Features
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 Clarkâs 1964 hit song âDowntownâ made neon...
UP, UP AND AWAY Comic books’ popularity only growing in Digital Age
 Nicknamed âThe Big Blue Boy Scout,â DC Comicsâ 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...
Swinginâ into Summer Stop and watch the world go by on a porch swing
If youâre 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 StorySwinginâ into Summer Stop and watch the world go by on a porch swingby Corbin CrableTheyâve 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 summerâs heat arrived. (Image courtesy of Pinterest)June 2025Cover StoryThe Heart of the Home Kitchen appliances reveal food prep, storage trends...
A nickelâs worth of fun Jukeboxes spin the tunes and create memories
 A classic Wurlitzer 1015 model. Created in 1946, it is the biggest selling jukebox in history. (Image courtesy of The Menâs Cave)May 2025Cover Story"A nickelâs worth of fun" Jukeboxes spin the tunes and create memoriesby Corbin CrableThe jukebox remains one of the...
Molded meals Aspics inspired bizarre dishes, but rarely appetite
Apsics remain quite common in European cultures. For instance, this colorful shrimp and veggie aspic makes a delightful Italian lunch entree. (Image courtesy of La Cucina Italiana)April 2025Cover StoryMolded meals Aspics inspired bizarre dishes, but rarely appetiteby...
Letâs do lunch! Lunch boxes display pop culture trends
Image generated by Adobe FireflySeptember 2025Everything Old Letâs 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 societyâs ills
Photo by Erik Mclean on Unsplash August 2025Everything Old Midcentury study blamed comic books for societyâs 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 monthâs issue of Discover Vintage America is headed into the kitchen as we explore...
Jukebox songs that put a song in our hearts
Photo by The Retro Store on Unsplash & jukebox (Image courtesy of rock-ola.com) May 2025Everything Old Jukebox songs that put a song in our heartsby Corbin Crable In this issue of Discover Vintage America, we place the jukebox under a figurative magnifying...
What were we thinking? Bizarre dishes of yesteryear
Image created by adobe fireflyApril 2025Everything Old What were we thinking? Bizarre dishes of yesteryearby Corbin Crable The star of the show in this monthâs issue of Discover Vintage America is the aspic â that oft-consumed dish that seemed to be synonymous with...
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 â80s, 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 â80s, 19th-century small or miniature painted porcelain portrait plaques were hot collectibles. When they...
Laying down a Tile
September 2025Good EyeLaying down a Tileby Peggy WhiteneckWall tiles arenât 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 WhiteneckThereâs just something really pleasing about an eggâs shape, whether it comes from hens â or glassmakers! Many companies made functional versions of white glass eggs, beginning in the late 19th century, to be...
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Colonial Quilters and Scrap Quilts â Some Treasured Myths of Early Quilting
September 2025Covering QuiltsColonial Quilters and Scrap Quilts â Some Treasured Myths of Early Quilting âby Sandra Starley What do you picture when I say, âColonial Quiltsâ? Betsy Ross and Martha Washington sewing scrappy quilts by candlelight or quilting...
Top Tips for Antique Quilt Collecting, Part II
August 2025Covering QuiltsTop Tips for Antique Quilt Collecting, Part II âby Sandra Starley Knowledge is power With all the online resources available today, it is easy to become an educated consumer. It just takes some determination and time to develop your...
Spool Pets – Meet Clara Cow
June 2025Covering Quilts Spool Pets - Meet Clara Cowby Sandra Starley Quilters cannot sew without thread and other sewing notions, and most have collections of sewing supplies. You never know what you may find in that box of vintage lace, rickrack, and bias tape. I...
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 yearâs 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 carâs trunk for treasures youâll find throughout Central Nebraskaâs 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...
Old childrensâ books show how times have changed
June 2025âVintage Discoveries Old childrensâ books show how times have changedby Ken Weyand Recently I found four old childrensâ books my mother had stashed away â curiosities of her early life after she moved with her parents to Kahoka, MO, where my grandfather...
Kansas Cityâs early-day airports helped make flying history
May 2025âVintage Discoveries Kansas Cityâs early-day airports helped make flying history by Ken Weyand Operating in an era when airplanes were a novelty, pilots navigated using âdead reckoning, and a good landing was âany landing you could walk away from,â Kansas...
Remembering my âDirt Road Daysâ
February 2025 âVintage Discoveries Remembering my âDirt Road Daysâ by Ken Weyand Years before J.D. Vance penned his âHillbilly Elegyâ about his Appalachian origins, I put together an e-book that recalled my early years on a Northeast Missouri farm. As the blurb on the...
âThe Illustrated Encyclopedia of Metal Lunch Boxes,â 2nd ed. By Allen Woodall and Sean Brickell
September 2025Books for CollectorsâThe Illustrated Encyclopedia of Metal Lunch Boxes,â 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...
âTomorrowâs Heirloomsâ By Trina Robbins
March 2025Books for CollectorsâTomorrowâs Heirloomsâ By Trina Robbins By Corbin Crable Ladies of the 1960s and â70s often looked pretty in polyester (and paisley, too). Twenty years of fashion trends for women are covered in Trina Robbinsâ âTomorrowâs...
âPeanuts Gang Collectiblesâ By Jan Lindenberger
February 2025Books for Collectors âPeanuts Gang Collectiblesâ 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...