Here’s a rundown of the top 20 sites from our Hall of Fame last month (those that got the most views on The Collectors Weekly in March):

The Early Office Museum showcases pre-1920 office antiques, including paperweights, writing ink, paper fasteners, seal pressers, tabulating and copying machines, pencil sharpeners and much more. Great historical descriptions, timelines, ephemera scans and photos. Don’t miss the early office interior photos pages.

There’s a ton of information in the Antique Bottle Collectors Haven, but as with bottles, you have to dig to find the best stuff. Start with the famous bottles page, with its photo galleries of rare and unusual bottles. Then read up on tops, bases, classification, digging, dating and cleaning. Now you’re ready to go to a bottle show.

Check out Old Spice Collectibles and lather up with Creighton Fricek’s complete chronology of collectible Old Spice shaving products. Start with the bottle index for a list of …

continue reading | 0 Comments

By Martin Howard (Copyright 2008)

Martin Howard’s website, antiquetypewriters.com, features his collection of antique typewriters and typewriter accessories, and is a member of our Hall of Fame.

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 distinct collectible typewriters were manufactured. There are so many more interesting models that my search will never end. For a collector, though, this is tantalizingly good news!

I also love to restore these typewriters. I’ve spent hundreds of hours working on a single …

continue reading | 7 Comments

By Simon Wintle (Copyright 2008)

Simon Wintle is the man behind The World of Playing Cards, a great reference source on antique and vintage playing cards and a member of our Hall of Fame.

For over six centuries – apart from its functionality as a number game – the playing card has been chosen as a medium for artistry, aesthetic endeavour and ornamental design, ranging from hand-painted and engraved cards for medieval patrons, to the chromo-lithographic delights and transformation cards of the nineteenth century, and the designer and art packs of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
Early Playing Cards and Their …

continue reading | 2 Comments

By Ernesto Soler (Copyright 2008)

Ernesto Soler is a pen collector and the webmaster of Parker51.com, a member of our Hall of Fame.

The Parker “51,” produced by the Parker Pen Company, is considered by many collectors to be the best pen ever made. Developed in 1939 and introduced in the U.S. market in 1941, it soon became widely imitated by most pen manufacturers. To this day, its shape and design remain widely recognizable and it seems to never become dated.

My main collecting interest is the Parker “51″ and its many variations, from pre-production varieties all the …

continue reading | 5 Comments

By Phil Nelson (Copyright 2008)

Phil Nelson runs Phils Old Radios, a member of our Hall of Fame, and a great resource for information on antique radios.

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 your curiosity, or it may serve a practical purpose such as helping you get repair information. Here’s how to go about identifying an antique or vintage radio, and then how to decide if it’s playable.
Identifying Radios By Manufacturer, Name, and Model Number…

continue reading | 30 Comments