Features

Curated articles that explore the rich intersections of history, craftsmanship, and collecting culture. These long-form pieces are your gateway to learning something new, seeing the familiar in a fresh light, and connecting with the past meaningfully.

October 25, 2019 / Books, Commonplace Books, ephemera, Features, Journal, Maxine Carter-Lome, Memories, Middle Ages, notes, Paper, Renaissance, Scrapbooks, Victorian

Victorian Scrapbooks

Bound Memories & Scraps of Ephemera by Maxine Carter-Lome This album I’ve made is much more than a book. It’s ...

October 21, 2019 / Art, Dolls, Fashion, fashionista, Features, hand drawn, Judy Gonyeau, outfits, paper dolls, shadow puppet, Theriault's Auction House, wardrobe

Paper Dolls: Fashion and Culture

by Judy Gonyeau For many women, their first ideas of fussing over their wardrobe began with paper dolls. From complete ...

October 16, 2019 / Carmen Miranda, Dolls From The Land of Make Believe, Dolls of the Nations, Donald-Brian Johnson, ephemera, Features, Lennon Sisters, Little Women Dolls, Nancy Reagan, paper dolls, Pope John Paul II, Ronald Reagan, Ziegfeld showgirl

Collectible Paper Dolls From Hallmark

Photos and story by Donald-Brian Johnson “You’ll find collecting Hallmark Dolls is really lots of fun, and here’s a little ...

October 10, 2019 / Announce, broadsides, Broadsides Collection, ephemera, Features, Historic Events, Infomercials, Inform, Information, Library of Congress, Proclaim

Broadsides: Insight from the Library of Congress Collection

When it comes to evidence of historic events, broadsides - a large printed sheet of paper used to inform, proclaim, ...

September 26, 2019 / Boscobel Restoration, Clermont State, Features, Historic Cherry Hill, Lyndhurst Mansion, Maxine Carter-Lome, Olana, The Franklin D. Roosevelt Home, The Hudson River, The Hudson Valley, Thomas Cole National Historic Site, Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site, Washington’s Headquarters State Historic Site, Wilderstein

Reliving Life Along the Hudson River

by Maxine Carter-Lome The Hudson Valley is one of the most recognizable landscapes in the country. Named after the river ...

Hudson River Revolutionary War Artifacts

by Melody Amsel-Arieli To drum-beat and heart-beat, A soldier marches by: There is color in his cheek, There is courage ...

September 17, 2019 / American art, Art, Bronxville, Byrdcliffe, Colonies, Cragsmoor, Features, Hudson, Hudson River, Industrial Revolution, Judy Gonyeau, Manhattan, Palenville, The Shawangunk Ridge, United States

Art Colonies Along the Hudson

The Birth of American Art by Judy Gonyeau, Managing Editor With the onset of the industrial revolution in the United ...

September 6, 2019 / Alexis de Tocqueville, Aristocracy, artists, Democracy in America, Erica P. Lome, explorers, Features, Hudson River, Hudson River Valley, inventors, New York, New York State, NYS, politicians, River, robber barons, Westchester County

America’s Eden

A Historic Look at the Hudson River Valley by Erica P. Lome In 1831, Alexis de Tocqueville penned a letter ...

August 16, 2019 / buttons, Features, Haberdashery, hooks, Judy Nixon Kent, needles, Notions, patterns, Pins, ribbons, scissors, sew, Sewing, sewing project, snaps, thimbles, Tools, trims, zippers

A Notion to Collect

by Judy Nixon Kent In the U.S., they are called notions. In the U.K., they are called haberdashery. What exactly ...

August 13, 2019 / Antique Coffee Grinder, brass, cast-iron, clear glass, coffee beans, Coffee grinder, coffee mill, eBay, Enterprise Manufacturing Company, Etsy, Features, glass hopper, Ground Coffee, hopper, Landers Frary, Maxine Carter-Lome, Pinterest, The Arcade Manufacturing Co.

Freshly Ground

A Look at Antique Coffee Grinders by Maxine Carter-Lome There is nothing like the smell and taste of freshly ground ...

August 7, 2019 / corner store, country store, Donald-Brian Johnson, Features, General Store, Kitchenalia, Mom and Pop, pie bird, salt and pepper shaker, whistle mug

Something for Everyone

The Good Ol’ Country Store by Donald-Brian Johnson Kitchenalia. It comes in many forms, and collectors often focus on just ...

August 3, 2019 / Apothecary Jars, Bags, Cloth, Cloth Sacks, containers, Display Box, Displays, fabric, Features, General Store, Glass, Glass Containers, Judy Gonyeau, litho, Pails, Sacks, tins, wood storage

Containers for the General Store

by Judy Gonyeau Apothecary Jars and Glass Containers Apothecary jars or bottles were designed to hold powders, dry goods, medicines, ...

