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| 1970s | 1960s | 1950s | 1940s | 1930s | 1920s | 1910s | 1900s | 1890s | 1880s | 1870s | 1860s | Pre-1860s |
Our newest book is actually the fully revised and expanded second edition of our first book. It came out originally in 1997, but needed a lot of updating because we’d done … Read more
I worked for 35 years as a reference librarian with the Madison Public Library and I just got interested in Madison’s history through my reference work. My husband and I co… Read more
I’ve been a collector of antique fishing tackle for over 20 years, and have been selling antique tackle in my shop since 1990. I collect all aspects of fishing memorabilia.… Read more
I started collecting Roycroft around 1992 when I visited the Peter Roberts Gallery in New York City. That was sort of the peak of the Arts and Crafts mania and there were man… Read more
The following is a history of these wondrous little artifacts called cardboard Christmas village houses - a history devoted to establishing some way of categorizing them … Read more
At the very beginning, my interest in lighters was about the mechanism. I had my first lighter when I was 14. I saved up my nickels and dimes. I grew up in Oakland, and bough… Read more
Ted Staunton was born in England, but now lives an active retired lifestyle in Vancouver, Canada. Ted has an outstanding collection of 78 rpm record labels. We talked about h… Read more
Ron Sturgeon: I had an automotive repair shop in about 1976 and spent a lot of time repairing Mercedes. About 1979 I decided to start collecting Mercedes toy cars. I was youn… Read more
When I got my first job out of college, I did what a lot of people do: I ran out and bought myself a Montblanc pen and fountain pen set. I kept that pen for years, but in the… Read more
My mother brought home a bunch of openers back in 1977, and that got me started collecting. I thought it would be pretty neat to do because nobody else was collecting them. T… Read more
I’m the curator here at the museum in Rocky River, a suburb west of Cleveland. I look at Cowan pottery from a historian’s angle because this is part of Rocky River’s cu… Read more
What are vintage magic posters? Posters of magicians printed by the stone lithography method qualify as vintage magic posters. The stone lithography process was in it hig… Read more
You've just acquired an old radio, but apart from the manufacturer's name on the front, you don't know a blessed thing about it. Learning more about your radio may satisfy yo… Read more
I got interested in insulators when I lived in El Cajon and my neighbor worked for San Diego Gas and Electric. His son had a bunch of insulators on the window sill in his bed… Read more
The Model T Ford Club of America is headquartered in Centerville, Indiana. We have about 115 chapters in the United States and other countries like Argentina, Australia, Belg… Read more
When I was around 10, my grandfather passed away, and my dad brought home his Victrola and stuck it under the stairs in the basement. He didn’t want it or care about it. It… Read more
I think it all started with a small pottery vase my mother obtained from the art pottery shop where she worked in the early 1920s and ‘30s. After she died in 1988, I didn  Read more
I don’t remember the first Rookwood piece I ever bought, that’s getting close to 40 years ago. But I must have liked it, because I kept studying and learning, and it’s … Read more
I’ve always had an old Ford Model A or something to tinker around with or play with. It may not have been on the road but I was always building or working on something. Aro… Read more
Cigarette lighter collecting is a hobby that never gets boring. Just by browsing eBay auctions for ten minutes, for example, I recently found a lighter shaped like a lion’s… Read more
I became interested in Petroliana in a kind of roundabout way. I’ve been in the automotive repair business all my life, and have always liked cars and been interested in au… Read more
How did I get interested in clocks? Something about them has always been ingrained in me. My mom’s father had a small collection of antique clocks and when I was a little b… Read more
Carnival glass was a cheap, iridescent glass often given away as promotions at carnivals, movies, and grocery stores in the early … (more)
Even though he is known today for his antique art glass, René Lalique (1860-1945) began his career in 1881 as a freelance jeweler.… (more)
Founded in 1880 by Maria Longworth Nichols, Rookwood pottery is a favorite of collectors for the quality of its pieces, which were… (more)
Fishing lures have been around about as long as prehistoric humans have contrived ways to catch fish. The earliest, prehistoric lu… (more)
When people talk about Italian art glass, they are usually referring to the vases, paperweights, goblets, and decorative objects p… (more)
When Joshua Lionel Cohen designed his first electric train in 1900, he wasn’t trying to make a toy for children. Rather, he though… (more)
The first gas pumps were built in the 1880's by the Bowser Company in Fort Wayne, Indiana, followed in 1898 by pumps that could pu… (more)
Candlestick telephones, also known to collectors as 'upright desk stands', gained popularity in the 1890s as the telephone became … (more)
You never know when you're going to need to stash some candy! Collectors have long valued glass candy containers produced in the e… (more)
Clock design was heavily influenced in the 1920s and ’30s by Art Deco, a machine-like aesthetic for a fast-paced industrial age. N… (more)
Pedal cars for children first appeared in the late 1880s, when Karl Benz introduced his three-wheel Patent Motorwagen for adults. … (more)
Early radio cabinets were made from wood until thermoplastic resins (e.g. Bakelite and Catalin) displaced wood in the 1930s and 40… (more)
Ford produced the Model T from 1908 through 1927, and it was the first mass produced car that made driving affordable for a broad … (more)
$11,050 Ends Sunday 10 bids 
70 watchers
$10,400 Ends Sunday 8 bids 71 watchers
$8,975 Ends Thursday 1 bid 
16 watchersMost collectors associate the Peace dollar with the word "PEACE" stamped below the perched bald eagle on the coin’s reverse. But P… (more)
Although Ford produced its first Model A in 1903, it was the 1927 model by that name which turned into a huge success, following i… (more)
$26,000 Ends Sunday 2 bids 
31 watchers
$21,000 Ends in 10 hours 13 bids 99 watchers
$14,100 Ends Sunday 17 bids 
49 watchersPopular during the Depression, cathedral-style tabletop radios became icons of pre-war America. The 'cathedral' moniker comes from… (more)
$325.00 Ends Saturday 4 bids 
40 watchersTin toy cars saw their heyday in the 1950s and 1960s, before being displaced by diecast models in the 1970s. One of the first manu… (more)
Cast iron toys were popular from the late 1800s through the start of WW2, and saw their heyday in the 1920's. Because iron tended … (more)
The 78 rpm (rotations per minute) phonograph record became the standard for audio playback in the mid-1920s, and along with the Vi… (more)
Slag glass, also known as marble glass or malachite, is a type of opaque, streaked pressed glass. Production of slag glass origina… (more)
Art Deco was an international design and art movement in the 1920s and ’30s. Influenced by sources as varied as the Bauhaus School… (more)
Starting around 1900, Coca-Cola began manufacturing metal tin-plate serving and change trays, initially round and oval, and later … (more)
At the turn of the 20th century, light was still considered a somewhat supernatural commodity. Edison’s light bulb remained a work… (more)
Arguably the most famous baseball player ever, George Herman Ruth Jr. was born February 6, 1895, in Baltimore. At age 19, he was p… (more)
Pressed steel toy automobiles were first popularized in the 1920s by Buddy L Toys and Wyandotte. Then the Steelcraft Company began… (more)
The milkman may be long gone, but glass milk bottles are still used in some places, and are loved by collectors, who often fill th… (more)
| 1970s | 1960s | 1950s | 1940s | 1930s | 1920s | 1910s | 1900s | 1890s | 1880s | 1870s | 1860s | Pre-1860s |
