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Showing articles 1 to 6 of 533
A Closer Look at a 'BALLY' Advertising Poster
This 1950s ‘BALLY’ shoe advertising poster could be worth £500-700 ($800-1,200). Find out more about it here...
- 20 May 2013
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Mason's Ironstone
Charles Mason patented his ‘English porcelain’ in 1813. It was a prescient move that made his fortune, but the product known to this day by the rather grandiloquent title ‘Mason’s Patent Ironstone China’ was actually not of his own devising.
- 20 May 2013
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Phrenological Inkwell: In the mind of the beholder...
We have always looked at our bodies to discern our health. Reading a newspaper last weekend, I was drawn into an article which informed me that my fingernails were an indicator of health, even impending bad health. This reminded me of an object in a friend’s ink
- 20 May 2013
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Postcards
Impossibly blue skies and bright sandy beaches may be typical of today’s holiday postcard, but in the early days, the Post Office insisted upon the use of plain cards with addresses on one side and messages on the reverse. In the 1890s the rules changed and the picture postcard was born. From around 1905 ‘divided back’ postcards, which allowed the address and message to be written on the same side, were ...
- 1 March 2013
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Dunhill Lighters
Incredible as it sounds today, smoking was until relatively recently seen as a fashionable and even hugely healthy activity. Although smoking has fallen out of favor, related paraphernalia has continued to grow in popularity. Since the 16th century, many intriguing and attractive accessories, from engraved tobacco tins to pottery pipes, have been produced. By the 1920s, the luxury end of the smoking market ...
- 13 February 2013
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Valentine's Day Cards
Approximately one billion Valentine’s Day cards are sent each year. Though it may seem a modern fashion, Valentine’s cards have been exchanged by lovers since the late 18th century and these early examples are often extremely collectible. Despite this, they are often forgotten by dealers: hidden in group lots or mounted in photo frames, so keep your eyes peeled for these mementoes of February 14ths past. ...
- 13 February 2013
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