It kills me to think of the vast trove of historical information that's been dumped by eBay over the last decade. If nothing else, I'd think it'd be valuable to have the price history of certain types and categories of items. And then there are the rarities like this BetterBaby baby cage, created in the early 20th century in Columbus, Ohio by the Caldwell Manufacturing. Company.
There are only five hours left on this auction, and then in 30 days, all the awesome photos of the bugproof, verminproof, and snakeproof indoor/outdoor collapsible mesh cradle will be gone. Poof. And with them will go another little piece of American parenting culture, a reminder of an era when we'd wheel our newborn children out under the shade tree while we hung the laundry to dry. [Of course, by we, I mean women stuck on farms].
RARE Antique BETTERBABY Bed BABY CRIB Cage SNAKE PROOF, currently $163.08+19.50 s/h, auction ends 10/11 update: final price was $206.50 [ebay via andy]
The Campbell's soup can is a nice touch, and not just for purposes of scale. Is it included with the auction? :)