Last month, when we visited the massive Rose Bowl Flea Market in Los Angeles, we had no idea that we would bring home a little piece of New York. Among our finds at the flea—a perfectly broken-in pair of vintage Sperry Top-Siders, a silver track-and-field trophy from the 1950s, and a delicate mirrored tray—we came home with a petite bottle of gin from New York’s famed Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.

Other than thinking it was a cool trinket (and inexpensive too, at just $2), we put it on our bathroom’s new tray and didn’t think much of it. Until this week. I was quite surprised to open up the website for the magazine I work for and discover this blog post, written by our assistant web editor: The Waldorf Astoria Wants Its Stuff Back.

The hotel is searching for anything and everything from the hotel since its opening in 1893. So far, they’ve amassed restaurant menus, photographs, and coffee pots, all of which will join hotel’s historical archives.

Matt Zolbe, the hotel’s marketing director, said the items don’t even need to be valuable. “We are not necessarily looking for items that others would think are of great value—an old hanger or an ashtray or even old kitchen equipment,” he explained.

As for our little bottle, I haven’t yet decided whether or not to part with it. I do like it in our apartment, but at the same time, it’s fun to know that we’ve contributed to a hotel’s historical archives through something we bought thousands of miles away! What would you do?

- Laura