We had several correct answers to our August’s What Is It. The objects, pictured above, are needlecases. These are all late-19th Century needlecases. They include: a wooden carved fish, fluted silver; wood topped with silver, carved ivory; Irish milk glass with English oak leaves and acorns; and a chased silver case that stores needles in compartments graded according to size. […]

 Almost everyone of our guesses for the July 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 […]

 Marjorie McLaren of Anchorage, Alaska, tells us, “June’s What Is It? shows two micro mosaic hat pins likely made in Italy in the mid 19th to early 20th century.  Around that time wealthy people would take a Grand Tour of Europe  – especially Italy  – and would bring back colorful mementos such as these hat pins, made with tiny colorful […]

We had one correct guess. Terry Cook of Fort Morgan, Colorado tells us May’s What Is It is Mattel’s Barbie 50th Anniversary of NASCAR Collector edition. Nib Hot Wheels doll added another profession to Barbie’s ever-growing list of titles: NASCAR driver. The box features NASCAR 50th Anniversary artwork. Barbie’s lipstick is carefully picked for this set; Mattel dubbed the color […]

 These beads are called Roman face beads. There is amazing detail in these tiny beads, shown here much larger than actual size. The eyes, mouth and other features were made by fusing rods of differently colored glass with heat, then slicing the fused rods and embedding the slices in glass beads. Invented by Syrians and Egyptians during Roman time, the […]