Features
Adorable Keepsakes Hummel figurines come from religious background
“Sister’s Children” limited edition figurine, created to celebrate Hummel’s 100th Anniversary, sold at auction for $3,750 in 2021. (Image courtesy of invaluable.com)Jan/Feb 2026Cover StoryAdorable Keepsakes Hummel figurines come from religious backgroundby Corbin...
Deck the halls with Hallmark Keepsakes help collectors make their season merry and bright
Hallmark’s Christmas offerings include more than ornaments for your tree. This tabletop decoration pays tribute to “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” which first aired in 1965. (Image courtesy of Hallmark.com)December 2025Cover StoryDeck the halls with Hallmark Keepsakes...
A salute to militaria Military collectibles preserve history of service to country
Examples of militaria from the Great War can be found at the National World War I Museum and Memorial in Kansas City, MO. (Image courtesy of U.S. News and World Report Travel)November 2025Cover StoryA salute to militaria Military collectibles preserve history of...
Tales of the unknown Ghost stories still spook, delight us
Edgar Allan Poe, considered one of the writers who kicked off the golden age of ghost stories, penned many a terrifying tale in his time – including a short story called “The Black Cat,” in which a seemingly supernatural cat takes center stage as the narrator reels...
That nifty neon Neon signs brightly beckon our collective nostalgia
The interior of the American Sign Museum in Cincinnatti, OH. (Image courtesy of The American Sign Museum)September 2025Cover StoryThat nifty neon Neon signs brightly beckon our collective nostalgiaby Corbin Crable Petula Clark’s 1964 hit song “Downtown” made neon...
UP, UP AND AWAY Comic books’ popularity only growing in Digital Age
Nicknamed “The Big Blue Boy Scout,” DC Comics’ Superman is the gold standard for superheroes and the pursuit of good. (Image courtesy of Metaweb)August 2025Cover Story UP, UP AND AWAY Comic books' popularity only growing in Digital Ageby Corbin Crable The box office...
Making Valentine’s Day extra sweet
Photo by Joanna Stołowicz on UnsplashJan/Feb 2026Everything Old Making Valentine’s Day extra sweetby Corbin Crable Here at Discover Vintage America, we’ve covered the history of Valentine’s Day, the history of Valentine’s Day cards, and even the story of how those...
Kansas City’s veritable Christmas playground
The annual tree lighting at Crown Center, Kansas City, MODecember 2025Everything Old Kansas City’s veritable Christmas playgroundby Corbin Crable If you’ve ever sent or received a greeting card, chances are, it was a Hallmark card. But the Kansas City-based Hallmark...
An illuminating experience
Photo by Horst Heuck on UnsplashNovember 2025Everything Old An illuminating experienceby Corbin Crable Arecent issue of Discover Vintage America shone a light on neon lights – their history, their function, the way they evoke a sense of yearning for an earlier age....
Spiritualism, mummy crazes enveloped Victorian Era
Photo by Edward Xu on UnsplashOctober 2025Everything Old Spiritualism, mummy crazes enveloped Victorian Eraby Corbin Crable This month’s issue of Discover Vintage America will help conjure up some good, old-fashioned ghouls and spirits with our lead editorial on the...
Let’s do lunch! Lunch boxes display pop culture trends
Image generated by Adobe FireflySeptember 2025Everything Old Let’s do lunch! Lunch boxes display pop culture trendsby Corbin Crable When I was in elementary school in the late 1980s, a pretty girl in my class slipped me a note in the opening days of the school year....
Midcentury study blamed comic books for society’s ills
Photo by Erik Mclean on Unsplash August 2025Everything Old Midcentury study blamed comic books for society’s illsby Corbin Crable In this issue of Discover Vintage America, we examine the history and popularity of comic books, that highly entertaining form of ephemera...
Prices vary for early Russel Wright-designed items
1927 - 2023ANTIQUE DETECTIVE Prices vary for early Russel Wright-designed itemsby Anne GilbertThe big hunt for Russel Wright (1904-76) Fiesta pottery, chrome objects and furniture that began in the late 1970s and ‘80s, has leveled off, as have prices. It all depends...
Would you recognize a Chinoiserie-finish antique?
May 2023ANTIQUE DETECTIVE Would you recognize a Chinoiserie-finish antique?by Anne GilbertJapanning or Chinoiserie Whether you call it Japanning or Chinoiserie, if it was made before the 20th century, call it expensive. Even some examples made in the early 20th...
Once-popular painted porcelain plaques can be pricey and reproductions
April 2023ANTIQUE DETECTIVE Once-popular painted porcelain plaques can be pricey and reproductionsby Anne GilbertPainted Porcelain Plaques Back in the 1970s and ‘80s, 19th-century small or miniature painted porcelain portrait plaques were hot collectibles. When they...
