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

In this interview, vintage ukulele collector Andy Roth explains the different styles of the instrument produced by the C.F. Martin Company, Gibson, and early Hawaiian makers. Roth also gives an overview of the instrument’s history and music, and provides a detailed look at koa wood and other ukulele manufacturing materials.

When I was living in Hawaii in the late ’80s, I’d get together with friends and have music jams. One night I was playing the piano, and I looked over my shoulder and noticed that everybody else was sitting around in a …

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By Maribeth Keane and Bonnie Monte (Copyright Collectors Weekly 2010)

In this interview, history teacher and avid fountain pen collector Rick Propas talks about his evolution as a pen collector, the history of Pelikans, and some of his favorite specimens. Propas runs The PENguin, a website devoted to Pelikans, Parkers, and other German and American pens.

It was back in 1997 that I first got interested in Pelikans. That was in the early days of Internet boards and discussion groups, and there was this big buzz about the modern Pelikan 800. I was really curious about them. At the time, …

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By Maribeth Keane and Bonnie Monte (Copyright Collectors Weekly 2010)

Ever wonder how high heels became so important to women’s wardrobes? What do they say about power and gender in our society? In this interview, shoe expert Elizabeth Semmelhack traces the evolution of heels, from 9th-century Persian footwear to the designs of Roger Vivier and Manolo Blahnik. Along the way, Semmelhack explains how influences and innovations such as erotica, extruded steel, and “Sex and the City” have made high heels the cultural icons they are today. Currently a curator at the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto, Semmelhack is the author …

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Big news: you can now (finally!) show off items from your personal collection on Collectorsweekly.com. It’s really fun, and it’s free.

Check it out, we’re calling it “Show & Tell.” This new feature allows you to upload high resolution images of your favorite things, and then describe them as you see fit.

For example, on our Clocks page, a Collectors Weekly visitor named Chadakoin has posted pictures of dozens of alarm clocks and timers, including this little gem from 1938. Designed by Herbert W. Lamport, the …

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

In this interview, Abigail Rutherford, director of vintage couture and accessories at Leslie Hindman Auctioneers in Chicago, talks about high-end vintage handbags by such designers as Hermès, Chanel, and Wilardy. Along the way she discusses Lucite and leather and clears up some misconceptions about the meaning of “couture.” She can be reached at lesliehindman.com.

Even as a young girl, I was interested in the historical aspect of handbags. I probably started collecting in high school when I became more aware of my own tastes. I went to a small art …

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In October of 2000, I saw Phish play its last show before going on the first of two hiatuses. The venue was Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, the boys did “You Enjoy Myself” as the encore, and Jim Pollock created the poster, a linocut in a signed-and-numbered edition of 600. It featured a cowboy sitting on a horse, whose neck was bent almost to the ground as it bared its teeth at a lassoed fish.

I wasn’t crazy about the poster at the time. I loved the image but the …

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By Maribeth Keane and Brad Quinn

In this interview, David Lange—coin collector, author, and director of research for Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC)—talks about the history of the Buffalo nickel, including its use as a canvas for creating caricatures in the folk art form known as hobo nickels. He also discusses Lincoln head cents and coin-collecting boards. Lange can be contacted via his website, coincollectingboards.net.

I started collecting coins when I was about 7 years old. I took over my brother’s collection of Lincoln cents. At that time, the early 1960s, it seemed like every boy collected coins for a week …

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By Maribeth Keane and Brad Quinn

The operator of a leading online guide to Heuer chronographs and timepieces, Jeff Stein discusses the history of the chronograph and its popularity among drivers and crew members during the golden age of auto racing in the 1960s and ’70s. Stein can be reached via his website, onthedash.com, which is a member of our Hall of Fame.

I got into watches because of my interest in vintage racing and vintage rally cars. I was going to local vintage races in Georgia, and some out in California. At a vintage race in 1998, a …

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Amid the fire-breathing snail carriages, steam-powered snow-cone machines, and Tesla-coil light shows at last month’s Maker Faire in San Mateo, California, one trend caught our eye: people appeared to be taking a lot of liberties with typewriters.

At one end of the spectrum was the Aetheric Message Machine Company, Ltd., whose refurbished Model 15 Teletype machine from the 1940s formed the heart of a defiantly archaic text-messaging service. People attending the Faire could send text messages from their cell phones to the machine, which would clatter away as electronic …

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