The Highlands, Northfield, Sealed in Original Package — c. 1970s

A vintage ski patch from The Highlands in Northfield, New Hampshire, estimated to date from the 1970s and still in the bag: two peaks and a blue trail in teal and pale gray-blue, gold script, NORTHFIELD, H. around the rim. Sealed in cellophane under its original black header card from a maker on West 40th Street.

Somebody in a garment-district office took an order from a small ski hill in Northfield, New Hampshire. The patches came north in a box. Most were sold, sewn on, washed and eventually thrown out. This one wasn't. The cellophane is clear, the header card is intact, and the hole at the top is where it hung on a peg behind a counter.

The Highlands closed after the 1994–95 season. The hill is a bike park now.

So this is the closest thing left to the counter at the base lodge: the patch exactly as it hung there, waiting for somebody who'd had a good day.

Woven, merrowed edge, unopened retail package. Photos are the condition report.