Bisque Match Holder Shaped Like a Man

Sometimes inventions have changed how we perform a job. They make a certain tool or decoration no longer useful, and its earlier use is forgotten. A 5-inch-tall bisque vase shaped like a man in a political uniform was one of these mysteries in a recent auction. It could hold small flowers for a very short […]

Folk Art Whimsy

Artists don’t spend all their time making large oil paintings, huge statues, or even sketches and doodles that help them create a new and different style. Many worked for years before they found the special, individual look that pictured the world in a unique way. But a different group of artists made folk art carvings, […]

Cut Silhouette

A recent catalog gave a description of a silhouette as “cut by mouth.” Martha Ann Honeywell (1786–1856) was a disabled artist who cut silhouettes and did needlework without using her hands. She was born without hands or forearms and was also missing two toes. She could cut and paste, thread a needle, embroider and write […]

Stoneware Ram Figure

Antique stoneware was often used in small local potteries in 19th-century New England. They made useful objects in molds and fanciful figurines and vases that could be decorated by hand. Bristol-slip glaze was popular because it was scratch-resistant and added color. One amateur artist made a resting ram to be used as a doorstop. The […]

Bentwood Storage Box

Hand-decorated storage boxes were important for storage in the 18th century when there were few places, other than shelves, to store small personal items. Collectors today treasure the work of the Bucher family in Berks County, Pennsylvania, made from about 1750 to 1800. There are memorials with dates ranging from 1792 to 1876 with Heinrich, […]

Louisiana Creole Punkah Fan

Can you guess what this unfamiliar antique was used for? It is 40 inches high and 35 inches wide and probably made of Southern Yellow Pine. It is called a “punkah.” It was made in the early 19th century and used with the help of a man called a “punkah wallah” who pulled a cord […]

Brownie Ten Pin Set

Comic characters are often used as models for toys because they are already favorites of children. One group of toys was based on children’s books by Palmer Cox (1840–1924), an author born in Quebec, Canada, and lived in Panama and San Francisco as a railroad contractor and carpenter. About 1874 he began to study drawing […]

Washington and Grant Handkerchief

Nations, like people, have special parties and observances to celebrate birthdays and other successes. In 1876, the United States celebrated its 100th birthday with the Centennial Exhibition of 1876 in Philadelphia. It started on May 10th of that year. The exhibition celebrated the signing of the Declaration of Independence There have been many other exhibitions […]

Roseville Ming Tree Vases

Art pottery is made by a single talented artist; a group of designers and artists who share the different steps; or a large company that has expensive machinery, men who make the molds, throw the clay and manage the hot ovens, and many talented designers and artists. Trial pieces are made that are eventually destroyed […]

Tole Coffeepot

Toleware was popular in New England and nearby areas in the 1700s. Collectors today identify the existing pieces by similarities in the shapes and painted decorations on newly discovered pieces. Two paint colors were used as the base coat to protect the tin from rust; black or red was used in Pennsylvania, but only black […]