By Eric Beeson (Copyright 2008)

In this article, Eric Beeson talks about collecting vintage cigarette lighters, including brands such as Zippo, Ronson, and Dunhill. Eric is a frequent contributor to The Collectors Weekly, and will be starting his first year at the University of California Santa Barbara this fall.

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 head, one made of jade and gold, and an electric lighter in the shape of a woman’s face that hangs on the wall….

continue reading | 100 Comments

By Maribeth Keane

In this interview, Gary Goff talks about collecting antiques telephones, including wood, candlestick, and rotary desk models from Western Electric and other makers. Based in Orange County, California, Gary can be reached via his website.

How did I get started collecting antique telephones? As a kid I always liked phones, using them, talking on them. As a teenager I had some business telephone equipment that was taken out of an old building that was being demolished. Bell System or Western Electric 1A equipment. I took it off the wall of this old building that my father …

continue reading | 34 Comments

By Bruce Wayne Schank (Copyright 2008)

In this article, collector Bruce Wayne Schank talks about collecting antique Ball jars (fruit jars), and the history of the Ball jar. Based in Pompton Plains, NJ, Bruce can be reached via his website, Balljars.net.

One of the most common fruit jars ever produced is the lowly Ball jar. Historical figures show that from between Sept 1, 1894 until Dec 31, 1961, 41,256,856 Gross jars were produced by the Ball Glass Mfg Co. A staggering number, what this suggests is that Ball jars should be a readily available commodity and very easy to …

continue reading | 64 Comments

We recently got an email from a friend who wanted advice on how to sell his collection of old 45 RPM records. (Note that we here at Collectors Weekly don’t buy items, and can’t help you sell your items or tell you what they’re worth).

The email read as follows: “I was cleaning out my attic and found a whole box of used 45 RMP records, including Johnny Cash & Carl Perkins on the Sun Label, early Beatles and so on. I wish to sell the whole lot and am making up a list today of what I have. In …

continue reading | 1 Comment