Antique news

• Lighting the Way

  19-08-2026 14:47 via antiquetrader.com
  
  All images are courtesy of the Neon Museum, Las Vegas.For decades, neon signs beckoned travelers from America’s highways, their colorful glow promising everything from a hot meal and a comfortable bed to live entertainment or a tank of gasoline. As automobile travel flourished during the 20th century, illuminated signs became more than advertising. They became landmarks, welcoming visitors, defining downtowns, and creating unforgettable identities for businesses large and small.Historic si
  
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• America at 250: Montana: The Treasure State

  21-08-2026 15:14 via antiquetrader.com
  
  A herd of bison in the Yellowstone national park. Courtesy AdobeStockFew states embody the story of the American West quite like Montana. Its history has been shaped by the people who called the land home, the riches beneath it, the routes that carried newcomers west, and the vast landscapes that continue to define the Treasure State.A Brief History of the Big Sky CountryPeople have called the land that is now Montana home for more than 12,000 years. The earliest evidence includes Paleoindian si
  
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• Harry Potter Paperback Sets World Record

  20-08-2026 20:20 via antiquetrader.com
  
  Jim Spencer, director of Rare Book Auctions, with the record-setting paperback copy of Harry Potter
  and the Philosopher’s Stone. Courtesy Rare Book Auctions via SWNSLast May, a first-edition paperback copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (known as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in the United States) sold for a record $21,250 at Rare Book Auctions in Lichfield, Staffordshire, England.This copy was an unusual case: It had never been read. Katrina McNichol had r
  
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• Bonhams Presents the Sandy Lerner Collection

  19-08-2026 16:53 via antiquetrader.com
  
  Tiffany & Co.: An 18K Gold Pendant Brooch.New York –  This fall, Bonhams will present The Sandy Lerner Collection, an exceptional and personal journey of fine art and collectibles, alongside refined home furnishings and interiors from the renowned Ayrshire Farm residence of American businesswoman and philanthropist Sandy Lerner (b.1955). Encompassing nearly 1,000 lots, the collection ref
  
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• Americana Advertising Adds Charm to Keystone Auction

  19-08-2026 15:22 via antiquetrader.com
  
  Finck’s Overalls cast-iron pig coin bank, 1885, 4” L × 8” W × 3” H, $140.The spirit of hard work and ingenuity was prominent in Keystone Auctions’ June 7 Country Store Antiques, Advertising, and Americana Auction. Antique cameras, vintage holiday decorations, unusual furniture, tramp art, comic books, cast-iron toys, and stoneware were among the many different types of collectibles that crossed the auction block. The advertising section included signs ma
  
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• The Last Moving Picture Company Announces 35th Annual Movie Poster & Stills Auction

  18-08-2026 21:00 via antiquetrader.com
  
  The Last Moving Picture Company will hold its 35th Annual Movie Poster and Stills Auction on Saturday, October 10, 2026, beginning at 10:00 a.m.The auction catalog is available now, and pre-bidding has begun. View the catalog and place bids through PAG4U.com, Invaluable.com, AuctionZip.com, or LiveAuctioneers.com.For questions or additional information, call 440-256-3660, email [email protected], or follow @lastmovingpicturecompany on Instagram.
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• Sculpture Mystery in San Francisco

  17-08-2026 21:58 via antiquetrader.com
  
  The limestone sculpture Greg Gatwood dug up while landscaping his backyard. Source: NBC Bay Area on YouTube.Greg Gatwood, a resident of the Russian Hill neighborhood in San Francisco, thought he had hit a piece of concrete while digging in his backyard. But when he unearthed the obstacle and turned it over, he saw a face.This wasn’t mere construction debris. It was a work of art. Gatwood’s partner Judy Gittelsohn, an artist herself, realized the approximately two-foot-square, nine-in
  
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• America at 250: Missouri: The Show-Me State

  14-08-2026 18:26 via antiquetrader.com
  
  With contributions by Jeff StarckMissouri, the 24th state in the Union, is popularly known as the “Show-Me State,” after a quote attributed to U.S. Rep. Willard Vandiver in 1899. “Frothy eloquence neither convinces nor satisfies me,” he said. “I am from Missouri. You have got to show me.”But historian Duane G. Meyer in The Heritage of Missouri (3rd ed., 1983) calls Missouri the Mother of the West. In the middle of the country, Missouri is at the crossroads of
  
