Following a ride in blistering cold weather, George Washington awoke at 2 a.m. on December 14, 1799, with a fever, sore throat, and respiratory difficulties. A believer in the healing powers of bloodletting, Washington asked to be bled. After a series of medical procedures, including blisterings, emetics, laxatives, and the draining of nearly 40 percent […]
If you’ve collected artifacts or antiques long enough, you’ve undoubtedly encountered a sticky situation: glue. The sticky stuff comes in the form of old stubborn labels stuck to glass, Elmer’s Glue used to mount arrowheads onto a display board, or a bad repair job involving antique wood. Whatever the situation may be, you’re not stuck […]
Named after the reddish-brown color of its blemishes, foxing is a form of deterioration that marks paper documents and photographs with rust colored splotches, spots, and specks. While foxing can negatively impact the value of collectible paper documents, it doesn’t directly affect the integrity of the paper.
Most notably collected for their remarkable ornamental form, ammonites, the predatory mollusks that resembled squid, have long captured our fascination.
From firearms, DIY hacks, and dog license tags to majestic man manes of the American Civil War and Bob Ross (yes, that Bob Ross), we’ve covered some interesting subjects in 2019. Here are 9 of our favorite infographics, articles, and images of 2019.
Cloudy glass, otherwise known as sick glass, can sometimes be cleared. Sick glass occurs when hard water seeps into the glass through micro fractures. The calcium, lime, and other minerals in the water cause a light, foggy appearance to occur. And as antique glass collectors know, eliminating “cloudy glass” can be a formidable challenge. […]
Clovis points are quite possibly the most coveted point of Native American artifact collectors. Clovis points are the unmistakably-fluted (a leaf like groove emanating from the central base) projectile points associated with the New World Clovis culture of the Early Paleoindian period―which lasted for nearly 1,000 years, from 11,500 to 10,500 years ago. This period […]
Just off U.S. Route 50 in Herndon, Virginia, stands a non-descript warehouse that houses more than a thousand paintings created by one of America’s most recognized and beloved painters: Bob Ross.
Everyday I’m reminded of my failure to observe some of the most basic rules for protecting and preserving the items in my collection.
Owney, a scruffy Terrier mix, wandered into the annals of dog tag history when he trotted into the Albany, New York, post office in 1888. With a peculiar attraction to the scent of mailbags, Owney soon became a fixture at the post office.