As the Entertainment/Celebrity Blogger for Collectors Quest, I’ve mainly focused on collectibles owned by and memorabilia related to famous names of the past 50 or so years. It recently dawned on me that there’s a whole two centuries of American celebrities to write about, so today let’s see what’s going on in the John Wilkes Booth memorabilia market.

Before we get started, I’ve got a fun fact for you. Well, as fun as this subject gets. Most people know that President Abraham Lincoln’s assassin was a celebrated actor in his time, but did you know that he was the second most photographed American man of his era? The first was Lincoln.

A home with ties to Wilkes Booth was auctioned off in October 2011, only for the sale to be rejected by the bank three months later. Retired Navy captain and subdivision developer Ed Veazey bought a King George, Virginia home where once lived a doctor who refused medical treatment to Wilkes Booth hours before he was captured and killed in 1865, but Bank of America axed the deal in January 2012. They said that they wanted the loan tied to it paid off first, but the home (named “Cleydael”) appears to have been included in a foreclosure auction instead.

A couple of months later, RR Auction of Amherst, New Hampshire sold a letter written by Wilkes Booth in 1861, four years before he killed Lincoln. The three-page message to future-conspirator Joseph Simonds discusses the stage tour he was on at the time and features his signature at the end. It’s not clear what the letter sold for in March 2012, but someone paid a heft $42,550 for it in December 1993.

“I confess I should like to hear from you every day,” he wrote to his friend in the correspondence. “I received your photograph, a thousand thanks, I think it very good, I believe you have mine. My second week in Buffalo was so, so. I played 17 nights in Detroit to a good Bus(iness). After here Monday night, 25th, they count high on me but I am doubtful as to my success.”

In August 2012, Legendary Auctions of Lansing, Illinois got $7,170 for a group of eight Lincoln and Wilkes Booth items. Included were a vintage playbill advertising Wilkes Booth’s Our American Cousin stage production, a long strand of his hair from the day he was captured in 1965, an 1860s engraving of Wilkes Booth’s likeness and a small piece of the sheet wrapped around Lincoln’s head the night he was shot.

A set of five Wilkes Booth photographs fetched $654 at a January 2013 RR sale. The 2.5”x4” cartes de visite (a type of small photograph printed on very thin paper and affixed to a thick card) show one of American history’s most hated men both by himself and with his co-conspirators.

If you’re a J.R.R. Tolkien fan who’s ever seen Ralph Bakshi’s animated adaptation of The Lord of the Rings (which completely ignores the trilogy’s final chapter, The Return of the King, and ends at Helm’s Deep), you might have mixed feelings about his return from a 16-year animating absence.

But take a look at the 74-year-old’s directing and producing résumé and it’s clear why it’s a big deal. The man behind the groundbreaking Fritz the Cat, Heavy Traffic and Coonskin took to Kickstarter to fund his latest venture, an animated short called Last Days of Coney Island.

Promising cool gifts in exchange for pledges as small as $1 and as huge as $10,000, Bakshi raised the $165,000 necessary to make Coney Island, a politically-charged horror film set in its namesake area of New York City. In order to do so, however, it looks like he had to clear out a significant portion of his collection.

Backers who donated to $55 to the making of Coney Island will get a signed DVD of the film upon its release (in addition to several digital goodies), while those who gave $300 received all of that, plus a Lord of the Rings animation cel (the movie might’ve been better as a bunch of still images), promotional poster for 1977 Bakshi joint Wizards and an original doodle by the filmmaker.

The four-figure range is where things started to get really interesting. Pledging $5,000, which three contributors did, got you your choice of many original Bakshi paintings, signed copy of Unfiltered: The Complete Ralph Bakshi and animation cel from a Bakshi film of your choosing.

One person even put $10,000 towards the production of Coney Island. That donor will get all three prizes from the $5,000 level, as well a piece from Bakshi’s latest art exhibit and, best of all, their face as an animated extra in the film.

Come to think of it, I think the one thing missing from Bakshi’s Lord of the Rings was my face. Then it wouldn’t be so bad.

“The future naval officers, who live within these walls, will find in the career of the man whose life we this day celebrate, not merely a subject for admiration and respect, but an object lesson to be taken into their innermost hearts. . . . Every officer . . . should feel in each fiber of his being an eager desire to emulate the energy, the professional capacity, the indomitable determination and dauntless scorn of death which marked John Paul Jones above all his fellows.”

President Theodore Roosevelt delivering the keynote address at the commemorative ceremony held in honor of John Paul Jones at the U.S. Naval Academy on 24 April 1906. Jones’s flag draped casket stands before the speaker’s stand.

President Roosevelt uttered these words (on April 24, 1906) within the confines of the United States Naval Academy at the re-interment of the of remains of the man who is known today as the father of the US Navy, Captain John Paul Jones. Ponder this for a moment.

As a militaria collectors whose primary interest lies in US Navy artifacts, the idea of possessing anything from the Continental Navy is an aspiration that is almost too lofty to consider. The sheer scarcity of objects precludes ordinary collectors like me from pretense of forays into the Revolutionary-era collecting. Seeking out musket balls and powder horns from the Continental Army is one thing, but the minuscule number of patriot participants in the naval service (in comparison to that of the ground soldiers) equates to an incredibly limited volume of available artifacts for collectors.

Considering my financial position and the reality that just about any piece (that I would consider worthy of my interest) from the Revolutionary War is well out of my reach helps to keep me focused on artifacts that are both within my area of focus and budget constraints. However, on occasion, I do find myself wandering about through dealers’ internet sites and online auction listings from the 1775-1783 time-frame  Very seldom do I find anything that captures my attention which is something that happened today…stay tuned.

