Two of my favorite obsessions sound suspiciously alike: I adore sample sales (common in our neck of the woods) as well as salesman’s samples, which are a bit harder to find.

In the 19th and early-twentieth centuries, salesmen needed to show prospective clients their wares without lugging stoves, furnishings, scientific equipment, canoes, and tractors around the country. The salesman’s sample was a practical way to solve the problem, allowing customers to examine the goods in detail, and leaving us with some fabulously fun, collectible items to enjoy now.

What would you do with this 25" wide stunner? Who knows?!

These unintentionally adorable miniatures caught my attention a few years ago, when my dad came home from an auction with a gorgeous doll-sized wardrobe chest. Just 18″ high, the chest is handmade, with dovetail joints and a rich walnut finish. It’s rendered in absolutely perfect detail…this was clearly not meant for any American Girl doll. For a city-dwelling, space-challenged furniture fanatic, the concept was alluring.

This miniature chest is made from Dutch walnut, with an inlaid top and brass hardware. It's also under 18" high.

I was reminded of my love last week when i came across a giant (and i mean GIANT, at 18″ across and a 1′ tall) razor blade at an antiques store in the Berkshires. There’s something about these samples that just wows me. Maybe it’s the need to make big things small, and small things so big. Either way they don’t come cheap- in the end I opted to leave without the $275 blade, though it would have made a really “sharp” sculptural statement on our window sill.

Not as artsy as my single razor blade, but a pretty unusual gift for the barber in your life.

I’m sure there are creative ways to use these treasures, if you’re into form AND function. What would you do with your teeny little dresser?

Or the worlds most glamorous (and discreet, at 8" tall) Royal Doulton toilet?