By Daniel Bohm (Copyright Collectors Weekly 2010) — I recently had the pleasure of updating our Audrey Hepburn overview, which probably took me longer than most, mainly because every time I saw a picture of her I would inevitably have to wipe my drool off the keyboard. Once I was able to get past her everlasting beauty (who am I kidding, I never got past that), I was amazed at some of the things I learned. As you may have noticed, I'm one of the newer contributors to the Collectors Weekly blog. If you read my posts, you will probably...

From Ruby Slippers to Kermit the Frog: Pop Culture Artifacts at the Smithsonian

By Maribeth Keane and Ben Marks — I’ve been at the Smithsonian for 28 years—I never thought I’d stay that long! The first job I had was as a producer and annotator of recordings. We used to have a very active program of archival recordings that we’d release. I came here to work on a set of American popular songs. I remained with the Division of Performing Arts until it was cast asunder and absorbed by the Museum of American History. Then I did public programs, and then I became curator of the Entertainment History...

Collecting James Bond, Doctor Who, and The Beatles

By Jessica Lewis — Ever since I was a child, I wanted to work in the auction business, specifically in the entertainment part. I liked the idea of handling, owning, and being a part of objects that were lynchpins in the history of music, film, or television. To accomplish my goal, I studied film, got an art-history degree, and earned an M.A. in fine-art valuation. I started out as a general auctioneer working with all kinds of antiques before moving into the entertainment field. I like film posters, but I...