Those who were lucky enough to travel to Germany, Austria or Switzerland in the 1960s might have come across, in department stores, toy shops and even railway gift shops, miniature Rigi cable car sets. Made by the Lehmann Company of West Germany …
$1.49
No words more eloquently describe the pinnacle of the jeweller’s craft than the words ‘by Fabergé’; not even Tiffany or Cartier. In saying this, the last place i ever expected to find a Fabergé item was across my desk at Steel & Shot, writes John Lehoczky.
$1.49
They cross the divide of a functional luxury object combined with a quirkiness and uniqueness that makes each of them special … The Dunhill Aquarium Lighter
$1.49
They sell for serious money today, but the pocket globe was never intended for serious scientific interest. Their small size made accurate calculations impossible and they tended to lack the rings and dials required for the most common manipulations, but they were highly decorative – and the perfect status symbol for the wealthy gentleman.
$2.99
Known as ‘the Matchbox of the Netherlands’, the range of Best-Box toys has largely been forgotten by today’s collectors but these Dutch diecast vehicles more than hold their own.
$1.49
An amateur race car driver and mechanic, Georges Hamel was inspired to take up painting automotives after watching a motor race in his hometown. It’s lucky he did: the dramatic illustration of a blue Bugatti with its scarfed driver surging into the Mediterranean sunshine from the tunnel during the Monaco Grand Prix must be one of the most famous poster images of all time.
$1.49
It’s fair to say that Berto Pandolfo knows more than most about corded portable power drills. He collects them, studies them as industrial products and sociological artefacts, and writes about all these aspects. Oh, and he knows how to use them, too.
$1.49
Aficionados of fortified wines might recognise the name of Henry Bathurst, the 19th-century bishop of Norwich. His habit of ‘forgetting’ to keep the postprandial port bottle circulating around the table led to the use of the expression, “Do you know
the bishop of Norwich?” as a subtle way of encouraging similarly absent-minded dining companions to pass it on…
$1.49
From Whovians to X-Philes to Trekkies, sci-fi fans are some of the most ardent on the planet, so it should come as no surprise that some related collectables have reached interstellar prices at auction.
$1.49
The YZ-branded range of novelties, produced in the 1920s and ’30s by English company Henry Howell & Co Ltd, have lost none of their cheeky charm with collectors.
$1.49
The discovery of a Bulgarian Red Cross medal inspired Kylie Richards to delve into the history of one of the country’s more flamboyant ruling leaders…
$1.49
“The more match products the better,” exclaims Neil Abbott, and he’s not joking. With more than 1,000,000 match-related items in his collection, could it be the largest in Australia?
$1.49
With all things Danish surging in popularity following the coronation of King Frederick and Queen Mary in January, we take a look at the famous Tekno scale model toy company – the cream of Danish diecast.
$1.49
Says specialist dealer John Lehoczky: ‘When I collected a Remington Old Model Percussion Revolver, serial number 8828, some years ago it came with a copy of a page from the Springfield Research Service – and that started me on my own research journey…’
$1.49
You might say the Historical Radio Society of Australia is akin to a multi-location Australian museum, since most of its 1200 members are stewards of significant collections of historical radios…
$2.99
More than one hundred years old, the beaded snake was made by Ottoman (Turkish) prisoners of war who were being held in British and Allied POW camps during World War I. Prison authorities provided the materials for the prisoners to make craft pieces and they were then offered for sale.
$1.49
At the beginning of the 20th century, a growing contingent of bird lovers began advocating for the need to educate the public regarding bird conservation. This led to the establishment of the Gould League of Bird Lovers – and some very collectable memorabilia.
$1.49
From March 27 to April 6, ABCR Auctions are holding an online sale with a difference: it’s the finest collection of Australian beer bottles ever to be offered in a single sale. And that got us to thinking about the history of Aussie beer…
$1.49
Long before lightweight plastics, and shortly after the candlestick telephone gave place to the moulded handset telephone, designers realised that plastics offered the opportunity to make durable telephones in colours other than black.
$1.49
When Ferrero introduced its Kinder Surprise eggs in the early 1970s, many of the original occupants of these hollow chocolate confections were small-scale metal figures. In 40mm or 35mm sizes, the figures were released in various finishes, such as brass, copper or iron and the miniatures were made in Italy, Germany, France and other countries.
$1.49
If you had been traveling the rough and rugged roads of Eastern Australia in the middle 1800’s, then “Bail Up!” was the last thing you would have wanted to hear. Turning around, you would have been confronted with loaded pistols pointed at you and offering you your money or your life. Not a pleasant experience.
