  Aims: To investigate the spectra and the evolutionary stages of two peculiar
emission-line stars: RJHA 49 and SS73 21. Methods: We used low and high
resolution optical data. Line identifications and measurements were performed
for several features in their spectra. Results: For each object, we have
derived the extinction and the excitation temperature from a set of [Fe II]
lines, and the electron density from [N II] lines. For RJHA 49, no detailed
spectroscopic study was done so far. Regarding SS73 21, our low resolution
spectrum have confirmed the main characteristics found in previous works. On
the other side, from our high resolution data, we have found that the Halpha
line presents a double-peak, in contrast with the suggestion in the literature
that it should reveal a P-Cygni profile. Surprisingly, we found a few He I
transitions resembling P-Cygni profiles (e.g. He I 5876), directly suggesting
that mass loss is active in SS73 21. We also discussed the nature of these two
objects based on the data obtained. Although the evolutionary status of SS73 21
seems well established from previous studies (a proto-planetary nebula), the
situation for RJHA 49 is not so clear mainly due to its unknown distance.
However, from the strength of [N II] 5754 relative to [O I] 6300, the
possibility of RJHA 49 being a LBV object is reduced, and a B[e]-supergiant or
a proto-planetary nebula status is more plausible.
