Lotus shoes.
I know I am not the only collector of oddities with an "old black steamer trunk" story.
Many a tale starts with the mention of an old black trunk tossed out by the dumpster or sitting by the curb in an old alley.
The sticker on my steamer trunks says Trans-lantic-world-something-or-another. It doesn't matter what the trunk says. It's not the trunk itself that is interesting. It's what's inside of it that's interesting.Few things creep me out, but this trunk creeped me out from the first second I saw it.
A yellowed scrap of paper proclaimed that the contents should not be thrown away and stated, with bold double underlining, "Chinese children's costumes from before 1939."
I had some initial interest in this item, but I had put it away somewhat quickly without looking at the contents very closely.
That's unusual for me, especially with an item this interesting.
The problem was that all the items were geared toward children.
Toy-like shoes. Fantasy shoes. Mouse shoes. Magical lotus shoes. Little costumes and items that could be used to do a puppet show or other imaginative play activities. Fantasy items for children who were probably all now dead or very, very old.
It seemed like a child or children's personal play items rather than costumes. It seemed as if for me the box had an association with a person that I would never meet and people that person met a very long time ago in a very different place.
The trunk sat in a corner for about five years. Then it dawned on me and I did some quick googling. I was shown photos of shoes quite similar to my costumed shoes. Then I saw the words "bound foot" and "lotus shoes."
The practice of foot-binding was banned in China in 1949. The eldest daughter of a family would have her feet bound, to be married to a player named later. Bound feet, no longer than four inches, achieved by an incredibly painful process, were a sign of wealth.
So creepy. So sad.
Mike McKenzie April 2013 Tacoma, Washington
CLICK My Name ABOVE TO GO TO YOUTUBE AND MY STUFF THERE
I know I am not the only collector of oddities with an "old black steamer trunk" story.
 |
| photo by Mike McKenzie |
The sticker on my steamer trunks says Trans-lantic-world-something-or-another. It doesn't matter what the trunk says. It's not the trunk itself that is interesting. It's what's inside of it that's interesting.Few things creep me out, but this trunk creeped me out from the first second I saw it.
 |
| Fantasy animals and fantastic needlework |
A yellowed scrap of paper proclaimed that the contents should not be thrown away and stated, with bold double underlining, "Chinese children's costumes from before 1939."
I had some initial interest in this item, but I had put it away somewhat quickly without looking at the contents very closely.
That's unusual for me, especially with an item this interesting.
The problem was that all the items were geared toward children.
 |
| Who knew Chinese foot binding shoes could be so cute? WTF??!! |
The trunk sat in a corner for about five years. Then it dawned on me and I did some quick googling. I was shown photos of shoes quite similar to my costumed shoes. Then I saw the words "bound foot" and "lotus shoes."
So creepy. So sad.
Mike McKenzie April 2013 Tacoma, Washington
CLICK My Name ABOVE TO GO TO YOUTUBE AND MY STUFF THERE
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