By Carol Mobley    The 4th of July inspires one to visualize patriotic images and what is more patriotic than an image of Uncle Sam. As I was looking at Uncle Sam images it made me wonder how Uncle Sam came to be. I hope you find this Uncle Sam article as much fun as I had researching it.    The earliest […]

By Anne Gilbert    If you’ve always yearned to live like a king, gold trimmed furniture reproductions await you. They may look like rare antique Baroque and Rococo chairs and beds, but they are made in quantity these days and usually priced in the thousands of dollars.    Often they turn up mislabeled at antique shows, shops and auctions. One is even […]

By Anne Gilbert    Beginning in the 19th century women not only kept house they began inventing things to make their lives easier. They created working models of their inventions in order to get a patent that would protect their ownership rights. These models are avidly collected and worth big bucks.    The making of patent models began when Congress passed the […]

By Beatrice Levin    From our earliest history, weaving and quilting bedcovers has been a medium for creative artistry. Since quilting became elevated from a home craft to a respected creative art, it also has become appreciated as a textile antique for its symbolism.    European immigrants brought not only quilts to the colonies, but also quiltmaking skills that developed and flourished. […]

By Robert Reed    If Evel Knievel could be considered a legend of the 1970s, then the toys created in his name clearly were legendary.    Knievel became America’s number one daredevil during that decade and at the same time evoked more than $300 million worth of toys and related merchandise. Some experts go as far as to say that the motorcycle […]