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As you many of our readers may know, I have been selling antiques and collectibles at flea markets, and at an antique booth for well over 20 years. I’ve also been on ebay for over 8 years. It has been a lot of fun, the thrill of the hunt is the key for many of us ‘antique junkies’, and of course, profits enable us to continue on!

Recently, I have noticed that when I list vintage food and spice tins, people are buying! For a while, it seemed that this type of item was not quite the trend; popularity seemed to have dwindled. But when you think about their graphics, and what neat display items they make in a kitchen, den or bar, it makes sense that they’d make a come-back!

Some collectors like a certain type, for example, tobacco tins, and then only by a specific company. Others like spice or coffee tins, probably for kitchen decoration. Another desirable category would be tins for talcum and tooth powder for their bathroom shelf. In any case, you’ll find many of them quite charming!

I pulled an Antique Tins book by Fred Dodge from our shelf and was somewhat amazed by the diversity of style, subject matter and contents, and of course associated values. Tins are definitely not my ‘area of expertise’, so when I looked in the book and was “wowed” by some, I was surprised that they did not have much value. For example, I would have thought that the Zuane LaParot Talc with a colorful parrot would be worth more than $25-50!

Of course, anything with a sporting theme will be right up there. The “PAR After Shave Powder” is valued at $250-$300. Unfortunately, I’ve never run across one.

Native American Indian tins are evidently desirable as well. The book features several from the California Perfume Company, both called Natoma Rose. Quite lovely.

The book shows on that is very art deco and called “Cloth of Gold Talcum” by Lazell Perfumer ($100-150.) That would be a tough one to sell. I would be keeping that one for myself!

Peanut butter and candy tins are another ‘hot item.’ I don’t recall a time when my peanut butter was not in a jar. If I ever run across an American Boy tin, I’ll scoop it up for sure. And this Jack Sprat tin has a value of $500-600. Jack is not a lean boy!

I am not sure where I would display prophylactic tins. But, there were definitely some fantastic graphics on these. The most expensive one pictured is from Nutex and features three gents with arms around each other, wearing swim suits. What’s up with that? (Value was listed at $150-200.)

I thought the Golden Bear one was special, but when I peeked at the value, discovered it at $25-50, while the parrot featured on the Francois Products Clove tin was $100-$150.

Understandably, condition is very important. I’ve been told to NEVER EVER clean a tin, leaving that to the buyer’s discretion. I’m fine with that.

Most likely the best place to start your search would be estate sales, garage sales, and antique stores. We would rarely find them in a thrift shop, they’d be discarded as food items. We at CQ would love to hear from a collector of tins and hope they’d share their ‘best find’ with us.

Back in February I posted 13 Fascinating Clippings From 1957, which included this bit:

In a feature called May We Present, we learn of the miracle of dog obedience via Blanche Saunders (featured with her poodles).

“Miss Saunders’s talents are now so much in demand that getting your dog into one of her classes is roughly comparable to getting your son into Harvard.”

Well, at least it was easier than getting your daughter in.

And then I heard from Beverly. Her niece Lisa found the post and contacted Beverly to let her know — because Blanche was Beverly’s great aunt (and therefore Lisa’s great great aunt). This is what she wrote:

We don’t have many photos or much background material, so the items below were so meaningful. I’m so glad you have a hobby that takes you through old magazines! You have have come across my mother Joan Saunders, who also trained poodles and had her own poodle shop in Manhattan.

One never knows how one is going to connect with others. And isn’t the Web fabulous!

The Web is indeed fabulous! I think I may have been even more thrilled than Beverly; for while it certainly is fun to connect with people, it’s super-bonus-point-time when my junk gets validated for having a purpose.

I asked Beverly if I could share her story; she replied, “By all means, share the story, Deanna.” And sent along the following information:

I am rather pleased for my great Aunt Blanche, who was quite an unusual, accomplished woman way back when women were stuck in “little boxes.” She was a Canadian, by the way, from Petitcodiac, New Brunswick. How she got to the elegant realms of Manhattan and a townhouse in the east Fifties must have been quite a story—one that she took with her. She had the first (and for years the only) poodle shop in that New York townhouse in addition to running Carillon Kennels. Katharine Cornell, the Bennett sisters (Constance and Joan), Gov. of New York Tom Dewey and a slew of celebrities and members of Eastern Upper Crust were among her clientele. I attach a document with some other background that you might find of interest.

This is some of the information she sent; I include it for any others who are interested in Blanche Saunders & poodles:

Catharine C. Reiley, “Poodles in obedience”, Mackey J. Irick, The New Poodle, 6th ed. (New York: Howell Book House, 1986), [includes] an account of the 10,000 miles 10-week “trailer trek” across North America during the fall of 1937 by Helene Whitehouse Walker (founder of the sport in North America, and charter member of the Poodle Club of America) and her then-assistant, the now-legendary trainer, instructor, and author, Blanche Saunders–with three Standard Poodles–to popularize the then-new sport.