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• Woody Auction Will Greet Autumn With an American Brilliant Cut Glass Auction on Saturday, Sept. 19, Online and Live in Douglass, Kansas

  13-08-2026 15:58 via antiquetrader.com
  
  Lot 100: Magnificent American Brilliant Cut Glass pair of five-light candelabra – known as “The Liberace” – featuring a well-cut hobstar and swirled prism motif. Estimate: $2,500-$5,000DOUGLASS, Kan. – Fans of American Brilliant Cut Glass (ABCG) need to mark their calendars for Saturday, September 19, beginning at 9:30 am Central Time. That’s when Woody Auction will burst into autumn with a fun sale featuring nearly 300 lots, each offered without reserve. The
  
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• Nintendo Cartridge Discovery Could Be Worth Thousands

  12-08-2026 15:20 via antiquetrader.com
  
  One of the PSA 10 cartridges in its grading envelope.
  Image: psavideogames on InstagramKevin Braun, owner of the nostalgic store OneStopWonders in Wisconsin, was planning to sell a box of vintage video game cartridges that had been sitting in storage for years. When he invited Jason Ganos, owner of gaming news site Nintendo Wire, to help him, neither of them expected they would uncover a rare piece of Nintendo history—or the first game cartridges to achieve a PSA 10 grade.Ganos, who loves
  
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• Promotional Pieces Take Center Stage at Rockabilly

  12-08-2026 15:01 via antiquetrader.com
  
  Set of four McDonald’s hamburger stools from the 1980s, resin on metal poles, 20” H and smaller, $1,700.The Advertising, Americana, and Automobilia Auction at Rockabilly Auction Co. this past March featured what they described as “an extensive variety of quality collectibles.” The auction offered neon, porcelain, tin, and cardboard signs, as well as advertising clocks, thermometers, gas pumps, and gas globes. The variety continued with country-store display cases, hardwar
  
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• A Toast to Breweriana

  10-08-2026 20:48 via antiquetrader.com
  
  Buyenlarge/Getty ImagesBreweriana encompasses the advertising, serving pieces, and promotional items produced by breweries over the past two centuries. From pre-Prohibition tip trays and embossed signs to steins, calendars, tap handles, and neon displays, breweriana offers collectors one of the broadest and most colorful categories in advertising memorabilia.What Is Breweriana?Issued by
  Star Union Brewing Co. of Peru, Illinois, this pre-Prohibition tip tray was copyrighted in 1907 by The Meek Co
  
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• Vintage Secrets

  10-08-2026 17:59 via antiquetrader.com
  
  Multi-Vendor Antiques/Vintage Mall in Canonsburg, PA.48+ Vendors on 3 Floors. New Finds Daily!Open Tuesday-Sunday, 10-5 & Monday 1-6 [Closed Mondays January through March]101 S Central Ave, Canonsburg PA 15317Facebook.com/VintageSecretsCanonsburgEmail: [email protected]
  The post Vintage Secrets appeared first on Antique Trader.
  
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• Memoria y Cultura

  07-08-2026 09:01 via antiquetrader.com
  
  Adobe PhotoStock/Sung Hwan Kim.What do a Taino artifact, a painting by Diego Rivera, and a quinceañera dress have in common? They are all physical examples of Latin American culture. What and who is defined as Latino originates from the Latin sphere in North, Central, and South America and the Caribbean. These nations were primarily colonized by Spain and Portugal, and are now independent countries or sovereign territories.Within the United States, over 20% of the population claims Latino
  
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• Collector’s Gallery: Art Deco Airwaves

  06-08-2026 18:43 via antiquetrader.com
  
  1934 Sparton Bluebird radioDr. Anthony Cavo shares the story behind the Art Deco Sparton Bluebird radio and discusses what makes this Walter Dorwin Teague design so desirable to collectors.Question: My dad purchased this radio at an antique auction years ago.He is currently in assisted living and is interested in selling it.It’s a “Designed by Walter Dorwin Teague” (1883–1960) and manufactured by Sparks-Withington Company, Jackson, Michigan.It’s a Sparton Bluebird r
  
