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Collectibles and Curiosities For Sale
Period: 1930s
Period: 1920s
Antique Austrian French Bulldog or Pug Dog Figural Cigar Cutter, 1920s
Located in Nuernberg, DE
A beautiful cigar cutter Shaped as a standing french bulldog or Pug Dog. Some wear with a nice patina, but this is old-age. Made of bronze and metal. A beautiful nice collectible ite...
Category

1920s Austrian Art Nouveau Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Metal, Bronze

Rene Mercier French Art Deco Mother & Child Sculpture, 1930s
Located in Saint-Amans-des-Cots, FR
Beautiful French Art Deco mother & child statue by René MERCIER, France, 1930s. Wood. Hand carved.. Height : 16.1"(41cm), width : 9"(23cm), depth : 9.8"(25cm). A perfectly made and m...
Category

1930s French Art Deco Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Wood

Solid Brass Ship Captains Telescope
Located in Norwell, MA
Ships spyglass telescope appropriate for use on a yacht, ship, or anywhere with a view. This has been meticulously polished and lacquered. We just restored a great collection of thes...
Category

1930s European Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Brass

1930's Japanese WW2 Nippon Kogaku Bronze & Aluminium 60° Inclined binoculars
By NIKKO
Located in Leicester, Leicestershire
A refurbished set of Nippon Kogaku 'Nikko' 60 degree inclined 15 x 80 4 degree field of view WW2 binoculars originally used for land, sea and air observation. Stripped of the origin...
Category

1930s Japanese Industrial Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Aluminum, Bronze

Rare English Sterling Silver Yad - Hallmarked in London in 1937
By A. Taite & Sons Ltd
Located in London, London
Hallmarked in London in 1937 by A. Taite & Sons, this handsome, Sterling Silver Yad, is of traditional form. The yad measures 12"(30.5cm) in length, by 1.25...
Category

1930s English Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Sterling Silver

Fine Pair French Abalone & Mother of Pearl Opera Glasses
Located in Bath, GB
A stunning pair of French Opera glasses made from gilded brass, all intact and original. The glasses are clad in alternating Mother of Pearl or Nacre shell...
Category

1920s French Art Deco Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Brass

Art Deco Ashtray Stand, Chrome and Bakelite by Demeyere, Belgium, 1930s
Located in Saarburg, RP
Art Deco ashtray stand This beautiful and rare Art Deco Ashtray Stand from the 30s/40s is in the streamline modern art deco style. The designer of this extraordinary object has succ...
Category

1930s Belgian Art Deco Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Metal, Chrome, Iron

Antique Art Deco Hayne Watch Co Ladies 18K 17J Platinum Trim Wrist Watch
Located in Dayton, OH
Circa 1920's ladies' art deco wrist watch by Hayne Watch Company, 17 jewels, Swiss works. Platinum Trim / 18K white gold case. Squared oval shape with intricate art deco styling - et...
Category

1920s Art Deco Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Gold, Platinum

Art Deco Sterling Silver Darts Trophy - Hallmarked in 1938
Located in London, London
Hallmarked in Birmingham in 1938 by A. L. Davenport, this Sterling Silver Darts Trophy, is modelled as three darts and presented on its original base. The trophy measures 9.75"(25cm)...
Category

1930s English Art Deco Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Sterling Silver

Antique Art Deco 14K White Gold Filigree Uranium Glass Cocktail Ring Size 5
Located in Dayton, OH
Circa 1920's art deco 14K white gold filigree cocktail ring featuring an emerald cut piece of light yellow uranium glass. Fluoresces green under UV / blacklight. Dimensions: 0.625" ...
Category

1920s Art Deco Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Gold

KARL GLAZER 1932 Austria Schnauzer Dog Table Petrol Lighter Bronze & Red Lacquer
Located in Miami, FL
Petrol lighter designed by Karl Glazer. Fabulous and rare antique table petrol lighter, created in Vienna Austria by the Karl Glazer Metallwarenfabrik, back in the 1932-1933. This u...
Category

1930s Austrian Art Deco Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Brass, Bronze

1930's Marx Marcrest Pressed Steel Pure Milk Dairy Toy Truck
Located in Van Nuys, CA
We have A white Marx Marcrest Pure Milk Dairy Truck modeled truck produced by Marx Toys, a prominent American toy company known for manufacturing a wide range of toys in the 1920s. T...
Category

