You see a vintage or antique photograph and you wish it were larger, more detailed… I want to see every photo, every scrap of ephemera, on the table in front of her!  As a collector, I’m allowed to be that nosy, right? Photo via Lynnstudios.

Did you ever notice that as a mother you have all these little odd sayings… Weird sing-songy ways of announcing bed time, meal time, to comfort your children, etc. Some of them were handed down to you from your own mother — who may or may not have heard them from her own mother. Somethings [...]

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 [...]

Over at Crazy Suburban Mom, Tracy wonders what to do with antique printer’s trays. Is it best to hang them or set them on something – And do you set things in them or attach them inside the little boxes? I’ve seen them painted but I really don’t want to do that… I’d love it [...]

A vintage advertorial announcing “what’s new” to ladies who read Modern Woman magazine (volume 17 number 1, 1948). In this case, “what’s new” was a Lucite tea tray and luggage rack. Since the photo was courtesy of DuPont, I assume it was a DuPont piece. Tea for two — on a distinctive “Lucite” table, combining [...]

I have very mixed feelings about modifying or changing antique and vintage things, but when I saw this project converting plates (and a candlestick) into a jewelry holder I thought it would be a wonderful way to salvage china pieces, bring them out of the boxes and shadows and back to life. I’ve seen this [...]

I purchased this vintage wall pocket awhile ago simply for it’s whimsy; what’s not to love about a pirate duck? It simply has to ‘quack’ you up — or you’ll be forced to walk the plank, arr! It’s a vintage ceramic piece, made in Japan, rather nicely painted under the glaze with additional spots of [...]

All I really know about this image is that the lady is Mrs. Louis Bromfield, that the photo was taken by Alfred Eisenstaedt in 1942 — and that I love that headboard! The headboard appears to be hand painted or, if fabric, embroidered with the titles of her husband’s books. What a lovely idea! …If [...]

Hello again, Grin here, Pick is out shopping in one of those bedroom communities where the old stores that once housed the local butcher, baker and bookie, now are home to the crafts crowd, crepes kitchen and bobbles and bangles boutique.  So I’m left to ponder what’s new in our antique world. Wait, is “new [...]

Pick: That was such a fun auction we went to the other night! Lots of variety, friendly crowd, and it moved along quickly too. My favorite thing was the treasure we got, almost a piece of your family heritage! Grin: I started my inspection of the items going up for auction at the far end [...]

At a local antique mall, the Moorhead Antique Mall, I spotted another idea for salvaging vintage china pieces: turning tea cup saucers into nightlights. I’ve also seen old cups (with and without saucers) turned into night lights (or night lamps), like this one by micah7: But I think that since the vertical saucers are flatter [...]

Antiquips Pickin & Grinin Pick: This is going to be our first article for Inherited Values so let’s show off some of our unusual collectibles. Grin: How about your hand mirrors? You are always bragging to anyone that will listen, just how great you think they are and how well you display them. Pick: Oh, [...]

One of the great things about collecting old photographs are the things in the photos — not only the objects and persons the photographer intended you to focus on, but the little extras which make the scene. Like in this vintage photo of Alice White. Clearly designed to promote the movie star, but (as pretty [...]

Unpacking delicate vintage glass ornaments, untangling glowing orbs of flickering light, placing winter village scenes just so, divided camps of garland vs tinsel, and don’t forget the tradition of tree topper placement. Some believe less is more (those weird freaks!), and others (like me!) believe holiday is the time of year to go all out. [...]