By Richmond Huntley

This article discusses the popular china made in Staffordshire, England in the 18th and 19th centuries and includes information about the designs and American historical themes that were popular. It originally appeared in the August 1941 issue of American Collector magazine, a publication which ran from 1933-1948 and served antique collectors and dealers.

One thing suggests another in antique collecting, as with anything else. The person who buys a piece of antique furniture is apt to follow it up with others and eventually be attracted to related household accessories that rank as collectibles. Thus, if one has acquired …

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By Stephen Decatur

This article discusses the history of porcelain known as Oriental Lowestoft, detailing its notable characteristics, available colors and designs, and the differentiation between periods. It originally appeared in the August 1938 issue of American Collector magazine, a publication which ran from 1933-1948 and served antique collectors and dealers.

Through sheer longevity and persistence, the term Oriental Lowestoft has become the designation for all Chinese porcelain made expressly for export. It covers a broad field and extends over two centuries and a half of time.

Not only do the ramifications included under this all-embracing name seem endless but some …

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By Ruth Webb Lee

This article notes some of the rarities found in china items, which are highly sought-after by the avid collector. It originally appeared in the December 1941 issue of American Collector magazine, a publication which ran from 1933-1948 and served antique collectors and dealers.

It is always a matter of pleasure to collectors, who visit antiques shows, to find the commercial aspect made somewhat less obtrusive by the presence of educational exhibits. The managers of the larger shows have given consideration to this phase of their business, off and on, during the past few years.

Last year the Antiques …

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By Thomas Hamilton Ormsbee

This article, originally published in two parts, discusses the history of notable yet under-recognized cabinetmakers from Salem, also noting the economic history and community of craftsmen in the city. Part Two focuses on Elijah and Jacob Sanderson’s lives and work. It originally appeared in the August and September 1939 issues of American Collector magazine, a publication which ran from 1933-1948 and served antique collectors and dealers.

Part I:

For at least thirty years students of American craftsmanship have realized that a large quantity of fine Hepplewhite and Sheraton furniture with distinct characteristics of design was made at …

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By Florence Zacharie Ellis Nicholls

This article notes the evolution of buttons from crudely-made items using bones to fashionable and elaborate 16th-century accessories to sporting and story buttons, popular in the 18th and 19th centuries. Using the images provided, it describes buttons with animal motifs that are both common and scarce. It originally appeared in the May 1943 issue of American Collector magazine, a publication which ran from 1933-1948 and served antique collectors and dealers.

The ancestor of the modern button was a crude object, carved by prehistoric man from one of the bones of his kill and probably used …

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By Richmond Huntley

This article discusses primitive American portraits, which were thought crude and undesirable until the 1920s when they became a popular furnishing in country homes. It originally appeared in the August 1942 issue of American Collector magazine, a publication which ran from 1933-1948 and served antique collectors and dealers.

Various articles on what and how to collect have stressed the importance of broadening one’s interest. “Remember,” says one writer, “that the neglected antique of today may become the sought-after one of tomorrow.” Nowhere is the truth of this more evident than with the type of American portraiture known as …

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By Bruce Millar

This article focuses on corner (or roundabout) chairs, a comfortable chair first popular in England in the 18th century. It notes that no two corner chairs look alike and lists the top reasons why they are desirable. It originally appeared in the October 1941 issue of American Collector magazine, a publication which ran from 1933-1948 and served antique collectors and dealers.

(American Collector Editor’s Note: Some three years ago Mr. Millar, a general collector of American antiques, became especially interested in the roundabout chair. Since then, one at a time, he has gathered a collection of about forty. …

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By Ruth Webb Lee

This article describes the designs and different variations of paperweights created by Nicholas Lutz at the Boston and Sandwich Glass Company. It originally appeared in the August 1941 issue of American Collector magazine, a publication which ran from 1933-1948 and served antique collectors and dealers.

More than one veteran collector of American glass, particularly Sandwich, will be surprised to learn that a workman at the Boston and Sandwich Glass Company made, among other things, artistic glassware of a type that for centuries had been associated with Venetian masterpieces.

It is no secret that all our early factories, …

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By Richmond Huntley

This article discusses the history of dolls, noting their multiple uses (from religion to fashion) and their spread across the world. It originally appeared in the December 1942 issue of American Collector magazine, a publication which ran from 1933-1948 and served antique collectors and dealers.

In a New England parlor of the 1890s a doll of the period was perched on top of a high book case, well out of the reach of grimy childish hands. From the top of its flaxen head to its neatly slippered feet it was a most lifelike representation in miniature of …

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By Thomas Hamilton Ormsbee

This article discusses the various types of fine jewelry that was popular among 18th-century Americans, using advertisements written by jewelers and notices written by Americans who had lost precious pieces as examples. It was originally published as a two-part series in the March and April 1941 issues of American Collector magazine, a publication which ran from 1933-1948 and served antique collectors and dealers.

Part I:

“Deer’s Foot — Lost on Tuesday last the 12 Instant at Boston, a small Guinea Deer’s foot tipt with Gold.” Boston News-Letter September 11, 1704.

“Snuff Box — Dropt in Boston on Wednesday the …

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By Richmond Huntley

This article focuses on quilts, which were first created as early as the 16th century. It notes the various designs and the production process. It originally appeared in the November 1941 issue of American Collector magazine, a publication which ran from 1933-1948 and served antique collectors and dealers.

The antique quilts which collectors admire today for their colorfulness and variety of design represent two of the oldest forms of needlecraft. They are quilting and patchwork and were known to the ancient world at least a thousand years previous to the Christian Era.

In Europe, long before the Renaissance, …

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By James Brush Hatcher

This article focuses on essays (stamps that were designed but never issued), describing various designs and noting some of the ways the government tried to prevent stamp reuse in the late 1800s. It originally appeared in the December 1943 issue of American Collector magazine, a publication which ran from 1933-1948 and served antique collectors and dealers.

It was a shock to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing when a critic pointed out that the view of “Gatun Locks,” which it had engraved and so titled on the design for the two cents red Panama-Pacific Exposition stamp of …

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