…Saunders died in 1964; her memory is honoured each year at the Poodle Club of America’s National Specialty when a trophy in her name is awarded to the highest-scoring Poodle in the Open B class.

So it certainly would be fair to say that Blanche Saunders helped put the “standard” in poodles. *wink*

Beverly signed her email saying, “And thank you again. I’m certain that wherever my aunt’s spirit is, she is enjoying this connection.”

Now doesn’t that just make collecting, scanning and sharing seem so important & vital? Who knows what keys you & your collection hold to someone else’s history. So get out your stuff & share it in the Collectors Quest Community — I just know someone out there is going to be thrilled that you did.

The best thing about collecting Magic : The Gathering cards is that every few months, they’re going to hit you with a whole new set to tear open, organize, accumulate and trade – and truly, these are some the actions that live warmly at the core of every collector. This month, they hit us with a mystical sledgehammer.

See, there’s always been an undercurrent of narrative that runs beneath all of the existing Magic cards; things that seem related, recurring names, similar creatures and abilities, and images that appear across different cards. Most times, these circumstances and coincidences aren’t really addressed, and attributed to the general goings-on around the section of the world that each subsequent Magic set takes place in. With the newest set of cards, ‘Shards of Alara‘, Wizards of the Coast has published a kind of traveler’s guidebook to Alara that unifies and explains most of the 249 cards in the set. It’s not so much a Fodor’s Guide, inasmuch as it won’t really tell you where to get a good burger or how to avoid being slain by a rampaging swarm of banewasps, but it’s more of a Froud-’Faeries’ style journey through the five ’shards’, or mini-worlds, of Alara, each one centered around one of the five colors of magic, or ‘mana’ – a mainstay element throughout every expansion of Magic that’s now becoming a little more personified by these new narratives. The book explores fiery mountains, death-ravaged swamps, and so forth, as well as the heroes, villains and creatures that dwell within these. And I LOVE monster manuals, from Spiderwick to Dungeons and Dragons.

The Planeswalker’s Guide is an interesting read, adding more solidity to the cards that we all play with, but even more importantly than that, it’s beautiful. Magic employs the best of the best when it comes to dynamic, inventive fantasy artists, which is important in a visual genre that quickly becomes cliché and stale with each inch of needlessly-exposed cleavage. Despite being a jaded artist, I never, ever get bored of Magic’s artwork, which is always on the forefront of design and evolving illustration theory, while always remaining classic and attentive to core visual ideas. I don’t know if I can gush enough.

The book reprints much of the card art from Alara, which Wizards has also published online, though it appears in a slightly larger format in the book, which also displays the concept sketches and artwork that the artists used in forming and communicating their final ideas.

In addition to the basic set of 249 cards, there are also five different, pre-structured starter decks to play with, all of which include basic rules and explanations, so it’s an excellent place to leap in and start playing if you’ve never played before. I’m going to continue to search the shiny, foil packs for some of the super-rare, powerful ‘Planeswalker’ cards to introduce them to my game, but I haven’t been this reinvigorated about Magic in… well, about a month. Because it’s that much fun.

Go and buy a pack and get sucked in.

First – Let me clear up one point on these souvenir spoons; while they are in my possession I do not collect spoons. They just seem to gather in a box down in my basement, between the hundreds of playing card decks, and the advertising ashtrays.  I’d sell them but that requires lots more work than just leaving them in the box.

As with many collectibles, spoons have a great following and several individual categories to fixate on.  I’ve identified a few examples to show you that are in my possession.  Most souvenir spoons are inexpensive, and very simple to display, making them an easy choice to start to collect.  I’ll limit this discussion to spoons specifically designed and sold as souvenirs. Sterling and silver plate collectors are for another time and another planet.

My first examples are World’s Fair spoons, with the bottom one from the 1939 New York Fair and the rest were 1933-34 Chicago (Century Of Progress). Well designed, with location illustrations in the bowls and other features on the handles.  Because I have so many of these, accumulated with no concentrated effort, they must be very plentiful, at least in the area around Chicago.

The next grouping represents historic figures from Actors to Presidents, and no, I have none with Ronald on the handle. These represent several series of spoons and full collections would be quite the adventure in detective work to locate. The spoons are Left To Right: 1)George Washington, Father Of The Country; 2)Norma Shearer, famous screen star and Oscar winner -1930, The Divorcée; 3)Ramon Novarro, Silent Screen Actor, The Latin Lover; 4)Thomas Jefferson, Third President; 5)Gene & Glenn, Quaker Early Birds, 1930s Radio Stars; 6)Richard Dix, Actor in Silent Films; and 7)James Madison,the Fourth President.

The third grouping,  most common and diversified are the location spoons. While I have some early examples, this catagory of spoons gained great popularity with the automobile traveling public especially after WW-II.  Many examples were very cheaply made and sold at every gift shop and gas station along major routes.  Look for the best quality examples, or from lesser known attractions and off the beaten path locations.  Here is my assemblage from a “states” collection: Top:Montana,  Left To Right; Connecticut; Maine; New Jersey; Ohio; Texas; Michigan; Nebraska; and Georgia. 