$1.49
With the earliest evidence of its production dating back to 4100BC in Armenia, wine has played a significant part in the cultures and economies in many eras of ancient history. What to collect …
$1.49
Collecting antique hand tools is quite a tactile connection to our past. When you pick up an old tool, you see the patina of a lifetime of use (or many lifetimes). It’s lovely to see previous owner’s marks and handprints. Often you will find a tool and start researching the maker, and it takes you down a wonderful rabbit hole of discovery into a bygone age.
$1.49
Vintage watches are not mere timekeepers; they’re a fusion of art, history and craftsmanship and have serious investment value.
$1.49
Beach buggies were created in the 1960s as sun, surf and sand vehicles specially designed for leisure pursuits. These latter activities sometimes amounted to nothing more elaborate than driving over dunes or along the beach in the summer… enter Corgi Toys with the toy version.
$1.49
The seal is as useful today as it was in 4BC when the Mesopotamians rolled carved cylinders over clay in order to create an authentic stamp for a document.
$1.49
From the martini to the manhattan, the festive season is the perfect time to shake yourself a naughty little cocktail, and what better to use than an elegantly classic cocktail shaker?
$1.49
Polynesian cave paintings from the 12th century are the earliest known depictions of surfing, but as the activity developed it became both a leisure activity and a method of enforcing the class system, where the elite controlled the best beaches.
$2.99
Humans are inclined to collect items that appeal to them. This tendency has long been known to manufacturers who engage it to sell more items to us, and one of the most successful examples of these marketing tactics must surely be the mass production of picture cards inserted into cigarette packets.
$2.99
As a professional photographer with a passion for the history of the art form, Richard Batterley is just the man to collect antique and vintage cameras.
$2.99
One of the most iconic images of 1950s and ’60s Italy is that of the ice-cream- or sherbet-coloured Vespa scooter. Inspired by the US military Cushman scooters used in Italy during WWII, the Vespa represents one of the great Italian success stories.
$1.49
Collector Michael Kelly has long been interested in maritime memorabilia, but it was a chance discovery that led him to an appreciations of ships’ menus, cooked turtle and boiled sheep’s head…
$1.49
Pickelhauben – spiked leather or metal helmets – were worn in the 19th and 20th centuries by Prussian and German military officers, firefighters and police, but it’s actually far more interesting than that.
$1.49
From 1853 to 1867 the British pattern 1853 ‘Enfield’ rifled muzzle loaded musket was the mainstay of the British empire, and it has been estimated that more than one and a half million were produced.
$1.49
The spice of nutmeg first reached Europe, caravan to caravan across the Asian ‘silk roads’, in tiny amounts in medieval times, when it was worth more than its weight in gold.
$1.49
Throughout history people have invented machines, devices and contrivances to improve all aspects of our lives. Author Damien Lewis decided it was time to reintroduce some of them.
$1.49
According to his mother, Peter Young’s first word was ‘bus’. When he was seven his aunt gave him his first double-decker model bus, and that was the start of his collection…
$1.49
This is a quest of sorts – to discover if this cap really is the only known example of its kind in the world…
$1.49
It was the lawnmower that changed how grass was cut, revolutionising the style, scale and standard of lawn upkeep. “Collecting the machines that represent this history is important,” says Richard Heathcote, who created the exhibition The Blade, to recognise the 40th anniversary of the Australian Garden History Society. After its inaugural presentation at Carrick Hill, a state heritage house and cultural centre in Adelaide, the exhibition travelled around Australia.
$2.99
Geoff Crawford shares recollections of the family business and uncovers a range of often overlooked collectables.
$1.49
When a Sydney dealer came across a collection of three Australian-made sterling silver horse buckles and their respective sashes, he had an inkling they represented a remarkable piece of history – and he was right.
$1.49
The first issue of Eagle comic was released on April 14, 1950 and almost immediately it began selling nearly one million copies per week. Not bad for something dreamed up by a vicar and an out-of-work artist.
$1.49
If it’s true that anything can be made into a decorative feature, then the doorstop must be a good example. Although a big stone, lump of wood or small sandbag will do the job just as well, the doorstop nevertheless entered the world of decorative fashion.
$1.49
Specimens from the moon are among the rarest substances on earth. In fact, if you put them all together they would fit inside five footlockers… but if it’s rocks from space you’re looking for, there are other ways you can build a collection.
