Salt and pepper shakers are inexpensive collectibles

#Middlebury #Antiques Looking for an inexpensive, amusing collection for a small display area in your house? Or perhaps an item to encourage your children to be collectors and go to ... Continue Reading →

Phrenology head serves as decoration

#Middlebury #Antiques Medicine has come a long way since the early 1800s, when phrenology was an accepted theory of diagnosis. It was said that each bump on your head covered a part ... Continue Reading →

What’s in a name?

#Middlebury #Antiques It sometimes is difficult to know the proper name for a piece of antique furniture. Names can change. A commode can be a chest of drawers; a cabinet like a sideboard; ... Continue Reading →

Lincoln carving made in late 1800s

#Middlebury #Antiques President Abraham Lincoln has been memorialized in many ways since his death in 1865, but there are things that few people remember today. The president and ... Continue Reading →

U.S. valentines date to 1800s

#Middlebury #Valentines Valentine’s Day is an old holiday that started with a Christian martyr, St. Valentine, about A.D. 500, or the Roman fertility fest Lupercalia. In the 1860s, ... Continue Reading →

Have fun collecting bottles

#Middlebury #Antiques Why not start a bottle collection this year? It’s fun and encourages healthy exercise and family outings. It creates new friendships and sometimes a lucky ... Continue Reading →

Whale oil lamps once used as lights

#Middlebury #Antiques Many 18th-century lamps used oil to get light. If whale oil was not available, the lamps could use olive oil. The oil was kept in a reservoir, usually metal, ... Continue Reading →

Clobbered porcelain may have added value

#Middlebury #Antiques The English word “clobbered” has been used since at least the 1600s, but its meaning has changed. It still means beaten up, badly injured or damaged. But the ... Continue Reading →

Slat-back chairs from Canada look different

#Middlebury #Antiques Ever see an old chair that seems different – the parts are a little more curved, the stretchers between the legs have more shape and the seat seems a little ... Continue Reading →

‘Antique’ blown glassware may be a copy

#Middlebury #Antiques It is very difficult to identify early blown glassware from the 18th century because talented modern glass blowers can make good copies in the earlier styles and ... Continue Reading →