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AN-TIQUE (an-teek)
An object having
special value because of its age, especially a domestic item, piece of
furniture or decorative arts object esteemed for its artistry, beauty,
mechanical ingenuity, or period of origin. |
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The
Antiques Almanac, a five-edition-per-year online magazine for beginning and
intermediate antiques collectors and those just interested in finding out about
old things, is your first stop on the Web in your search for information
about antiques and collectibles. Here, you’ll find articles on a variety
of American and international antiques, including furniture, china,
glass, silver, and other decorative arts from the Colonial, Empire,
Victorian, Art Nouveau, and Art Deco Periods, plus vintage and modern
collectibles, interesting historical facts, antique tips, and
recommendations for caring for your collections. Come back often to see
what's new. And be sure to tell your friends about us. |
This
edition's
theme:
"It's That Time Again"
Volume 12 No. 4
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Ooh, La La,
C'est Magnifique
French clockmaking came into its own in the 17th century,
when highly ornamented clocks covered in gilt bronze, known
as ormolu, were produced to keep pace with the new standards
for opulence set by King Louis XIV’s Palace of Versailles.
More Antiques Features |
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Promoting Through Time
It’s common to see a variety of items—coffee mugs, pens,
glasses, and such—with advertisements printed on them. But
in the 1890s, a clock advertising a company was a novelty.
Clocks promoted foods and beverages, household products,
even medicines, such as Monells Teething Cordial for
Children. They even advertised pet food like Clarke’s Patent
Buffalo Meat Dog Cakes, endorsed by Queen Victoria, herself.
Each clock said something different on it.
More
Collectibles Features |
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And the Glockenspiel Goes
Round and Round
At 11
A.M. daily, crowds of onlookers pack the Marienplatz in
Munich to view a unique performance from what amounts to a
city clock in the Neues Rathaus, the New Town Hall—the
Glockenspiel. This timepiece has been entertaining visitors
and locals alike for over a century. But what most who are
watching don’t realize is that there’s a group of dedicated
10 workers who operate the Glockenspiel by hand.
More
Special Features
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Tick Tock Toys
Long before video games and battery-powered toys, kids
needed to be entertained. Back in the 19th and early 20th
centuries, it was clockwork toys that helped keep them
amused. The earliest clockwork device, known as the
Antikythera mechanism, dates from ancient Greece.
More
Antique Spotlights
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All Aboard for
Railroad
Pocket Watches
On
April 19, 1891, a train engineer's watch stopped for four
minutes and then started again. This temporary mechanical
failure resulted in a train wreck that killed nine people in
Kipton, Ohio. The railroads set up a commission to create
new standards for the railroad pocket watch, to be used by
all railroads.
More
Collecting
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Caring for Antique Clocks
It's estimated that only 27 percent of antique and
collectible collectors insure their collections. While the
Number One reason to insure your antiques and collectibles
is theft, there are others, including fire, flood, and
natural disasters.
More
Caring for Collections |
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England.
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The
2019 Fall
Edition
featuring
"It's
That Time Again"
is here
Go through the menu and read all the
New!
articles. |
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The Home of the
Banjo Clock
by Bob Brooke
Nestled in the rolling hills of Central Massachusetts,
Willard House was constructed by Joseph Willard in the
early 18th century in what was then known as the Indian
settlement of Hassanamisco. Four of Joseph's grandsons -
Benjamin, Simon, Ephraim and Aaron Willard---would
become America's preeminent 19th-century clockmakers,
making their first clocks in 1766 in their small Grafton
workshop.
Read more.
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Keeping the Trains
on Time
by Bob Brooke
On November 18,
1883, the way the world noted time changed forever. Until
that day, every town and city followed its own time. Life
was slower. Then something happened that changed the way
people moved around. And that something was the coming of
the railroads. No longer would it takes days or weeks to get
from one place to another. The railroads saw to that. And
with the speeding up of travel, something had to be done to
get all the trains on time.
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How to Recognize and
Refinish Antiques for Pleasure and Profit
Have
you ever bought an antique or collectible that was less than perfect and
needed some TLC? Bob's book offers tips and step-by- step
instructions for simple maintenance and restoration of common antiques.
Read an
Excerpt |
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BREAKING
NEWS
Shipwreck With $17
Billion of Sunken Treasure ID'd in the Caribbean
When salvagers found a
300-year-old ship at the bottom of the Caribbean near the
coast of Colombia three years ago, they claimed it was the
“holy grail” of shipwrecks—the legendary San Jose galleon, a
Spanish ship rumored to contain up to $17 billion in
treasure. Now, the Associated Press
reports,
experts have identified the ship…and confirmed that it’s the
real deal.
Read all about it
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Rare
Roman Coin Found by Detectorist in
Farmer's Field
A rare
Roman solidus coin of the Emperor Constantine I was dug up
from a farmer’s field in Somerset and will be offered at Dix
Noonan Webb’s ancient coins auction on September 17 in
London with an estimate of £10,000-12,000. On the reverse is
a rare portrayal of Constantine riding his horse in battle
holding a spear and shield with two fallen enemy soldiers
below to commemorate a victory over Maxentius at Milvian
bridge outside Rome on October 28, 312.
Read more
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