Researching family items

Have you ever researched any of the family items in your possession?

My mother has inherited a number of family pieces over the years and this is one of her favorites.
It is inscribed Helen Margaret Hall Xmas 1897 on the bottom. Given that Helen was born September 1896 I will have to assume that it was made for her by one of her parents or grandparents. What a lovely gift for a cherished baby.
I only ever knew my great aunt as "Nellie" and she had a wooden leg that she let us play gentle drums on when she visited. She died in 1971. By profession she was a teacher and lived in Campbelltown. My parents minister told them that she taught his mother !!!! (Small world). She enjoyed travelling and visited a number of relatives abroad, some of whom still remember her with much affection.