Life
Antique schoolboy ‘penny toy’ made in Germany sold for $840
The child’s arm moves and opens the top of the desk to show candy hidden inside.
Life
We can thank the Shaker religious community for seed packets
Their innovation led to seed tape, whose turn-of-the-century packaging is coveted today.
Life
A Roman goddess was the inspiration behind Britannia’s look
Britain’s personification wears a Corinthian helmet, carries a spear and has a lion at her feet.
Life
This ceramic parrot concealed an early radio’s loudspeaker
The rare bird statue hid the working parts of a 1927 radio and was a substitute for a…
Life
Antique beds can be used today — with some customization
They’re shorter and narrower than today’s beds, but antique headboards and footboards can be used.
Life
17th-century voters cast marbles instead of paper ballots
You’d be given black and white marbles. To vote no, a black marble was dropped in the box.
Life
Do you have any furniture made by Mitchell & Rammelsberg?
The company made top-quality Victorian pieces in Cincinnati from about 1847 to 1940.
Life
Patriotic posters for American products sell for high prices
One selling American Family Soap and featuring Uncle Sam and Lady Liberty recently sold for $1,650.
Life
Want to start a collection? Salt-and-pepper shakers are nice
Pick a theme — like animals, fruit or toys — and enjoy the hunt. Most sets cost less…
Life
Old phrenology heads with zones mapped out sell for over $500
It was believed long ago that each bump on the head correlated to a personality trait.
Life
What is a whirligig? Antique collectors’ new favorite thing
The pinwheels or moving toys were very popular in the 1880s to 1900, and they are still being…
Life
‘Dumb waiter’ is a type of turning table, not a stupid person
A Victorian table like this made with a three-part leg, sold at an auction last year for $406.
Life
Fun facts about Honest Abe, our tallest president
He didn’t smoke, rarely drank and enjoyed chicken fricassee with biscuits.
Life
Now is a good time to start a valentines card collection
A collector can find reasonably priced postcards and die-cut cards that were sold in dime stores.
Life
Whiskey nip (a small bottle that holds one shot) sold for $700
The flask has a rare bright-blue color and a screw-on metal cap used on many 1885-1900 bottles.
Life
Tin boy-on-a-scooter toy is key-wound and rolls across floor
French toymaker F. Martin made this metal scootering boy in the 1920s. It sold recently for $1,560.
Life
A pair of Chinese urns from the mid-1800s were painted over
But these “clobbered” alterations were thought of enhancing — not damaging — and added to their value.
Life
Antique bright cobalt blue-blown sugar bowl sold for $2,300
The lid’s finial is shaped like an acorn, but the best clue to its age is the engraving…
Life
American, Canadian slat-back chairs have subtle differences
The antique chairs from the 17th and early 18th centuries can fetch four figures at auctions.
Life
This late 19th-century silver-plated lamp burned whale oil
It has it all — a silver-plated reflector brass pole, tools, moth reflector and a finial.