I am an Antique Collector have been for many years. I have been able to find some rather real nice Items over the years by attending Auctions and Estate sales. Last year in August I was attending an estate sale in an area that was not well known for wealth. But the home was a very old house and the couple that lived their died with in a year of each other. No one to leave their estate too so it was sold off to the public. As I was walking through the house I kept coming back to this one room that had old furniture and paintings. I have noticed in the past that some Items just seem to beckon to me to buy them or look them over. I can not explain it I have also expressed this to a number of friends that attend these sales with me from time to time and they have felt the same things. Any how I was looking at this old roll top desk going over it with a fine tooth comb as you will. To make sure it was not a reproduction and it was not it was the genuine article. I walked away and went into the living room looking at a few Items. Then went back to the roll top desk. There was no price attached to the Item so I figured it was either not for sale or has not been priced yet. I went into the dinning room were the estate sale people had their tables set up and asked if the desk was for sale. The young lady asked me were it was at, so I took her back to the desk she looked at it and said this is $560. I offered her $350 and after a little haggling I got it for $400. It took a few people to help me get it into my truck..

I got home and got some help unloading the desk and moved into the house. The first thing I do with any Item of this type is to go through it and see if anything had been left in it. In these old roll top Desk there can be hidden compartments. And sure enough I found a hidden compartment just under the first row of mail slots. The piece of wood pulled away and their was a small drawer. I pulled it open and found some Items in the drawer. I found a Letter 3 hat pins and a lock of Hair and a watch flop. I read the letter and it was a love letter from a lady written in 1834 I figured the Lock of hair was hers along with the Hat Pins. A few weeks had passed I cleaned up the desk left the original finish on it and moved it into my den. My Den has a large window that looks out over the lake I have a desk up a long the far wall so I can sit at my desk and do some work and look out over the lake. The Roll Top Desk is on the other wall I use for Mail and other things. The window in the Den faces north and does not catch a lot of light during the late afternoon hours. .

One night I went into the den to catch up on some work. I turned on my desk lamp and on my desk were three rose pedals. This rather confused me because I don't have any roses around the house and it was not the time of year roses would be in full bloom. Besides no one else lives here besides me I picked them up and put them is the waste basket next to my desk. And started to do some work about an hour later I had the strange feeling I was being watched and I am sure every one has had that feeling it is some what uncomfortable. I walked over to the window and closed the blinds. Sat back down to do some more work I was writing up some orders when I felt what I felt like a hand brush over my arm. I kind of jumped and Just figured it was my nerves I was tired it has been a long day and stopped what I was doing and went on to bed. I read for a bit then turned the light off and went to sleep. I was awaken by what I thought was the smell of perfume in the room. It smelled like roses and was pungent I turned the light on and did not see anything. But I did notice that the left side of the bead spread looked like some one was sitting on it. I moved to get out of bed and the indentation on the bedspread smoothed out as though what ever it was got up off the bed. Well I must say I was Wide awake by now I was braking out into a sweat at this point not scared just could not understand what was going on..

The next day I was making a pot of coffee and some toast Sat down in the kitchen and started eating and reading the morning paper. When one of the hat pins that was in the roll top desk just all of a sudden fell on the table. The den is on the other side of the house how in the world did the hat pen get into the kitchen I thought. These evens have been going on for a few years now. I have even seen the mystery ghost it is a young lady she stays in the den mainly She has Long hair down to the middle of her back I see here from time to time out of the corner of my eye. I have even started talking to her when In the den I know this sounds crazy But I truly feel her sprite came with the Roll Top Desk. She is now a part of the house She has never tried to scare me or hurt me but always makes things pleasant such as the perfume smells and Trying to let me know she is around. .

Just thought I would share this with people there are more to antiques than just age. If it is an Item that some one just loved and really liked. You never know that they may have part of them embedded into the Item. .