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Author's Note: One day, while visiting my parents, my dad told me he had something to show me. He took me to the garage and handed me my old Mrs. Beasley doll. How I had loved that doll! She was in such rough shape, but my heart was still warmed by the sight of her. Later that evening, I began Googling Mrs. Beasley's voice. When I heard it, I felt like a little kid again. That was when I stumbled upon Terri Crane, the founder of Mattel Collectibles. When I met her, I knew right away that she was the one to restore my precious Mrs. Beasley. FULL STORY...
One of the rock stars to emerge from the Industrial Revolution, the sewing machine makes a fascinating and historical collectible. It's hard to imagine in the 21st Century, when we can go on-line and order a new outfit with a mouse-click, but in the days before the Industrial Revolution, clothing was a scarce and valuable commodity. Even for the noble classes, the process of acquiring a new garment was very time-consuming and very, very expensive. Everything had to be hand-fitted and hand-sewn. FULL STORY...
My mother always had a youthful face and I suppose you could credit her soft, wrinkle-free skin to her daily regime of applying creams and lotions. Her dresser was lined with various milk-white cosmetic jars, each promising to "keep your skin charmingly young ~ for years". FULL STORY...
It is time to send the kids back to school and seize the opportunity to extend our summer pleasures into the cool nights. Our skies are still a deep sapphire blue and the near full moon allows us to play late into the evening. As you star gaze, remember that these are some of the same diamonds in the sky that your ancestors looked to for navigation, weather forecasts and folk tales. Even the flower of the month, Aster, looks like a star burst and "speaks of the tiny beginnings from which all great things proceed". FULL STORY...
When I think of antique French clocks the first ones that come to mind are the 17th to 19th century highly ornamented clocks covered in gilt bronze, known as ormolu, that my mother collected and displayed on the living room mantle. But my style is not that formal, and I found that the smaller late 19th century and early 20th century French mechanical alarm clocks more appealing. My collection began in the early 1990s when I spotted a charming little table clock at a brocante in northern France. In recent years, interest has been increasing in these little clocks and the prices are starting to reflect this trend. There are many different types available starting as early as the mid to late 1800's. FULL STORY...
As the heat waves come and go, so do shoppers from in and out of town on a quest for the perfect souvenir of their Summer vacation. While foreign visitors usually ask for vintage Americana relics or San Francisco tchotchkes, more locals are hunting for affordable, original European souvenirs circa 1920-40s to commemorate a vicarious trip or past memory. FULL STORY...
Lunch boxes are collectibles that have soared tremendously in popularity recently. Throughout history people have always needed to transport food, but of course, nobody ever dreamed that these metal boxes could be worth a fortune. FULL STORY...
When New York tea merchant William Sullivan put his tea samples in silk bags and sent them to his customers around 1908, he unwittingly invented the disposable tea bag, leading to the sharp decline in popularity of the sterling silver tea strainers. Today antique sterling silver tea strainers from England and Ireland in all shapes and sizes are once again highly collectible and can command high prices for rare designs. FULL STORY...
The wedding cake is one of the most memorable aspects of the wedding event. And unique wedding cake toppers, a simple compliment to the wedding cake, have grown in popularity. It has always been a long standing tradition that the bride and groom would remove and save the wedding cake topper as an important memento of the wedding ceremony and wedding reception. Original wedding cake toppers featured a bride and groom in various poses. FULL STORY...
Most collectors, and even non-collectors for that matter, are familiar with the "Holy Grail" of sports cards, the T206 Honus Wagner card. That one card has been the hope and dream of many collectors, the pinnacle of a baseball fan's journey, and to some, the means to luxury. But through the years the Wagner card has been the subject of a great deal of controversy. FULL STORY... |
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