The Killer Mobile Device for Victorian Women
Adrift in a sea of digital apps for every imaginable function, we often feel our needs are met better today than in any previous era. But consider the chatelaine, a device popularized in the 18th century that attached to the waist of a wo…
If These Shirts Could Talk: The Tantalizing Tales Behind Used Clothes
The mysterious packages kept arriving, some from eBay, others from the Home …
Gloriously Grotesque 19th-Century Pipes
The meerschaum pipes carved in Eastern Europe at the end of the 19th century are among the most bizarre and improbable concoctions in decorative art. Some feature …
In the Hot Seat: Is Your Antique Windsor a Fake?
While researching her book, "Killer Stuff and Tons of Money," Maureen Stanton came across all sorts of characters. For years, she shadowed her antiques-dealer friend …
Bizarro Beauty Products, from 1889 to Now
We tend to think of the union of vanity and technology as a particularly modern affliction. It's only recently that science brought the world botox and collagen injections, skin peels, liposucti…
Love at First Kite: How Pizza and Pente Led to One Oklahoman's High-Flying Obsession
Vintage kites from all over the world hang from the ceiling and walls of Richard Dermer’s popula…
Pin-Up Queens: Three Female Artists Who Shaped the American Dream Girl
It’s easy to think of pin-up art as a charming relic of the old boys’ club—images that might line the walls …
Say Ahhh: An Oral Surgeon's Quest to Reimagine the Garage-Band Guitar
It’s not unusual for men of a certain age to have a soft spot in their hearts for the look of vintage guitars and the sound…
Tokens for Sweethearts, in Times of War
A keepsake, an item that recognizes a loved one, strikes a deep, sentimental chord in each of us—particularly that of a sweetheart. The popularity of keepsakes grew in the United States during the period from 1917 to 1919 as our country ent…
American Picker Dream, Part I: Mike Wolfe On His Love Affair With Bikes
I was walking to school one day and saw all these bikes in the garbage. I was just amazed because I didn't have one and I found it incredible that anyone was throwing them out. So I gathered…
November 25th, 2010
In honor of Turkey Day, we just posted a new category, vintage Thanksgiving postcards.
Turns out, the version of the first Thanksgiving most people learned in grade school is historically inaccurate, as are the images of “Pilgrims” in many of these postcards. Nonetheless, these cards, with their fat turkeys and giant pumpkins, are charmingly retro and still convey our gratitude and well wishes toward you.
Have a wonderful holiday!
Pin-Up Queens: Three Female Artists Who Shaped the American Dream Girl
The Killer Mobile Device for Victorian Women
'The Great Gatsby' Still Gets Flappers Wrong
If These Shirts Could Talk: The Tantalizing Tales Behind Used Clothes
Before Rockwell, a Gay Artist Defined the Perfect American Male
Gloriously Grotesque 19th-Century Pipes
Jockeying for Position: How Boxers and Briefs Got Into Men's Pants
Everything You Know About Corsets Is False
How Collecting Opium Antiques Turned Me Into an Opium Addict
Blood, Sweat, and Steel: My Afternoon with the Ace of Swords
Flip-Flops in the Office: Tragedy or Triumph?
During the Civil War, Some People Got Rich Quick By Minting Their Own Money
There Goes the Neighborhood: Mobile Victorian House Sets Sail for Desert
Eames, Nelson, and the Mid-Century Modern Aesthetic
Rockin' at the Rollarena, Pre-Summer of Love
Thanksgiving PostcardsThanksgiving is a beloved holiday, and it’s easy to see why. Families and f…
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