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.

June 25, 2024 / african american patents, Features, Transportation

19th Century African Americans Who Transformed Transportation

By Maxine Carter-Lome, publisher Despite the constraints of slavery, poverty, lack of education, and social and racial discrimination, these seven ...

June 20, 2024 / 1964, Features, Transportation

“This is a many-sided challenge. We cannot and we do not rely upon massive spending programs as cure-alls. We must instead look to closer cooperation among all levels of government and between both public and private sectors to achieve the prudent progress that Americans deserve and that they expect.” – LBJ on the Urban Mass Transportation Act

1964: A Banner Year for Transportation!

by Judy Gonyeau, managing editor The Teamsters Master Freight Agreement JANUARY 15, 1964 – A monumental day in Teamsters history ...

June 10, 2024 / Cunard, Features, Vintage Travel

Title image: Painting of the Queen Elizabeth I. In late 1968, Queen Elizabeth was sold to the Elizabeth Corporation, with 15% of the company controlled by a group of Philadelphia businessmen and 85% retained by Cunard. She arrived in Port Everglades, FL on 8 December 1968 and opened to tourists in February 1969, well before Queen Mary, which opened two years later, in 1971. The climate of southern Florida was much harder on the ship, and Queen Elizabeth’s retirement in Florida was not to last. The ship was forced to close in August 1970, after losing money and being declared a fire hazard.

Cunard: The Most Famous Ocean Liners in the World™

By Maxine Carter-Lome, publisher On July 4, 1840, the steamer Britannia departed Liverpool, England on her maiden transatlantic journey, bound ...

June 1, 2024 / Features, Railroad, Shelburne Museum, transporation

Samuel Woolf, The Under World, ca. 1909–10. Oil on canvas, 22 ½ x 30 ½ in. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Purchase, Funds provided by a private Richmond foundation. ©Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Photo: Travis Fullerton.

The Railroad in American Art

By Thomas Denenberg, PhD John Wilmerding Director and CEO, Shelburne Museum The exhibition All Aboard: The Railroad in American Art, ...

May 15, 2024 / Features, Petroliana, Sinclair Gasoline

Sinclair double-sided, lighted, plastic pole sign sold for $4,366 at Mecum Auctions in January 2024. The sign stands over 11.25 feet tall on its original cast iron base.

Sinclair Gas: DINO still going strong 90 years later!

By Maxine Carter-Lome, publisher If you traveled by car almost anywhere in the Continental U.S. in the first half of ...

May 10, 2024 / but not forgotten, Features, Fotomat, gone, Tower Records, toys r us, triptik

A Fotomat “hut” somewhere in Massachusetts in the 1970s.

Survival of the Fittest

By Judy Gonyeau, managing editor Fotomat Back in the days of 35mm film and the affordable Kodak Instamatic, getting that ...

May 1, 2024 / Features, Radio Shack, The Tandy

Radio Shack: Where America Shopped for Consumer Electronics

By Maxine Carter-Lome, publisher Ask anyone who grew up in the second half of the 20th century if they knew ...

April 15, 2024 / Carnival Glass, Features, Georges Briard, Higgins Glaaa, Schneider glass, Spun Glass

Two large “Tango Orange” vases by Charles Schneider. Tallest, 18-1/4” h. (Photo by Leslie Piña)

Timeless Treasures: A Glass Quintet

By Donald-Brian Johnson Some things exist “outside of time:” The Wizard of Oz … Model T Fords … Turntables and ...

April 10, 2024 / Antique Marketplace News, Features, Stretch Glass, Vintage Living

The gold-encrusted Blue Trumpet Stretch Console Set brings this idea to a different level – a bit more formal yet too beautiful not to have on display. This version was made by Central Glass Works in the early 1900s. It is for sale at www.carnivalglass.com for $175.

Entertaining and Decorating with Stretch Glass

by Cal Hackeman, Treasurer, Stretch Glass Society American iridescent stretch glass brings color and excitement to your home entertaining and ...

April 1, 2024 / Antique Glass, Features

Dorothy Thorpe (1901-1989): Glassware Designer

Influencing Glass History

By Maxine Carter-Lome, publisher We toss around the term “influencer” today to refer to someone we follow on social media ...

