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.
/ 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 ...
Read More
/ Features, Radio Shack, The Tandy
Radio Shack

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 ...
Read More
/ 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 ...
Read More
/ 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 ...
Read More
/ 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 ...
Read More
/ 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 ...
Read More
/ 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 ...
Read More
/ 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 ...
Read More
/ 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 ...
Read More
/ 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 ...
Read More
/ Features, Florence Griswold, Florence Griswold Museum
Miss Florence

Florence Griswold – Florence Griswold Museum

“At first the artists adopted Lyme, then Lyme adopted the artists, and now, today, Lyme and art are synonymous.” – ...
Read More
/ Anna Safley Houston, Features, Houston Museum of Decorative Arts
A young Anna Safley Houston

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 ...
Read More
/ 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 ...
Read More
/ 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 ...
Read More
/ 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 ...
Read More
/ 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 ...
Read More
/ ephemera, Features, Panini Stickers
The Football 78 red sticker packet cover for the UK depicted a bicycle-kicking footballer in front of a Union Jack background. That design – only the colors would change – became iconic over the next decade as it was repeated all the way through to Football 88.

Panini Stickers: The Brand in Next-Generation Ephemera

By Maxine Carter-Lome, publisher Trading cards and stickers are not new to the collectibles world or ephemera collectors. Nor are ...
Read More
/ Advertising, advertising trade cards, Features
Figure 8: Chromolithograph. 36 Star American Flag. Williams genuine Yankee Soap TC. Ben Crane Collection

Advertising Trade Cards

by Joe Gourd We live today in a sea of color images, printed and electronic, and we find it hard ...
Read More
/ antique holiday gifts, Features
Left: Ready to serve up Christmas punch: a somewhat solemn Santa mug, marked “Riddell, 1951.”

Gifts that Keep on Giving

By Donald-Brian Johnson All Photos by Donald-Brian Johnson, except as noted Forget about the fruitcake. Cancel the cookie order. This ...
Read More
/ American West, Cowgirls, Features
Annie Oakley

Women of the Wild West: 10 Famous Cowgirls, Outlaws, and Gunslingers

by Maxine Carter-Lome When we think of the Wild West and the pioneers who set out for parts unknown after ...
Read More
/ American West, Cowboy Boots, Features
a custom-designed boot made by Rocket Buster Boots and designed with Roy Rogers about 32 years ago. These boots were first available by custom order at the Roy Rogers Museum and were autographed by Roy himself.

Cowboy Boots: The Boots that Survived the West

by Judy Gonyeau, managing editor For as long as men and women have been riding animals to transport them from ...
Read More
/ American West, Buffalo Bill Cody, Features
As described in this illustration, “Buffalo Bill, Hon. Wm. F. Cody, Drawn and Printed Expressly for the FOLIO, The Great Illustrated Musical Journal of America, by J.H. Bufford’s Sons Boston.” The artist was Samuel S. Frizzell. The portrait was made c. 1873-1890

“Buffalo Bill and the Wild West”: Reimagining Frontier Life & Legends

By Maxine Carter-Lome, publisher Buffalo Bill Cody, Sitting Bull, Geronimo, Annie Oakley, Rough Riders, Gen. George Custer, Belle Starr, “Wild ...
Read More
/ American West, belt buckles, Features
Title image: A portion of the Author’s collection of vintage belt buckles.

Belt Buckle Collecting

By Brock Lane, www.beltbucklehistory.com The very first vintage belt buckles that I bought were on Craigslist. I didn’t know anything ...
Read More
/ American West, Cowboy, Features, Stetson hats
An early Stetson “Boss of the Plains” hat from the early 1900s. The Boss of the Plains was a lightweight all-weather hat designed in 1865 by John B. Stetson for the demands of the American West. It was intended to be durable, waterproof and elegant. The term “Stetson” eventually became all-but-interchangeable with what later became known as the cowboy hat due to later style designs based on how the rounded crown would deform from regular use.

The History Behind Stetson: The Quintessential Cowboy Hat

By Albert Muzquiz Reprinted with permission from Heddels.com When I turned up in St. Joseph, Missouri, a storm was just gearing ...
Read More
/ Anson Green Phelps, Ansonia Clocks, Features
This 1882 Ansonia cast iron clock is an example of one of he most popular designs offered by the Ansonia Clock Company. Sold at Charish.com for $550.

Anson Green Phelps and His Namesake Business The Ansonia Clock Company

By Judy Gonyeau, managing editor The town of Ansonia, Connecticut, owes its name and fame to Anson Green Phelps – ...
Read More