By Robert Reed  Once people became educated enough and affluent enough to acquire sufficient numbers of books, a place to keep them all literally came out of the closet.  Historians note that at first the few people who could afford bound books used small, shelved closets for storing them. Eventually shelves were placed on outside walls for further storage in […]

By Carol Mobley  Advertising over the years has not changed much.  The main purpose for advertising is to promote a specific product and brand recognition.  This has been accomplished in several ways over the years.  One way was to use an illustration of the package or bottle in the advertisement.  Not everyone could read in late 1800’s and early 1900’s […]

By Robert Reed  There was a unique time in history when the search for finer craftsmanship merged with the emerging progress of lighting. The Arts and Crafts period came along just as the electric light came into existence.  Eventually the electric light which could provide the glow of 60 candles would be the object of home decor crafted by such […]

July 1 150th Anniversary of the opening of the Philadelphia Zoo, the first public zoo in the U.S. (1874) July 4 Independence Day July 8 Liberty Bell tolls to announce Declaration of Independence (1776) July 20 Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong takes historic first steps on the moon (1969) July 26 Congress establishes U.S. Post Office (1775) July 26 75th […]

By Mike Pearce  In the Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries, thousands of brass bands dotted the American landscape. Those ensembles played music assembled in march size folios and band books. As those band books now find their way into auctions from attics and basements, they become attractive collectibles for a select number of band history collectors and performers. By […]