In the history of educational devices invented to disseminate learning about the position and movement of the heavenly bodies, a celestial globe, which is also known as an armillary sphere, an armilla, armil, or spherical astrolabe, is surely one of the earliest and most successful. The name derives from the Latin word ‘armilla’, which means [...]

Kitschy kitchens decorated with vintage kitchen-wares and furnishing from the colorful eras of the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s and beyond are captivating not only baby boomers who remember many of these items sitting in grandma’s kitchen but younger collectors as well. Whether you prefer the bold primary colors of the post war years, the softer [...]

Swarovski, founded by Daniel Swarovski in the Austrian Alps, has been at the forefront of selling crystals for over 100 years. Daniel Swarovski founded the company in 1895 and since then has developed the business into producing goods with real quality. More specifically, some of these goods include a whole range of crystal collectibles that [...]

Martin Behaim’s first globe, made in the 15th century,  can still be viewed by us, since it is kept well preserved in a museum, presumably in a favorable environment where temperature and humidity are strictly controlled. Other globes with less illustrious histories are not equally fortunate. However expensive the material and however fine the colors, [...]

As the Harry Potter series of movies comes to an end, more and more people are getting interested in Harry Potter collectibles. One of the most popular collectibles is the character wands. It’s a fun item for collectors because there are so many wands to choose from – nearly all of the characters in the [...]

Since the first globe was made by Martin Berhaim in 1492, globe maps have evolved greatly, until now they have become an essential education accessory that can be found on any student’s desk or in any classroom. Berhaim’s first-ever globe is a museum piece, for it is inscribed with all the pseudo-scientific, superstitious, inaccurate and [...]

Introduction: Everywhere you go, retailers are playing to the worries of frightened customers who have been hit real hard by the deteriorating economy. Even stores known for their already discounted prices are creating promotional displays with signs that read ” item under $10.00″ etc. There is a wholehearted effort operating at this time to sympathize [...]

Cottage gardens associated with the English countryside are known for their colorful, informal, relaxed landscape and surroundings. Today many cottage style collectors are after a more folksy look and hunt for garden collectibles and accessories which are charming, practical and perhaps a bit quirky. Found objects which are rusty, flaky, crackled, worn, chipped and weathered [...]

A globe is a fascinating toy as well as an important educational tool that you can use to get your child interested in the world and its shape and disposition. In most geography classes or lessons, the representations you would find of the earth are not really realistic. For reasons of better topographical understanding or [...]

We have come a long way since the first globe made by Martin Behaim in 1492, which contained fabulous references to contemporary beliefs and superstitions about what lay beyond the edges of the known world. Today’s globes incorporate the latest geo-positioning data received directly from satellites, and sometimes they are not even physical objects. That’s [...]