Top 20 Most Viewed Hall of Fame Sites: March
April 21st, 2008
Here’s a rundown of the top 20 sites from our Hall of Fame last month (those that got the most views on The Collectors Weekly in March):
The Early Office Museum showcases pre-1920 office antiques, including paperweights, writing ink, paper fasteners, seal pressers, tabulating and copying machines, pencil sharpeners and much more. Great historical descriptions, timelines, ephemera scans and photos. Don’t miss the early office interior photos pages.
There’s a ton of information in the Antique Bottle Collectors Haven, but as with bottles, you have to dig to find the best stuff. Start with the famous bottles page, with its photo galleries of rare and unusual bottles. Then read up on tops, bases, classification, digging, dating and cleaning. Now you’re ready to go to a bottle show.
Check out Old Spice Collectibles and lather up with Creighton Fricek’s complete chronology of collectible Old Spice shaving products. Start with the bottle index for a list of traditional, talcum, travel, and novelty bottles distributed between the 1930s and 1990s. Check out the history page, the vintage magazine ads, and the Old Spice mugs. And don’t miss the other products page, showcasing other vintage items carrying the Old Spice logo.
The Silver Marks Encyclopedia is an extensive reference guide to silver marks, hallmarks, trademarks and maker’s marks found on antique and vintage silver, especially sterling and coin silver, and silverplate. Sections for American, British and World marks, plus many useful reference articles for silver collectors. What’s New: The site has added a new section on American Modernist jewelers and silversmiths.
Carnival-glass.net is an extensive reference on ‘carnival glass,’ which became popular in the early 1900s, is divided into three sections, all illustrated with beautiful, close-up photos. Offers articles on carnival glass history, production and varieties, plus information on classic U.S., European and Australian pieces. What’s New: The site has a featured article on a rare Brockwitz Flying Squirrel bowl.
Radiomuseum.org is a vast archive and community of radio collectors features over 120,000 radio model listings and 350,000 photos and schematics. Collectors can post their own models and add content to existing listings. Browse by collector or by manufacturer, or use the search on the home page to find exactly what you’re looking for (you don’t have to be a member to see most of the content). Whats New: Stay up to date on all the recently uploaded antique radio photographs from members’ personal collections.
If you’re into old phones, check out The Telephone Archive, a 600-page repository of images and historical information. Includes an extensive collection of telephone number cards (e.g. Pennsylvania 6-5000), porcelain telephone signs, telephone manufacturer catalogs, and of course, telephones themselves.
In addition to a detailed timeline and history of the Ansonia Clock Company, the Antique Ansonia Clocks site boasts a database of photos and descriptions of over 1,000 antique Ansonia clocks, with model names like Crown, Dorval, Jumper, and Novelty. Also check out the very nifty 1905 Ansonia Crystal Regulators catalog. What’s New: Recently added on the homepage, the Ansonia Crystal Regulators 1905 Catalog.
The On-Line Skateboard Museum showcases an excellent gallery of vintage skateboards, with pictures and historical descriptions, showcases 80 years of collectible skateboards 1920-2000. From the 20’s three-wheeler to 40’s Skeeter to 60’s Roller Derby and Zipees to 70’s Duraflex and 90’s Chili Peppers Octopus, it’s all here.
AntiqueRadios.com is Alan Voorhees’ reference resource for vintage radio collectors including a photo gallery, article library, PDF archive, active discussion forums, and even a value guide listing valuation ranges for 2700 different models. Also includes links to sites offering free recordings from the golden age of radio.
Put on your go-go boots and check out this wavy, groovy tribute to 1960s fashion and textiles, courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum. Key sections include history, dresses, textiles and fashion in 1960s London. Also has interviews with influential characters from the 1960s fashion world.
Ericofon.com is Richard Rose’s tribute to the Ericofon, a colorful, stylish concept phone introduced in Europe in the 1950’s and then exported to the U.S. The site goes into great detail on the history, wiring and troubleshooting, colors and styles. Great shots of his own collection including a rainbow of colors.
AntiqueTractors.com is a great reference and community forum on antique tractors. Start with the 39-page master photo list, showing thousands of pre-1970 tractors. Includes makes like Deere, Ford, Chalmers, Farmall, Massey, and many more. Also browse the collector-submitted photos page, the tractor advertising archive, and a great set of tractor reference articles. What’s New: The site has recently added a section for vintage ads.
Historic Glass Bottle Identification is Bill Lindsey’s fantastic bottle identification and information site. Loaded with detailed descriptions and diagrams, and luscious high res photos, this is a superlative one-stop educational resource and vicarious digger experience. Key sections include dating, typing/typology, glassmaking, colors, finishes, bodies and seams, bases, fragment identification and a glossary.
Antique and 19th Century Cameras is Rob Niederman’s homage to (and collection of) late 19th century wood cameras. This site contains extensive galleries with detailed information on the early wood, brass, and leather view cameras, multi-lens cameras, and self-casing field cameras that gave photography its start. And the photos, as one would hope, are stunning. Also, don’t miss the nice reference section with scans of period catalogs and advertising.
Falvo Collectables Gallery is Ralph and Carol Falvo’s excellent collection of automobiles, petroliana, jukeboxes, soda, and general store items. The beauty of this site is in the quality of the displays, in addition to the actual items. Almost like going on an in-person tour led by Ralph and Carol themselves.
The Classic Typewriter Page is Richard Polt’s celebration of the typewriter. Clean as a white sheet of bond paper, with stunning images, the site offers ‘Typewriter Facts,’ ‘Typewriter Collecting and Care’ and ‘Typewriter Fun.’ Scroll through typewriter history and model information, plus Polt’s own personal collection. What’s New: Polt has added new models to his personal collection.
Advertising Antiques is a classy looking British site featuring hundreds of high resolution photos of antique porcelain pre-war (enamel) signs and other old advertising items, including tins, bottles, boxes, and advertising displays. The signs are organized by subject categories, the largest of which are drinks and beverages, food, household and home related, and garden and farm equipment. Advertising and sign collectors should not miss this site!
1001 Ink Bottles has lots of great photos and descriptions of rare vintage ink bottles. In particular, check out the Waterman, Parker, and Onoto collections, this incredible collection of almost 1200 labelled bottles, and this related ephemera collection.
Marilyn Monroe Collection is an extensive tribute to Marilyn Monroe containing photos and descriptions of numerous personal items she once owned, ranging from scripts to mink collars to eyedrops to personal documents now owned by this collector. Also includes photos of sample lots from the famed 1999 Christie’s sale, plus other reference information about Marilyn.
Do you know of a site that belongs in our Collectors Weekly Hall of Fame? Let us know.