My last collection, and I have grouped together some oddities here. In No Order: India Tea (Advertising Scoop) Continental Hotel Fork; The Golden Door pickle fork; Hilton spoon; London House Spoon; Bell System Spoon; Karp’s forkand on the Right is Puss & Boots. Also there are flatware pieces from several airlines, spoons and knives and a fork from when airlines served real meals, and used metal utensils, back when airlines flew on time and you didn’t remove your shoes till after the plane was in the air.

As with any good collectible, collector clubs are dedicated to the cause of helping individuals gain knowledge of their specialty and foster comradeship among the faithful.  Here are some sites for your inspection and include links to further help your collecting quest.

I’ll look forward to hearing from our readers if spoons are on your collecting plate.

http://www.souvenirspoons.com/scsc/index.htm

http://www.campanian.org/americanspoon.html

http://www.souvenirspoons.com/nscg/

As discussed, I’m a huge history nerd. To make matters ‘worse’ I am also one of those parents who prefers that kids not only learn but seek knowledge. I see collecting as one way to instill such passion in our kids (and adults too). Sure, our kids are called ‘weird’ — apparently for just not falling far enough from their weird-parent-trees. (Thanks, Wes Cowan!) But in this age of video games and passive entertainment, I’m thrilled to produce geeks & nerds.

However, instilling such passion in your children is work. It means you have to make the time, be it at home, the thrift store, or right there on the auction floor, to educate your kids… Maybe push them a little bit too. And it means you need to look past a lot of mainstream stuff (i.e. popular toys) to find gifts for your children which will delight as well as continue to quench their nerdy curiosities. That’s not always easy to do. And it’s even more difficult to find something that you can collect together.

So far we’ve bonded over games, vintage vinyl, books, and History Detectives. But there are less ‘new’ items which seem to meet all my (admittedly persnickety) needs. The Noah’s Pals animals are neat, helping with those environmental lessons, but what about history?

Historical Plush Beanie Collectible Figures

Enter the Famous Be’an Collectibles.

Made by Creation Station LLC, Famous Be’an® Collectibles are plush ‘bean stuffed’ toys like Beanie Babies — however, Famous Be’ans are famous historical beings.

Each historical figure is dressed in their appropriate period attire and includes a hang tag with an original colorful illustration and accurate historical information — in poetic verse and prose, to pique interest (we all hope!).

You’ve got your presidents, like Lincoln and JFK, and their wives, such as Mary Todd Lincoln and Jacqueline Kennedy; but there are so many other historical figures and legends too. Activists & authors, explorers & entrepreneurs, inventors and scientists, outlaws & musicians — even animals.

Plush President Lincoln & Other Famous Be'an Collectibles

Standing in front of their booth at the recent museum conference, I was giddy. So many cool plush toys — and so many possibilities for collecting with my kids!

Aside from just being cool history themed things to collect, there are many other reasons why adults will enjoy collecting Famous Be’ans with children:

• There’s a wide variety of historical figures to choose from.
• Because these collectibles are being made today, kids can put their favorite Famous Be’an on holiday lists for Santa and on birthday lists for extended family members.
• And the familiar/understandable topics means people know what the heck the kids are talking about — which means adults can more easily find and purchase the gifts as well as have actual conversations with the children about their collection. (And isn’t that part of what both collecting and gift giving are about?)

Socks The Cat As Famous Be'an

You (or grandma!) can even sign up for the Famous Be’an® Collectible of the Month Club and have a new plush collectible come to your home every month. The company allows you to specify particular areas of interest (Civil War, Native American, etc.) and if you send them a list of which Famous Be’ans you already own, they’ll make sure not to send you duplicates.

For all this ease, Famous Be’ans are real collectibles. Figures will be retired — in fact, some already are! This adds to the thrill of the hunt as you try to find ‘who’ you can while they are available — then search the secondary market for those you have missed.

The company also offers Famous Be’an bookmarks and collecting accessories, such as display cases and display stands. (And if you’re a teacher, there are even Famous Be’an lesson plan books.)

To add to the fun, there are even exclusive designs sold as souvenirs and fundraisers to museums and other organizations. That means you & your family can enjoy discovering new historical figures when you travel to historic sites and exhibits — like Socks the Cat at the Bill Clinton Museum. Now you can get the kids excited about ‘another family car trip’ *wink*

Museum Souvenir Historical Figure Plush Toys

(While some of the exclusives are listed on the website, other gems like Socks and the Headless Horseman shown here are not. Contact Creation Station for a complete list of Famous Be’ans and locations.)

Mom, Dad, hubby… anyone who knows me, if you’re reading this I’ve simply got to add Susan B. Anthony and Rosie the Riveter to my ‘feminist’ collection. Belle Starr too.

And then there’s the kids… Hunter will want Abe Lincoln, Destiny will want Blackbeard, and Allie will want Seaman the dog.

OK, I’m pretty sure that between the kids and I, we want them all. They are just too-too cool.