Features
Posters’ Persuasive Power U.S. propaganda during WW II attempted to rally Americans around war effort
J. Howard Miller’s “We can do it!” poster was designed to boost morale among American women who went to work in factories and in shipyards during the labor shortage created by World War II. (Image courtesy of 1st Dibs)November 2023Cover Story Posters’ Persuasive Power...
Honoring the dead Dia de los Muertos has colorful traditions, history in both Mexico, U.S.
A row of colorful skulls sits surrounded by marigolds and other flowers. Both have been longstanding parts of the imagery and altar decoration during the Day of the Dead, or Dia de los Muertos celebrated every Nov. 1-2. (Image courtesy of Getty) October 2023 Cover...
A Head Above The Rest, Lady head vases brought touch of class to one’s home
Lady head vases can be found for sale online, with prices for more common pieces ranging from $10 to $100. (Image courtesy of eBay)September 2023Cover StoryA Head Above The Rest Lady head vases brought a touch of class to one’s homeby Corbin CrableThey added a dash of...
Fifty years of ‘Discovering’ began with a modest ‘guide’
Discovering front page images collage by Patti Klinge August 2023 Cover Story Fifty years of ‘Discovering’ began with a modest ‘guide’ by Ken Weyand After spending a decade as a copywriter (and later copy chief) in the advertising art department of The Kansas City...
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...
Holiday celebrations made special with cherished traditions
https://firefly.adobe.com/generate/imagesNovember 2023Everything Old Holiday celebrations made special with cherished traditionsby Corbin Crable Far too often, we don’t truly appreciate traditions when we’re living them in the moment. This is especially true for those...
Item tied to former Kansas mayor, his family
Wallet Photo by Jonathan Duran on UnsplashOctober 2023Everything Old Item tied to former Kansas mayor, his familyby Corbin Crable Last weekend I enjoyed my first visit to Merchant Square in Independence, MO, where I had the pleasure of interviewing Jace Sanders, the...
Items crafted in Occupied Japan were designed to kick-start postwar economy
Photo by Tianshu Liu on UnsplashSeptember 2023Everything Old Items crafted in Occupied Japan were designed to kick-start postwar economyby Corbin Crable Made in Japan If you’re a collector of ceramics and porcelain, it’s likely that you’ve checked on the bottom of...
Happy 50th anniversary, Discover Vintage America
As the years rolled on, the cost of color printing became more affordable, and four-color printing became the standard. The printing process has become more streamlined as well, with digital files now being sent to our printers in Breese, IL, where the magic happens....
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...
Learn the many names and types of quilts
November 2022ANTIQUE DETECTIVE Learn the many names and types of quiltsby Anne Gilbert Collecting Quilts In 1996, when I began researching for my book, “Collecting Quilts,” I quickly realized that research is a must. Would you recognize a Kapa, Crazy quilt, or a...
American patriotic-themed objects still popular with today’s collectors, artisans
September 2022ANTIQUE DETECTIVE American patriotic-themed objects still popular with today’s collectors, artisansby Anne Gilbert Collecting fads may come and go, but items decorated with historic American subjects still attract a new generation of current collectors....
Early Americans saved family history with decorative Frakturs
August 2022ANTIQUE DETECTIVE Early Americans saved family history with decorative Fraktursby Anne Gilbert Frakturs show family history in pictures These days when we get a printed birth or marriage certificate, we put the document in a drawer or bank document box. It...
Don’t get tangled in the Web
June 2024Good Eye Don’t get tangled in the Webby Peggy Whiteneck Most dealers will come across items for possible acquisition that we haven’t seen before and about which we may know little or nothing – beyond perhaps a gut intuition that it’s something special or...
Collecting for teetotalers
May 2024Good Eye Collecting for teetotalersby Peggy Whiteneck The history of tea and its dispersion is not entirely known nor clearly understood, but it appears the first tea appeared in China at least as early as 350 BC. Eventually, tea drinking would expand across...
Tips for selling antiques for greater success
April 2024Good Eye Tips for selling antiques for greater successby Peggy Whiteneck Antique buyers have more types of buying options today than they did 15 or 20 years ago. The Internet and online auctions have revolutionized the antiques trade. However, that also...
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...
Quilt history revisited: The Churn Dash or Monkey Wrench pattern
April 2024Covering Quilts Quilt history revisited: The Churn Dash or Monkey Wrench patternby Sandra Starley Have you been churning butter or fixing wagons recently? If not, you might appreciate a bit of background information on the origins of the two most...
Ocean Waves quilts revisited
March 2024Covering Quilts Ocean Waves quilts revisitedby Sandra Starley Nature has long inspired quilters. As American quilting developed in Eastern seaboard settlements, it is not surprising that early quilt designs and pattern names often carried a nautical...
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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...
“Cabbage Patch Kids Collectibles” By Jan Lindenberger
January 2022Books for Collectors“Cabbage Patch Kids Collectibles”By Corbin Crable The birth of the Cabbage Patch Kids craze in 1983 changed the doll industry forever – and made a veritable mint for Coleco, the company that produced the dolls. But, as author Jan...
“Collecting Classic Video Games”
January 2022Books for Collectors“Collecting Classic Video Games”By Corbin Crable “Collecting Classic Video Games” Just in case you can’t tell, this month’s issue of Discover Vintage America is all about Generation X collectibles, and video games came of age as...
“Christmas Through the Decades”
November 2021Books for Collectors“Christmas Through the Decades”By Robert Brenner Christmas history Those interested in Christmas history will find Robert Brenner’s “Christmas Through the Decades” a colorful, informative and easily accessible guide to Christmas...