1920s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Steel

Asprey - Art Deco Engine Turned Butt Marker - Shooting Interest - Chester 1937
Located in London, London
Hallmarked in Chester in 1937 by Asprey & Co. Ltd., this very stylish, Art Deco period, Sterling Silver Butt Marker, features engine turned decorati...
Category

1930s English Art Deco Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Sterling Silver

Floor Standing Ash Tray, Hunting & Shooting
Located in Chillerton, Isle of Wight
Floor Standing Ash Tray, Hunting & Shooting A great piece made by a blacksmith on a wrought iron stand, it has a Horseshoe shaped base and the upright has an imitation Flint Lock, ...
Category

1920s Folk Art Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Iron

"Clason's Guide Map of Montana" by The Clason Map Company, Circa 1920s
Located in Colorado Springs, CO
Presented is “Clason's Guide Map of Montana,” published in the early 1920s by the Clason Map Company. Issued as a folding map, this map identifies county boundaries, county seats, Na...
Category

1920s American Art Deco Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Paper

Bronze Art Deco religious lamp stand signed Brom
Located in Den Haag, NL
Unique Bronze handmade lamp stand . Manufactured and signed by Edelsmidse Brom . Goldsmith Brom was a Dutch company, based in the city of Utrecht (1856-1961), specialized in making...
Category

1930s Dutch Art Deco Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Bronze

1930s Elastolin Farm / Yard. 65 pc. O&M Hausser.. Antique toy, made in Germany
Located in Buffalo, NY
Rare 1930s Elastolin Farm / Yard. over 65 pc. O&M Hausser.. Antique toys, made in Germany,,Over 50 year collection. Amazing Early Elastolin Farm compri...
Category

1930s German Country Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Composition

1920's Art Deco Black Porcelain Electronic "Tilt to Light" Lighter
Located in Van Nuys, CA
This lighter would likely have a sleek and elegant design, indicative of the Art Deco style popular during the 1920s. This black Porcelain lighter has clean lines, geometric shapes, ...
Category

1920s Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Porcelain

Park Sherman 1930 Art Deco Chromed Steel Roller Box With Red And Black Bakelite
Located in Miami, FL
Decorative roller desk box designed by Park Sherman. Very decorative desk box, created during the art deco period in America by the Park Sherman Company, back in the 1930. This roller-lid box is very innovative in design and with Avant Garde look. It was crafted in chromed steel with red lacquer and elements in red and black Bakelite. It is fitted with a roller lid, which is in perfect working condition. The Park Sherman Company Park Sherman was an important Springfield company for several decades ending with the sale of the company to a New Jersey firm in 1960. They mass-produced smoking accessories, particularly lighters, as well as a multitude of office, novelty, and other items. The Park Sherman Company operated in Springfield, Illinois until 1960 when it was sold to a New Jersey company. A man named Jacob S. Sherman was the founder of the Park Sherman Company. The company sold miner's supplies (miner's cap lamps, match cases, etc.) and later specialized in things like coin banks and smoking accessories such lighters and cigarette cases. The company's products were sold throughout the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. 'Everdry' was a brand name that Park Sherman used on some of its products. The word "Everdry" was used, for example, on match cases to indicate that the case would prevent the matches from getting wet. Presumably, your "Everdry" cigarette case kept the contents from getting wet. Materials: Chromed steel and red and black Bakelite. Weight: 231.7 Grams, (0.51 Pounds). Measurements: 114.3 mm by 101.6 mm by 63.5 mm (3.50 x 4.0 x 2.50 Inches). Literature: Rodney and Diane Capstick-Dale, The art deco Collectibles...
Category

1930s American Art Deco Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Steel

Collection of Three Vintage Wooden Toys
Located in Port Chester, NY
Charming collection of vintage wooden toys from England The big blue British Rail engine is from Nicol Toys, an early wooden toy company in Roberts...
Category

1930s English Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Paint, Wood

20th Century Large English Made Wooden Pond Yacht c.1930
Located in Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent
Superb 20th Century pond yacht known as "Sea Mist". This J Class beauty showcases a meticulously crafted planked wood hull, adorned with gaff rigging supporting four sails, alongside...
Category

