Features
Do the Hustle! Disco made us boogie-woogie the night away in the ‘70s
The iconic mirror ball, setting the tone and delighting disco dancers for decades. (Image courtesy of dancepoise.com)March 2025Cover StoryDo the Hustle! Disco made us boogie-woogie the night away in the ‘70sby Corbin CrableThose who remember the bygone days of disco...
You’re 75, Charlie Brown! Good grief! Peanuts gang has made readers chuckle since 1950
Peanuts Gang Valentine image (image courtesy of schulz museum)February 2025Cover StoryYou’re 75, Charlie Brown! Good grief! Peanuts gang has made readers chuckle since 1950by Corbin CrableOne beloved American comic strip has allowed readers to see the world through...
The Name of Luxury Royal Doulton has stood for the finest in bone china, ceramics since 1815
Royal Doulton “Pomeroy,” pattern # D5270. Inspired by Davenport engravings of 1793, made circa 1933-60. (image courtesy of cynthiafindlay.com)Dec 2024 / Jan 2025Cover Story The Name of Luxury Royal Doulton has stood for the finest in bone china, ceramics since 1815by...
Got a light? Smoking accessories continue their collectible streak
If there’s one thing advertising in the 1950s and ‘60s taught us, it’s that smoking was an activity that brought people together. (Image courtesy of Pinterest)November 2024Cover Story Got a light? Smoking accessories continue their collectible streakby Corbin...
A real cut-up Jack-o’-lanterns bring whimsy, fright to Halloween
Treasure your creatively-carved jack-o’-lantern while you can – they’ll begin to get soft and moldy after roughly three to five days. (Image courtesy of Manicpumpkincarvers.com)October 2024Cover Story A real cut-up Jack-o’-lanterns bring whimsy, fright to Halloweenby...
A bridge to another time Covered bridges still stir up our nostalgia
Missouri’s Sandy Creek Covered Bridge, located in Hillsboro, is seen framed by winter snow. (Image courtesy of Facebook)September 2024Cover Story A bridge to another time Covered bridges still stir up our nostalgiaby Corbin CrableThe covered bridge The covered bridge...
Dressing the part for disco
(Image created by Adobe Firefly)March 2025Everything Old Dressing the part for discoby Corbin Crable It’s 1977. You and your friends spent the afternoon going to the local cinema and watching the new film “Saturday Night Fever.” Now you’re inspired -- you want to go...
Schulz’s Peanuts has KC connection
(Image courtesy of the Schulz Museum)February 2025Everything Old Schulz’s Peanuts has KC connectionby Corbin Crable You’ve read their antics on the comics page of your local newspaper. They’ve celebrated life’s milestones with you in greeting cards. And they’ve made...
See a movie, get a gravy boat
Image from adobe firefly Dec 2024 / Jan 2025 Everything Old See a movie, get a gravy boat by Corbin Crable Holiday Films The holiday season is big business for the film industry, and even though many former moviegoers prefer to stay home and stream their favorite...
Smoke ‘em if ya got ‘em
If there’s one thing advertising in the 1950s and ‘60s, The “Marlboro Man”, “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.” (Image courtesy of Pinterest)November 2024Everything Old Smoke ‘em if ya got ‘emby Corbin Crable Until the mid-1960s Until the mid-1960s, the act of smoking was an...
Legend has delighted, spooked us for centuries
Edward Hull, Public domain, via Wikimedia CommonsOctober 2024Everything Old Legend has delighted, spooked us for centuriesby Corbin Crable Pumpkin-carving season Autumn is upon us, and with it comes pumpkin-carving season. Maybe you’re planning to load the family up...
Libraries remain essential part of our communities
Photo by Seven Shooter on UnsplashSeptember 2024Everything Old Libraries remain essential part of our communitiesby Corbin Crable September is National Library Card Sign-Up Month September is National Library Card Sign-Up Month, and if you’re a lifelong reader like...
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...
Hold that door! Doorstops have been around as long as doors
March 2025Good Eye Hold that door! Doorstops have been around as long as doorsby Peggy Whiteneck These days, what with open-concept home layouts and modern-style sliding and other doors, we don’t have much use for doorstops anymore – except of course - as a...
Some ‘almost’ antique kitchen and dinnerware
February 2025Good Eye Some ‘almost’ antique kitchen and dinnerwareby Peggy Whiteneck When I began collecting mid-century American-made kitchen and dinnerware sets, I quickly learned that even items made by entirely different manufacturers could be pleasingly matched...
Little lights for winter celebrations
December 2024Good Eye Little lights for winter celebrationsby Peggy Whiteneck Candlelit fairy lights (AKA fairy lamps) were popular in the 19th century before access to gas and electrical lighting. George Miller Clarke invented fairy lights in England in 1844, just...
Bow Tie or Neck Tie quilts – when fashion meets quilting
March 2025Covering Quilts Bow Tie or Neck Tie quilts – when fashion meets quiltingby Sandra Starley While many quilt pattern names from the 1800s are cloaked in myth, mystery, and marketing, the Bow Tie pattern is clearly a representational block depicting male...
Fall in love with New York – AQSG adventures, Part 3
February 2025 Covering Quilts Fall in love with New York – AQSG adventures, Part 3 by Sandra Starley Every fall, quilt historians and people who just love old and new quilts attend the annual meeting of the American Quilt Study Group (AQSG). So much happens during the...
Fall in love with New York – quilting adventures with the American Quilt Study, Part 2
December 2024Covering Quilts Fall in love with New York – quilting adventures with the American Quilt Study, Part 2by Sandra Starley Every fall, lovers of quilt history (old and new) meet to share research, treasures, and friendship at the Annual Meeting/Fall Seminar...
Welcome spring in Greenwood’s antique district
March 2025. Welcome spring in Greenwood’s antique district A pair of events in Greenwood will allow shoppers to revel in deals as they gear up for the spring season. Greenwood Vintage Market’s Spring Handmade Market, which takes place March 1, will feature a...
Military collectibles up for grabs at Leavenworth show
March 2025Have a little fun down on the farm with this toy, collectibles show The Tri-State Toy and Collectibles Show returns to the Army National Guard Armory in Norton, March 8. Dealers from three states will be on site, selling old and new farm toys, as well...
Remembering my ‘Dirt Road Days’
February 2025 Vintage Discoveries Remembering my ‘Dirt Road Days’ by Ken Weyand Years before J.D. Vance penned his “Hillbilly Elegy” 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...
Keokuk, IA, celebrates 10-year restoration of 1891 Union Depot
December 2024Vintage Discoveries Keokuk, IA, celebrates 10-year restoration of 1891 Union Depotby Ken Weyand Back in its day, the massive and ornate Victorian-style depot building built in 1891 was a centerpiece of Keokuk, IA. Then a bustling transportation center,...
Poster recalls Ozark Air Lines, TWA, and an exciting cross-country flight
November 2024Vintage Discoveries Poster recalls Ozark Air Lines, TWA, and an exciting cross-country flightby Ken Weyand Recently, I found an old aviation poster, rolled up in a corner. It’s a reminder of the days I had a love affair with aviation, writing about its...
“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...
“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...