I find this totally unsettling

Meanwhile, I'm living in a history junkpile, trying valiantly to rehome things of history. Current problem children are:

History books - very heavy (so mailing is difficult and/or expensive), a bit damaged or incomplete (4 of 10 volumes, for example, some fraying or a bit water damaged) of various dates from 1853 to 1911. I already regret donating a set of 1939 encyclopedias. They're all interesting because they entomb the prejudices and common "knowledge" of their particular times. A (very) few are handsome enough to be worth a fair amount of cash. I just can't keep them - they would crumble away completely and I would never make real use of them in my lifetime. I would give them to anyone who would promise to scan them and make them availale online, but I don't know who that might be. Ditto for textbooks from the 1800s and a childrens' encyclopedia from 1911.

Some quilts - not at all well-made, frayed at the edges, with wonderful fabrics from the 40s and 50s. Also a slightly stained or frayed feedsack pillowcase. I need to find a collector who cares about the fabrics.

A pile of magazines and books related to B29s, experimental aircraft, and small jets. Dad was a designer (well, a draftsman, but he eventually earned veto power over engineers after 40 years) at GE. I'll probably keep the picture book of B29s with the note by Dad saying he saw a particular plane crash during the war.

The list seems endless. On tv I see "treasure hunters" alternating with people with shovels and dump trucks emptying out homes of "hoarders." It's confusing and depressing. I've had some success at yardsales (one guy who comes looking for old toys just found out Dad's place of work was where his uncle worked, and his mom grew up in my old home town - he'll take and keep memorobilia from the GE plant and those "anniversary of 250 years" souvenirs from that town), but it's slow making those connections.