This painting depicts Captain John Paul Jones’ legendary engagement between his Bonhomme Richard and the HMS Serapis, 23 September 1779.

In school, we learned about the famous exploits of Captain Jones (born John Paul in Scotland in 1747, he added the surname Jones after emigrating to the Virginia Colony in the 1770s) with the notable sea battles between his ships and those of the Royal Navy. His legendary response to the surrender inquiry (“Has your ship struck?”) by the enemy captain of the HMS Serapis (Richard Pearson), “I have not yet begun to fight!” will forever be cited in U.S. Naval lore. But most American school children are not educated on what became of Jones following his war service and his ultimate untimely demise.

“John Paul Jones the Pirate”
This Nineteenth-Century British engraving which symbolizes that nation’s view of Jones.

Following the 1783 signing of the Treaty of Paris that brought about peace between Great Britain and the newly established United States, the need for maintaining a navy was lost on (most) congressional members. By 1785, the Continental Navy was disbanded and the last ship (Alliance) was sold off. Jones found himself in Europe (assigned to collect prize money on behalf of Continental Navy privateer sailors) without a command. After a short stint serving  Empress Catherine II of Russia as an admiral in the Russian navy (along with some controversial legal troubles), John Paul Jones retired to Paris at the ripe old age of 45 in 1790. Two years later, the great Revolutionary War captain was found dead in his Paris apartment having succumbed to interstitial nephritis.

Jones was buried in the French royal family’s cemetery (Saint Louis Cemetery) with considerable expense to M. Pierre François Simonneau, who was incensed that the American government wouldn’t render the honors due such a national hero at his passing. Simonneau said that if America “would not pay the expense of a public burial for a man who had rendered such signal services to France and America” he would pay (the large sum of 462 Francs) himself.

With the collapse of the Louis XVI’s monarchy soon after Jones’ death and burial, the cemetery was sold and after a few years was largely forgotten. Decades passed and John Paul Jones’ grave was lost to decay and years of neglect.

In 1897, General Horace Porter was appointed as U.S. Ambassador to France by President McKinley. Soon after his arrival in Paris, Porter took personal interest in the pursuit of Jones grave while gathering official and private documents (much of it was conflicting) pertaining to his death and burial.

“After having studied the manner and place of his burial and contemplated the circumstances connected with the strange neglect of his grave, one could not help feeling pained beyond expression and overcome by a sense of profound mortification. Here was presented the spectacle of a hero whose fame once covered two continents and whose name is still an inspiration to a world-famed navy, lying for more than a century in a forgotten grave like an obscure outcast, relegated to oblivion in a squalid corner of a distant foreign city, buried in ground once consecrated, but since desecrated by having been used at times as a garden, with the moldering bodies of the dead fertilizing its market vegetables, by having been covered later by a common dump pile, where dogs and horses had been buried, and the soil was still soaked with polluted waters from undrained laundries; and as a culmination of degradation, by having been occupied by a contractor for removing night-soil.” – Horace Porter

After years of research, Porter was confident that he had narrowed down the approximate gravesite location. In 1905, excavation work began as archaeologists began digging beneath a building that had been constructed over the cemetery. Upon unearthing a third coffin (they knew that Jones had been buried in a costly lead casket), the men opened it and found a well-preserved body that matched all the details of the man they sought. Porter wrote, “For the purpose of submitting the body to a thorough scientific examination by competent experts for the purpose of complete identification, it was taken quietly at night, on April 8, to the Paris School of Medicine (École de Médecine) and placed in the hands of the well-known professors of anthropology, Doctor Capitan and Doctor G. Papillault and their associates, who had been highly recommended as the most accomplished scientists and most experienced experts that could be selected for a service of this kind. I of course knew these eminent professors by reputation, but I had never met them.”

Paul Weiss, A. Bailly-Blanchard, General Horace Porter, and others responsible for the exhumation of John Paul Jones, 1905.

This gruesome photo, taken during the 1905 autopsy, shows Jones’ mummified body was well preserved.

Following careful examination, the physicians confirmed the identity (of the remains) as being that of the late Captain Jones. By August of 1905, the lead casket (which was placed inside a wooden casket) had arrived in the U.S. and was temporarily laid to rest at the US Naval Academy’s (USNA) Bancroft Hall during an April 24, 1906 ceremony. Jones’ body remained in this location while his final resting place was constructed beneath the USNA chapel. Upon completion of the elaborate and ornate crypt in 1913, the naval hero of the American Revolution was laid to rest at his final location.

By now you might be wondering why I am going to such great length in describing what happened with the naval hero of the American Revolution and what the possible context is regarding militaria. While perusing an online auction site, I stumbled upon a listing pertaining to Captain Jones. As I scanned through the various images detailing the different facets included with the piece it began to sink in that the auction lot was highly bizarre and extremely unusual. Though seller made a minute attempt to fully describe what the listing was, opting instead to let the incredibly small images (low resolution, no less) makeup for the lack of details within the text.

This online auction lot containing John Paul Jones’ hair and accompanying documents was recently listed at auction (source: eBay image).

From appearances, the lot contained a lock of the Captain’s hair that had been removed by one of the physicians who performed the 1905 post-exhumation autopsy. Accompanying the lock (which was bound with a ribbon) was the doctor’s hand-written note regarding how he obtained the piece. Along with these two pieces is another handwritten note inscribed by the man who purchased the hair (“H. H. Strigley”) from the physician in January, 1926.

While this listing certainly piqued my interest, I’d shudder at the idea of forking over $3,500 (which I don’t happen to have available) without performing the necessary due diligence in verifying the documentation trail (or perhaps a DNA test of the hair would be in order). Taken at face value, the item would be a fantastic acquisition and quite the conversation piece for naval collectors.