$1.49
Officially known as Southern Development bank notes, Japanese invasion money was issued by the Japanese military authority as a replacement for local currency after the conquest of colonies and other states in WWII.
$1.49
Throughout history, badges and pins have represented membership, achievement or designation and often indicate support for a team or membership of a club. Many people are now collecting these badges as nostalgic keepsakes.
$1.49
The Swiss Army knife, that veritable tool-in-your-pocket, is a global icon, representative of Swiss ingenuity, design and craftsmanship. ‘The little red knife’ has been on epic journeys to the North Pole, the Amazon, the top of Everest and into space.
$1.49
Specialist antique arms dealer John Lehoczky reveals the story behind the development of this rare flintlock pistol.
$1.49
When it comes to collecting, the world of magic offers it all. Theatre, mystery and nostalgia come together in colourful and unusual collectables that hark back to an era before TV, when the great magicians performed tricks and illusions that enchanted their audiences.
$2.99
Trimming horses with horse brass dates back to the pre-Roman period, although the horses brasses we know today first appeared in the 1700s.
$1.49
Subscribe now to read and download these articles and hundreds more for free.
“Seamen never made woolworks with the idea that they would be considered valuable works of art,” says New York-based antiques dealer Paul Vandekar, a specialist dealer in woollies: embroidered ship portraits sewn primarily by 19th century mariners between trips to sea.
MEMBERS ONLY
Although not the first to use the sundial, the Romans were the first to use them as a decorative element in the garden. Remarkably, centuries later we have sundials not just in gardens across the globe, but in space: the furthest sundial from earth is stationed on planet Mars with the Mars Rover…
MEMBERS ONLY
It’s hard today to imagine a world that did not include moving images, colour photography or glossy magazines, but in the 19th century many city dwellers had no idea what the natural world looked like beyond their own limited direct experience and monochrome book illustrations. And then entered the diorama.
MEMBERS ONLY
In an age when the medical fraternity was more interested in curing your soul than your body, the apothecary was the best hope of an ordinary person seeking a cure. Their medical containers range from ceramic albarelli to modern poison bottles.
MEMBERS ONLY
Most people have heard of ‘ships in bottles’, marvelling at the ingenuity of the carvers and wondering how the ship was fitted through the narrow neck of a bottle. But few people realise there are other forms of folk art in bottles.
MEMBERS ONLY
What price for a dead rat? Around $1500 if it’s an exploding one… we look at some of history’s more interesting spy gadgets.
MEMBERS ONLY
When most of us hear the term ‘the dirty dozen’, we think of the 1967 war movie starring Lee Marvin leading a cast of legendary actors. But for collectors of military watches, the dirty dozen is one of the most elusive collections in the world.
MEMBERS ONLY
The most-consumed alcoholic beverage in the world is the humble beer. There are two categories, lager or ale – that’s it. It all depends on the yeast used during fermentation…
MEMBERS ONLY
From a small, egg-shaped design that failed to take off 500 years ago to the multi-million dollar wristwatches of today, we look at the development of portable timekeeping.
MEMBERS ONLY
Garden gnomes are familiar to most of us in the western world. Typically, they are small male figures who have a long white beard, a red pointy hat, simple clothes and work boots and reside in a garden. They are loved by many people but others see them as the ultimate in bad taste. Australian potteries seem to have shared the latter view…
MEMBERS ONLY
Ivor Hughes takes a look at trench art from The Great War.
MEMBERS ONLY
Taxidermy has been around for thousands of years. Even the Egyptians used to preserve animals and mummify them for burial with their privileged owners so that they could be together in the afterlife. By the 18th century, almost every British town had a tannery business.
MEMBERS ONLY
It was hardly surprising to see a sword that began life over 100 years ago in the UK appear for sale in a specialised militaria auction in Melbourne. But what was unusual was the incredible story of one family’s sacrifice that it brought with it.
MEMBERS ONLY
Australian pre-Federation banknotes have become some of the most rare and spectacular works of art known throughout the world of note engraving.
MEMBERS ONLY
The first examples of glass paperweights were not from France, but Italy. It was a Venetian glass paperweight taken home by a French businessman from a show in Vienna in 1845 that set French art, craft and technology about the new art form.
MEMBERS ONLY
One of a handful of early 1980s watches that have so far stood the test of time, the Omega Constellation Manhattan is a bona fide technical and aesthetic icon of its era.
MEMBERS ONLY
