“When you walk into a major supermarket chain and nestling somewhere between the fruit and veg and the tins of
beans, you find a six foot tall display stand full of re-issue vinyl LPs, you know that the vinyl revival is truly rocking,” says Martin Hughes.
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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 …
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In 1947, Samuel William Noble established a small commercial pottery studio in Mosman on Sydney’s lower north shore. The pottery was located in the rear of a shop in Clifford Street, and it was from here that he began a business producing small slipware souvenir cream jugs decorated with Australian flora and fauna.
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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
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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.
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In the past few years, vintage fashion has gone from the province of artists and alternative musicians to the preferred mode of society ladies and young professionals, and as more retail stores add vintage clothes to their inventory, it’s no longer necessary to rifle through the racks of the local thrift store to find that one-of-a-kind item.
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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.
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If you ever needed proof that vintage fashion is a modern ‘thing’, here it is. In 2020, a New York vintage store that had been open for three years with modest success suddenly had a queue of people snaking around the block waiting to get into the shop. Why? Because they’d seen a video on TikTok.
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“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?
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In 1954, Wade Potteries launched a range of inexpensive miniature animal figurines at the British Industries Fair. For the next sixty-eight years the Whimsies, as they were called, were in continual production.
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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.
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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…
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Serendipity played an important role in the success of Bernard Moss. Although he and wife Moreen were both undeniably talented, if it hadn’t been for a chance encounter in a department store the world may never have enjoyed the novelty ‘nodder’.
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In the thousands of movable and pop-up books published for children from the late 18th century onwards, there have been only four Australian books in this genre – and one of those was a pirated version…
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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.
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Her name may not be familiar, but its more than likely you’ve seen her work. Florence Broadhurst (1899-1977) was a designer and producer of hand-printed luxury wallpapers who, in the 1960s and ’70s was part of a creative wave of designers, artists, retailers and architects who redefined Australian design both at home and abroad.
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Vintage is all the rage in fashion collecting. An allied collecting field can be found in the tools that produced those thrilling pieces from yesteryear, especially the scissors, pins, needles and other tools that millions of homemakers and seamstresses used to
clothe their families and adorn their homes and enhance the elegance of high society.
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Vintage watches are not mere timekeepers; they’re a fusion of art, history and craftsmanship and have serious investment value.
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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.
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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.
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In the 1960s, Lady Anne Gordon began making vibrant vegetable ceramics as table centrepieces. She knew her pieces were under-appreciated and commented in an interview that ‘one day they will be worth a lot more than they are now’. That day has come.
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Well-maintained hands were important to the Egyptians, whose ancient paintings depict carers tending to the nails of the pharaoh. The manicure set, on the other hand, is rather more modern.
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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.
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It took five years, but the ‘Precious Puppy’ has finally been found. And with it comes a boost to the already popular collecting fashion of 1960s animal brooches.
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It could be true that there’s a buyer for everything on eBay. At the very least, there seem to be some buyers very keen to own old VHS tapes. Yes, you read that correctly.
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In 1954, Queen Elizabeth II became the first reigning monarch to visit Australia. She and the Duke of Edinburgh visited all capital cities except Darwin, along with 70 country towns during the 56 days of her visit. It was an exhausting schedule.
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Lea Stein. Her compressed plastic buttons, brooches and bracelets have seen her acknowledged as the most notable and innovative designer of plastic jewellery of the 20th century. But there are some Australian designers following in her footsteps…
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Internationally renowned and widely collected, hailed as a transformative genius… Hans Coper is generally considered to be one of the most important British studio potters of the 20th century. But would you pay more than $1m for a pot that was made just fifty years ago?
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Nylon was the first man-made fibre to be developed entirely in a laboratory. Its official name was Polymer 66 and when it was applied to stockings it was called No-Run, but the problem was that unfortunately the early stockings tended to have a lot of runs… a new name was needed. Some company wordplay resulted in the word ‘nylon’ and it stuck.
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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.
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Remember the days when you raced through a box of cereal, just so you could get to the bottom and shake out whatever new and exciting toy was being given away? Digging out a toy surprise from your Cornflakes might be a thrill of the past, but these freebies are now surprisingly collectable.
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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.
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Old Blue Eyes sang, ‘Regrets, Ive had a few, but then again too few to mention.’ In a collecting life that began as a young child, Dr Geoff Crawford says he’s had some highs and a few lows…
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Enter any department store from November onwards and you’ll be spoiled for choice with Christmas decorations, many of which will be made from plastic and will bounce delightfully without breaking when they’re knocked from the tree. But for those who prefer something a little more old-fashioned, there’s still plenty of choice.
