Wooden kitchen and storage utensils have been in use for hundreds of years, perhaps thousands of years. We Americans have a strong tradition of using wood to...

Three years ago I posted a blog about the famous New Hampshire bandbox maker, Hannah Davis. I have revised it, what year no building now they're doing Native...

No closets, no wardrobes, no privacy! This is how it was in the typical early 19th century homestead. People lived together in one or two rooms that also ha...

I started thinking about how the settlers dealt with light indoors because I found a spill holder at a market in New Hampshire recently. A spill holder is a...

The most sought-after and ubiquitous eating vessels of the early 1800s in America were transfer printed earthenwares produced by the British, often referred ...

I admit it. I LOVE blue. It has always been my favorite color. The blue shades that appear on American country antiques of the 1800s are special in so many...

Old leather books are one of the best things to collect! If you have an American country antiques collection they are a must. In addition to enhancing the a...

Some of the most beautiful and finely crafted splint baskets ever made are the Taghkanic baskets. Many people assume that they were made but the Taghkanic I...

I have always loved needlework samplers, particularly miniature ones. There are extraordinary examples of intricate and beautiful American samplers stitched ...

What 19th century folk art just melts away? Stamped butter! Why would anyone want to stamp a design into a glob of butter? In the days before widespread pac...

Early in our colonial history large deposits of soapstone were discovered in New England, principally in Vermont. This prized commodity enabled the colonist...

There are few things that reflect our collective pioneer spirit better than the hogscraper candlestick. At least that's what I feel whenever I look at one. ...

Miniature portraits have been around since the 16th century in Europe. Essentially, they were the precursor of the photograph. Loved ones carried them with ...

I love beehives. Even before I ever thought of keeping bees I was drawn to this iconic image of country life. There is something so pleasing about the form...

I ACQUIRED A FOLK ART COLLECTION! Recently, I had a house call. The gentleman contacted me because he wanted to sell his late wife's "folk art collection". ...

"Anonymous Was A Woman" is the title of a wonderful little book written by Mirra Bank, published in 1979, after she produced a film of the same name for publ...

What is it about old boxes? Places to store treasures, display your favorite things, hide things. I was thinking about how I love them and I realized I hav...

I am mad for miniatures. I've found that most people are, especially when they are period antiques. I don't particularly collect them, but when I look arou...

​ There's something about New England country inkwells - they are simple and utilitarian, but so beautiful in a way that the fancy city ones are not. Long b...

​ I keep bees. Well, I don' t really "keep" them. My beekeeper friend Cathy does the heavy lifting. But I have 3 hives in my field where they live and leav...