Month: August 2021

Wow, what a great advertising calendar top!

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn AdvertisingLeave a comment

Calendars have been used for many years to advertise anything from cars to musical instruments.  There are quite a few items that are featured on calendars, and there are just as many calendar designs as well.

One design of calendars that you will run across is a calendar top with a pad attached to it with a small sheet of paper that tells you what month and year it is.  The calendar pad will be replaced over the years while you keep the top.  Part of this type of design can be seen on this terrific calendar top advertising the Greisedieck Brothers Beer Company.

When the Griesedieck Brothers Beer Company produced this calendar, they used a print by Rolf Armstrong on it.  The print was titled, “Dreamy Eyes” and was originally produced in the 1920’s.  Rolf Armstrong’s work was featured on many things from magazine covers to even mugs, and they are very collectible in themselves.

The other great thing that this calendar has going for it is the size of it.  It’s 15 inches wide by 19 ¾ inches long, so not only does it not take up a lot of room it also can fit into a standard size frame.

This is one of the many types of calendar designs and motifs that you can run across.  What kinds of advertising calendars have you run across?

Famous Shipwrecks that have inspired collections

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn HistoryLeave a comment

Pottery, glassware, and enamel signs are some of the areas that people collect.  Did you know that one of the areas of collecting are items from shipwrecks? 

The Titanic has produced highly sought-after collectibles (like items used on the ship as well as ads for the ship) while the Atocha is known for the gold and silver coins that were on it.  One of the ships that you may not think of is the SS Central America.

On Thursday, September 3 in the year 1857, the SS Central America (a side-wheel steamer ship) left the port city of Aspinwall (located in Panama on the Atlantic Ocean side of the country).  The ship then made a stop in Havanna on Monday September the 7th.  The next morning, the ship continued onward towards its destination of New York City.

On September the 9th, the ship encountered a tropical storm.  By Friday, the weather went from bad to just plain mean.  The ship was in the grips of a hurricane off the coast of the Carolinas.  On Saturday the 12th of September, the ship was hit with a wave and slipped beneath the surface of the ocean.

Why is this ship so important?  The cargo of this ship was valued at the time of the sinking at $2 million dollars in gold coins and bars from San Fransisco (which was 10 tons of just gold).

This ship is sometimes called “The Ship of Gold”.  Many books have been written about the ship, along with the recovery and sale of the coins and bars.


Many collectors covet the coins of the SS Central America, and coin collectors still actively look for pieces from the shipwreck to add to their collections (even well after the sale of the cargo in the year 2000).

Over 7,000 gold coins were recovered from the shipwreck, and most of them are the $20 gold Double Eagle from the San Francisco mint.  Because of the discovery of the SS Central America, this type of gold coin is a little more available to collectors due to the amount that was found.

What other famous events or people have you heard of inspiring a new way to collect items?

Wisdom Lane Antiques Item Highlight: Scenes Of Washington DC Souvenir Tumbler

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn Item highlightLeave a comment

The latest item highlight from Wisdom Lane Antiques is this terrific silverplate souvenir tumbler.

The tumbler features several terrific scenes of Washington DC, and two of the scenes on it are The White House and Mount Vernon.

It is also dated May 7, 1901 on the bottom of the tumbler.  Not only that, the tumbler is also marked GERMANY.

This terrific souvenir tumbler can be seen in my shop on Etsy here.  Head on over and check it out!

What happened in 1792?

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn HistoryLeave a comment

It’s always fun to find out what happened in a year, especially if you are a vintage and antiques lover.  Since you are always looking around to find out what happened during the time that a piece in your collection was made, you will quickly run across tons of facts.  Here’s a few that I have run across recently:

On February 20th, The Postal Service Act was signed by George Washington.  This established the United States Post Office–and not to mention all of the great stamps that collectors look for.

The 20th of March saw a new capital of North Carolina and county seat of the newly formed Wake County.  This was after North Carolina State Senator and surveyor William Christmas submits his design for the city.  A few months later, the capital is named Raleigh in honor of Sir Walter Raleigh.

On April 2nd, The Coinage Act is passed.  This Act established the United States Mint—it also led to the production of the half cent, cent, half disme (or half dime), dime, quarter, half dollar and even the dollar coin.  The were even gold coins with a $2.50, $5 and even $10 face value.

What kind of fun facts have you run across?

What are some tips for the beginning antique dealer?

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn Selling tipsLeave a comment

You have attended auctions and estate sales and have even headed out to flea markets, antique malls and even some garage sales.  Now you have decided to take the plunge and start to sell vintage and collectible items.

What are some things to remember when it comes to selling off some of the deals that you have found along the way?

If you are selling an electronic item like a video game console, see if it is possible to test the item.  If it does, you can get a little more money for it.  Not only that, you can also give any potential customer more confidence about it if they want to buy it.

If you are going to be selling items for a good amount of time, you need to keep an eye open to see what is selling and what’s not.  This way you don’t spend hard earned money on items that have the potential of never selling or taking a long time to do so.

Condition is the biggest hurdle to cross when it comes to making sales.  I have seen people walk away from an item if the item is broken or has missing pieces.

This is a few things to remember when you are beginning to sell items.  What are some of the tips that you have run across?