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

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.

By Douglas R. Kelly A vacation or a business trip, for me, just isn’t complete without at least one visit to a flea market, antiques mall, or junk shop. A ...

Let’s Do Lunch (Boxes)

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.

By Donald-Brian Johnson Blame it on Hoppy. When the Hopalong Cassidy tin lunchbox hit stores in 1950, bag lunches faced a formidable competitor. Now, those tasty peanut butter and jelly ...

The Tin Peddler

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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.

By Judy Gonyeau, managing editor In the early 1800s, tin peddlers were out and about selling their wares to the westward-leading people of the United States. Soon after, the tin ...

A 19th Century Tinsmith at Old Sturbridge Village

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.

Photos by Judy Gonyeau, managing editor Meet Richard Eckert, Interpreter, Tin Shop, at Old Sturbridge Village (OSV) in Sturbridge, Massachusetts. OSV’s Tin Shop is a reconstructed early 1800s shed brought ...

Margaret Woodbury Strong – The Strong National Museum of Play

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

“I will take anything I don’t have to feed.” – Margaret Woodbury Strong Every year since 1998, The Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, NY inducts beloved toys from ...

Florence Griswold – Florence Griswold Museum

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“At first the artists adopted Lyme, then Lyme adopted the artists, and now, today, Lyme and art are synonymous.” – Florence Griswold, 1937 Thanks in large measure to “Miss Florence” ...

Anna Safley Houston – Houston Museum of Decorative Arts

Anna Safley Houston, Features, Houston Museum of Decorative Arts

“Always paddle your own canoe.” – Anna Safley Houston Nestled in a thriving art district in Chattanooga, Tennessee, the Houston Museum of Decorative Arts holds an internationally recognized collection of ...

Electra Havemeyer Webb – Shelburne Museum

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.

“A collection of collections.” – Mrs. Webb Shelburne Museum, in Shelburne, Vermont, is the manifestation of one woman’s enduring passion and unwavering commitment to a distinctive vision. Electra Havemeyer Webb ...

Isabella Stewart Gardner – Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

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This portrait of Isabella Stewart Gardner was taken in 1888.

“Don’t spoil a good story by telling the truth.” – Isabella Stewart Gardner Isabella Stewart Gardner was born in New York City on April 14, 1840, into a well-to-do family ...

10 Prominent Female Art Collectors of the 20th Century

Features, Female Art Collectors

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

By Selena McGonnell, MSc Museum Studies, BS History The 20th century brought with it many new female art collectors and patrons. They made numerous significant contributions to the art world ...

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

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

By Patricia H. Svoboda, Research Coordinator, Catalog of American Portraits, National Portrait Gallery. Reprinted with permission. As collectors, patrons, and museum founders, American women have played an influential role in ...

Panini Stickers: The Brand in Next-Generation Ephemera

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.

By Maxine Carter-Lome, publisher Trading cards and stickers are not new to the collectibles world or ephemera collectors. Nor are the subjects printed on these small pieces of paper, the ...

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