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Collectors Weekly


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Time Machine » The Pre-1860s

Pre-1860s Related Articles

Georgian Silver Sugar Tongs From 1770 to 1820

The period of English history from 1770 to 1820 was a time of great change and great prosperity for England. As a result it was a growth period for silver table-ware, much of… Read more

Saving Vermont History, One Silver Spoon At a Time

Compared to their Colonial neighbors, Vermont silversmiths got a late start. That’s because the first permanent non-Native American settlement in Vermont (Bennington) was not… 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

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

Beer Steins, From Stoneware to Faience

I’ve been a beer stein collector for about 25 years. About 10 years ago I sold my business, a specialty database provider. At that point, I had some experience in compiling d… 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

19th-Century Photographs, from Daguerreotypes to Cartes de Visites

I’ve always been interested in antiques. As a kid, I collected a variety of stuff – fossils, rocks, minerals, natural history stuff, Indian artifacts and antiques. I grew up … Read more

U.S. Gold Coins: Holding the California Gold Rush in the Palm of Your Hand

The double eagle is really a result of the California Gold Rush. Prior to the California Gold Rush, the biggest gold discoveries were relatively small strikes in Georgia and … 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

Collecting Cookbooks, from Jell-O to Julia Child

Special collections is where we keep non-circulating rare materials which have to be used in the reading room. Our holdings range from one of the world’s finest collections o… Read more

Pre-1860s Related Categories

Stoneware

Stoneware is the roughhewn cousin of porcelain. Like porcelain, it is fired at very high temperatures (1,200 to 1,400 degrees), li… (more)

Ambrotypes

Invented by Frederick Scott Archer as a cheaper alternative to the daguerreotype, the ambrotype was popular from the 1850’s to 189… (more)

Flasks

While flasks have had a variety of uses over the years, such as the storing of gun powder, their primary purpose has long been to … (more)

Rolling Pins

Rolling pins are perhaps the earliest known kitchen baking utensils, documented in the hand of a baker in a 17th century illustrat… (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)

Daguerreotypes

A Frenchman named Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre invented the daguerreotype in 1839. Despite its European lineage, the daguerreotype… (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)

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)

Georgian Period Jewelry

The Georgian period refers to a time of political upheaval between 1714 and 1837 during the reigns of four English kings named Geo… (more)

Ink Blotters

The term ink blotter refers either to a handheld rocking device or simple blotting paper, both used to absorb excess ink when writ… (more)

Cloth Dolls

Probably since humans have been making clothes out of fabric, they’ve made dolls for their kids. In fact, the British Museum posse… (more)

Pontiled Bottles

Most bottles made in the United States before the 1850s, when the snap case tool virtually replaced the pontil rod (also called th… (more)

Kirk Silver

Samuel Kirk apprenticed as a silversmith in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, before opening his own shop in Baltimore, Maryland, in 181… (more)

Victorian Furniture

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

US Colonial Coins

Colonial coins refer to all coins in circulation in the British American colonies before the U.S. Mint opened for business in 1792… (more)



1970s1960s1950s1940s1930s1920s1910s1900s1890s1880s1870s1860sPre-1860s