collecting Archive

0December 13, 2011
No Newt Is Good Newt

I had these buttons / pinbacks made back in the day — the early days of the gross ineptitude, racism, and misogyny of the political money-grubbing beast that is Newt…
0November 29, 2011
Laundry On The Line

Remember Wilson, the neighbor whose face we never completely saw as it as obscured by the fence on Tool Time? Yeah, so does the seller of this vintage photo —…
0October 16, 2011
Let’s Eat Pretzels! Getting Divorce Papers In The 1960s

Or at least that’s what I see in this photo. Via Lynnstudios.
1October 14, 2011
Of Tailgators, Radio & Retail

This is a vintage WKTI Tailgator pinback from 1983, featuring Old Style beer. It’s mere 1.75 inches, but oh the size of the memories it unleashes… If you’re of a…
0September 24, 2011
“Protection To American Labor And American Industries”

I spotted this 1888 Benjamin Harrison silk handkerchief or scarf at Listia (if you don’t know what Listia is, check out my review), and I was so bummed to have…
0September 22, 2011
Make Up For Breasts?

No offense to Mr. Vargas, but I think he misunderstood the task… This vintage ad was for “Twin Make Up,” not makeup for “the twins.” The original artwork by Alberto…
0August 11, 2011
Share & Share Alike: Why Posting Your “Junk” Is Worthy Of Your Time

In 2010, I was a presenter at the first Bookmark Collectors Virtual Convention, encouraging collectors not to be embarrassed about their collections (bookmarks or otherwise). And recently I discussed how…
0August 9, 2011
MTV Cared About Your Breasts

Over a decade before Rethink Breast Cancer & MTV News Canada launched (to public outcry; video), and the Women Rock! Girls & Guitars breast cancer benefit too, MTV had the…
1June 14, 2011
Antique Suffragette Bookmark

While interviewing Lauren Roberts about her bookmark collection (continued here), I found one antique silk bookmark most fetching… Turns out this might just be a bit of suffragette history. Lauren,…
1May 17, 2011
Women’s Pages, Then & Now

You know, by now, that I collect horde vintage magazines, publications, newspapers, and other ephemera. (If not, please send me your recipe for Denial Sauce; the anti-women politics of the…
1February 8, 2011
The History, Legacy & Power Of Housewives (And Woman In General)

I found this photo of a National Housewives League meeting Detroit, Michigan, in 1945 while researching the Organized Housewives, a completely unrelated group. The National Housewives’ League of America was…
6October 16, 2010
The Original Garter Girl’s Estate Shows Something More Shocking Than Lingerie

When I spotted this post at Slip of a Girl’s lingerie blog, I thought I had remembered something about the former burlesque star, “The Original Garter Girl,” Lynne O’Neill… Sadly,…
0February 12, 2010
Taking Off Those Kid Gloves About The Collectors Convention

Hey, that conference I’m presenting at, the first annual Bookmark Collectors Virtual Convention, has been written up in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Which reminded me that I had not mentioned the…
1January 28, 2010
You Could Have Hundreds Of These Cards & Still Not Be Playing With A Full Deck

I’m completely smitten with these 1916 M.J. Moriarty Playing Cards featuring the leading ladies and gents of the silent silver screen. I found them when I found my buddy Cliff…
0January 25, 2010
Clap(ton) On, Clap(ton) Off

When I saw Eric Clapton hawking the new Fender Limited Edition of T-Mobile’s myTouch 3G I had a thought — well, actually, I had two thoughts. The first one was,…
0December 29, 2009
Inherited Values: Antiques & Vintage Collectibles, NOT By The Book

‘Cuz you know I just don’t have enough to do what with moving the sites and all… I’ve started Inherited Values, a new network for lovers of antiques and vintage…
1November 18, 2009
Whatjamacallit Wednesday: Waste (Can) Not, Want (Can) Not?

In response to my Gadabout post (about a vintage composition dog), Laura (of Doodle Week) said, “I really like how you know all this stuff about old things and how…
3November 12, 2009
Cheap Thrills Thursday: Discarded Stockings Go To War & End Up At The Hingham Shipyard

Awhile ago, folks working on The Launch at the historic Hingham Shipyard, contacted me about one of my pieces of ephemera, a page from Modern Woman Magazine (Volume 12, Number…
0October 30, 2009
History Is Ephemeral, Issue #7

Welcome to edition number seven of the History Is Ephemeral Carnival, where ephemera lovers share the history behind their obsessions. If you’ve got posts about old paper and other ephemera,…
2October 26, 2009
Sign Of The Times: A Fishy Ephemera Hunt

I confess, I kill a lot of time just looking at the old snapshots and vintage photos at eBay. Sometimes I buy them, sometimes they inspire odd comments and random…
0October 20, 2009
Weekly Geeks: Organization & Inspiration

This week’s Weekly Geek is “Tools Of The Trade”: Book blogging, as a concept, is essentially pretty simple: If you have Internet access and an opinion about a book, you…