The Auction Insider
Heraldry of Modern Militaria
Every area of life has its own language. I remember when my wife began working as a State Historian, she began using acronyms I had never heard before- and I had to ask for translations. By the way, TCP translates as “Traditional Cultural Property!” I have been...
Place in Collecting
Soon after moving to Sacramento, I began exploring Old Town, our historic district in Sacramento, right along the river front. I was intrigued by its combination of old and traditional, and new and touristy. I concluded that it had managed to keep a lot of its charm,...
A Third Thursday Discovery Feature: Happy Daze and The Tin Toy in the 20th Century
As an Art History major in college, I was asked to read a great deal of literary criticism and came to understand that a broad range of academic theory – be it philosophical, political, sociological, etymological – could and should be applied to art and material...
A Third Thursday Discovery Feature: “Another Little Piece of My Heart,” Handbills from Rock’s Greatest Era
It was around the time I was a sophomore in high school that I began to develop my personal taste in music. It was informed partially by the music I was exposed to growing up, a bit by the different genres and bands my brother (committed guitar player by the age of...
A Third Thursday Discovery Feature: Arts and Crafts Pottery and the Question of Taste
A thrift store, a flea market, an estate sale or even an unfamiliar driveway where someone is selling things out of their garage – this is the setting, now picture the scene: there are people milling about, maybe alone or maybe with a friend, but nevertheless with...
A Third Thursday Discovery Feature: Colorful Fruit Labels from The Golden State
The first time I ever lived, worked, and bought groceries on my own I was living Louisiana. At least once a week I would walk just over a mile and a half to a small, local grocery store in New Orleans called Langenstein’s to buy food and whatever else I might need for...
A Third Thursday Discovery Feature: The Great Comic Comeback! (or were they ever truly gone?)
Although this is only our second Third Thursday Discovery Feature, maybe some of you are sensing a theme. Like baseball cards, comic books are a fairly distinct part of 20th century America’s ephemeral culture with a unique and dynamic history. While initially popular...
A Third Thursday Discovery Feature: Glory Days of the Baseball Card
In January of 1960, the Long Beach Independent newspaper asked a number of music publishers to give their prognosis on the future of rock ‘n’ roll. One unnamed source boldly predicted: “It’s going out very fast. I think it’s pretty well done.” From our perch in 2019,...
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