Cigar Store Indians: The Original Tobacco Advertising Pitchmen (5/15/13)
In the 1600s, ships traversed the Atlantic Ocean as businessmen in England looked to expand commerce and consumption of tobacco … More >>

Rinker on Collectibles: The Academic Historian vs. The Collector (4/26/13)
On March 28, 2013, I presented a scholarly paper entitled “Celebrity Bounce” as a member of the Collecting and Collectibles: … More >>

Up in Smoke: From the Calabash to the Hookah, Collectible Tobacco Pipes Abound (4/4/13)
Tobacco use has taken many forms over the last five hundred-plus years, from cigars to cigarettes, plugs and snuff. But … More >>

‘Herzlichen Glückwunsch!’ Best Wishes on Starting a German Beer Stein Collection (4/4/13)
Collecting something new can usually be overwhelming. When I first started collecting and selling beer steins, I was amazed by … More >>

Advertising & Country Store Collectibles to pace Huge Showtime Auction (4/1/13)
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – More than 2,400 lots from three major collections of country store, pedal cars, toys and firefighting … More >>

March Auction to Feature Fine Art, Jewelry, Native American Objects (2/19/13)
GENESEO, N.Y. — Approximately 900 quality lots of fine arts and antiques in an array of categories will be sold … More >>

Early American “chestnut flasks” – ca. 1770s to 1830s (10/17/08)
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Early Automobilia Stein (10/1/08)
What links the history of the automobile and the history of automobilia? The answer is the love/hate relationship with the automobile. Much autombilia–prints, sheet music, steins, postcards, valentines–illustrates the conflict between automobile lover and hater. More >>

Collectible Automobilia Ashtray (10/1/08)
“Automobilia” comes in many forms. Often, these objects are cross collectibles (i.e. ashtrays). One of the most interesting early ashtrays is the one pictured. More >>

I have a wine dispenser I am curious about (9/27/08)
I was wondering about this wine dispenser…. Can you tell me about it and if it is worth anything other than sentiment? More >>