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 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...
A nickel’s 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 Men’s Cave)May 2025Cover Story"A nickel’s 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...
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...
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 month’s issue of Discover Vintage America is the aspic – that oft-consumed dish that seemed to be synonymous with...
How do you display your collection?
March 2023 ANTIQUE DETECTIVE How do you display your collection? by Anne Gilbert Curio Cabinets Whether a collection is large or small, over the centuries, furniture was made just to show it off. It began in ancient Rome, with royalty and the wealthy, who used table...
Toy farm tractors come to town for child and adult collectors
February 2023ANTIQUE DETECTIVE Toy farm tractors come to town for child and adult collectorsby Anne Gilbert Antique Toy Farm Tractors Farm toys have been collected for decades. One of the most popular categories is the small toy farm tractor. While late 19th century...
Victorian Gothic revival furniture can be weird and pricey
December 2022ANTIQUE DETECTIVE Victorian Gothic revival furniture can be weird and priceyby Anne Gilbert Victorian Gothic revival furniture You might think that Victorian Gothic revival furniture was made for Halloween. The carved, devilish-looking heads on chairs 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...
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....
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...
No Results Found
The page you requested could not be found. Try refining your search, or use the navigation above to locate the post.
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...
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...
“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...
“A Century of Royal Doulton Character and Toby Jugs” By Steve Mullins with David Fastenau and Louise Irvine
December 2024Books for Collectors Century of Royal Doulton Character and Toby Jugs By Corbin Crable Collectors of Royal Doulton ceramics – for more than 200 years, the giant among other luxury home goods brands – “A Century of Royal Doulton Character and...
“The Handbook of Vintage Cigarette Lighters”
September 2024 Books for Collectors “The Handbook of Vintage Cigarette Lighters” by Stuart Schneider and Ira Pilossof By Corbin Crable Vintage cigarette lighters can be found just about everywhere you look, including at garage sales, estate sales, swap...