Columns
These sought-after sections offer expert auction analysis, cultural commentary, and more, adding depth, variety, and a personal touch to every issue. Columns include Gavels ’n’ Paddles, Psychology of Collecting, The Beat, Pop Culture Collecting, Toys from the Attic, and Civil War Collector.
Interview with Glass Artist and Blown Away Judge Katherine Gray: What do You Collect?
Meet Katherine Gray. Her expertise in glass design is something to observe – it is at once infinite, moving, gracious, colorful, and an exploration of color, balance, and textural. Her ...
Great Collections: The Parker Pen Archive at Heritage House
Back in 1888, George Safford Parker (1863-1937) was working part-time as a seller and repairman of fountain pens. As he worked, he found that he could not find a pen ...
Antiques Peek: Decorate Your Desk
by Jessica Kosinski When talking about collectibles related to writing, it is impossible to ignore the topic of paperweights. Before computers existed, writing everything out by hand was the norm ...
Exploring Antique Technologies: Acing the Autopen – Helping Collectors Feel More Confident with Mechanical Writing
by Kary Pardy Footage from a 1950s 9-second video shows a grey, boxy machine using mechanical levers to exactly mimic the slopes and angles of a person’s handwriting. Since the ...
Great Collections: Svalbard Global Seed Vault
Deep inside a mountain on a remote island in the Svalbard archipelago, halfway between mainland Norway and the North Pole, lies the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, an underground, naturally preserving ...
Exploring Antique Technologies: Leather Fire Buckets – Painted Americana at its Most Helpful
by Kary Pardy Imagine you lived in the 17th or 18th century. Chances are good that you would be surrounded by wooden buildings and that you would be very wary ...
Great Collections: The Yale Collection of Musical Instruments
The Yale Collection of Musical Instruments was established in 1900, when Morris Steinert, an entrepreneurial figure who played an important role in shaping New Haven’s music scene, gave his private ...
Great Collections: The Collection of Steve Martin at Julien’s Auctions
Emmy, Grammy, People’s Choice, and Academy Award Winner hardly begin to describe Steve Martin, who has entertained us for decades on radio and TV, in the movies, on music-hall stages, ...
Exploring Antique Technologies: Science and Sparkles – Demystifying your Jewelry Collection
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 ...
Exploring Antique Technologies: Shaped in Steel – Dissecting the Technology Behind your Edged Weapons
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 ...
Exploring Antique Technologies – Saving Scrimshaw: How it’s Made and How to Take Care of It
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 ...
Exploring Antique Technologies – When Antique Technology Still Works: Finding our Way with a Sextant
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 ...
Great Collections: Harvard’s Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments and Its Founder, David P. Wheatland
Sara J. Schechner, Ph. D. (photos: Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments, Harvard University) This is a story of the impact a collector can have on creating one of the world’s ...
Exploring Antique Technologies: Ancient Art – Unraveling the Art of Knitting
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 ...
Great Collections: Assembling Only the Best: The Pedro Correa do Lago Autograph Collection
Assembling Only the Best: The Pedro Correa do Lago Autograph Collection From June 1 through September 16, 2018, what is considered “one of the most comprehensive autograph collections of our ...
What's Selling on eBay
by Deborah Abernethy and Mike McLeod It is with sadness that we announce that Deborah Abernethy passed away in February from an illness. For more than a decade, she has ...
Great Collections: April 2020
The Glass City Museum: How Edward Drummond Libbey’s Glass Collection Started the Toledo Museum of Art Edward Drummond Libbey was one of the most influential leaders who innovated the manufacturing ...
Looking into the Colorful Past of Stained Glass Art
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 ...
Great Collections: March 2020
Inheriting a Collection of Musical Note: An Interview with Jane Porter [ux_image_box img="48082"] Jane Porter with her mother, 2011 [/ux_image_box] When her mother passed away in 2011, Jane Porter thought ...
Exploring Antique Technologies: March 2020
Using Technology to Keep your Antiques Safe By Kary Pardy [divider align="center"] [ux_image_box img="47990"] The restored Rothko murals were installed for the November 16, 2014 opening of the Harvard Arts ...
What's Selling on eBay: March 2020
By Deborah Abernethy and Mike McLeod [divider align="center"] These examples show that eBay has quite a following in the collector marketplace. It sometimes is an auction environment, and sometimes, it ...
What's Selling on eBay
By Deborah Abernethy and Mike McLeod [divider align="center"] In all of the items shown in this month's column, each object sold at the highest end of the market for that ...
Exploring Antique Technologies: February 2020
No Matter Which Direction the Wind Blows, We Still Love American Weathervanes By Kary Pardy [divider align="center"] [ux_image_box img="47681"] This ca. 1890-1899 wood fish weathervane sold on 1stdibs.com and was ...
Great Collections: February 2020
Make No Little Plans: A.B. Wells, A Collector of Americana Excerpts from osv.org on their founding collector extraordinaire Old Sturbridge Village began as one man's hobby, but over the years ...
Taking the Scenic Route: The Allure of Airstream Trailers
by Kary Pardy [row] [col span="6" span__sm="12"] Have you ever wanted to pack everything up and hit the open road? Embrace a minimalist lifestyle and go on an adventure in ...
