By Maribeth Keane and Brad Quinn

Gary Sullivan is a clock and furniture dealer, as well as an appraiser for “Antiques Roadshow.” In this scholarly interview, Sullivan explains the differences between early American tall-case, banjo, and dwarf clocks and offers tips on what to watch out for when buying these popular antiques. Sullivan’s book, “Harbor and Home: Furniture of Southeastern Massachusetts, 1710-1850,” was published last year. He can be reached via his website, www.garysullivanantiques.com.

As a teenager, I got into repairing the old furniture in our attic. One day, I wandered into a local antiques shop and asked the guy …

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By Maribeth Keane and Brad Quinn

In this interview, Dave Rasmussen talks about show rod model car designers Tom Daniel and Ed Roth and such classic creations as the Tijuana Taxi and Rommel’s Rod. He also touches on the genre’s fascination with skeletons and laments how young show rod enthusiasts of the ’60s and ’70s deprived themselves of valuable future collections by blowing their cars up for kicks in their backyards. Rasmussen can be reached via his website, Dave’s Show Rod Rally, which is a member of our Hall of Fame.

I got interested in show rods as a boy …

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By Maribeth Keane and Brad Quinn

In this interview, historian and art director Hayden Peters charts the evolution of mourning jewelry from the 16th century through its most prolific period during the reign of Queen Victoria. Along the way, he discusses how mourning jewelry differs from sentimental jewelry, and highlights such genres as hairwork, miniature portraiture, and symbolism. Based in Australia, Peters can be contacted via his website, www.artofmourning.com, which is a member of our Hall of Fame.

Growing up with antiques collectors and costume designers, I developed a passion for the Victorian age and the 19th century. I …

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By Maribeth Keane and Brad Quinn

Through his publishing imprint, Pure Imagination, illustrator Greg Theakston has retouched and reprinted the work of some of the most admired artists of the Golden Age of comics, more than 10,000 pages in all. In this interview, Theakston discusses some of these artists, including Jack Kirby and Basil Wolverton; casts a wary eye on the idea of comics as raw commodities; and explains Captain Marvel Jr.’s little-known influence on Elvis Presley.

My older brother started bringing comics home in 1957 when I was around five years old. The whole form just fascinated me. Even …

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A few weeks ago, we blogged about a Barbie benefit on eBay, in which a dozen one-of-a-kind Basic Barbies were accessorized by some of the top fashion-accessories designers in the world. Proceeds went to the Council of Fashion Designers of America’s educational initiatives and scholarship program.

Four dolls broke the thousand-dollar mark. Lorraine Schwartz’s Barbie, featuring real diamonds, achieved the highest bid, selling for $7,500. Deborah Lloyd of Kate Spade created a pink bag for her doll, as well as a Lady Marmalade costume jewelry necklace. …

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By Maribeth Keane and Brad Quinn

As the cofounder of Gryphon Stringed Instruments, Richard Johnston has spent a good part of his life around guitars, mandolins, and other stringed instruments. An appraiser on “Antiques Roadshow,” Johnston is also an author, whose most recent title traces the history of C. F. Martin & Company. In this interview, Johnston explains the histories of Gibson and Martin, including their early forays into mandolin and ukulele making, and weighs in on the effects that age and different types of wood have on the sound of a guitar.

I started playing guitar when I was …

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By Maribeth Keane and Ben Marks (Copyright Collectors Weekly 2010)

Even though Rosalie Sayyah’s chief passion is for a relatively common product—costume jewelry—what she does with these baubles and bangles is rare. She and shop manager/goldsmith Lucia Sayyah repair them, from rhinestone necklaces and earrings to bracelets and brooches. In this interview, Rhinestone Rosie, as she is known to customers of her Seattle store and fans who have seen her on “Antiques Roadshow,” describes the origins of rhinestones and explains what makes a piece of costume jewelry collectible. For more information, visit www.rhinestonerosie.com.

My parents had a second-hand store in Orlando, …

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OK… I’m biting the bullet. After 7 years of loyal monthly attendance at the Alameda Point Antiques and Collectibles Fair, the event that inspired and fed my interest in all things antique and vintage, I’m going public with my addiction – who’s with me?

Located on the abandoned runways of the former Alameda Naval Air Station, just outside of San Francisco, CA, this monthly event (first Sunday of each month) is one of the things I look forward to most.  It attracts hundreds of vendors and thousands (5-10,000 …

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By Maribeth Keane and Ben Marks (Copyright Collectors Weekly 2010)

Jonathan Walford is the author of “The Seductive Shoe” and several other fashion titles. A curator and a collector, Walford owns about 700 pairs of shoes dating from the 17th century to the present, with a focus on women’s shoes from the 1920s to the 1970s. To learn more about Walford, visit www.kickshawproductions.com.

I moved to Toronto in the early 1980s because I wanted to work at the Royal Ontario Museum, which had a costume and textiles department. A job came up at the Bata Shoe Museum, so I ended up …

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By Maribeth Keane and Brad Quinn (Copyright Collectors Weekly 2010)

As the publisher and editor-in-chief of “Adornment, The Magazine of Jewelry and Related Arts” Elyse Karlin gets to spend most of her time looking at, researching, and thinking about jewelry. In this wide-ranging interview, Karlin places the U.S. branch of Arts and Crafts in context with contemporary jewelry of the time in Europe, discussing the prominent role of women in the movement, the influence of the Pre-Raphaelites, and the stylistic differences between British and American Arts and Crafts jewelers.

I started collecting jewelry when I was about 13 years …

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By Maribeth Keane and Ben Marks

For 24 years, Richard Doty has been entrusted with the keys to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History’s legendary coin vault, which houses some of the most important coins in the world. Doty’s “America’s Money, America’s Story” is one of the most respected books on the subject of U.S. coins and currency, and his next book with Whitman Publishing, “Pictures From a Distant Country,” will focus on obsolete U.S. currency. You can see samples from the Smithsonian’s U.S. coins collection at their “Legendary Coins and Currency” microsite, which is a member of …

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