Features
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...
Swingin’ into Summer Stop and watch the world go by on a porch swing
If you’re looking to buy a porch swing on a budget, this retro model is available online for $195. (Image courtesy of The Porch Swing Co.)July 2025Cover StorySwingin’ into Summer Stop and watch the world go by on a porch swingby Corbin CrableThey’ve gone through...
The Heart of the Home Kitchen appliances reveal food prep, storage trends throughout the years
By the 1950s, refrigerators were able to accommodate the needs of the modern family, even keeping them cool when summer’s heat arrived. (Image courtesy of Pinterest)June 2025Cover StoryThe Heart of the Home Kitchen appliances reveal food prep, storage trends...
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...
Porchfests put a song on the lips of passersby
Photo by Brandon Hoogenboom on Unsplash July 2025Everything Old Porchfests put a song on the lips of passersbyby Corbin Crable When I was a young boy, my parents would always drive by an old farmhouse on the way out of town. Without fail, no matter the time of day, on...
Kitchen items worth their weight in memories, moolah
Photo by Daria Rudyk on Unsplash June 2025Everything Old Kitchen items worth their weight in memories, moolahby Corbin Crable Roll up your sleeves and don your aprons, because this month’s issue of Discover Vintage America is headed into the kitchen as we explore...
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...
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...
Laying down a Tile
September 2025Good EyeLaying down a Tileby Peggy WhiteneckWall tiles aren’t just an antique decorative accent but a treat for modern collectors. They have a long history: Ancient tiles were being used for paving various surfaces as early as centuries before Christ....
Eggs not laid in Nature
August 2025Good EyeEggs not laid in Natureby Peggy WhiteneckThere’s just something really pleasing about an egg’s shape, whether it comes from hens – or glassmakers! Many companies made functional versions of white glass eggs, beginning in the late 19th century, to be...
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...
Colonial Quilters and Scrap Quilts – Some Treasured Myths of Early Quilting
September 2025Covering QuiltsColonial Quilters and Scrap Quilts – Some Treasured Myths of Early Quilting by Sandra Starley What do you picture when I say, “Colonial Quilts”? Betsy Ross and Martha Washington sewing scrappy quilts by candlelight or quilting...
Steam engines rev up for Old Trusty
September 2025Steam engines rev up for Old Trusty The 43rd annual Old Trusty Antique Engines and Collectors Show is right around the corner, bringing with it a variety of antique machinery to see in action. This year’s Old Trusty will take place Sept. 6-7 on the...
Hit the road for Junk Jaunt in late September
September 2025Hit the road for Junk Jaunt in late September Make plenty of room in your car’s trunk for treasures you’ll find throughout Central Nebraska’s annual Junk Jaunt, Sept. 26-28. Hundreds of homes in three dozen towns along the Loup River and Sandhills...
Old Summit show returns for fall season
September 2025Old Summit show returns for fall season With fall approaching, so too is the Old Summit Country Antiques Show, in Greenwood. The large show, scheduled for Sept. 13, in the lower level of Greenwood Vintage Market, features booths of antiques, vintage...
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...
Tiny jail includes strange tale of early-day witches
October 2025Vintage Discoveries Tiny jail includes strange tale of early-day witchesby Ken Weyand A recent visit to the Parkville Nature Sanctuary north of the downtown area in Parkville, Missouri revealed a tiny jail near the north edge of the parking lot. The...
Old childrens’ books show how times have changed
June 2025Vintage Discoveries Old childrens’ books show how times have changedby Ken Weyand Recently I found four old childrens’ books my mother had stashed away – curiosities of her early life after she moved with her parents to Kahoka, MO, where my grandfather...
“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...
“Peanuts Gang Collectibles” By Jan Lindenberger
February 2025Books for Collectors “Peanuts Gang Collectibles” By Jan Lindenberger By Corbin Crable Snoopy, Charlie Brown, and the rest of the Peanuts gang have delighted readers for 75 years, bringing their own brand of humor and life lessons to comic...
