by Kary Pardy How many times have you looked through a jewelry display at your favorite antique shop and was just a bit unsure about the quality or elements of a piece you wanted to get as a gift? When you’re considering buying antique jewelry or are curious about something you already own, it […]
Category Archives: Exploring Antique Technologies
02
Dec
Dec
by Kary Pardy There are lots of reasons to be drawn to edged weapons, and their beauty and history are chief amongst them. Each piece carries with it a complicated past that is directly connected to our most violent and sometimes, most noble, heroic stories. Whether you’ve got a parade sword or your ancestor’s Bowie […]
22
Oct
Oct
by Kary Pardy If you’re a nautical fanatic, a coast dweller, or a fan of early American arts, you probably know and appreciate scrimshaw. But what is it really, and how do you know you’re looking at the real deal? If you find it, how do you keep it shipshape for years to come? We’re […]
28
Sep
Sep
by Kary Pardy Do You Know Where You’re Going To? In 1714, the British Parliament established the Longitude Act, and with it, the Longitude Rewards. Equivalent to just over a million dollars today, these prizes offered rewards to any who could come up with a reliable way to measure longitude at sea. Latitude was […]
20
Aug
Aug
by Kary Pardy Knitting is everywhere recently. Creating warm hats, scarves, wraps, sweaters, and mittens is currently a fashionable pastime for people of all ages, and skilled knitters can create art with their complex stitches and colors. When you ask people in 2020 what knitting is to them, you’re likely to get answers like “it’s […]
06
May
May
Looking into the Colorful Past of Stained Glass Art by Kary Pardy Stirring scenes, epiphanies of light, color and symbolism, glowing recreations of nature – you may connect all these ideas with the artistry of stained glass, but what about urine? Wine? Terms like “cames,” “grozing,” or “armatures?” We know stained glass today as […]
10
Mar
Mar
Using Technology to Keep your Antiques Safe By Kary Pardy In 2014, Harvard University unveiled newly “restored” Mark Rothko murals. The paintings had been locked away after previously hanging on the sunny wall of the dining hall from 1962-1979 and had been considerably faded. Many thought they would remain so because Rothko’s special paint formulations […]
25
Feb
Feb
No Matter Which Direction the Wind Blows, We Still Love American Weathervanes By Kary Pardy If you are an Americana collector, you are likely familiar with the gold (or copper) standard for American folk art. Handmade American weathervanes are the celebrities of Americana auctions, racking in significantly higher amounts than their wooden and iron contemporaries. […]
26
Jan
Jan
by Kary Pardy Related posts: Coasting into Childhood on Vintage Wooden Sleds The Hupmobile: A Journey Through Time From Stem to Stern: A Brief Survey of Wooden Canoe Collecting Exploring Antique Technologies: February 2020 The Hudson Highway As the World Turns On Its Wooden Axis
17
Dec
Dec
Exploring Antique Technologies by Kary Pardy Most of us in snowy climates have fond memories of racing downhill on sleds, and these memories are not unique to our generation. Americans have been searching for worthy hills since before the American Revolution. Apart from a few notable fashion differences, children racing down the hills of Boston […]