March 15, 2024 / Features, Japanese tinplate toy car, tin, Toy Cars

Title image: Bandai’s mid-1950s Ford station wagon was around 12 inches in length and fitted with a friction motor. This near-mint example with original box sold for $305 in a 2020 Vectis auction. Photo courtesy Vectis Auctions Ltd.

Americans in Japan: The Golden Age of the Japanese Tinplate Toy Car

By Douglas R. Kelly A vacation or a business trip, for me, just isn’t complete without at least one visit ...

March 10, 2024 / Features, Lunch Box, tin

The most popular lunchbox ever, bar none: Aladdin’s domed “Disney School Bus,” featuring an array of Disney favorites. Eventually, nearly 10 million of this design by Robert Burton were sold in the 1960s.

Let’s Do Lunch (Boxes)

By Donald-Brian Johnson Blame it on Hoppy. When the Hopalong Cassidy tin lunchbox hit stores in 1950, bag lunches faced ...

March 1, 2024 / Features, tin, Tin Peddler

Myers, photographer, Occupational Portrait of a Peddler, Full-Length, Standing, Facing Front, With Two Bags Held at His Sides by a Harness, Neck Brace Visible Between Legs, ca. 1840-1860.

The Tin Peddler

By Judy Gonyeau, managing editor In the early 1800s, tin peddlers were out and about selling their wares to the ...

March 1, 2024 / Features, Old Sturbridge Village, tin, tinsmith

Here, the body of the cup was shaped and has been soldered to keep its shape and to make it watertight. The tool in his right hand is the soldering copper which has been heated in the charcoal fire to melt the solder.

A 19th Century Tinsmith at Old Sturbridge Village

Photos by Judy Gonyeau, managing editor Meet Richard Eckert, Interpreter, Tin Shop, at Old Sturbridge Village (OSV) in Sturbridge, Massachusetts ...

February 22, 2024 / Features, Margaret Woodbury Strong, The Strong National Museum of Play

Margaret Woodbury Strong (1897-1969) photograph from December, 1919.

Margaret Woodbury Strong – The Strong National Museum of Play

“I will take anything I don’t have to feed.” – Margaret Woodbury Strong Every year since 1998, The Strong National ...

February 20, 2024 / Features, Florence Griswold, Florence Griswold Museum

Florence Griswold – Florence Griswold Museum

“At first the artists adopted Lyme, then Lyme adopted the artists, and now, today, Lyme and art are synonymous.” – ...

February 19, 2024 / Anna Safley Houston, Features, Houston Museum of Decorative Arts

Anna Safley Houston – Houston Museum of Decorative Arts

“Always paddle your own canoe.” – Anna Safley Houston Nestled in a thriving art district in Chattanooga, Tennessee, the Houston ...

February 18, 2024 / Electra Havemeyer Webb, Features, Shelburne Museum

John Engstead, Portrait of Electra Havemeyer Webb, date unknown. Gelatin silver print, 9 1/4 x 7 1/4 in. Collection of Shelburne Museum Archives.

Electra Havemeyer Webb – Shelburne Museum

“A collection of collections.” – Mrs. Webb Shelburne Museum, in Shelburne, Vermont, is the manifestation of one woman’s enduring passion ...

February 17, 2024 / Features, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

This portrait of Isabella Stewart Gardner was taken in 1888.

Isabella Stewart Gardner – Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

“Don’t spoil a good story by telling the truth.” – Isabella Stewart Gardner Isabella Stewart Gardner was born in New ...

February 10, 2024 / Features, Female Art Collectors

Photo of Helene Kröller-Müller, via De Hoge Veluwe National Park

10 Prominent Female Art Collectors of the 20th Century

By Selena McGonnell, MSc Museum Studies, BS History The 20th century brought with it many new female art collectors and ...

February 1, 2024 / Features, National Portrait Gallery, Woman Museum Founders, Woman Patrons

Marjorie Merriweather Post, by Alfred Cheney Johnston, 1929, gelatin silver print, National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., Gift of Francis A. DiMauro

American Women’s Role as Collectors, Patrons, and Museum Founders

By Patricia H. Svoboda, Research Coordinator, Catalog of American Portraits, National Portrait Gallery. Reprinted with permission. As collectors, patrons, and ...

January 20, 2024 / ephemera, Features, Panini Stickers