Collectors Weekly

From World War II Parachute to the World’s Most Romantic Wedding Dress

Apparently there’s a small wedding in England this week. While we’re sure that Kate Middleton’s wedding dress will be a fashion tour de force, we’re also sure that it can’t possibly be as romantic as this one, which is from the collection of the Smithsonian. Here’s their description:

“This wedding dress was made from a nylon parachute that saved the groom’s life during World War II. Maj. Claude … (continue reading)

Vicious Vintage Campaign Buttons

Think current U.S. political campaigns are nasty? The attack-pinback has long been a tool of partisans and politicos.

Today, President Obama finally produced his long-form birth certificate, rendering this button (above, left), and a central complaint of presumptive presidential candidate Donald Trump’s campaign, obsolete. In 1968, candidate Richard Nixon promised to bring the troops home from Viet Nam. Two years later, as … (continue reading)

Dueling Dr. Drakes Fight Over Cough Cure-All

One of the liveliest cases in the arcane world of trademark law concerned an early 20th-century dispute between rival patent-medicine peddlers. The lawsuit over Dr. Drake’s German Cough and Croup Remedy set in motion a fight that went all the way to the Ohio State Supreme Court. We found the story in a post by Show & Tell regular, Marianne Dow, at the Findlay Antique Bottle Club … (continue reading)

Your Worst Airport Security-Line Nightmare: You’re Behind a Family of 66 on One Passport

Today’s guest blogger is Tom Topol, editor of www.passport-collector.com

When it comes to ephemera, there seems to be an interest in just about everything. Even so, passport collecting has only begun to attract widespread attention. I started my collection because I think of old passports as works of art: Each has distinctive handwriting, colorful revenue stamps, and of course a photograph of the bearer.

I have a special interest in … (continue reading)

A Bumpy Bike Ride to Equal Rights

File this under: We had no idea. We just learned that the invention and widespread popularity of bicycles at the turn of the century played a big part in the liberation of women.

Over at Brain Pickings, Maria Popova alerted us to a new National Geographic book called “Wheels of Change: How Women Rode the Bicycle to Freedom,” which explores how bikes allowed young … (continue reading)

Hellfire and Damnation in Your Back Pocket

Today’s guest blogger is artist, author, and collector Jim Linderman, who treats his Dim Bulb Dull Tool blog like an art form. His new book, Old Time Religion, based on his blog of the same name, is available now. You can find him on Show & Tell, too.

I suppose second only to manufacturer-produced cooking pamphlets, one of the least collectible forms of ephemera is … (continue reading)

Show and Tellers Reunite Japanese Family With Their World War II Letter

At their best, Show & Tell posts reveal “the stories behind the stuff.” But two Show & Tellers, Savoychina1 and VikingFan82, have proven that sometimes Show & Tell can do much, much more. In their case, they made connections between people separated by language, the world’s biggest ocean, and more than half a century.

I won’t retell the whole tale since Savoychina1 has done such a fine job … (continue reading)

Mystery Solved: Grandpa’s Wooden Canteen from the War of 1812

Today’s guest blogger is Peggy Sendak, a retired teacher who occasionally posts on Show & Tell.

Antiques should be appreciated and treasured, not only for their beauty and uniqueness, but also for their history. Over the years, I have inherited many family heirlooms. One day, I decided to start documenting their history for the sake of posterity and my children. I’ve often thought if an heirloom could talk, what a story it could tell. Thus, my five-year search to learn … (continue reading)

Could You Survive as a Victorian?

Going Victorian is hot right now, with all those steampunks wearing pinstripes and top hats or corsets and petticoats while they build elaborate steam contraptions. But, seriously, do you think with your crude, unrefined modern ways you could survive in such a buttoned-up well-mannered society?

The Musée McCord in Montreal throws down the challenge with its new online game that asks, “Are you a ‘civilized’ person, suited to the Victorian period?” (Thanks … (continue reading)

Hamm’s Scene-o-Rama: Beer Sign Bliss

Today’s guest blogger is breweriana collector Barry Travis who runs the web site IBuyOldBeer.com: Preserving the Beers of Yesteryear. You can find him on Show & Tell, too.

The Hamm’s Scene-o-Rama was a sign ahead of its time. Made by Lakeside Plastics in Minneapolis in the late 1960s through early 1970s, it features an outdoor scene with a waterfall and river that appear to … (continue reading)

Gliding Back to the Smiley Days of Skating

The SFGate’s The Poop just took me on a giddy trip through the wayback machine, and I don’t wanna come back. Digging through the San Francisco Chronicle’s photo morgue (from back when newspapers processed film photographs), Peter Hartlaub emerged a folder packed with smiling, giddy roller skaters from the late 1970s and early ’80s.

All the sunny, beaming faces prompted Hartlaub to marvel, “I forgot … (continue reading)

Where Did All These Fembots Come From?

Today, in 1911, German activist Clara Zetkin launched the first ever International Women’s Day, to honor the political, economic, and social achievements of women worldwide. Certainly over this past century, life has improved for women by leaps and bounds—perhaps at a rate menfolk sometimes found alarming.

Lately, we’ve been fascinated with the American fear of robots, something both “Robopocalypse” screenwriter Daniel H. Wilson and post-war toy … (continue reading)

A Boy’s Matchbox Collection

Today’s guest blogger is artist, author, and collector Jim Linderman, who treats his blog like an art form. You can find him on Show & Tell, too.

Matchbooks are certainly one of the most-collected paper ephemera items. Even as smoking declines, the book of matches remains as common as a coin and familiar as a photo. Far less common, however, are the matchboxes—the wooden, sliding cases which … (continue reading)

Go on a Raucous Ride With ‘The Slant Book’

Today’s guest blogger is Sarah Dougherty, a regular contributor to Show & Tell and a lifelong collector of vintage items and antiques, including children’s books.

“This uphill work is slow, indeed,
But down the slant – ah! note the speed!”

I discovered “The Slant Book” in a pile with hundreds of other books spread out on tables at an estate sale auction in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. I could tell immediately by its … (continue reading)

Vintage Products That Might Kill You

Over at BuzzFeed, I just came across this hysterical and disturbing post by Donna D., also known as Mildly Amused on Tumblr and Twitter. She unearthed 15 vintage magazine and newspaper advertisements, book texts, and bottle labels recommending products that could be downright deadly if used wrong—or, in some cases, at all.

My favorites include the sack for carrying your … (continue reading)