I finished the baseboards near the front of the stairs and moved to the wall under the stairs. I had already refinished these baseboards but I’m refinishing the floors and decided to take them off to make sure I get under the molding when I’m sanding and it is easier to finish the baseboards up on a table. As I pried the boards away from the wall (which took all my strength and pulled a muscle) I noticed something down there. I slid my fingers in the gap and pulled out this insurance card. Then came a bunch of postcards. Not much but really fun to find. There was a small gap, only large enogh for a thin putty knife to fit in, between the wall and the boards in a few places. The previous owner (the only owners before us) must have had a table or buffet up against that wall and things would fall off behind. We found things like that behind our mantle too. It hadn’t even crossed my mind that I would find anything behind the baseboards or they would have been taken off a long time ago. Now I’m anxious to get going on more of the baseboards. These items must have been dropped there 26 years after the house was built and has been in there for 65 years.

Front of the plastic card . WWII was still going on!

Back of the plastic card.

These postcards got stained from the wallpaper removal process I’m quite sure. I had to remove layers and layers of wallpaper from that wall and there was a lot of water used. What a shame. I don’t know how to date these but the postage on the front says 1 cent.