The kitchen might not be the first place you think of when it comes to “collectible”, but kitchenalia is pretty popular, and kitchens throughout history have held some of the most interesting, precious and valuable collectibles you can find. For example, would the casual kitchen-user know that a Fire King Snoopy Red Baron cup is worth about $250, in good condition? You might have one in your cabinet right now and not even know it.

We’ve spent a lot of time in the kitchen, checking out what people collect.

Vintage Hamilton Beach Standing Mixer

Many kitchen collectibles are the essential tools of the kitchens past, demonstrating the evolution of the home and domesticity, like these vintage mixers. We also had a look at vintage casserole dishes, and a variety of collectible teapots.

Kitchen collectibles also dig into the less-essential, but still-useful range of apparatuses. You don’t really need a vintage trivet, but it’s a lot more classy than a stack of newspapers. And when was the last time you actually used an egg cup?

Vintage Hall casserole dish

Collecting cookbooks is a pretty huge area of kitchenalia, with some going for hundreds of dollars. These books represent changing dietary habits, biological knowledge, cultural norms, the changing role of the housewife, and even the availability of certain foods around the world. Just as much as these books can help you make a delicious meal, they’re also great windows into history in so many ways.

1970s DC Comics Pepsi Glass : Superman

Kitchenalia doesn’t all have to be all girly stuff, though. This isn’t to say that mixers and cookbooks couldn’t or shouldn’t be handled just as adeptly or by males, but you don’t find vintage trivets at Home Depot. Superhero glasses are fun for nerds of all ages (and genders), as well as glasses featuring other characters. Even certain well-preserved food items are collectible, and hot sauce bottles are some of the most creative and bizarre food packages you can find.

And would it really be a kitchen without a cookie jar? There are thousands to choose from!

Do you have kitchen collectibles? Upload some to our Community and show us!

This $200-$300 JFK poster brought $2,500 in a Kennedy auction.

Sometimes, as a collector, you just have to take a look at auction results and laugh. Then remember the quote that, rightly or wrongly, is attributed to circus giant P.T. Barnum: A sucker is born every minute.

Combine auction frenzy with Americans’ inexplicable interest in celebrities, and anything goes.

Earlier this year in Massachusetts, there was an auction of President John F. Kennedy memorabilia once owned by JFK friend Dave Powers, who later became curator of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston.  This combination of JFK memorabilia from a close friend and auction fever led to some unbelievable results.

Take, for example, an Air Force One bomber jacket in the auction. It brought an eye-popping $570,000 before buyer’s premium.

A $30 1960 Inaugural invitation sold for $3,200 at a specialty Kennedy auction.

Political collectibles in the auction that can be bought commonly every day went out of sight. One of the best examples was an approximately 2-foot by 4-foot poster for Kennedy’s 1960 presidential race. This poster sells in the $200-$300 range all the time at political collectibles shows and Internet auction sites. In this special Kennedy auction, however, the poster sold for an eye-popping $2,500. Yep, the same poster.

An invitation to the 1961 Inauguration, which can be bought for $30 or so at political shows, commanded $3,200 in this auction.

You have to wonder how long it will take for buyer’s remorse to set in. Did the buyers get home before it struck?

The lesson in this, as a collector, is to keep your head at auctions. And probably avoid ones where celebrities are involved.

New Order’s inclusion on the Coachella 2013 lineup has sparked a renewed interest in the Manchester rock band, who will play their first U.S. shows in eight years at the California desert music festival.

However, with founding bassist Peter Hook now out of the band and singer Bernard Sumner stating that he doesn’t wish to record with the “Blue Monday” hitmakers any longer, this may be New Order limping to the finish line. If 2013 does mark the end of New Order, though, it will mark the final chapter in a nearly-four-decade career that’s seen a feature-length film’s worth of hits, misses, triumph and tragedy.

Casual music fans may not know that New Order rose from the ashes of post-punk pioneers Joy Division, who hit it big with “Love Will Tear Us Apart” in 1980 but whose singer, Ian Curtis, killed himself on the eve of the band’s first U.S. tour.

The iconic group’s gripping tale, told from their forming through the surviving members’ reforming as New Order, is recounted in 2007’s Anton Corbijn-directed Control ($9 on Amazon) and the same year’s Joy Division ($20).

Meanwhile, you can find New Order’s story in Item, a 2005 DVD set that includes one disc of music videos spanning the group’s career to that point and a second disc that features a three-hour documentary. New copies of the two-disc version run more than $250 on Amazon, but used copies can be had for around $30.

If you like proper movies, 24 Hour Party People is worth checking out, as well. Told through the point-of-view of Joy Division/New Order manager Tony Wilson, its partially-fictionalized account of events features Curtis, as well as Sumner and Hook, as prominent players in Wilson’s life.

When the confetti drops on the victors of the Super Bowl it is a signal that, rather than just the curtain falling on the football season, pitchers and catchers have less than two weeks to pack their bags.

Though much of the nation, at least the Northern states, may be crippled by the biting wind and traffic-snarling snow, indications of the impending spring are apparent, regardless of the vision of a certain Pennsylvania woodchuck…er…land-beaver…I mean…whistlepig (you might refer to him as “Phil” of Punxsutawney, PA). For many fans of America’s pastime, the day after Valentine’s day is the first day of spring.

For militaria collectors who are interested in the game of baseball, there are no beginnings or endings to the season. No spring training, cuts, mid-season call-ups, playoffs or championships are components of collecting military baseball. Fortunately trades and wins (and sadly, losses) come occur between the lines, on the field of play.

Sailors take in a game at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

Many collectors who play the game of baseball collecting spend their time focusing on artifacts pertaining to specific players-turned soldier (or sailor). Some seek score cards or programs from the notable service team championship games while still others pursue artifacts from the games – worn or used by the players themselves. But in some cases, it is less important (for collectors) to seek items documenting or connected to star athletes, as the game itself is central to their pursuit.