Sometimes it pays to advertise
February 2026Good EyeSometimes it pays to advertiseby Peggy WhiteneckMany pottery and glass companies in the mid-20th century supplemented lines for which they were most famous with an occasional advertising item commissioned by another company. These items are...
Upcycling for damaged antiques
December 2025Good EyeUpcycling for damaged antiquesby Peggy WhiteneckIn former generations, it was common to repurpose worn-out items so that they could continue to be used. This could be a means of controlling household expenses by modifying items originally designed...
Cast iron cookery – a timeless skill
October 2025Good EyeCast iron cookery - a timeless skillby Peggy WhiteneckMy dad swore by cast iron cookware. He liked using it to cook over his antique cast iron cooking stove (We had a gas range, but he preferred the old stove). He said the cast iron pans heated...
The Maine Event – Quilting adventures with the American Quilt Study Group
February 2026Covering QuiltsThe MAINE Event – Quilty adventures with the American Quilt Study, Part 2 by Sandra Starley A highlight of every year for lovers of quilt history (old and new) is meeting to share research, treasures, and friendship at the Annual...
Divine inspiration: Bible stories depicted in quilts
November 2025Covering QuiltsDivine inspiration: Bible stories depicted in quilts by Sandra Starley For decades, the Bible has been an inspiration for quilters who depicted stories from its pages in cloth. Among them - the Song of Solomon’s Rose of Sharon, King...
The Honey Bee quilt block
October 2025Covering QuiltsThe Honey Bee quilt block by Sandra Starley Like many of today’s popular blocks, this pattern was first published during the 1930s Quilt Revival, a time when many antique quilt patterns were updated and named, or renamed several times...
Walk in a vintage wonderland at Winterfest
February 2026Walk in a vintage wonderland at Winterfest The Winterfest Flea Market, Antique and Junk Festival is returning to Lincoln with winter deals on a variety of items. The event takes place Feb. 28-March 1 at the Sandhills Global Events Center. More than 100...
Military collectibles up for grabs at Leavenworth show
February 2026Military collectibles up for grabs at Leavenworth show If you’re interested in or collect items related to the military, the Leavenworth Militaria Show and Sale is not to be missed. Taking place Feb. 18 at the Riverfront Community Center, you can...
Get ready for a shopping experience fit for a president
February 2026Get ready for a shopping experience fit for a president Celebrate President’s Day with Paramount Antique Mall’s President’s Day Mega Sale, Feb. 13-16 at both Paramount locations in Wichita. The annual event will feature big deals, with between 10%...
Old-time winter adventures remembered
February 2026Vintage Discoveries Old-time winter adventures rememberedby Ken Weyand Rural Missouri in the 1940s offered challenges for a youngster. Our farm was separated from the nearest village (and paved highway) by four miles of dirt roads. Winter snows – and the...
Papier maché Santa dates from 1930s
December 2025Vintage Discoveries Papier maché Santa dates from 1930sby Ken Weyand Somewhere in my collection of “old stuff,” there’s a faded Kodak print showing the living room of our farm house at Christmas, sometime in the 1930s. A decorated cedar tree dominates...
Remembering Thanksgivings with Lucy
November 2025Vintage Discoveries Remembering Thanksgivings with Lucyby Ken Weyand My earliest memories of Thanksgiving go back to the 1940s, when my parents and I often spent the day with my step-grandmother Lucy and my Aunt Ruth at their home in Hamilton, IL, about...
“The No. 1 Price Guide to M.I. Hummel: Figurines, Plates, Miniatures, & More” – By Robert L. Miller
February 2026Books for Collectors“The No. 1 Price Guide to M.I. Hummel: Figurines, Plates, Miniatures, & More” By Robert L. Miller By Corbin Crable Any devoted collector of M.I. Hummel figurines knows there’s more to the brand than just the small...
“The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Metal Lunch Boxes,” 2nd ed. By Allen Woodall and Sean Brickell
September 2025Books for Collectors“The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Metal Lunch Boxes,” By Allen Woodall and Sean Brickell By Corbin Crable School days have officially returned, and with it, memories of that fabulous piece of pop culture, the lunch box. The...
“Tomorrow’s Heirlooms” By Trina Robbins
March 2025Books for Collectors“Tomorrow’s Heirlooms” By Trina Robbins By Corbin Crable Ladies of the 1960s and ‘70s often looked pretty in polyester (and paisley, too). Twenty years of fashion trends for women are covered in Trina Robbins’ “Tomorrow’s...