In this interview, Jim Snell talks about collectible classic Chevrolet cars, including the 1957 Bel Air, the 1959 Impala, and the 1960’s Camaro muscle cars. He also discusses vintage Schwinn bicycles. Based in Indiana, Jim can be reached through his website, Jims59.com, which is a member of our Hall of Fame.
I’ve been around Chevy cars my whole life and had them when I was in high school. It’s a … (continue reading)
Bill Lindsey discusses antique bottles, including mouth blown bottles, bitters, figurals, inks, medicines, flasks, and many other varieties. He also explains the history and methods of early bottle production, and how diggers find bottles. Based in Klamath Falls, Oregon, Lindsey can be reached through his website, Historic Glass Bottle Identification, which is a member of our Hall of Fame.
My maternal grandfather and uncle got into bottles in about 1965 or … (continue reading)
In this interview, Richard Polt talks about collecting typewriters, from the early experimental machines of the 1890s to more modern postwar portables. Polt, who lives in Cincinnati and teaches philosophy at Xavier University, can be reached through his website, The Classic Typewriter Page, which is a member of our Hall of Fame.
I started to get interested in typewriters around age 12. My dad and I stopped at a garage sale and he bought me this … (continue reading)
In this interview David Kornacki discusses the history of the Roycroft copper shop and its production of hammered copper items. Based in Manhattan, Kornacki can be reached through his website, Roycroft Copper, which is a member of our Hall of Fame.
I started collecting Roycroft around 1992 when I visited the Peter Roberts Gallery in New York City. That was sort of the peak of the Arts and Crafts mania … (continue reading)
Ron Sturgeon and Rodney Ross discuss collecting rare toy cars, including early tin, wind-up, pressed steel and other models. Ron Sturgeon is the founder of the DFW Elite Toy Museum in Austin, Texas, a member of our Hall of Fame. Rodney Ross is the curator.
Ron Sturgeon: I had an automotive repair shop in about 1976 and spent a lot of time repairing Mercedes. About 1979 I decided to start collecting Mercedes … (continue reading)
In this interview Peter Berg discusses cookbook collecting, and the American cookbook collection he’s built at the Michigan State University Library where he serves as the head of special collections. The collection’s digital version, Feeding America, is a member of our Hall of Fame.
Special collections is where we keep non-circulating rare materials which have to be used in the reading room. Our holdings range from one of the world’s finest collections of comic art … (continue reading)
Frank Loevi discusses collecting beer steins, and the history of stein production in Germany and the U.S. Loevi can be reached through his Beer Stein Library, which is a member of our Hall of Fame.
I’ve been a beer stein collector for about 25 years. About 10 years ago I sold my business, a specialty database provider. At that point, I had some experience in compiling databases and beer steins were my passion, so with … (continue reading)
In this article John Stanley talks about collecting antique beer and soda bottle openers, including figurals and other varieties. Based in Durham, North Carolina, John can be reached through his website, Just For Openers, which is a member of our Hall of Fame.
My mother brought home a bunch of openers back in 1977, and that got me started collecting. I thought it would be pretty neat to do because nobody else was collecting them. … (continue reading)
Jodi Lenocker discusses antique hatpin collecting, hatpin styles, and related historical information. Jodi is President of the The American Hatpin Society, a member of our Hall of Fame.
Originally my husband and I collected cylinder phonographs, but after you acquire a few of them and their stands, you soon run out of room. So, I was looking for something smaller to collect and I took a walking tour of Old … (continue reading)
In this interview, Bill Soderlund talks about the history of pharmacies and about collecting drugstore antiques including show globes, bottles, and soda fountain items.
I’m fourth generation in the pharmacy business, so I grew up in a pharmacy, and it always was interesting to me. I also enjoyed a lot of the old black-and-white movies that had a hospital scene or a doctor scene. Those just piqued my interest. I’ve collected everything from drugstores except … (continue reading)
In this interview, Sam Baker discusses collecting vintage Ford cars (Model T’s and A’s), Ford porcelain signs and other collectibles, and Petroliana (gas pumps and globes), especially Richfield. Based in Oceanview, New Jersey, Sam can be reached through his website, Jersey Vintage Ford Collectibles, which is a member of our Hall of Fame.
I’ve always had an old Ford Model A or something to tinker around with or play … (continue reading)
In this interview Jim Potts talks about collecting petroliana: signs, gas pumps, globes, oil cans, maps, and other items related to gas stations and oil companies. Based in DeSoto, Missouri, Jim can be reached via his website, Oldgas.com, which is a member of our Hall of Fame.
I became interested in Petroliana in a kind of roundabout way. I’ve been in the automotive repair business all my life, and have … (continue reading)
Mark Lansdown discusses collectible comic character advertising pinbacks. Based in Denver, Colorado, Mark can be reached via his website, Comic Character Pinbacks, which is a member of our Hall of Fame.
I started off collecting comic books, and still do, but I’d been given a few early Disney pinbacks as a child and always thought they were interesting. In the early 1990s, I started getting Ted Hake’s excellent auction magazine, … (continue reading)
Alex Renshaw discusses collecting Victorian and Edwardian period advertising antiques, including porcelain enamel signs. Based in Worcester, England, Alex can be reached through his website, Advertising Antiques, which is a member of our Hall of Fame.
How did I get started collecting advertising antiques? My dad was a lecturer and tutor in graphics and art from the 1960s onwards, and was into vintage automobiles and advertising, like vintage signs, pumps, and … (continue reading)
In this interview, Steve McVoy talks about collecting vintage television sets, both pre-war and postwar, black and white and color. Based in Colorado, Steve is curator of the Early Television Museum, a member of our Hall of Fame.
In the 1950s when I was a teenager I used to work for a television repair shop and we’d get sets from the 40s every once in a while and I was fascinated by them. So in … (continue reading)
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Joking Aside, Rube Goldberg Got Tech Right
Secrets of the Blue Note Vault: Rediscovering Monk, Blakey, and Hancock
Everything You Know About Corsets Is False
Typewriter Collector Richard Polt on More Than a Century of QWERTY