Photographs of ordinary baseball teams fielded by individual military units, to some, may seem a bit mundane and ordinary. However, these images are quite riveting as they reveal the pageantry of the game. From action shots of games being played to group photos of the team dressed in their uniforms, moments in both baseball and military history are captured, forever bound together.

The 1914 West Point Military Academy baseball team.

One of the most compelling photographs for me is one that reveals historical information in the surrounding area or background. I seek out context – what was happening on the base or aboard the ship when the film was exposed?

My motivation for this particular interest was sparked when I inherited a photo album from my grandmother that contained a collection of snapshots of her sailor-brother who played for his ship’s ball club in the 1930s. Present among the images of my grand-uncle aboard ship and in his navy attire were two team shots featuring him (and the rest of the club) dressed in a simple baseball uniform (not the standard flannel of the era) with the ship’s name emblazoned across the chest.

The USS Maine (ACR-1) fielded an integrated team in the late 1890s.

Some of the earliest images dating to the late nineteenth century are (obviously) the most difficult to find due to their rarity. But rarity doesn’t solely fuel the collectors’ interest. One image of the USS Maine’s ball club, taken in the late 1890s (before the ship met her fateful end) shows that the game was integrated, like the professional game was, prior to the enacting of the oppressive Jim Crow laws.

Sailors of the USS Washington (ACR-11) pose in their home uniforms next to one of the ship’s main battery turrets (1911).

In the game of baseball, hope springs eternal as February runs into March and opening day looms on the horizon. But why wait until the first pitch to step up to the plate?

All photos courtesy of the Library of Congress (LOC).

Many people may not consider paper dolls to be true ephemera because they were items purchased with the idea of keeping them. But because they are made of paper, they are fragile and therefore quite ephemeral things. Perhaps the least likely to survive of all, are the articulated or jointed paper dolls. For instead of simply bouncing them along a surface to move them, children and adults who played with them took advantage of all the movements the paper dolls offered. More play literally means more wear and tear. And while limbs and even torsos could be traced onto new pieces of paper, cut and even colored to match (as best as possible), and then fastened to repair the dolls, this was not often done. Even when torn parts were replaced or repaired, the sad state of affairs led to the paper dolls being devalued and discarded at some point. This makes finding vintage and antique articulated paper dolls quite a challenge.

Jointed or articulated paper dolls originated in France in the mid-1700s. Traditionally, these two-dimensional paper dolls were assembled via pins and corks, eyelets, or brads; making the jointed paper doll a cross between a paper doll and a puppet. Because these articulated paper dolls resembled a jumping-jack figure, these dolls were called “dancing-jack puppets, which in French is “pantins”. The movements of the pantins made them ideal for satirizing French nobility; a pastime so popular in France that the dolls became all the rage at court. And, of course, what was popular at court became popular with everyone — who could afford it, anyway.

Because jumping-jack paper dolls do not have paper costumes or fashions to change and exchange, many paper doll collectors do not consider pantins to be paper dolls; pantins or jumping-jacks are considered to be a distinct and separate category of doll collecting.

While the French used these paper puppets to mock political puppetry, other Europeans took their paper dolls to The Stage. Not only were there proper Shakespearean paper doll casts but stages as well. And quite often, the jumping-jack paper dolls were created in the likenesses of famous actors, actresses, opera stars, and other performers. But royals were not left out either. The identity of this Victorian articulated Littauer & Boysen (L&B) paper doll is considered to be either Queen Alexandra, wife of King Edward VII of England, or actress Lillie Langtry — ironically a mistress of King Edward VII (when he was just the Prince of Wales). The King obviously had a type!

Across the pond, here in America, paper was a prized possession in the new colony. It was not to be “wasted” on toys. It wouldn’t be until the 1800s that the grinding and pulping process would make paper more affordable. By the early 1900s, women’s magazines like The Delineator (which promoted Butterick patterns) would have paper dolls to show and sell fashions to homemakers (much like McCall’s would use Betsy decades later), including jointed paper dolls. Soon, entire books of articulated paper dolls and toys would be published, like this one by Milton Bradley.

Pantins clearly became children’s playthings. Eventually, everything from comic books to cereal boxes would offer the chance to cut out and assemble articulated paper dolls. We’ve come a long way from the satire of French royals and depictions of famous actors; sort of. But only if we limit ourselves, our collecting, our imaginations.

Antique Auto Battery Jar

We have a jar, a big old battery jar that holds some of the sea shells we, well, actually Wifey, found over the last thirty plus years of visiting Florida. Most were gathered at our favorite island on the western side of the state. Wifey has a much better eye for finding things. Her love of antiques and jewelry just might explain her ability to see these bits of beauty in the sand.

It was my original idea to get a large glass container for  shark’s teeth. That way we will always have room for more examples and the need each year to return to the island. The collection is still small and only a portion is on display.

Studio Display

But shark’s teeth are not the extent of our collections of a natural nature, and shark’s teeth even in a giant jar were not very impressive. One does not walk the miles of island sand each morning, especially after an evening storm or high winds, and not find sea shells and other debris washed ashore the next morning. While at mild peril staying on the island,we had our best shelling day after a storm came in from the gulf, and destroyed a block retaining wall, washed out the roadway at the far end of the island and dumped more than a foot of sand into the swimming pool. But be aware, the sea is the master of collectors of shells. There have been visits when the gulf held her treasures and gave up nothing.

Coral

Today the collection au-natural includes sea shells of many sizes and shapes, and one really large claw from a creature I hope never to meet. Coral, added to the collection was purchased at an estate here in the upper mid-west many years ago. I believe there is now a restriction on the gathering and sale of coral.

