Features
A modern style Art Deco movement was elegant but accessible
This 1931 Packard Model 840 Dietrich Convertible Victoria was the centerpiece of an exhibition on the Art Deco movement at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, MO. The exhibition, “American Art Deco: Designing for the People, 1918-1939,” ran July 2022...
Tupperware: An American icon
A housewife hosts a Tupperware party in the 1950s. (Image courtesy of Click Americana)June 2023Cover StoryTupperware: An American iconby Corbin CrableThey’re durable, they’re colorful, and they’re cherished hand-me-downs that have survived decades in your kitchen and...
Fill ‘er up! Oil and gas collectibles remain popular with collectors
A metal sign advertising Mobilgas from the company that would later become Exxon Mobil. The company used the mythological winged horse Pegasus on most of its advertising and logos. (Image courtesy of eBay)May 2023Cover StoryFill ‘er up! Oil and gas collectibles...
Just Your Type – Typewriters find second life as beloved antiques
(Image courtesy of Patti Klinge)Apr 2023Cover StoryJust Your Type Typewriters find second life as beloved antiquesby Corbin CrableHear that clickety-clack as the keys pound away. Feel the smooth keys under your fingers as they fly across the keyboard. Marvel at...
Walk Like An Egyptian, Egyptomania Resurrects Country’s Magic, Mysticism
(Image courtesy of Classic Media)Mar 2023Cover Story Walk Like An Egyptian Egyptomania Resurrects Country’s Magic, Mysticismby Corbin Crable Though fascination with all things Egyptian has endured since the ancient world, it wasn’t until the last 200 years or so that...
It’s a date! Celebrate your love with these old-fashioned date ideas
(Image courtesy of Classic Media)Jan/Feb 2023Cover Story It’s a date! Celebrate your love with these old-fashioned date ideasby Corbin Crable With the arrival of Valentine’s Day comes a certain anxiety, whether you’re heading out for a first date with a new love...
Goodbye to a longtime colleague
Photo by Christelle BOURGEOIS on Unsplash July 2023 Everything Old Goodbye to a longtime colleague by Corbin Crable Honor to dedicate this issue to ... Just because we know that death is a part of life, that acknowledgment never makes that loss any easier when it...
Anniversary is a time to remember days, people past
Photo by Lucas Law on UnsplashJune 2023Everything OldAnniversary is a time to remember days, people pastby Corbin Crable50th anniversary This year includes a couple of very special occasions that are near and dear to my heart. The first, we’ll celebrate with all of...
Good luck finding these long-gone jobs
Photo by Leon Seibert on UnsplashMay 2023Everything OldGood luck finding these long-gone jobsby Corbin CrableGas Station Attendants It’s about that time of year when people pack their bags, gas up their cars, and hit the road on a summer vacation or road trip. Our...
Bring on the bunnies
Apr 2023Everything OldBring on the bunniesby Corbin Crable Easter Sunday is coming up quickly, on Sunday, April 9, and if you live in Kansas City or are at least from here, that can mean only one thing – a trip to the Country Club Plaza to see the Easter...
Turn the page on old reading habits
Photo by Catherine Hammond on UnsplashMar 2023Everything OldTurn the page on old reading habitsby Corbin Crable March is National Reading Month, and with it comes a greater awareness of the benefits of reading. Established to honor Dr. Seuss, one of the first...
How to finally keep your new year’s resolution
Photo by Tim Mossholder on UnsplashJan/Feb 2023Everything OldHow to finally keep your new year’s resolutionby Corbin Crable Keeping your Resolutions How are you doing on keeping your resolutions for the new year so far? Still going strong? Or maybe you’ve...
Small, antique painted wooden boxes can have big price tag
January 2022ANTIQUE DETECTIVESmall, antique painted wooden boxes can have big price tagby Anne Gilbert The humble wooden boxes The humble wooden boxes made in 18th-century America are popular and collectible when colorfully painted. As a November Americana...
Old laundry items are popular collectibles
December 2021ANTIQUE DETECTIVEOld laundry items are popular collectiblesby Anne Gilbert Would you pay $149 for a wood-and-glass washboard made in the 1940s? How about a 1920s old clothes wringer priced at $114? Such items are finding their way into restaurants...
What’s going on with dollhouse collectibles?
November 2021ANTIQUE DETECTIVEWhat’s going on with dollhouse collectibles?by Anne Gilbert Dollhouses and their mini furnishings have a history going back centuries. Not only has their purpose changed but what is being collected has changed as well. Some...
Feast your eyes on delicious antique custard glass
October 2024 Good Eye Feast your eyes on delicious antique custard glass by Peggy Whiteneck Custard glass is creamy ivory or pale-yellow pressed glass that was popular in the late 19th and very early 20th centuries. It was used in tableware made by some English and...
The heyday of glass lampshades
September 2024Good Eye The Heyday of Glass Lampshadesby Peggy Whiteneck Most of the lampshades made before the late 19th century were glass globes for oil lamps. Sometimes these would be produced in colored glass for both the lamp base and the shade. But most shades...
Snagged in the Web?
August 2024Good Eye Snagged in the Web? by Peggy Whiteneck Whether we’re collectors or dealers, most of us will come across items for possible acquisition that we haven’t seen before and about which we may know little or nothing beyond a gut intuition that it’s...
Mission impossible – The International Quilt Museum heist
July 2024Covering Quilts Mission impossible – The International Quilt Museum heistby Sandra Starley Imagine being let loose in the most amazing quilt museum in the world and getting to pick out any quilt to take home. Well … This was my most recent quilty...
Want a break from quilting? Try a new bag (Bag making 101)
June 2024Covering Quilts Want a break from quilting? Try a new bag (Bag making 101)by Sandra Starley Quilted bags, totes, and fabric pouches of all sizes are having a moment. Why not join in on the fun? As I have mentioned several times, giving yourself a...
The Churn Dash or Monkey Wrench pattern, Part II
May 2024Covering Quilts Make it modern: The Churn Dash or Monkey Wrench pattern, Part IIby Sandra Starley As I mentioned last month, if you have not been making butter or repairing wagons, you may not be aware of the history behind the classic Churn Dash or...
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Old ‘slate-board’ from the 1800s made learning a bit easier
May 2024Vintage Discoveries Old ‘slate-board’ from the 1800s made learning a bit easierby Ken Weyand While today’s parents and teachers fret about how youngsters are too dependent on smart phones, I was tickled to find an “education tool” from another age in the back...
Old magazine brought back memories of the 1950s
April 2024Vintage Discoveries Old magazine brought back memories of the 1950sby Ken Weyand Like many 15-year-old boys in early 1950s rural America, I was caught up in the popular culture of the times. In those heady days before the Internet killed off or reshaped...
Old geography textbook taught my ancestor the ‘basics’
March 2024Vintage Discoveries Old geography textbook taught my ancestor the ‘basics’by Ken Weyand A small and very old textbook turned up recently in the back of a bookcase. I thought it might have been something I had acquired from an antique shop, but it turned out...
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