By Anne Gilbert    Hard to believe, the Currier and Ives lithographs that come to shops and auctions, sometimes costing thousands of dollars, once could be had for a few cents. They were affordable to just about everyone. The January 30 auction held by The Old Print shop offered some early examples ranging in price from $250 to over $9,000.    When […]

By Robert Reed   If you love me as I love you, Then you will be my sweetheart true. – verse from fancy, heart- shaped 19th century Valentine.    Giving valentines to those dear to us has been a practice for centuries but it was the Victorians that made them so wonderfully fancy.    During the 17th century both men and women […]

By Anne Gilbert    The hunt for important autographs is ongoing. After all it is collecting history. Important people, places and events and related signatures cover every category imaginable from presidential documents, space travel to inventions and movie personalities. Surprisingly documents signed by President George Washington still turn up at auctions, far from their origins. A few months ago a document […]

By Anne Gilbert    So you’ve just discovered a small pottery vase not only signed “Rookwood,” but with an artist’s signature at a garage sale! And, for this great discovery you paid $90. A lot of money at a garage sale but couldn’t it be worth thousands? Once home you excitedly grab your Handy-Dandy Price Guide. Sure enough the artist and […]

Submitted by Carol Mobley    Elizabeth Metz (Lizzie) was born in Manhattan, NY on December 5, 1861 — a beautiful girl whose life was as colorful as her red hair.    There is little known of Lizzie’s childhood but by the time she was 19 she was married to Ambrose Hadley, a Civil War veteran 20 years her senior. They traveled together […]