Coral, claw and glass figures in sunroom display

Our collection is displayed in two rooms in our house, the sun room and studio. The first room is seasonly changed with shells replaced with holiday decor’ while the studio remains fluid with changes made less often, but room is always lefty for our natural collectibles.

Pate gasoline – Hello Neighbor

I’ve collected print blocks for a long time now. On my desk is a print block advertising a very old oil and gas station company, Pate, with their once famous motto “Hello Neighbor.”  I have it ready to put in a display case for our next antique show.  At the end of last year, a customer asked for anything from Pate and I agreed to look for the printing block that I remembered seeing in a large collection of print blocks I had purchased many years ago.

A sample of the engraver’s intricate work

The use of printing blocks in newspapers and other printed advertising resulted in vast quantities of these blocks being produced. Examples of the same logo were often replicated in several sizes depending on the usage. Larger sizes for newspaper or magazine ads, with full, half or quarter page ads requiring different size print blocks. Even smaller versions were needed for letterheads, business cards or company envelopes.  These are now a relic of the very recent past, and quite collectible.

Graphics from the engraver showed the artistry and dedication to their vocation.

White Cross Pharmacy – Huntington W. VA – Dial 5972

Advertising a product was not the only use for printing blocks. One collection we had was from a pharmacy label printing company and included the  drug store name and address and had a two to four digit phone number that assured the age of the blocks as pre-war.

Borden’s Milk –
Letter press print blocks are reverse of the printed page

Printing blocks are a great way to add to your collections and the choice of subject matter seems endless. In our collection of cow figurines this print block was added. Today the blocks are very collectible, and a reason to search for one that may enhance your collections include finding graphics once used to advertise the products.

Letter combined

Single letters are combined to form words on the printed page. The individual letter blocks, especially the all wooden large font letters are sought by decorators wanting to have their names spelled out and on display. Adding flowers or other design elements on each end,  a question mark or exclamation point at the end. Often in antique shops a dealer will spell the shops name or just “ANTIQUE” in letter blocks often mixing font style and size. Still the most popular use of letters is the persons name, and we watch people sort through our boxes of letters at flea markets lining up their name as the find each letter.

Standard Oil Co. print block

Popular with stampers are the intricate designs of columns, pillars and lace  that were used as toppers or boarders in print media. Fancy letters, and simple graphics, a heart, bells, evergreen trees, pumpkins, flags or the like, can be used in your projects for seasonal cards. Words are formed and messages delivered in a most personal way that has made stamping family fun for young and old.

Any time a collector finds another item to add to their collection it’s a moment to love. But adding antique and vintage Valentines into your collection can turn that moment into a true love-fest — and I don’t just mean for Valentines collectors either!

Because Valentine’s Day cards have come in so many designs and themes over the years, you are nearly certain to find cards that fit into your own collecting specialty. These wonderful cross-collectibles are a great way to add more charm, color, and interest to your collection. For example, this vintage die-cut Valentine would definitely “perk-up” a collection of vintage aluminum ware.

Vintage Valentine’s aren’t always flowery, romantic, girlie stuff either. Remember, little boys received as well as gave these old paper greeting cards out too, and so many of the designs are attempts, anyway, at more masculine images. This small vintage paper Valentine, about five inches long, features a watch — and all the appropriate puns of the “time”.

You can find Valentines that fit into virtually any area of collecting. There’s the expected Valentines, like this vintage mechanical Disney Valentine’s Day card. What could be more perfect for the Disneyana or animation collector, than an old mechanical card which animates Walt Disney characters?

There are the less expected cards too, like this vintage die-cut German Scouting Valentine.

There’s even the unexpected (or perhaps unwelcome) cards as well. If your collection is more historical than hysterical, say you collect Black Americana, there are vintage Valentines for you too — providing you have a cast iron stomach for the what-was-once-supposed-to-be-romantic-but-are-now-racist cards, like this one.

While collectors of Valentine’s Day cards (like collectors of other seasonal items) collect all year ’round, many sellers (online and in antique shops) make a special effort to list and display their holiday wares at holiday time. This makes finding holiday-themed collectibles easier during the related holiday season. But it’s not the only time to find them, so it shouldn’t be the only time you look for them. In fact, sometimes shopping for vintage and antique items is much like the regular stores, meaning there will be discounts or sales on vintage Valentine’s Day cards right after the holiday has passed. So if you’re reading this after Valentine’s Day, take heart! You can still find great vintage Valentines.

In terms of conditions, serious collectors look for bright graphics on unsigned cards which have no tears and no signs of glue or other markings from having been removed from a scrapbook. (It should be noted, however, that signed cards — especially those with curious or charming handwritten sentiments — are often considered highly desirable by certain ephemera collectors, such as myself.) But for those collectors looking to add Valentines to their other collections, pristine or perfect conditions are not as much of a concern and so cards can often be found quite inexpensively. And condition issues, such as handwriting and even tears, can be hidden well-enough when the vintage cards are framed. Framing them not only helps protect the fragile old paper pieces, but framed pieces are a lovely way to add more visual interest to your collection of objects as well. Not to mention, when they are on such prominent display it’s easier for others to see them and fall in love with them as well.

Even if you don’t know the definition of ‘ephemera’, it’s likely that you’re surrounded by it. Anything printed on paper and not meant to have eternal value is considered to be ‘ephemera’. Pamphlets, receipts, ads, business cards… pretty much anything made of paper that isn’t a book or a fine art print falls under this huge category. The magazine in your bathroom, the restaurant receipt in your wallet, the scratch-off lottery ticket on the nightstand — it’s all ephemera. Because the printed message exists in so many forms, and for so many reasons, collecting ephemera is a huge field.

