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.

Eisenberg Originals
by Ken Hall Eisenberg Originals are the most beautiful and brilliant pieces of costume jewelry no one’s ever heard of ...

Cameos – Wearable Sculpture in Relief
by Maxine Carter-Lome, publisher Cameos are one of the most widely recognized types of jewelry. Many of us may even ...

O Christmas Tree: And the Inspired Collectible Christmas Tree Pins
Story & Photos by Donald-Brian Johnson What do you do on the day after Thanksgiving? Some folks start baking Christmas ...

Horns of Plenty: Decorated Military Powder Horns in Colonial America
by Erica Lome, Ph.D. On a cool April morning in 1775, Amos Barrett readied his musket and prepared for combat ...

Two Collectors, One Passion: Pawprints on Paper
By Margaret Carpenter and Alice Muncaster Is it possible for cats to spark a friendship between two people miles (and ...

Beswick: A Special Breed of Porcelain Animals
by Maxine Carter Lome, Publisher From 1896 when James Wright Beswick and his sons John and Gilbert first established their ...

The Horse Fair: A Celebration of Rosa Bonheur’s Equestrian Masterpiece
By Erica Lome, Ph. D. Rosa Bonheur (1822-1899) The Horse Fair, 1852–55, Oil on canvas, Metropolitan Museum of Art If ...

Jeanne Toussaint: Cartier’s Petite Panthére
by Maxine Carter-Lome, Publisher “A woman who revolutionized contemporary jewelry” is how Cartier describes jewelry designer Jeanne Toussaint in the ...

The View From Where You Sit: Personal Magnification Devices
by Melody Amsel-Arieli Simple magnification devices, like water-filled spheres and rock crystal (quartz) “burning glasses” were known around the Mediterranean ...

The Genius of the Reticent Inventor – Alexander Graham Bell
by Maxine Carter-Lome, publisher “The Boston Advertiser prints an interesting account of an experiment in carrying out a conversation by ...

The Sears National Quilt Contest
An essay from Quiltindex.org by Merikay Waldvogel The Sears National Quilt Contest organized by Sears Roebuck & Co. in connection ...

Samplers: An Evolution of Purpose & Design
by Melody Amsel-Arieli Samplers are pieces of fabric worked to demonstrate mastery of ornamental embroidery stitches and motifs. This fine ...

Memorial Quilts: Expressions of Remembrance
Graveyard Quilts for Mourning By Judy Anne Breneman, womenfolk.com Before modern medicine the loss of beloved friends and family members ...

Friendship Quilts: A Gift of Remembrance
by Maxine Carter-Lome, Publisher In the summer of 1854, inside an enormous four-story brick house at the corner of Main ...

Erica Wilson: Sharing Joy through Embroidery
By Linda EatonJohn L. & Marjorie P. McGraw Director of Collections and the Senior Curator of Textiles at Winterthur Museum Until ...

John James Audubon: A Short Reflection on His Life and Works
by Pat Raynock, Biologist and Audubon Collector As a career biologist, I have spent a lifetime looking at the beauty ...

Collecting Inspiration: Henry David Thoreau & Nature
by Erica Lome, Ph.D. One April morning, when Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) was fishing in a stream outside the center ...

Inspired by Plants: The Glass Flowers as a Window into Botanical Education
By Donald H. Pfister and Jennifer Brown, Harvard University Herbaria Unless otherwise noted, all images courtesy of the Ware Collection ...

Taxidermy: Exploring one of the Most Complicated Collectibles
by Kary Pardy Someone mentions taxidermy and a few main themes come to mind: trophies in hunting lodges, decor in ...

Theodore Roosevelt, Jr.: A Naturalist Collector of Specimens
by Maxine Carter-Lome, publisher In 1867, Theodore Roosevelt began what he called the Roosevelt Museum of Natural History. It consisted ...

Viking Glass – A Colorful History
Viking Glass grew out of its predecessor, New Martinsville Glass Company, which was established in 1900 by Mark Johnson and ...

Mercury Glass: Encasing the Brilliance of Silver
Mercury glass is not all it is wrapped up to be as there is no actual mercury used in the ...

Forged Signatures: Tips to Help Collectors Find the Real Deal
By Kary Pardy, writer of “Exploring Antique Technology” Mickey Mantle’s baseball, a celebrity-signed photograph, the copy of the Declaration of ...

Can I have your Autograph?
by Maxine Carter-Lome, Publisher Since ancient Roman times, a man's ability to sign his name separated him from the masses ...

What’s in a Name? Sascha, Marc, and Sometimes, Matthew
Story and photos by Donald-Brian Johnson In the world of mid-twentieth-century décor, it wasn't enough for a designer to be ...