Features
Privacy, please Outhouses were a part of daily lives in centuries past
Outhouses usually were located 50 to 100 yards from the back of one’s home. (Image courtesy of Daniel Coronoa / Unsplash.com) June 2024Cover Story Privacy, please Outhouses were a part of daily lives in centuries pastby Corbin CrableWe all take indoor plumbing for...
Two of a kind Salt and pepper shakers make inexpensive, colorful collectibles
These shakers have their original cobalt blue glass liners with silverplated frames and lids. (Image courtesy of Antiques and Teacups) May 2024Cover Story Two of a kind Salt and pepper shakers make inexpensive, colorful collectiblesby Corbin CrableIt’s one of the...
What a doll! Barbie continues to inspire after all these years
Barbie, seen here in her original design, made her debut at the North American International Toy Show in 1959. (Image courtesy of Flatiron Nomad)Apr 2024Cover Story What a doll! Barbie continues to inspire after all these yearsby Corbin CrableRuth Handler had seen it...
Landing Among the Stars NASA collectibles enjoy resurgence in popularity
The NASA logo, also referred to as “the meatball,” was designed by a NASA employee in 1959, the year after the organization was founded.Mar 2024Cover Story Landing Among the Stars NASA collectibles enjoy resurgence in popularityby Corbin CrableAmericans will be...
Pinball Wizard Pinball machines stay in the game even 100 years after initial release
Detail of a vintage pinball machine. (Image courtesy of Design Market)Jan/Feb 2024Cover Story Pinball Wizard Pinball machines stay in the game even 100 years after initial releaseby Corbin CrableClack! go the flippers as the ball is launched. Pop! go the bumpers as...
The Reason for the Season Nativity scenes from around the world depict birth of Christ
The Night Arch Nativity is beautifully hand-carved and painted by artisans in Indonesia. (image courtesy of TenThousandVillages.com)December 2023Cover Story The Reason for the Season Nativity scenes from around the world depict birth of Christby Corbin Crable For...
If you sprinkle when you tinkle…
Photo by Adobe FireflyJune 2024Everything Old If you sprinkle when you tinkle…by Corbin Crable This month’s cover story relays the history of outhouses, those quiet but stinky outdoor private places where everyone did their business in the 19th century. First,...
The seasoning with a storied history
Photo by Lachlan on UnsplashMay 2024Everything Old The seasoning with a storied historyby Corbin Crable Everyone knows there are two types of people: Those who crave sugary snacks, and those who would prefer something salty instead. I’ve always fallen into the latter...
Action figures were toy industry’s answer to Barbie
Photo by D A V I D S O N L U N A on UnsplashApril 2024Everything Old Action figures were toy industry’s answer to Barbieby Corbin Crable As little girls in the late 1950s and early 1960s played with a new doll named “Barbie,” their younger brothers probably wondered,...
Space Age design dominated postwar America
https://firefly.adobe.com/generate/imagesMarch 2024Everything Old Space Age design dominated postwar Americaby Corbin Crable This issue of Discover Vintage America will present decades of vintage NASA collectibles, which have chronicled our fascination with space...
Pachinko is Japan’s answer to pinball
Photo by Emile Guillemot on UnsplashJan/Feb 2024Everything Old Pachinko is Japan’s answer to pinballby Corbin Crable In this issue of Discover Vintage America, you’ll read about the storied history of the pinball machine, from the controversy it faced in the game’s...
Stores shine spotlight on ethically sourced, sustainable items
https://firefly.adobe.com/generate/imagesDecember 2023Everything Old Stores shine spotlight on ethically sourced, sustainable itemsby Corbin Crable If you’ve ever taken a leisurely stroll throughout the picturesque, quaint downtown Overland Park, KS, you likely have a...
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...
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...
The Beat(er) Goes on
July 2024Good Eye The Beat(er) Goes onby Peggy Whiteneck While they’re less often used today, most readers will be familiar with egg beaters – items with a top handle and hand crank above a pair (usually) of beaters that rotate when the hand crank is turned. The first...
Journeys in quilt history – political patchwork quilts
September 2024Covering Quilts Journeys in quilt history – Political Patchwork Quiltsby Sandra Starley There is no better way to learn history and have fun than through examining, studying, and researching antique quilts. In preparation for my American Quilt...
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...
Merchant Square to bring the holiday cheer with December events
December 2024. Merchant Square to bring the holiday cheer with December events Haven’t had the opportunity yet to tell Santa Claus what you want for Christmas? Don’t worry – Merchant Square in Independence has you covered. The jolly old elf will visit the store...
‘Tis the season to shop locally at Small-Town Christmas and Winter Solstice Sale
December 2024. ‘Tis the season to shop locally at Small-Town Christmas and Winter Solstice Sale Enjoy all of the charm of small-town living during the holidays at Small-Town Christmas in Amsterdam, Dec. 14-15. Marvel at Amsterdam’s downtown, where colorful...
World’s Fair souvenir book reveals styles of the ‘thirties
September 2024Vintage Discoveries World’s Fair souvenir book reveals styles of the ‘thirtiesby Ken Weyand Six years ago in my column, I recalled a trip my mother and her parents made in 1934 to the Century of Progress Exposition in Chicago. Recently, I discovered a...
Old ‘Wonder Tower’ in Colorado offered views of 6 states
August 2024Vintage Discoveries Old ‘Wonder Tower’ in Colorado offered views of 6 statesby Ken Weyand Back in the mid-1920s, a favorite ‘”tourist attraction” in eastern Colorado was a crude 65-foot tower built on what was reported to be the highest point between New...
Old brochure touts Ford’s automotive progress – in 1935
July 2024Vintage Discoveries Old brochure touts Ford’s automotive progress – in 1935by Ken Weyand A few years ago, I chronicled the story of a long “road trip” my parents and grandparents took to California in 1935, a couple of years before I was born. My parents and...
“NASA: Space Flight Research and Pioneering Developments” By Hans-Jüergen Becker
March 2024Books for Collectors“NASA: Space Flight Research and Pioneering Developments” By Hans-Jüergen BeckerBy Corbin Crable Those fascinated by what exists beyond Earth’s atmosphere are sure to gobble up Hans- Jüergen Becker’s tome “NASA: Space Flight...
One Hundred Years of Valentines
February 2023Books for Collectors"One Hundred Years of Valentines" by Katherine KreiderBy Corbin Crable Remember sitting at your desk in elementary school on Valentine’s Day and anxiously waiting for your crush to slip a small envelope into the box you had...
“Valentine Treasury: A Century of Valentine’s Day Cards”
February 2022Books for Collectors“Valentine Treasury: A Century of Valentine’s Day Cards”By Corbin Crable What would the month of February be without the traditional exchanging of Valentine’s Day cards with your sweetheart or best friend? It’s a ritual we all...