By Kurt M. Semon

This article focuses on small silver items that were popular in the 18th century, from strainers to tobacco boxes to jewelry, describing the uses for each, and it notes how often silver items were stolen or lost. It originally appeared as a two-part series in the March and April 1942 issues of American Collector magazine, a publication which ran from 1933-1948 and served antique collectors and dealers.

Part I:

“Stole at Flatbush on Long-Island, One Silver Tankerd, a piece of Money in the Led of King Charles II, and the Led all engraved, a Coat of Arms, before …

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By Richmond Huntley

This article describes Windsor chairs, noting their evolution, their different styles, their popularity in America (from shops that made them to farmers who created homemade versions), and some prominent chairmakers. It originally appeared in the September 1945 issue of American Collector magazine, a publication which ran from 1933-1948 and served antique collectors and dealers.

If the Windsor chair had been invented in the 20th Century it would have been classified as functional furniture and rightly so. Perfectly adjusted to the human body, using no excess of material, it had all the sturdiness of the modern chairs of …

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By Grace Horney Ford

This article discusses 18th-century American military buttons, noting that information on these buttons is scarce and describing the different uniforms and military buttons that were worn. It originally appeared in the January 1946 issue of American Collector magazine, a publication which ran from 1933-1948 and served antique collectors and dealers.

American military buttons of the eighteenth century are comparatively rare, and the two recently acquired New York State Militia buttons illustrated are, for me, a noteworthy addition to an all too small group of historical buttons.

The buttons are of sheffield plate, engraved by hand with the …

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