Warren William Film Poster

Collectors all have their reasons: some of them are very interested in history, while others take a voyeuristic approach, or enjoy understanding the ways that advertising and social norms have been conducted over the years. We interviewed collector Marty Weil, who revealed his own reasons, as well as dealer and collector Cliff Aliperti and Frank DeFreitas.

As we move into a paperless society, what will happen to the world of ephemera collecting?

Ephemera gives us clues about the past, even if we can’t ultimately figure out what old notes on the back of photographs actually mean. There’s something about looking into someone else’s life which is fascinating, so finding an old journal presents a narrative that no one but the original owner knew.

F Troop Postcard

Most of the world of collectible ephemera consists of vintage advertising items, but printed matter is really too vast to confine it to such a small collection of items, as evidenced by this gathering of blog posts we’ve made.

• Collecting Travel Ephemera
• Thoughts on the world of ephemera
• Finding ephemera in a vintage magazine shop
• Ephemera promoting 1900s social events
• Paper propaganda during the Cold War
• Magazines and the quest for historical ephemera
• The portrayal of African Americans in vintage advertising

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Estee Lauder

A few years ago, I found an Estee Lauder solid perfume compact at an antique mall in Illinois. My daughter had worked at a famous department store on her breaks from college and I recalled her saying these pieces were quite expensive. She told me how highly sought after they were and how ladies would rush to the counters in anticipation of the arrival of the newest Gift With Purchase promotion.

“Palazzo” solid perfume compact

So I bought it at the reasonable price of $15. While at the check-out counter, the lady exclaimed that I got a real bargain because these were so very collectible. I must admit, even though I have dabbled in the antiques and collectibles business for a lot of years, this was not an item I knew anything about.

Collector book Estee Lauder Collection
by Roselyn Gerson

Imagine my surprise when I came across the book by Roselyn Gerson, circa 2002. I paged through the book and found the exact compact I had purchased with a wonderful description and original price, plus an estimate of current value. This was called “Palazzo”, nicely enameled on the lid in a rich blue and colorful flowers. I learned it cost $10.00 in 1973 and had a current value of $65-85. I promptly listed it on an Internet site and it sold for $95, even more than anticipated by the writer of the book.

Two solid perfumes “Black Slipper” and “Pink Slipper”

Through the years I have found other solid perfume containers, by different makers. No matter how lovely they were, none reached the price of the Lauder example. They are actually quite lovely.  Some were actually pendants with the scent inside, and as the years went on, more creativity was added. In the 1990s when slippers and shoes were so “hot”, they made a few of those. The Age of Aquarius influenced some in the late ’90s showing fabulous zodiac-related compacts, adorned with crystals.

“Bird Cage” solid perfume brushed goldtone

Many of the animal examples such as a “Bird Cage” perfume compact originally cost $150. It appears to have held its value and was valued at $150-200.

“Panda” black and cream enamel munching on green leaves

I often search for these at yard sales and thrift stores and flea markets hoping to strike a bargain. But alas, it appears that people that paid a goodly sum for these when they first came out know they have managed to continue to grow in collectibility and often price. I have learned it makes “good scents” to keep looking and hope to score again.

A colorful Warren G. Harding campaign mirror from 1920.

There’s nothing like a good political debate.

And I’m not talking political philosophies here.

A few weeks ago, I chose my 10 personal favorite campaign buttons from 1896-1916, the Golden Age of Political Buttons. After posting that blog, several other serious political collectors across the country decided to choose their favorites. There was an occasional overlap, but the lists were remarkable in how different they were. That probably says as much about personal preferences as it does the remarkable variety in our hobby.

I’m a glutton for punishment, however. With that thought in mind, below is my list of favorite pins from the 1920-1944 era – from Warren G. Harding’s election to the last of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s four elections.

On this first item, I’m going to cheat a little. This wonderfully colorful Harding piece is not a campaign button, but rather a campaign mirror. Besides the color for a candidate that’s tough to find colorful items for, this is an advertising piece as well.  The “Best Ever” slogan might have been a little overstated for Harding, however. Perhaps it refers to the clothing maker.

This rare Hubert Humphrey pin brought $2,100 at auction last week.

For collectors, common sense can sometimes be fleeting. Quite fleeting.

Take last week’s Anderson Americana political collectibles Internet and mail auction out of Troy, Ohio, for example. A very simple green and black pin tying Hubert Humphrey and Lyndon Johnson together fetched a pretty unbelievable $2,100. (That’s not a typo.)

While there are Humphrey collectors out there, he’s certainly not considered one of the upper-echelon candidates among collectors. He’s no Roosevelt, Lincoln or Kennedy, certainly. That’s not a shot, it’s just reality.

But this quite rare pin, no matter how simple in design, was one that a few folks apparently needed to have for their collections. As one other collector put it, it would be hard to pay $15 for this pin at a show if you didn’t know how rare it was.

One of the biggest Hubert Humphrey collectors in the country said he only knows of three examples of the pin. Was it a sample, or a staff pin made in limited quantity? It’s hard to say.

Common sense might have been fleeting for some bidders, but it’s certainly a Humphrey pin that demands some respect.

Shopping totes

Everywhere you go these days someone is carrying a canvas or cloth bag. They are seen in grocery stores, at outdoor markets and the like. These are part of the “going green movement” intended to encourage customers to stop using plastic or paper bags. This is an effort to help out our environment. I had not given it a lot of thought whether this was a new practice or had been in place years back.