July 25, 2019 / Baseball, Basketball, Fans, Features, football, Game Equipment, Hockey, Jersey, Maxine Carter-Lome, Memorabilia, soccer, Sports Fan, sports memorabilia, Sports Teams, Teams

Decorating with Sports Memorabilia

by Maxine Carter-Lome Everyone knows sports fans are passionate about their players and teams. They proudly communicate where their loyalties ...

A Man and His Chips

by Sheldon Smith According to my research, the Man Cave is essential to the survival of the male gender of ...

July 17, 2019 / beer, Blatz, blue ribbon, branding, Brewery, Brewing, Colt 45, Features, Lone Star Beer, Maxine Carter-Lome, Old Milwaukee, Pabst Blue Ribbon, Pabst Brewing Company, PBR, Schaefer, Schlitz

Pabst Blue Ribbon Collectibles

by Maxine Carter-Lome Some product brands are such a part of our zeitgeist that their logo alone is enough for ...

Movie Posters in the Man Cave

Presented by Amanda Sheriff Decorating is an important factor in personalizing the man cave, and this can be achieved in ...

June 24, 2019 / badminton, battledore, beach toy, bocce balls, childrens games, croquet, croquet set, dice, eBay, Features, Fivestones, games, golf, golf club, horseshoe, Jacks, Jackstones, Knucklebones, lawn bowling, mallet, Marbles, miniature golf, Outdoor games, Outdoors, pail, racket, Sample, sand toys, sandbox, shovel, shuttlecock, spade, tennis, The Ring Game

Playing Games in the Great Outdoors

A Sampling Jacks Jacks, also called jackstones, fivestones, or dibs, is one of the oldest and most widespread games in ...

June 22, 2019 / Board Games, Books, Children's books, coachmaker, Family, Features, games, Gaming, Illustrations, Maxine Carter-Lome, McLoughlin Brothers, merch, merchendise, printing, publishing auction, toys

The Art of the Game

The Colorful History of McLoughlin Bros. by Maxine Carter-Lome While you might not recognize the name McLoughlin Brothers, or the ...

June 18, 2019 / Advertising, Batman, Collecting, Features, Hess Truck, Jango Fett, LEGO, Madison Avenue, Miniature trucks, Pop Culture, Potter & Potter Auctions, rare toys, record player, Remco, Sears, Serious Toyz, Star Wars, The Beatles, The Munsters, Tom Miano, toy truck, vintage toys

The Market for Toys

An interview with Tom Miano How things look in the Toy Market often depends upon who you ask; their chosen ...

June 13, 2019 / Backgammon, Board Games, checkers, Chess, Egypt, Egyptian Games, Features, gamble, gambling, Game Boards, game pieces, games, Hounds and Jackals, leisure, Luck, Ludus Duodecim Scriptorum, Melody Amsel-Arieli, Nine Men’s Morris, patterns, playing, rules, Senet, skill, strategy

Game Boards: The Game is Up

by Melody Amsel-Arieli Through the ages, nearly all cultures have developed pre-marked surfaces used for playing games. Players, drawing on ...

May 25, 2019 / Bloodletting, cupping, Features, leeches, Melody Amsel-Arieli, physician, surgeon, tourniquet

Civil War Surgical Tools

by Melody Amsel-Arieli The Civil War, which left over 600,000 dead, was the bloodiest war in the history of the ...

Medical Art: A Spectacle on Display

by Judy Gonyeau “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players” - William Shakespeare, As ...

May 8, 2019 / Antiquity, blood, Bloodletting, bloodsucking, civil war enthusiasts, cupping, Douglas Arbittier, Egyptian times, Features, fleam, health, Hippocrates, Ink Eraser, Jars, Lancet, leeches, mallet, medical field, menstruation, nosebleed, Phlebotomy, scarificator, surgeon, tattoo artists

Bloodletting Instruments and Methods

by Douglas Arbittier, MD, MBA Antique bloodletting or Phlebotomy instruments have long been a collectible within the medical field that ...

April 20, 2019 / Art, Art Glass, artist, decor, Decoration, Decorators, engraved glass, Engraving, Features, Glass, Glassmaking, Industrialized, Kosta, Orrefors, Paris Exposition, Peter Wade, Swedish Glass, Swedish Glass House, Swedish Modernism, The Great Depression

The Rise of Swedish Modernism

by Peter Wade Throughout the history of glassmaking, certain common designs and patterns have emerged. The glass we collect today ...

April 10, 2019 / Arabesque, Barbaric Jewels, cake stand, candleholder, chip bowls, cigarette box, curved lines, Donald-Brian Johnson, Features, Fused, Fused Glass, Geometric lines, giftware, Glass, Higgins glass, Leslie Piña, Mandarin, Stardust

Higgins: A Glass Act

Fused Glass from the Fabulous ‘50s Text by Donald-Brian Johnson; Photos by Leslie Pina Stardust, Barbaric Jewels, Arabesque, Mandarin. The ...