Match Safes: Hot Items for Collectors

April 18, 2018

From around the 1830s through the 1920s, almost everyone carried the newfangled “strike anywhere” matches to light lanterns, stoves and candles. Proceeded by old-fashioned wood splints — which were dipped […]

The Auction Block: Asia Week 2018

March 15, 2018

Here are several choice lots coming up during Asia Week auctions in New York on March 19 and 22-23.

Salesman Samples: Small Scale, High Value

March 7, 2018

Peddlers hold a special place in early American culture. During the late 1800s and early 1900s, when there were few stores around, the peddler, with his horse and buggy, became a […]

This Week: New York’s Winter Antiques Show

January 22, 2018

The loan exhibition from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts is a treasure chest, but so are the booths of the 70 exhibitors, all of which showcase objects of museum quality.

Salt Boxes: Essential Yet Rarely Noticed

December 6, 2017

Southern foods and salt are like hand and glove. There are many salty foods specific to the mountainous South: country ham, sour beans and sauerkraut, to name a few. Salt […]

Salt Boxes: Essential Yet Rarely Noticed


Southern foods and salt are like hand and glove. There are many salty foods specific to the mountainous South: country ham, sour beans and sauerkraut, to name a few. Salt […]

Mathewes Speaks at Cultural Leadership Breakfast

November 9, 2017

A milestone in Melanie Mathewes’s effort to expand the audience for the National Sporting Library & Museum is the exhibition “The Horse in Ancient Greek Art,” which opened Sept. 9 and runs through Jan. 14.

Weekend Round Up October 5, 2017

October 5, 2017

Opening night for the Smithsonian’s Craft2Wear Show is tonight, Thursday, Oct. 5, and it’s also time for the Waterford Fair and the Solar & Green Home Tour.

The Antiques Addict

August 23, 2017

Wood screws are one of the least understood clues in establishing the date and authenticity of antique furniture. They are especially valuable for dating country and primitive furniture. The stylistic […]

The Antiques Addict

June 21, 2017

Attempts to control indoor temperatures began in ancient Rome, where Seneca, the Stoic philosopher, mocked the “skinny youths” who ate snow to keep cool rather than simply bearing the heat […]