guest columns

Guest Column: Collecting Vintage Cigarette Lighters

Monday, June 30th, 2008

By Eric Beeson (Copyright 2008)
In this article, Eric Beeson talks about collecting vintage cigarette lighters, including brands such as Zippo, Ronson, and Dunhill. Eric is a frequent contributor to The Collectors Weekly, and will be starting his first year at the University of California Santa Barbara this fall.
Cigarette lighter collecting is a hobby that never [...]

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Guest Column: Collecting Antique Ball Jars

Thursday, June 26th, 2008

By Bruce Wayne Schank (Copyright 2008)
In this article, collector Bruce Wayne Schank talks about collecting antique Ball jars (fruit jars), and the history of the Ball jar. Based in Pompton Plains, NJ, Bruce can be reached via his website, Balljars.net.
One of the most common fruit jars ever produced is the lowly Ball jar. Historical figures [...]

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Guest Column: Collecting Toy Cars, A Healthy Addiction

Friday, May 9th, 2008

By Paul Chenard (Copyright 2008)
A member of The Collectors Weekly Hall of Fame, Paul Chenard shows off his impressive collection of race car toys and automobilia on his personal site, focusing mostly on European racing history.
I’ve been collecting vintage toys since 1982. I started slowly and methodically, partly for lack of information, mostly for [...]

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Guest Column: An Introduction to Identifying and Collecting Antique Quilts

Friday, May 2nd, 2008

By Kimberly Wulfert (Copyright 2008)
Kimberly Wulfert is a quilt historian and collector whose website, www.antiquequiltdating.com, is a member of our Hall of Fame.
Many antique quilt collectors think of themselves as caretakers of historical documents, made at the hands of the needlework sisterhood before them. Their quilts speak to them and tell their story through clues [...]

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Guest Column: Collecting Vintage Transistor Radios of the 1950s and 60s

Friday, May 2nd, 2008

By Michael Jack (Copyright 2008)
Michael Jack, whose personal Flickr website is a member of our Hall of Fame, is a collector of vintage transistor radios.
Perhaps you recently saw a picture of a cool looking pocket radio from the early 1960’s and were reminded of your carefree, youthful days? Maybe it was the pastel colors or [...]

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Guest Column: Collecting Early Typewriters of the Late 1800s

Monday, April 14th, 2008

By Martin Howard (Copyright 2008)
Martin Howard’s website, antiquetypewriters.com, features his collection of antique typewriters and typewriter accessories, and is a member of our Hall of Fame.
Collecting antique typewriters circa 1900 has been a wonderful experience for me over the years. My collection is really just the tip of the iceberg, as literally hundreds of [...]

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Guest Column: The Evolution, History, and Imagery of Playing Cards

Thursday, April 10th, 2008

By Simon Wintle (Copyright 2008)
Simon Wintle is the man behind The World of Playing Cards, a great reference source on antique and vintage playing cards and a member of our Hall of Fame.
For over six centuries - apart from its functionality as a number game - the playing card has been chosen as a medium [...]

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Guest Column: Collecting The Parker 51, A Classic Vintage Pen

Thursday, April 10th, 2008

By Ernesto Soler (Copyright 2008)
Ernesto Soler is a pen collector and the webmaster of Parker51.com, a member of our Hall of Fame.
The Parker “51,” produced by the Parker Pen Company, is considered by many collectors to be the best pen ever made. Developed in 1939 and introduced in the U.S. market in 1941, it [...]

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