Care of Old Newspapers

Wood-pulp paper is merely a mass of cellulose fibers. Lignin, a component that acts as a binder, makes paper like newsprint brittle, weak, and short-lived. To preserve the information in a newspaper article, photocopy it on acid-free paper. However, if you want to preserve the newspaper article itself, try a milk of magnesia and club […]

Labels

Labels often speak for themselves. They are small ads promoting a product to either wholesalers or consumers. They picture the hairstyles, fashions, architecture, and transportation of the day. Trademarks, printing styles, colors, bar codes, and even wording—a vegetable name like telephone peas—contain clues to the age of a label. Old fruit and vegetable crate labels […]

Matchbox Labels And Matchbooks

Matchbox labels came into use about 1826 with the invention of the friction match. The first label on a matchbox was strictly utilitarian. The design was black and white and had directions on how to the use the new invention. By 1830 N. Jones & Company of England produced a crude, pale green matchbox label […]

Factors Affecting A Baseball Card’s Value

Newer cards must be in near-perfect condition to have any value. Older cards in less-than-perfect condition sell, but those in excellent condition bring the best prices. Unopened packs of cards sell better than opened packs. Sometimes the cards have been stained by the bubble gum or packaging—an unwelcome, price-reducing surprise. One way to make sure […]

Painted Tin

The names given to painted tin are confusing, but the confusion will clear when you realize that toleware, japanned ware, painted tin, and Pontypool all mean practically the same thing. Toleware is painted tinware, usually with a black varnished background and designs painted on by hand or stenciled. Pontypool was painted tinware made in Pontypool, […]

Punched Tin

Much of the unpainted tinware used in America was plain, but some was made with punched decoration. Most punched tin dates from 1830 to 1860. The dents in the tin, made with a hammer and a nail or with a small die, did not break the surface. If the design went through the tin, it […]

Pewter Trivia

The eight-inch-plate era lasted from 1750 to 1825 in America. During those years, undecorated plates measuring eight inches in diameter were made. The coffeepot era was from 1825 to 1850. During that time, pewter was made in shapes that imitated the shapes of silver pieces. Sadware refers to heavy pieces of pewter, like plates and […]

Britannia

Experts give various explanations of the difference between Britannia and pewter. Actually, there is no difference. Pewter and Britannia were both used to make an everyday ware that resembled silver. Pewter was the first name used for the metal. Most of the early pieces were made by hand. When the sale of pewter began slowing […]

Twentieth-Century Lamp Manufacturers

This table lists important lamp manufacturers of the twentieth century, their locations, dates of operation, and marks. Manufacturer Location Dates of Operation Marks Arredoluce Monza, Italy c.1945–1970s Arteluce Milan, Italy 1936–1974 (purchased by Flos in 1974) Artemide Pregnana Milanese, Italy 1959–present Frankart, Inc. New York, New York 1920s–1930s Fulper Flemington, New Jersey 1858–1935 (Vasecraft Lamps […]

Contemporary Lamp Design—The 1970s to 2000

Lighting designers in the 1970s experimented with new materials—plastics and other synthetics—and new sources of illumination, including halogen bulbs, fluorescent and neon tubes, and LEDs (light-emitting diodes). The neon Asteroide floor light (1968) and the Alogena series of halogen lamps (1970) are examples of these innovative designs. The oil crisis of the 1970s led to […]