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Are they toys? Are they ornaments? Milk cans are usually thought of as being large enough to hold about eight to ten gallons, although cream cans are much smaller…
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The Cabbage Patch Kids have become a mainstay of the toy industry and one of the few long-running doll brands in history. The highest price paid so far was US$2000 on eBay for a 1985 CPK called Teresa Ann… they’re definitely having a revival of popularity.
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Writing in his online blog, UK antiques expert, author and Antiques Roadshow aficianado Mark Hill said: “If you asked the average collector to name an important British glass designer, most would say Geoffrey Baxter and if you them asked them to name his most iconic range it would have to be the Landmark, a textured range of 1966, released a year later”.
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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.
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It’s the go-to drink for any celebration. Marilyn Monroe once bathed in 360 bottles of it: despite reports to the contrary, James Bond favoured it over martinis; and Winston Churchill apparently drank 42,000 bottles of it in his lifetime. Cheers, sweetie-dahlings, its champagne
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You’ve probably never heard of Lionel Suttie, but it’s equally likely that you’ve got – or have had – something designed by him in your home…
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Australian Pippin Drysdale has had work featured in over 450 exhibitions and around 50 solo shows. She’s Australia’s most internationally successful ceramicist, but you may not have heard of her.
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With their vivid colours and promise of adventure and exploration, travel posters were a powerful form of advertising in the 20th century, enticing people to book by train, plane and ship to journey to all corners of the globe.
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This popular series of children’s books was established in 1942 in the midst of World War II, and when Little Golden Books celebrated their 50th anniversary in 1992, it was claimed that 1.5 billion books had been sold. Collecting the series is fun and can be done on a shoestring budget.
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A deadly device in the 18th century because of the use of lead, the wearing of make-up enjoyed a resurrection in the early 20th century and with it came the essential accessory – the compact. Slipped neatly into a clutch bag, the compact was a thing of beauty, designed with the same care as a piece of art and decorated with fine metals and stones.
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During the height of the doll and teddy boom from the early 1980s up until the early 2000s, some antique dolls and bears sold at specialised auctions for many thousands of dollars and the golliwog was there too. Dedicated golly collectors made their mark on the collector’s market, paying high prices for anything golly related that was a little different.
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While he was still at college, Ossie saw a Pierre Cardin collection in Paris where chiffon dresses were cut in what he described as a ‘spiral line’. In 1967 he cut a range of chiffons and crepes on the straight and turned them to fit the body on the bias, to replicate the same ‘spiral line.’ At the end of 1968 he introduced his famous Nude Look …
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Star wars is one of the most loved movie series ever made. The original was released in 1977 and its the third highest grossing movie ever, after Gone With the Wind and Avatar. It won six Oscars from ten nominations and a new Star Wars movie has been made in every decade since the original.
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Depression glass is a general description for machine-produced glassware manufactured during the great depression. Considered to be stylish, pretty and popular at the time, it brightens the home and spirit for many of today’s collectors just as it did for the original owners during the great depression.
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These delightful little animal porcelain figures were commonly used in homes during the 1920s and ‘30s (before the arrival of teabags) and were used mainly to catch errant drips from the teapot spout as well as to decorate teapots.
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If you’re looking for a really good reason to buy yourself a vintage designer handbag, try this: according to the luxury fashion website Vestaire Collective, it can make more economic sense to invest in a Chanel handbag than in the stock market.
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Collector Georgie Brown introduces an unusual Australian-made doll by Fethalite.
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Mention colourful Italian glass and you probably think of Venetian or Murano, but there have been other areas of significant glass production in Italy… one of which is Empoli.
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Troika Pottery was the dream of three men who wanted to create pottery that was all about art and design, with little regard for function. They were surprisingly successful.
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In May 2013, The New York Times published a piece on Blenko Glass to coincide with an exhibition called Big Color that took place during the International Contemporary Furniture Fair in New York. Since the glass was neither contemporary nor furniture, what was it doing there?
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Judith Dunn looks at the novel use some fashion designers made of cutting-edge industrial plastics to create glitz and glam with gloriously impractical handbags.
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As Scandinavian glass takes the retro world by storm, there’s one major glass producer that has been largely overlooked. Welcome to the world of Riihmaki.
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Vintage glass is one of the easiest – and (mostly) inexpensive – collections to start. Whether you’re looking to brighten up your kitchen, create an eye-catching display or fully immerse your dining experience in a vintage style, there’s a style of glass for everyone.
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The impish grin, the elves’ golden bathers and the iridescent blue water, but what really made our writer fall in love with this little picture the most was that it was made from butterfly wings.
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With more developments, discoveries and achievements than perhaps we realise, there is no doubt that the 20th century brought about major shifts in society and transformed the way most people lived. Mass communication, faster transportation, information technology and travel into outer space all transpired during this time, setting the world on a path of constant change.
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