By Alice E. Ford

This article discusses the history of advertising, especially focusing on trade cards and broadsides. It notes the products that were advertised and the images used, and describes some of the well-known lithographers. It originally appeared in the June 1942 issue of American Collector magazine, a publication which ran from 1933-1948 and served antique collectors and dealers.

American advertising has always told a rousing story. What people had and what they could acquire. From the first issue of the Boston News Letter to 1942, this advertising has been an accurate, contemporary record. Type and pictures consummated merchandising …

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By James Brush Hatcher

This article discusses the historical significance of patriotic envelopes during the Civil War, describing the various pictures and slogans used and the messages represented from both sides. 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 spontaneous upsurge of Blue and Gray patriotism generated by the Civil War is amazingly well caught and preserved in the colorful, heroic, flag-waving and caricaturing envelope designs with which lithographers and printers flooded the nation in the Abe Lincoln-Jeff Davis period. The “patriotic envelope” …

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By Dr. W. Conway Price and Dr. Ralph B. Little

This article describes portable writing desks, from their materials to their design, and notes their history and their uses. 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.

During the latter half of the 17th Century and the whole of the 18th, a period often referred to as the golden age of letter writing and diary keeping, penmanship reached a perfection never before nor since surpassed. Letters in longhand, written on handmade paper with quill pens, …

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By Edward Wenham

This article discusses the history and traditions surrounding English standing cups and describes the style and design of the drinking vessels. It originally appeared in the February 1947 issue of American Collector magazine, a publication which ran from 1933-1948 and served antique collectors and dealers.

With whom you share a cup, with him share your friendship — that is in brief the tradition of the standing-cup.

Raising a glass to honor a distinguished guest at dinner; the “Here’s how!” or similar salutation when two or three foregather on holidays; the now almost forgotten custom of passing round a quart …

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By Richmond Huntley

This article describes cupboards crafted in the 18th and 19th centuries that are appropriate for shelving and showcasing dishes, glass, and other collectibles. It originally appeared in the December 1945 issue of American Collector magazine, a publication which ran from 1933-1948 and served antique collectors and dealers.

Fine silver, porcelain, glass, and similar household accessories lend themselves to display as well as use, and the householder of today is no different than his ancestor of seven or eight generations ago in wanting to show such items to the best advantage.

“I have quite a nice little collection of Gaudy …

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By Maribeth Keane

Sam Sarowitz talks about vintage movie posters, specifically their designs, how people collect them, and the most popular genres. Based in New York, Sam can be contacted via his website, Posteritati.

Our first book was called “The Independent Movie Poster Book” and that was published by Harry Abrams. The focus was all independent movies post-1980. We picked that as a cutoff because that was the beginning of the modern indie movie movement with Sex, Lies, and Videotape being one of the real keys to that. There are a lot of good designs in indie movies. There tend …

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By Maribeth Keane

Urban Cummings talks about collecting vintage cigarette lighters, noting the history and evolution of lighters, the various types and manufacturers, and trends in the hobby in general. Urban has written two books on Ronson lighters.

At the very beginning, my interest in lighters was about the mechanism. I had my first lighter when I was 14. I saved up my nickels and dimes. I grew up in Oakland, and bought my first cigarette lighter because I thought it was way cool. I didn’t smoke and I didn’t set fire to things. I just thought the lighter was …

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By Maribeth Keane, Collectors Weekly Staff (Copyright 2009)

Clifford Wallach talks about tramp art, noting its origins and social history, and addressing some historical misconceptions. Clifford has published two books on tramp art – Tramp Art, One Notch at a Time and his newest, Tramp Art, Another Notch: Folk Art From the Heart, available from Schiffer Publishing. He can be contacted via his website, Folk Art in the Tramp Art Style.

My first book, “Tramp Art, One Notch at a Time”, was self-published in 1998. At the time we started to do the book, it was just assumed that …

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By Maribeth Keane

Bob Allen talks about U.S. stamp collecting, providing information on topics such as the history of United States stamps, their design and production processes, regular issues and commemoratives, and special features such as perforations, watermarks and secret marks. Based in Hawaii, he can be contacted via his website, 1847usa.com, which is a member of our Hall of Fame.

Like many collectors, I collected when I was a child, and then I became interested again in the ‘90s. I think eBay and other Internet auction sales had a little bit to do with it. I just started …

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By Maribeth Keane, Collectors Weekly Staff (Copyright 2009)

Carol Jacobs talks about Cowan art pottery, specifically who R. Guy Cowan was, the history of his company, and the different shapes, designs, and glazes that he produced. Carol is the curator of the Cowan Pottery Museum at the Rocky River Public Library in Rocky River, Ohio. She can be reached via the museum’s website.

I’m the curator here at the museum in Rocky River, a suburb west of Cleveland. I look at Cowan pottery from a historian’s angle because this is part of Rocky River’s cultural history. I’m not a collector, …

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By Maribeth Keane

Tom McIntyre talks about antique pocket watches, discussing key manufacturers, the mechanics behind the watches, the varying types, and the collecting hobby in general. Based in Massachusetts, Tom can be reached via his website, American Watch Company Web, which is a member of our Hall of Fame.

I got interested in clocks in 1967, and I started collecting watches fairly seriously in the early ‘80s. I ran out of room for clocks. Pocket watches are a little bit more manageable, and in some ways more interesting, too. I collect precision clocks, clocks that are …

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By Thomas Hamilton Ormsbee

This article describes the export of goods from China to Mexico, noting Mexico’s origins as a stop on the trade route to Spain. It originally appeared in the February 1942 issue of American Collector magazine, a publication which ran from 1933-1948 and served antique collectors and dealers.

When one sees a piece of Oriental Lowestoft or a China trade item, the clock turns back a century and a half or more. In the shadow of such an antique, the collector sees, mentally, a fast-sailing East India merchantman.

Homeward bound from Canton, its course was down the China …

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