,” says Novak. “I want to share as much of it as I can.”
In this compilation of one hundred people’s treasures, some are traditional artifacts, others are surprising, some are expensive, and others have no monetary value, but all are priceless because of the stories they hold. Novak’s book celebrates, honors and makes the reader a part of each collector’s stories.
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For example, the daughter of a New York firefighter who died on 9/11 left a note to his daughter that read, “Dear Tiana, I love you, Daddy.”
Activist and journalist Gloria Steinem treasures her book collection. Singer Rosanne Cash values the baby shoes belonging to her youngest daughter Carrie because they symbolize the toil and love required in raising children. Fashion designer Tory Burch holds dear her mother’s necklace as she always told Tory, “Wear the dress; don’t let the dress wear you.”
But it’s not only the celebrities’ heirlooms that will melt your heart; it’s everyday people with treasures that range from Rolex watches to a Rolleiflex camera; from a ticket stub to a scribbled note. The book is a perfect show-and-tell coffee table gift for anyone who enjoys unique stories and meaningful works of art and it will make you take stock of what you have and forget what you don’t.
As one reader said, “This book breathes life into inanimate objects and answers the question, ‘Why are you holding on to that?’” It’s the stories and pictures that will have you sifting through your possessions ready to tell your own story and celebrate the power an object can hold on your heart.