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• From the Editor: The Signs Are Everywhere

  05-08-2026 16:40 via antiquetrader.com
  
  Vintage Harley-Davidson Broken Wing Patch. Image: WorthPoint.When people think about advertising collectibles, they probably picture vintage neon signs or a box of pencils imprinted with some long-forgotten business from the 1940s. I think of motorcycle patches.Long before I knew there was a name for advertising memorabilia, my family produced and sold it.My father spent much of my childhood on the road, traveling from one motorcycle shop to the next with display boards filled with embroidered p
  
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• The Colonel Comes to Auction: The Personal Treasures of Harland Sanders Hit the Block

  05-08-2026 16:09 via antiquetrader.com
  
  Molded plastic display bucket for Kentucky Fried Chicken with Colonel Sanders portrait, slogans “So Tender So Tasty,” “North America’s Hospitality Dish,” and “It’s finger lickin’ good,” 1954 Harland Sanders copyright notice, $4,025.Colonel Sanders wasn’t just the face of Kentucky Fried Chicken; he was its founder. For the first time, a collection of his personal artifacts, given directly to the previous owners by the Sanders family, cam
  
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• Relics & Roots: An Interview with Right Way Signs

  04-08-2026 19:27 via antiquetrader.com
  
  Ches Perry. All images are courtesy of Right Way Signs.As collectors pull deep from their pockets to buy signs, let’s not forget the businesses that were commissioned to make these pieces. Many of the producers of these signs were small operations scattered throughout the United States, running on the help of members of their family and community.Some sign companies have lasted decades, and even centuries, under family ownership. As time passes and parents retire, their children step into
  
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• Vintage Fast Food Toys are Collector Treats

  03-08-2026 21:02 via antiquetrader.com
  
  A squeeze toy alien from the Burger King Kids Club 1996 Toy Story meal sold for $12.09 on eBay.
  Image courtesy odrabenstoyland/eBay.When you’re a kid, there’s not much better than a meal of junk food topped off by a free toy. (For parents, the treat is getting a meal and entertainment for your kids at a low price.) Fast food restaurants realized this in the 1970s. The first fast food kids’ meal to include a toy was the Fun Meal introduced by the now-defunct chain Burger Chef in
  
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• A Look Inside the August 2026 Issue of Kovels Antique Trader

  31-07-2026 19:40 via antiquetrader.com
  
  What do a beer stein, a porcelain sign, a fast-food toy, and a neon cowboy have in common? They were all created to capture attention. Today, they’re capturing collectors.The August issue of Kovels Antique Trader explores the colorful world of advertising memorabilia, where everyday promotional items have become lasting pieces of history. From roadside icons that once illuminated America’s highways to giveaways that found their way into kitchens, garages, and children’s hands,
  
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• Julien’s Auctions Announces Atomic Kitsch: The Allee Willis Collection

  30-07-2026 18:34 via antiquetrader.com
  
  Rare one-of-a-kind novelty item: iconic chair by George Mulhauser ($800-$1,200) (as seen in the photo above of Allee Willis sitting in her home; photo credit: The Allee Willis Foundation.Over 350 rare items of art, kitsch, and music history from Allee Willis–the legendary songwriter behind “September,” “Boogie Wonderland,” and “I’ll Be There For You,” Grammy Award winner for Beverly Hills Cop, renowned visual artist, music video art direc
  
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• Goodwill Discovery Sells for $89,600 at Sotheby’s

  29-07-2026 17:06 via antiquetrader.com
  
  Front and back views of Wilt Chamberlain’s 1972 NBA Finals game-worn warm-up jacket, matched to 3 games in the 1972-73 Regular Season, bought for $3 at a Goodwill Outlet, sold for $89,600 at Sotheby’s.Earlier this month, 19-year-old Quinn Brown made the lucky discovery of a vintage Los Angeles Lakers warm-up jacket at a Goodwill Outlet in Portland, Oregon. His $3 purchase was quickly confirmed to be the jacket worn by Wilt Chamberlain in the 1972-73 NBA season, his last before retiri
  
