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.

May 15, 2017 / America, experimentation, Features, food, Gardeners, Gardens, historic house gardens, house gardens, Hyde Park, inspiration, Longwood Gardens, Master Gardeners, Maxine Carter-Lome, Middleton Place, Monticello, personal pride, The Griswold Museum, Winterthur Museum Garden and Library

Seeding a Historic Garden

The Realized Visions of Six Master Gardeners By Maxine Carter-Lome Gardens can be a source of food, inspiration, experimentation and ...

May 6, 2017 / Donald-Brian Johnson, Features, Flowers, gardening, Gardens, Nursery, Outdoors, Plants, Seeds, Spring, Winter, Yards

In Living Color

Vintage Seed Catalogs Story & Photos by Donald-Brian Johnson From the mid-1800s onward, many a wintry day passed faster as ...

May 2, 2017 / Cane, Elements, Features, furniture, Lawn chairs, Maxine Carter-Lome, Outdoor Furniture, Patios, Raffia, Reed, Terrace, Veranda, Wicker, Willow, Wrought Iron

Embellished for the Elements

Outdoor Furniture from Wicker to Wrought Iron By Maxine Carter-Lome Since the dawn of time, Man has strived to be ...

April 25, 2017 / CMoG, Corning Museum of Glass, Exhibition, Features, Lamps, Leaded glass, Louis Comfort Tiffany, mosaics, reflected light, Stained Glass, Tiffany, transmitted light, windows

Tiffany Mosaics At the Corning Museum of Glass

The Creation of the First Major Exhibition of Tiffany Glass Mosaics "God has given us our talents, not to copy ...

April 21, 2017 / Blown glass, Cut Glass, Donald-Brian Johnson, engraved glass, Features, Glass, La Vie Boheme, Pressed glass, sculpted glass, woven glass

Glistening Glory: Collectible Cased Glass

Article and photos by Donald-Brian Johnson "Bend me, shape me, any way you want me ..." Glass. You can bend ...

April 15, 2017 / Debbie Tarsitano, Engraving, Features, Glass, Glass Engraver, Herman Schiller, master engraver, Roland "Max" Erlacher, Roland Erlacher

Roland "Max" Erlacher: Master Glass Engraver

By Debbie Tarsitano Max Erlacher is an engraving legend in the Crystal City, Corning, New York. Born in Austria in ...

April 6, 2017 / Alsatian, American Cut Glass, Christian Dorflinger, Craftsmanship, Cut Glass, engraved glassware, Features, Glass, James K. Asselstine, Lincoln White House, U.S. Coat of Arms

Christian Dorflinger and the American Cut Glass Industry

By James K. Asselstine Christian Dorflinger's story is that of a young Alsatian visionary who built one of the leading ...

March 20, 2017 / Baseball, Championship, Championship Rings, Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Indians, Features, football, Jerseys, Kris Bryant, Major League Baseball, Memorablilia, NFL, rings, SCP Auctions, Sports, sports memorabilia, Team Jersey, Terry Melia, World Series

Championship Collectibles At Auction

By Terry Melia Photos courtesy SCP Auctions On the night of November 2, 2016, at 28 minutes past midnight, Chicago ...

March 8, 2017 / American League, Baseball, Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Indians, Collectibles, Features, History, James Dahlen, Major League Baseball, Major League Baseball's Fall Classic World Series, Marshall Fogel, National League, World Series

Baseball World Series

History and Collectibles By Marshall Fogel and James Dahlen Photos by James Dahlen At the end of the 2016 Major ...

March 6, 2017 / Ball Cans, ceramic, Collecting, Features, Memorabilia, oil paintings, Racquets, silver, Sporting, Sports, Teapots, tennis, Tennis Balls, Tennis Shoes, Umpire Chair, Victorian

For the "Love" of Tennis Collecting

Collecting tennis memorabilia can be challenging, fun, and rewarding. Discovering a tennis treasure, whether it is a postcard one doesn't ...

February 22, 2017 / Adrienne Spinozzi, Art, Artistry, Creole, Design, Emilie de Hoa LeBlanc, Features, Marie de Hoa LeBlanc, Newcomb, Newcomb Pottery, Pottery

Marie de Hoa LeBlanc and Early Newcomb Designs

by Adrienne Spinozzi Marie de Hoa LeBlanc was one of the most accomplished and prolific decorators during the early period ...

February 17, 2017 / American Arts & Crafts, American Arts & Crafts Movement, Arts & Crafts, Catherine W. Zipf, Crafts men, Crafts women, Design, Features, Waldo Waterman, Women Practitioners

Wrought by Her Hands

The American Arts & Crafts Movement and its Women Practitioners By Catherine W. Zipf In 1903, Waldo Waterman died unexpectedly ...

February 14, 2017 / Arts & Crafts Carpets, Cold Air Returns, Craftsman-Style Floor, Features, Floor Treatments, Frank Lloyd Wright, hand knotted carpets, Hardwood Floors, Heat Registers, John Robison, The Craftsman Homes Connection, window treatments

Craftsman-Style Floor Treatments

Their Care, Preservation, and Staying True When Replacing Them By John Robison of The Craftsman Homes Connection "Bring out the ...

