The best way to judge the age of a piece of furniture is to study how it is constructed. Part of this information is technical, but most of it can be used by any antiques buyer out for a day’s…
The word “ephemera” is the plural form of the Greek word that means something that lasts through a single day, such as a winged insect. Today the word refers to something minor, usually paper, that was made to be used…
The twentieth century saw astounding changes in the American home and American food. The nineteenth-century housewife killed the chicken, plucked its feathers, and cleaned, cut, seasoned, and cooked the chicken on an open flame. By 1990 she went to a…
Tinware was made from tinplate, a sheet of iron or steel that had been dipped in molten tin so it was covered with a thin plating of tin. Early American tinsmiths used tinplate imported from England. By about 1830 some…