By Maribeth Keane, Collectors Weekly Staff (Copyright 2008)

Alex Renshaw discusses collecting Victorian and Edwardian period advertising antiques, including porcelain enamel signs. Based in Worcester, England, Alex can be reached through his website, Advertising Antiques, which is a member of our Hall of Fame.

How did I get started collecting advertising antiques? My dad was a lecturer and tutor in graphics and art from the 1960s onwards, and was into vintage automobiles and advertising, like vintage signs, pumps, and globes. So I spent the large portion of my childhood going to auto swap …

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By Maribeth Keane

In this interview, Steve McVoy talks about collecting vintage television sets, both pre-war and postwar, black and white and color. Based in Colorado, Steve is curator of the Early Television Museum, a member of our Hall of Fame.

In the 1950s when I was a teenager I used to work for a television repair shop and we’d get sets from the 40s every once in a while and I was fascinated by them. So in 1999 when I sold my business and went looking for something to do that would be challenging and different, I …

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By Maribeth Keane

Bob Armstrong recalls how he got started cutting and collecting wooden jigsaw puzzles, and describes their historical evolution in Europe and the U.S. Based in Massachusetts, Bob can be reached via his website, Old Jigsaw Puzzles, which is a member of our Hall of Fame.

What inspired me to collect old jigsaw puzzles? I grew up as a child with some wonderful world class puzzles in my household. They were puzzles my mother and grandmother picked up at the lending libraries in the 30s and 40s. When, libraries stopped lending puzzles, they picked up about …

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By Maribeth Keane

In this interview Ian Macky describes the origins, types, shapes and colors of collectible antique glass insulators. Based in Yreka, California, Macky can be reached via his website, Glassian, which is a member of our Hall of Fame.

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 bedroom. I had never seen them up close before and I really liked glass, especially glass that was found in places you wouldn’t …

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By Maribeth Keane

In this interview, Jesse Barron discusses collecting vintage Beatles records and memorabilia, especially rare variants of early Beatles releases (both 45s and LP albums). Based in South Carolina, Jesse can be reached through his website, Mybeatles.net, which is a member of our Hall of Fame.

About 12 years ago a coworker told me that they saw a picture sleeve on eBay from The Beatles selling for 500 dollars. My sister had given me a Beatles 45 picture sleeve when I was quite young. I went to make sure I still had it, and it …

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By Maribeth Keane

Scott Fortner discusses collecting personally owned Marilyn Monroe memorabilia, and gives advice for movie and entertainment memorabilia collectors. Based in California, Scott can be reached via his website, Marilyn Monroe Collection, which is a member of our Hall of Fame.

I don’t actually remember exactly when I became a Marilyn Monroe fan, I’ve basically been collecting Marilyn items my entire life. I started collecting Marilyn Monroe personally owned items about nine years ago, which was when things started coming up on the market from her personal estate.

Initially I started collecting books on Marilyn, biographies, …

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By Maribeth Keane

Mark Stevens discusses the history and varieties of collectible 1950s TV (television) lamps. Based in Fort Worth, Mark can be reached via his website, Texans Incorporated, which is a member of our Hall of Fame.

What got me interested in TV lamps?  I’ve always had an interest in the tackier artifacts of the 1950s and 60s. The cheesy stuff, the kitsch. Old B movies, monster and sci-fi movies, the stuff you can poke fun at a little bit. TV lamps is something that, growing up, we didn’t have around our house. There was a …

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By Maribeth Keane

In this interview, Ben Crane discusses the origins and evolution of collectible Victorian trade cards, and gives advice to new collectors. Based in Wheaton, Illinois, Crane runs The Trade Card Place, a member of our Hall of Fame.

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 cards that advertised the medicines, often with preposterous claims about their curative powers. You could pick these cards up for 10 cents or so, …

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By Maribeth Keane

In this interview, Elaine Henderson discusses the history and varieties of Early American Pattern Glass (EAPG), and gives advice to new collectors. Elaine’s Pattern Glass School is a member of our Hall of Fame.

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 anything until we were older. She had some good stuff. My sister called me one day telling me she found a goblet in the pattern that mother had, …

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By Maribeth Keane

In this interview, Dan Edminster discusses antique oil lamps and glass lampshades (and their manufacturers), and gives advice to novice collectors. Based in Hurleyville, New York, Dan and can be reached through his site, The Lampworks, which is a member of our Hall of Fame.

My grandparents were antique collectors all their lives, their whole house was furnished in antiques. They had a lot of oil lamps and I suppose that’s where I got my first interest. I’ve always had more of an interest in the glass lampshades than the lamps but it kind …

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By Maribeth Keane, Collectors Weekly Staff (Copyright 2008)

In this interview, Paul Somerson discusses Arts and Crafts silver items and jewelry, including the history of the Kalo shop and other famous artisans. Paul can be reached via his website, Chicago Silver, which is a member of our Hall of Fame.

How did I get started collecting Arts and Crafts silver? My wife and I had been collecting Arts and Crafts items as far back as I can remember, mostly furniture and tiles. One day many years ago I got bit by the silver bug. We …

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