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Vintage Stanley No. 47 marking gauge, made in USA woodworking layout tool
Antique Measuring & Marking Tools: Rules, Squares, Gauges, and Levels
Pick up a well-made antique rule or gauge and the difference from a modern plastic equivalent is immediate: the heft of brass, the close grain of boxwood or rosewood, the... Read more...
Bohemian cut-crystal pendant chandelier, made in Czechoslovakia, circa 1947-1952
Mid-Century Art Glass: How to Tell Blenko, Murano, and Czech Apart
Mid-century art glass is one of the most collected — and most misattributed — categories in the antiques trade. A single glowing amber vase might be labeled "Murano" on one... Read more...
Fiesta green dinnerware set by Homer Laughlin, circa 1936 to 1951
Fiesta & Homer Laughlin: How to Date Dinnerware by Color
Fiesta dinnerware is one of the few American tablewares whose age you can read at a glance — not from a mark on the bottom, but from the glaze itself.... Read more...
Late-19th century Victorian giltwood and gesso picture frame with original glass
Antique Picture Frames & Gilding: Gold Leaf vs. Gilt Paint, and How to Read a Frame
Antique picture frames rarely get the attention paid to the paintings, mirrors, and portraits they hold — but a well-made 19th-century frame is its own small feat of craftsmanship, and... Read more...
Antique flat-top steamer trunk by Portland Trunk Manufacturing Co., Oregon, c. 1920s-1940s
Antique Steamer Trunks: History, Types, and How to Identify and Restore Them
Long before wheeled luggage, the trunk was how the world traveled — and how it moved house. A well-made steamer trunk crossed oceans in a ship's hold, rode the rails... Read more...
Antique hand-raised (hammered) copper water pitcher, c. 1880–1925 — Viridian Eclection
Brass, Bronze & Copper: How to Tell Them Apart, Read the Patina, and Clean Them Safely
Ask three different dealers whether a candlestick is brass or bronze and you may get three different answers — and honestly, all three might be defensible. Copper, brass, and bronze... Read more...
Anchor Hocking pressed-glass rose bowl — clear sculptural American glass
Antique & Vintage Glass 101: Pressed vs. Cut vs. Blown
Pick up almost any piece of old glass and it will tell you how it was made — if you know where to look. Was it blown by breath and... Read more...
Edwardian sunburst two-tier parlor table — a characterful estate-sale-style find
How to Shop Estate Sales Like a Pro
An estate sale is the closest thing the antiques trade has to an open archive: a whole household, assembled over a lifetime, laid out over a weekend for anyone willing... Read more...
Beveled easel mirror, Edwardian to early Art Deco, c.1905-1930, with age-spotting
Antique Mirrors: How to Date Them by Glass, Foxing & Backing
Few objects carry their age as openly as a mirror. The frame may be recut, the backing replaced, the glass reset — but the surface itself keeps a quiet record... Read more...
Amber 'Princess' pattern Depression glass set, Hocking Glass Co., c.1931–1935
Depression Glass: Patterns, Colors & Spotting Reproductions
Depression glass carries more history per ounce than almost anything else a collector can set on a shelf. It was cheap when it was new — machine-pressed by the crateload... Read more...
Restored mid-century Craftsman camp hatchet with hickory handle
Restoring Antique Tools: Removing Rust Without Destroying Value
Rust is the first thing most people want gone from an old tool, and the last thing a conservator reaches for a wire wheel to remove. A plane, a marking... Read more...
Vintage turned-wood table lamp with brass collar and parchment shade, 1940s–50s
Antique Lighting: How to Identify & Safely Use Antique Lamps
Few antiques are handled as casually — or misread as often — as an old lamp. A lamp is furniture, sculpture, and small machine all at once, and its age... Read more...