February 2, 2017 / Architecture, Arthur J. Stone, Arts & Crafts, Ceramics, Features, Frank Lloyd Wright, furniture, Georg Jensen, Handwrought, Kalo, Maxine Carter-Lome, Newcomb, Stickley, Tiffany, Van Briggle

The Kalo Shop

Timeless Handwrought Beauty by Maxine Carter-Lome Much has been written about Arts & Crafts furniture, architecture, and ceramics, and such ...

January 23, 2017 / Chase Lighting, Classic Modern Design, Donald-Brian Johnson, Early American, Fashion, Features, Home lighting, knick-knacks, Lamps, Leslie Piña, lighting, Lights, Lurelle Guild, Modern Design

Chase: Lighting the 1930s

By Donald-Brian Johnson Photos by Leslie Piña "We have tried not to make novelty knick-knacks, but sturdy honest designs of ...

January 10, 2017 / Aladdin Lamp, alcohol-burning lamps, candlepower, Features, Iowa Soap Company, kerosene lamp, Maxine Carter-Lome, Victor Samuel Johnson

Aladdin Lamps

108 Years and Still Burning Bright By Maxine Carter-Lome The story goes that while growing up in a sod farmhouse ...

January 10, 2017 / Aladdin Deco, Aladdin Deco figural lamps, Aladdin lamp, electric lamps, Features, figural lamps, J.W. "Bill" Courter, Lamps, Lamps burners, MAXbrite, MAXbrite Model 500, the Solitaire

How to Value an Aladdin Lamp in Today's Market

By J.W. "Bill" Courter Collectors seek all models, beginning with the first lamps sold in 1908, through the MAXbrite Model ...

January 1, 2017 / Antique Lighting, Chris Ehrler, Chris' Lamp Repair, Features, Judy Gonyeau, Lamp Repair, Lighting Repair, Lighting Restoration, Providence Rhode Island, vintage lighting

Bringing Old Lights to Life

Lighting Restoration and Repair with Chris Ehrler by Judy Gonyeau and Chris Ehrler Antique and vintage lighting restoration and repair ...

December 22, 2016 / Deseign, Domestic, Erica Lome, Featherwork, Features, Handcrafts, Katherine C. Grier, Macrame, Needlework, Parlor Crafts, , Shellwork, Victorian, Victorian Design, Woolwork

Victorian by Design

Parlor Crafts and the Age of Refinement By Erica Lome "In the household, china-painting affords amusement for the girls in ...

December 16, 2016 / Chanukah, Features, Havdalah ceremony, Jonathan Greenstein, Judaica, Judaism, Kiddush, menorahs, mitzvah, Passover, Purim, Spice Boxes, synagogue

Celebrating the Holidays with Judaica

By Jonathan Greenstein The practice of Judaism commands a variety of ceremonies throughout the calendar year. Many of these rituals ...

December 10, 2016 / Bob Richter, Christmas, Decorations, Features, Holiday, Judy Gonyeau, vintage

Getting, Giving and Glowing with Vintage at the Holidays

A Chat with Bob Richter by Judy Gonyeau There are those who are born with the "eye" - they can ...

December 3, 2016 / Christmas, December, Features, Holidays, James Dawson, Nativity, Saint Nicholas, Santa Claus, Saturnalia, Sinter Klaus, Yule

'Twas the Night

...and Other Holiday Classics by James Dawson Christmas was the holiday that was just waiting to happen. For whatever reason, ...

November 22, 2016 / Annie Hall, Art, Art Deco, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Brooch, Fashion, Features, Floppy Hat, Hats, Jackie Kennedy, Mens Ties, Paisley, Picasso, Plaid, Secret Agent Man, Skinny Tie, The Age of Aquarius, The Beatles, Ties, Womens Hats

Head and Shoulders Above The Rest

How Women's Hats and Men's Ties Completed The Looks of the Times A Woman's Style is Set by the Tip ...

November 20, 2016 / Art Deco, Clocks, Donald-Brian Johnson, Features, Fountains, Gerald "Gerry" Moss, Glass Shades, Leslie Piña, Modern Design, Moss Lamp, Moss Manufacturing Company, Music Boxes, Plexiglas, Radios, Spinning Figures, Spun Glass

Moss: The Lamps That Spin

Story by Donald-Brian Johnson - Photos by Leslie Piña Once seen, never forgotten - that's a Moss lamp! These Plexiglas ...

November 15, 2016 / Annabel Keenan, Bauhaus, chairs, Charles and Ray Eames, Crafting, Crafts, Craftsmanship, Cranbrook Academy of Arts, Eames Design, Features, Furnature, Mid-Century Deisgn, Time Magazine, Wienter Werkstätte

Charles and Ray Eames: Icons of Mid-Century Modern Design

By Annabel Keenan Often when discussing design, scholars and collectors alike describe objects and their makers as influential. While there ...