We traveled to Minnesota this fall, on our way to visit our daughter in North Dakota. Of course, as true antique-lovers, we stopped at every venue we could from flea markets to antique malls to yard sales. At one of these stops, we got a folding wooden crate. Actually a pretty cool idea. It was from Litchfield, Minnesota, Sam’s Super Market to be exact. There is also maker’s information stamped onto the crate. It reads “Hubbard’s Wire Sewed Folding Box The First and Original Hubbard’s Box Co. Menomonie, Wis. U.S.A.”

Bottoms Up  ready to fold and store

This is a functional piece. Easy to store, ready to put the bottom section down when needed, you could take this to the general store and fill it up with groceries or necessities for the week. Nicely constructed, the top has metal brackets probably for stabilizing and two “hooks” on each side. I am pretty certain that this would be for stacking multiple crates together.

Banana box

A few years back we set up at an antique flea market and our booth was next to a gent who offered strictly crates for sale. We were truly astounded by his pricing on them. We thought he was “smoking something” since they seemed to be so high. But reality hit home when we saw how many people came into his booth and bought two or three at a time! He would basically clean them up and if the paper labels were in rough shape, he would put a coating of varnish over them to make them look better. His biggest sellers had wild graphics or funny names. His banana boxes were so popular too! He got over $100 each for them.

Box folded flat for storage 

The best thing about collecting crates or wooden advertising boxes is that they can do double-duty. We use them for stacking on our tables at shows and they give a nice depth and dimension to it as well as super displaying capabilities. They are also desirable for college students, who use these for storing books, clothing, computer pieces, etc. Crates can be inexpensive and often easy to find at barn sales, antique shops and flea markets. Once again, the recycle, reuse, and repurpose comes to mind.

This pinback was issued when Theodore Roosevelt visited a flour plant in Wisconsin in 1902.

When you think of politics and buttons, you might think of campaign buttons. But not every button was for a campaign.

It’s not uncommon to this day that when a president visits somewhere, there are souvenirs made. Back during the Golden Age of Political Buttons, around the turn of the previous century, those souvenirs were usually buttons. And when a president came to town, the button makers went to work. These new lapel novelties were hot.

I’ve seen many one-day-event buttons, made for a president’s visit, but there is one that has always stood out in my mind. I was lucky to add it to my collection nearly 20 years ago. I’ve never regretted a penny I paid for it. It’s a button for a visit by Theodore Roosevelt to the Listman Co. Marvel Flour factory in LaCrosse, Wisc., in 1902.

This 1 ¼ inch celluloid button, with Theodore Roosevelt’s photo in the center, has great color, design and slogans. At auction, it’s sought after by political collectors as well as advertising collectors.

Recently, I took a spin through the Internet and found a photo of a sign in LaCrosse for the factory that was there the day Theodore Roosevelt visited, at http://www.flickr.com/photos/23711298@N07/3750153008/. It was at one time covered by another sign, but enough of the Marvel name is still there to make it recognizable.

It’s been more than 110 years since the president visited the factory, but the building sign and the button still recall that day.

I doubt there are many collectors who have NOT experienced the current run that I’ve been on, though I certainly feel alone in this rut.

Dating back to last fall, I have been seeing some amazing online auction listings of seldom-seen militaria pieces. It seems that with each week that passes, an item gets listed that falls into one of my many robot-searches, alerting me to investigate and research the piece. After the necessary due diligence, I am reeled-in and decide what I can afford and get set to place my highest bid (yes, I use a sniping program). After a few days of waiting, I receive the dreaded notice that I had been outbid milliseconds after mine was placed.

This khaki aviator’s ball cap is an oddity with this artwork on the bill. A sewn-on rank insignia adorns the front panel (source: eBay Image).

Aside from the disappointment of being outbid, the other all-too-familiar letdown that I have been experiencing is the discovery of pieces that would fit perfectly into my collection but the price never seems to align well with my budget. Illustrating this point was when a stunning World War II-vintage aviator’s ball cap, complete with hand-painted squadron artwork was listed at auction.

A close-up of the hand-painted bill shows the “437th” in the squadron insignia (source: eBay Image).

When I first laid eyes on the khaki ball cap, I was immediately captivated by the hand painted checkerboard pattern surrounding the squadron insignia. Though the design was monochromatic, the design appeared amazingly crisp overlaying the painted-yellow background. My interests lie predominantly with naval history so my expertise is lacking with regards to knowledge of Air Corps squadrons. The “437th inscribed within the insignia was very difficult to research with investigative results being sketchy. The most-likely squadron I could find that would fit the numeric designation was the 437th Bombardment Squadron, Light.

In this undated WWII photo of the Tuskegee Airmen, notice the aviator ball cap worn by some of the men.

With no experience in these caps, I had no idea of the range of value for this cap. The one thing that put me off a bit was the initial bid price of $750. On one hand, it seemed to fit my perception of value, but without ironclad provenance (it had none) or any way to confirm the squadron identity, the price started to seem quite high. Too many questions coupled with the lack of sound seller-history, I couldn’t begin to ponder placing a bid even at half the asking price.

The cap appears to be a correct-vintage with the leather sweatband (source: eBay Image).

Since I first saw the cap, the seller has (unsuccessfully) listed the cap for auction a second time with a lower price. With being listed twice and not a single bid, one could infer that the cap isn’t worth the risk. But something in me keeps me guessing and wondering.

Perhaps I’ll just wait for the next amazing listing to pass on (or be passed on).

I make no apologies for my passion for United States Navy militaria just as I never pass on an opportunity to talk about the history of my favorite branch of the U.S armed forces. By the time I was serving aboard my second ship I took interest in the legacies that were berthed in semi-permanent moorages awaiting some final disposition.

During my first enlistment, I was part of the commissioning crew of the Navy’s newest (at that time) state of the art cruiser. I spent four years aboard culminating in a combat deployment carving, along with my shipmates, my own page of naval history. It was a difficult yet highly rewarding time in my life. From that ship, I opted to relocate in favor of a preferred geographic region, settling for an old workhorse auxiliary vessel.

