I know next to nothing about hot rods, dragsters, automobilia or even cars in general, but I do recognize the value of vintage car part catalogs, like these Almquist “Equipment of Champions” catalogs, to fans and collectors of such things. And I’ll admit, looking at old hot rod custom sport bodies, kits, 3-D chrome emblems, [...]

We purchased a lot of ephemera from a dealer going out of business — and when I say “a lot,” I mean “a lot of boxes.” So many that we almost couldn’t fit boxes and the one slender child we had with us that day into the van. While we did manage to get all [...]

A couple of years ago, my son Hunter scored a sweet purchase at a garage sale: a NFL All-Pro Football game (Ideal # 2520-5, from 1967) for $3. He helped me review the vintage National Football League board game too, which prompted an email from Larry — and if you ever wondered why I spend [...]

There’s lots to love about this vintage pay phone ceramic bank I spotted at a local thrift store. To add money to the piggy bank, you drop the coins in the slot at the top — just like you did with those pay phones. This particular bank was missing the presumably rubber stopper sealing the [...]

Two vintage die-cut Valentines (Carrington Co., Chicago, ILL), circa 1920′s. The two adorable vintage paper Valentines feature cute young ladies with appropriately bobbed hair and rosy cheeks.  Sent to “Dear Alma” — but consider the happy holiday wishes for you too. *wink*

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 first things that people usually ask me when they find out I’m a dealer of vintage collectibles is, what do you collect? My answer is usually short and sweet – “Anything that is chipped or cracked!” My shelf in the kitchen holding my misfit kitchen collectibles – lots of chips, cracks and [...]

I love this vintage metalware trash can because it combines two of my favorite things: practical vintage metal wastebaskets and memories of Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In. Q: How much fun would it be to aim for the Sock-It-To-Me trash can? A: It would be verrry interesting. The seller of this specific trash can, Cashincollectibles, says [...]

Why do my kids continue to lose their winter gloves, year after year, but these vintage gloves with adorable rabbit appliques have managed to survive? Image via Creek House Antiques.

Absolutely adorable family of vintage Rogers Clean-Grip clothes pins — with little heads and faces of each family member, including the family dog and cat. The vintage plastic clothes pins were called “Clean-Grip” because the plastic did not stain, discolor, or soil the wet laundry like wooden and/or metal clothespins can. Plastic clothespins don’t splinter [...]

I do like maps, strongly, not quite enough to love them. Love being such a big word in small letters. I use a map when I explore rural ruins. I use it to find the locations when others tell me they have found an abandoned farmhouse in my area. I have a backroad map which [...]

You’re likely going to think I’m insane with the number of cookie cutter posts I’m about to make — and by that, I mean posts about vintage cookie cutters, not posts that are all the same lol. (I’ll try to spread the posts out a bit, so it doesn’t look like “the cookie cutter site,” [...]

Another guest post by Jaynie Van Roe of Here’s Looking Like You, Kid. The second film I watched as part of TCM’s celebration of actress Luise Rainer‘s 100th birthday was The Toy Wife aka Frou Frou (1938). In the film, Rainer plays Gilberte “Frou Frou” Brigard, who gets the name Frou Frou from the sound [...]

A pretty pair of vintage glassware spotted at the thrift store. I believe the sweet pink flowers with unusual black leaves and stems was hand-painted onto clear glass creamer and handled sugar bowl at Fran Taylor’s Gay Fad Studios (located first in Detroit, Michigan, later in Lancaster, Ohio). Neither glass piece was marked, so I [...]