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Time Machine » The 1880s

1880s Related Articles

19th-Century Tobacco Cards

Dave Campbell contacted me after reading a post on The Baseball Card blog. He's been collecting baseball cards non-stop since 1981. He has recently created a collection of 19… Read more

John Werry Explains How To Appreciate Victorian Furniture

How did I get started collecting Victorian Furniture? Antiques is in my genes, my mother's family were longtime antiquers and lived in a house built in the 18th Century. But … Read more

Taking Stock of Scripophily

I got interested in stock certificates by happenstance, really. I collected stamps at one point, and sold my collection to put a down payment on the house. I tried to get bac… Read more

U.S. Pattern Coins Tell the Stories Behind Our Currency

I started collecting coins when I was five years old, and I started dealing when I was 13 or 14. Most kids start with coins of circulation—I had albums for Jefferson nickels,… Read more

Bill Lindsey on How To Read a Bottle

My maternal grandfather and uncle got into bottles in about 1965 or ‘66 when I was in high school, and we started digging. My uncle was in Arizona, near some of the old minin… Read more

The International Influences of Buffalo Furniture

About 11 years ago, my wife and I went on some architectural tours. We joined the organization that sponsored the tours, and I volunteered to be the Webmaster for them. I dec… Read more

Malcolm Warrington Invites You to Learn about Victorian Greeting Cards

Malcolm Warrington is based 12 miles to the west of Central London. He is a council member of the UK Ephemera Society with responsibility for the society's web site. He also … Read more

Typewriter Collector Richard Polt on More Than a Century of QWERTY

I started to get interested in typewriters around age 12. My dad and I stopped at a garage sale and he bought me this typewriter from the 1930s, and I was just learning to ty… Read more

How Snake Oil Got a Bad Rap (Hint: It Wasn't The Snakes' Fault)

These days, "snake oil" is synonymous with quackery, the phoniest of phony medicines. A "snake oil salesman" promises you the world, takes your money, and is long gone by the… Read more

Too Lazy To Work Out? Machines That Exercise for You, From Victorian Era to Now

Time was, humans didn't have to worry much about getting exercise. When we had to kill, gather, grow, or herd our own food, working out happened naturally. Of course, as soon… Read more

The Colors and Forms of Early American Pattern Glass

My mother was our inspiration for collecting pattern glass. She collected it, and she died at a very young age. My sister and I inherited it and my aunt said not to sell anyt… Read more

Selling Soap and Smokes With Victorian Trade Cards

How did I start collecting Victorian trade cards? In the late 60s I was a bottle collector, early American bottles and flasks. I started noticing there were colorful trade ca… Read more

Rob Niederman Focuses on Antique Wood Cameras

How did I start collecting cameras? Actually, I had an interest in photography as a kid and owned a darkroom by the age of 12 or 13. My interest in photography grew. I spent … Read more

Gerry Fortin Explains the Many Varieties of Liberty Seated Dimes

Like everybody else, I started collecting coins when I was probably around 10 years old—going to the bank, buying a roll of Lincoln cents, and trying to fill those Whitman fo… Read more

Early Typewriters of the Late 1800s

Collecting antique typewriters circa 1900 has been a wonderful experience for me over the years. My collection is really just the tip of the iceberg, as literally hundreds of… Read more

1880s Related Categories

Stereoview Photographs

The idea for stereoview photographs (also known as stereoscopic photographs, stereographs, or, simply, views) was hatched long bef… (more)

Magic Lantern

Magic lanterns, also known as optical lanterns, provided one of the most popular forms of entertainment during their heyday in the… (more)

Trade Cards

Victorian trade cards are an early form of collectible advertising. Popularized after the Civil War by businesses, they offer a co… (more)

Early American Pattern Glass

Early American Pattern Glass (EAPG), also known as pressed glass, was produced from roughly 1850 to 1910. Cheaper to manufacture t… (more)

Mechanical Banks

Antique mechanical banks make the act of saving money fun. Insert a coin, push a lever, and watch the action play out! The coin mi… (more)

Wood Cameras

Even before the first 19th century cameras were produced, wood was used for their predecessor, the camera obscura, to keep the ins… (more)

Tobacco Tins

Offset lithography was developed in the 1870s and patented in 1875 to create an efficient way to print on tin. Until then, transfe… (more)

French Dolls

During the 14th century, dolls modeled on adult figures were popular among the most affluent families of Europe, and the exquisite… (more)

Reed and Barton Silver

The Taunton, Massachusetts, firm of Reed & Barton began in 1824 as Babbitt & Crossman, which produced a cousin of pewter known as … (more)

Pocket Watches

Pocket watch use peaked in the late 19th century as a wave of investment went into pocket watch design and manufacture by companie… (more)

Victorian Furniture

Victorian antique furniture refers to pieces made during the reign of Queen Victoria (1837-1901), and includes both mass produced … (more)

Box Cameras

Box cameras rely on the most basic form of photographic technology, utilizing a sealed rectangular container with a fixed focus le… (more)

Majolica

When Minton & Company of Staffordshire exhibited a new line of ceramics at The Great Exhibition of 1851 in London, the firm called… (more)

Cabinet Card Photographs

First introduced in the 1860s, cabinet card photographs were similar to cartes-de-visites, only larger. Measuring approximately fo… (more)

19th Century Unused US Stamps

The first official US stamps were issued in 1847, depicting Benjamin Franklin and George Washington (5 and 10 cents). These were f… (more)

Wallace Silver

Robert Wallace is considered the first metalsmith to make a spoon out of German silver, which is also known as nickel silver, even… (more)

Morgan Silver Dollars

The Morgan silver dollars of 1878 to 1904 and 1921 are probably the most collected U.S. coins other than Lincoln cents. Designed b… (more)

Oneida Silver

Oneida Limited was not formed until 1880, but the roots of the company date to 1848, when a religious commune called the Oneida Co… (more)



1970s1960s1950s1940s1930s1920s1910s1900s1890s1880s1870s1860sPre-1860s