One of the first things I learned about my new (old) ship was that the main propulsion plant was significantly older than the ship itself. It seems that the Navy sought to make use of the steam turbines from the mothballed, incomplete BB-66 hull. The unfinished ship, the USS Kentucky, had been under construction as World War II was winding down and was no longer needed in the post-war navy. This powerful propulsion plant meant that my ship was very powerful and could keep up with the Navy’s modern super carriers.

USS Hornet as she sat in Bremerton, WA awaiting her final disposition.

Not only was there some history within my ship, but her home port was filled with it. The naval base was not only an active naval station and naval shipyard but it was also ship boneyard (see Kit and Carolyn Bonner’s fantastic work, Warship Boneyards) . There among the handful of active ships was an entire fleet of retired ships waiting for the Navy to decide their final fate. Greeting me as I drove up to the main gate were ships that had graced the pages of WWII naval history – among them were the USS Oklahoma City (CL-91), USS Bon Homme Richard (CV-31) and the USS Hornet (CV-12).

This image of the USS Oklahoma City shows her pier side after her decommissioning.

When we were in port, I was surrounded by naval history and I was like a kid in a candy store. What made things more interesting for this budding historian was when I was tasked with searching a few of the inactive ships for needed parts to make repairs to our antiquated equipment in combat information center (CIC) on my ship. Armed with a tool bag, my shipmate and I made our way through three vintage inactive carriers (the Hornet, Bon Homme Richard and USS Oriskany CV-34) in search of treasures. Traipsing through the various ready rooms, I was overwhelmed by the painted squadron insignia in each space along with tote boards where pilots would track their missions and statistics for launch and recovery performance.

WWII Naval aviators congregate in their ready room as they prepare for a combat mission in 1944.

Walking the flag bridge – where the embarked admiral and staff coordinated battle group operations – caused my imagination to stir. Regardless of of the space, I looked for anything that I could remove and tuck away in my pocket to preserve for posterity (I admit it, I was really looking for something to add to my collection). Unfortunately, I was unable to locate anything small enough that I would be able to carry past the mothball ships’ caretaker. Though my collection didn’t benefit, my ship did as we located most of the needed components. I was left with one of my most cherished memories

While this story doesn’t have a happy ending from a collector’s perspective (not that what I might have personally acquired would have been under ethical circumstances), what I did keep was a fantastic experience walking the decks among the ghosts of decades long past. A few short years later, three of the four ships (mentioned above) would be disposed of. One was scrapped (CV-31) and two others were sunk as a targets (CL-91 and CV-34) for missile firing exercises.

USS Oriskany (CV-34) sinks after charges are detonated. She settled on the bottom almost precisely at her intended location as a man-made reef (source: Matta).

Navy enthusiasts and budding historians can follow in my footsteps whole touring the USS Hornet Museum in Alameda, California though I’d recommend NOT emulating me by bringing your tool bag.

This large Eisenhower 7 3/4 inch football-related pin is tough to find.

Super Bowl Sunday is nearly upon us. Sports fans will have to be satisfied with basketball and hockey after this Sunday, until baseball season starts in a couple months.

But football and political collecting have a close connection in my house. Several times in the past 4-5 years, my wife and I have traveled to New Jersey to visit friends, and then spend Super Bowl Sunday in New York City at the Super Bowl Sunday Political Collectibles Show. The show opens at 9 a.m. and closes at 2 p.m. so we can be back in New Jersey in front of the TV when the kickoff arrives.

Baseball might be known as the national pastime, but it’s certainly not the only sport that has taken the national stage when it comes to presidents.

A 1996 pin with football star Jack Kemp running for vice president.

Many presidents have thrown out pitches at baseball games. As for football, some presidents and presidential candidates have had notable careers. Certainly presidential candidate, and then vice presidential candidate in 1996, Jack Kemp had a stellar career in the National Football League. President Gerald Ford was one of our best presidential athletes with a stellar football career at the University of Michigan.

As far back as the turn of the previous century, presidents have been involved in football. When college football was in danger of being banned for its violent ways, President Theodore Roosevelt stepped in and convened a group to look at how to change the rules and make the sport less dangerous. That group was the beginnings of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Roosevelt’s own sons played college football and he thought it was a great sport for young men.

Ronald Reagan was a football fan and this pin played on that theme.

President Richard Nixon stepped right into a hornet’s nest in 1969 when he took it upon himself to unofficially declare the University of Texas as the best college team in the land – much to the chagrin of Penn State University, which had finished the season at 11-0. Nixon tried to mend the hurt feelings, but Penn Staters never felt the same about Nixon again. There were a few cheers in State College, Pa., that summer day when Nixon had to resign because of Watergate.

Collecting football-related items might seem obscure, but it’s really not that difficult. There are items out there.

One of my favorites has always been a postcard showing Franklin Roosevelt in a football uniform standing in front of the capitol building in Washington, D.C. Below, it says “Our Quarterback.”

Franklin Roosevelt is described as “Our Quarterback” on this postcard.

While most of the pins don’t mention football, in a political football-related collection any Kemp pin would seem at home. Kemp played 11 seasons in the NFL, and was league MVP in 1965.  He also played three years in the Canadian Football League. Kemp pins from his presidential primary races in 1988 and VP run in 1996 are fairly common. He also served as a congressman from the Buffalo area for several terms.

There are other football-related items for Dwight Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan, Barack Obama and many others, and they can be found on Internet auction sites and at political collectibles shows.

Football and political collecting are two of my favorite activities. Combining the two on Super Bowl Sunday makes for a great day, even if my team isn’t playing in the big game.