I recently acquired a small lot of vintage valentines. Most of them were the type kids passed out at school, and each of them has a number penciled on the front, placed in a circle. While this may detract from their value, I find the idea of a youngster implementing some sort of ranking or [...]

According to this post at Reddit, which appears to be a quote from Perfumes: The Guide (page 148, to be precise), there’s a reason the “old book smell” is so lovely: Lignin, the stuff that prevents all trees from adopting the weeping habits, is a polymer made up of units that are closely related to [...]

Do not be alarmed by the ad!  Hip Pocket records measure just 3 7/8 inches in diameter and are made of thin, flexible vinyl–the same material as those thin flexible Eva-Tone Sound Sheets once found in magazines, etc. In 1967, Philco-Ford introduced their Hip Pocket Record system, which included a portable player. They are similar [...]

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 [...]

One of the things I love most about this vintage photo of a woman (obviously showing off her stockings in an erotic “French postcard” way) is the old boudoir doll on the vanity. You don’t see a lot of photos of boudoir dolls!

I’ve been running into a lot of new collectors of vintage and antique things at Listia; I kind of feel like I’m becoming a resident expert, both it terms of being able to help folks and because of the amount of time I spend at Listia. *wink* I don’t normally take the time to give [...]

I often am asked, “What’s a cross collectible?” For me, the answer is, “Everything!” But technically speaking, a cross collectible is any antique or collectible which appeals to more than one kind of collector and therefore “crosses areas of collecting.” For example, this vintage promotional photo of classic film character actor Jack Carson. It obviously [...]

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 [...]

There are many charming and antiquated things of note in this antique travel book titled The Club Hotel, Limited: Guide Book of Yokohama, Tokyo and Principal Places in Japan and I thought I’d share a few of them before this book and map sells. Printed at the “Box Of Curios,” No. 58, Main Street, Yokohama, [...]

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 [...]

I love ephemera, so I was thrilled to find this pair of vintage travel ephemera from Three Lakes Wisconsin. The first piece is a brochure for Three Lakes, Wisconsin, issued by Three Lakes Resort Association, which has black and white (and color photos), showing the usual outdoor vacation stuff… But wait — what’s this? Three [...]

These two vintage (nearly antique!) lobby cards from The American Venus are to be auctioned off at Heritage Auctions. The American Venus was directed by Frank Tuttle, and starred Esther Ralston, Ford Sterling, Edna May Oliver, Lawrence Gray, Fay Lanphier, Louise Brooks (in her first credited role as Miss Bayport), Kenneth MacKenna, and Douglas Fairbanks [...]

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 [...]

1.) In Share & Share Alike: Why Posting Your “Junk” Is Worthy Of Your Time, yours truly (at one of her other blogs) shares an incredible example of why people should post and write about their collections and collectibles online. 2.) The Ephemera Society of America has posted a call for papers for presentation at [...]