By Richard Elliot When Christopher Columbus reached the West Indies in 1492, the natives greeted him with fruit, wooden spears and “certain dried leaves which gave off a distinct fragrance.” The Spanish sailors in Columbus’ crew appreciated the fruit but…
Smokin’ Collectibles by Maxine Carter-Lome, Publisher I am old enough to remember cigarette dispensing machines in almost all public places, when a pack of cigarettes was only 45 cents, that collectible cards came in cigarette packs, when cigarette holders-the longer…
By Jessica Kosinski Pat-A-Pat We all have traditional foods that we like to eat. Often, favorite foods vary by era and culture. However, one food that has stood the test of time is butter. Butter is so popular, in fact,…
by Deborah Abernethy and Mike McLeod The following two items were sold on the same day by the same owner who reported these are considered the Holy Grail of sprinkler heads, and they were found in scrap buckets at an…
Excerpted with permission from Official White House China From the 18th to the 21st Centuries by William G. Allman The house in which the President of the United States lives has always had a great fascination for American citizens who…
Comic Character Collectibles By J.C.Vaughn Almost from the earliest days of comic books, titles licensed from other media have been part of the mix. Early best-sellers such as Bringing Up Father and Thimble Theater, for instance, were popular comic strips…
By Judy Gonyeau When Queen Elizabeth was preparing to celebrate her 90th birthday, a beautiful set of china was commissioned by the Royal Collection Trust, which is dedicated to preserving European royal art collections. But how does one go about…
J. Pierpont Morgan Hartford native John Pierpont Morgan (1837-1913), founder of a banking dynasty still in operation today, was one of the great financial figures of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Well known for his successes as a…
Ceramics, in its broadest term, defines the art of making any object from clay by baking it. Just as the term “vehicle” can mean car, airplane, or spaceship, the term “ceramics” includes a like number of variations, either in design…
Sorting Out the China by Maxine Carter-Lome Bone China, Fine China, Porcelain; then there is Soft Paste, Hard Paste, Ivory China, Bone Porcelain… People unfamiliar with the distinction use the words interchangeably and generally refer to this category of tableware…