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• America at 250: Mississippi: The Magnolia State

  29-07-2026 16:52 via antiquetrader.com
  
  Each week, we celebrate America’s 250th by exploring one state or territory at a time, uncovering the history, crafts, and Semiquincentennial events that help tell the nation’s story.Long before European explorers arrived, the Mississippi River and its fertile valley sustained thriving Native civilizations and connected vast trade networks, shaping the culture that spread across much of eastern North America. Today, that remarkable legacy lives on in the state’s archaeological
  
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• Potter & Potter’s Americana Auction Delivers Patriotic Treasures

  28-07-2026 21:17 via antiquetrader.com
  
  Uncle Sam doorstop, painted cast iron,
  12” x 5.5” x 2.25”, $550.The Americana, Ephemera & Historical Memorabilia Auction at Potter & Potter Auctions revisited significant moments in American history. Civil War items, militaria, railroadiana, African Americana, antique photography, advertising material, documents, posters, and autographs filled the early spring auction.A complete set of Norman Rockwell’s The Four Freedoms posters sold for $250. The four posters tit
  
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• Full Throttle Collecting

  27-07-2026 19:22 via antiquetrader.com
  
  NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500, October 31, 2004, at the Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Darrell Ingham/Getty Images)For many of us who spent time in the grandstands during NASCAR’s late-1990s and early-2000s boom, the memories never really fade. For me, it was the roar of engines at Texas Motor Speedway rolling through the stands like a Texas afternoon thunderstorm, the smell of burnt rubber and fuel, and the endless line of brightly painted race ca
  
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• Yester Year Collectibles & Antiques

  27-07-2026 19:19 via antiquetrader.com
  
  Over 55 years of collecting, over 4000 sq ft of memories, collectibles, antiques and gifts.facebook.com/yesteryearmemoriesantiquesEmail: [email protected] S Culpepper St, Quitman, GA 31643
  The post Yester Year Collectibles & Antiques appeared first on Antique Trader.
  
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• The Salesman Sample: Tiny Tools of Trade

  24-07-2026 19:44 via antiquetrader.com
  
  Miniature oak cabinet with overhanging top, glass top door, carved lower door, and additional carved details, salesman or apprentice sample, 1880–1900, 8″W × 21″H. It sold for $1,320 at Morphy Auctions on June 11, 2026The late nineteenth to early twentieth century saw a host of dramatic changes in American society. Technological innovations enabled mass production, and a growing middle class meant there were plenty of consumers to buy the plethora of products. More conven
  
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• Salesman Sample: Tiny Tools of Trade

  24-07-2026 19:44 via antiquetrader.com
  
  Miniature oak cabinet with overhanging top, glass top door, carved lower door, and additional carved details, salesman or apprentice sample, 1880–1900, 8″W × 21″H. It sold for $1,320 at Morphy Auctions on June 11, 2026The late nineteenth to early twentieth century saw a host of dramatic changes in American society. Technological innovations enabled mass production, and a growing middle class meant there were plenty of consumers to buy the plethora of products. More conven
  
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• Coverlets as Centennial Memorials

  22-07-2026 15:38 via antiquetrader.com
  
  Red and white jacquard coverlet woven for the Centennial Exhibition with Memorial Hall in the center, flanked by two eagles with shields.In the 19th century, coverlets were often both commemorative and practical. They were made or commissioned as gifts for events like birthdays or engagements, with the year and the recipient’s name woven into the design. There were also coverlets that celebrated an especially important birthday: the United States Centennial.A centennial coverlet featuring
  
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• The Look of Leyendecker

  22-07-2026 15:06 via antiquetrader.com
  
  J.C. Leyendecker’s Summer illustration, cover art for The Saturday Evening Post, August 27, 1927, reflects the high-fashion, glamorous world Leyendecker depicted throughout his fabulous career. The original work sold for $325,000 at Heritage Auctions in 2021. Image courtesy Heritage Auctions.
  Norman Rockwell, the quintessential American illustrator who would one day charm a nation with scenes of idyllic small-town life, entered the world at the perfect time. Born in 1894, he arrived durin
  
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