We don’t discuss a lot of new things here at Inherited Values, but today we make an exception… One of my friends is helping a friend with her wedding plans and the subject of wedding gifts came up. Specifically those wedding gifts the bride and groom give to those in the bridal party, the groomsmen, [...]

OK, so you waited around, hoping just the right thing was going to pop up at eBay or some other site, and now, as the shipping delivery window narrows, you’re starting to worry that all you can do is go with the obvious eBay gift card or get something lame. Gift certificates, from eBay, your [...]

When I stumbled into this auction for original Katzenjammer Kids art, I was excited to read the story behind the piece: Grapefruitmoon Gallery just acquired an important collection of pen & ink original illustration art comic drawings from many of the leading Golden Age of Illustration comic strip illustrators that were received by a persistent [...]

Like I said, I’m becoming a resident vintage and antiques expert at Listia. Recently I was helping identify an item listed as “Tell Me What This Is” — headlines like that will always pull me in. *wink* I immediately knew what it was, as I own several of these items myself. It’s a rug making [...]

At first look, this vintage fashion catalog from the 1930s is just a cool piece for ephemera and fashion collectors… But as you know, you should never judge a book by it’s cover! This is an incredible and unique vintage scrapbook as the 1931 Carlton Fashions catalog used as a scrapbook for crime clippings. According [...]

Sometimes dealers and other sellers of antiques and collectibles get a bad rap — OK, a lot of times they do, and I’m not going to go into all of that, but… As a collector there are times when your auction lots runneth over and you end up with more than you want (or can [...]

Many people collect postcards for what’s on the front… Maybe they collect real photo postcards, or vintage images of animals on postcards, or antique images of cities… Maybe they collect by artist or publisher. But some of us fall in love with what’s on the backs of the postcards. Some postcards were used as contest [...]

A vintage kit for making paper Valentines, circa 1940s, from Gibson, the greeting card company. This kit was to make eight different Valentine’s Day cards doe “kiddies.” Inside the box (with charming graphics) there are eight cardboard bases for the cards, eight lace Valentines, two sheets of die-cut graphics to decorate the cards with, and, [...]

This is a photo of my dad, aka the Grinnin’ half of Inherited Values own Antiquips, aka The Dean. It was taken at the Elkhorn Antique Flea Market by Urban Flea Marketer, the photo-blogger of You Bought WHAT?! From Who?. My dad’s story from her post: I mean, he was just cute. He was totally [...]

This is a vintage snapshot or photograph storage tip from Edward O’Connor of Mineola, NY, I found published in Household Help, Fifth Series of Hints & Time Savers for the Home (offered by New York’s Picture Newspaper and published by News Syndicate Co., Inc., 1966). The tip reads: Before storing snapshots, classify them according to [...]

Last Tuesday, August 2, 2001, Picker Sisters aired on the Lifetime Television. (If you were confused by the ads showing American Pickers Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz promoting the show on the History Channel, that’s because both Lifetime and History are part of A&E Television Networks — but that really didn’t help those who went [...]

Have you ever thought about the painted backgrounds in antique and vintage photographs? No?  Me neither. Not until I read The Painted Backdrop: Behind the Sitter in American Tintype Photography, by Jim Linderman (with an essay by Kate Bloomquist), that is. In fact, the story of and between 19th century painters and American photography really [...]

If you’re like me and enjoy collecting and have a creative streak, you’ve probably faced the issue of balancing your delight in making things with your collector’s desire to keep the integrity of your antiques and vintage items. While this clash of interests often presents a quandary for all artsy folk who collect, my primary [...]

At Bluebird Gardens, Charlotte Ekker Wiggins answers the question, “If I buy a vintage quilt top, and then quilt and finish it, does this reduce its value?” And I just love how she answers: If you are asking if a quilt’s appraised value will change; yes, it will. In general, the appraised value of a [...]

If you haven’t already heard of Listia, let me introduce you to your next obsession. Listia is a relatively new kind of online auction site — where you bid on other people’s stuff using credits instead of real money. We make it easy for you to give away stuff you don’t need anymore and get [...]

I spotted this clever display at an antique mall and I thought it would be great for use in the home too: a simple vintage wall shelf, with the vintage postcards in the little spaces for knick knacks — the vases and glassware keep the postcards upright. Wouldn’t it be great to pair travel postcards [...]

At an estate sale I recently was lucky enough to get this little, unassuming, antique book… Plain brown boards, penciled notes and a math problem… A slim 6 and one-half inches 3 and one-half by inches.   It may not seem appealing to you — and that, likely, is how I managed to procure it. [...]

Life announces a contest: Guess what? We are featuring another installment of FotoHunt this Thursday at 3 p.m. EST Not familiar with the game? FotoHunt is a photographic scavenger hunt through our galleries on LIFE.com. We will post a description of an image we are looking for; then, your mission is to find that photograph [...]

I was so thrilled when I spotted these vintage photos because it reminded me of this recent tweet by TheLarmy: All I have in the fridge is baking soda, camera film and boysenberry yogurt. Anyone got any recipes? I then knew it was the writing staff behind Cougar Town who wrote the tweet — because [...]

I spotted this clever display idea at a local antique mall: the dealer has put a selection of collectible pinbacks in a birdbath. At home, of course, this might present a dusting problem (always the bane of collectors!), but if you used a sturdy cement birdbath, you could place a large round piece of glass [...]

I don’t only dig through stacks of old magazines and papers; I go through them, page by page. How else would I find this page listing Virginia Lakin publications? (More scans from that booklet here.) Found inside this 1977 Standard Doll Co. catalog, along with this page of Kate Greenaway postcards, miniature patterns, dollhouse items, [...]