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 […]
Simon, Bradley, Billye and Barbie Recently, an eight-year-old boy named Simon came into my doll shop in Denver. He said that he was a Barbie Collector and that he knew a lot about the dolls. I asked him right away when Barbie was released to the world and he replied, “1959 at a Toy Fair in New York.” Wow! Ok, […]
Everyone of our guesses for the February What Is It identified the object as a desk ink blotter. Our source said it is a paper weight. This particular one has had an outdoor working life. It is six-inch cast-iron engraved weight used to anchor newspapers at a kiosk in New York. Decorative weights like this one are still in use so […]
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