1930s British Other Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Fabric, Wood

c1936 One-Hundred and Forty-Four Postcards of Military Uniforms
Located in Bath, GB
A fascinating collection of one-hundred and forty-four postcards of military uniforms, a number of which depict 1930s Germany. A total of one-hundred and forty-four twentieth century postcards, the majority depicting military uniform in England, France and Europe. A number of post cards, intriguingly, depict 1930s Munich and Potsdam. Sixteen envelopes holding images and postcards, and a further ten loosely inserted postcards. Housed in a signed morocco box with gilt detailing by W & J Milne of Princes St. Edinburgh. One envelope has the handwritten title ‘Postcards from Munich 1932’, and houses eleven postcards. Two of these present headshots of popular German actors Heinz Ruhmann and Gustav Frohlich, both of whom are dressed in military costume, and remained neutral in the Second World War. The remaining nine postcards depict images of a funeral procession of Prince Regent Leopold of Bavaria in October 1930 in Munich. Leopold was commander of the German and Austro-Hungarian forces during World War I. Further images depict Prince Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria, surrounded by military figures. The next envelope includes fifteen photographic postcards depicting Potsdam in the 1930s, and is captioned in ink to the front of the envelope with ‘Potsdam. September 1936’, and ‘Frederick William I’s Giant Guards’. Each post card is undated, but captioned. Three post cards depict military parades in Potsdam, and predate the Nazi regime, seven depict memorials the First World War, and one of the remaining postcards depict Prince August Wilhelm of Prussia. A further collection is ten colour post cards in the publisher’s original paper wraps, titled ‘Potsdams Stolzen Tagen’, or ‘Potsdam’s Proud Days’. It features ten colour illustrated postcards by artist Paul Pietsch, depicting the uniforms of Potsdam military positions between the late seventeenth and late nineteenth centuries. Collated, complete. Loosely inserted are ten colour illustrated post cards depicting the military uniform of the various regiments of the German army, illustrated by Carl Henckel, and covering the period of the First World War. Present here are depictions of the garb of the Gardes du Corps...
Category

1930s British Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Paper

Vintage 1930s Original Czech School Sports Leather Gym Mat Four Handled
Located in London, GB
An original 1930s vintage school gym mat originating from the former Czechoslovakia. The mat is very well made and heavy, made from a thick leather hide and stitched together around ...
Category

1930s Czech Industrial Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Leather, String

20th Century Brass Model GNR Atlantic 3 1/2 Inch Gauge Steam Locomotive c.1930
Located in Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent
Early 20th Century brass model, showcasing the GNR Atlantic locomotive 251 and its three-axle tender. Crafted to a 3 1/2 inch gauge, the model gleams with polished brass, copper, and...
Category

1930s British Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Brass

Samuraï Maeda Armor
Located in Paris, FR
Armor Samuraï Maeda, ceremonial armor with handcrafted helmet and protects. Made with original japanese fabrics only use for samuraï armor confection, ...
Category

1930s Japanese Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Fabric, Glass

Brass and copper nautical compass on cardan joint signed DIRIGO from 1920s
Located in Milan, IT
Brass and copper nautical compass on gimbals and housed in its original wooden box with brass lid closing hooks, signed Eugene M. Sherman Seattle U.S.A.Trade Dirigo Mark of the 1920...
Category

1920s Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Brass

Guinco 1923 Large Table Desk Semi Automatic lighter In Solid Polished Brass
Located in Miami, FL
Desk table lighter designed by Samuel E. Ghinn. This is a superb and very rare table desk semi automatic petrol lighter, created in Cincinnati Ohio by Samuel E. Ghinn, back in 1923....
Category

1920s American Art Deco Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Brass, Steel

Cram's 16" Deluxe Globe W/Daily Sun Ray and Season Indicator
Located in San Francisco, CA
Cram's 16" Deluxe Globe W/Daily Sun Ray and Season Indicator 1936
Category

1930s Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Metal

Polaire Paris 1938 Art Deco Table Desk Petrol Lighter-Clock In Chromed Steel
Located in Miami, FL
A desk lighter clock designed by Polaire Paris. A beautiful desk lighter-clock, created in Paris France by the Alphonse Brun company know as Polaire Paris, back in the 1938. This pi...
Category

1930s French Art Deco Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Steel, Chrome

Solid Brass Ship Captains Telescope
Located in Norwell, MA
Ships spyglass telescope appropriate for use on a yacht, ship, or anywhere with a view. This has been meticulously polished and lacquered. We just restored a great collection of thes...
Category

1920s European Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Brass

Windup Ham and Sam “The Minstrel Team” Tin Litho Toy c.1921, , Piano / banjo
Located in Buffalo, NY
Americana Toy This is a tin, lithographed, windup Ham and Sam “The Minstrel Team” manufactured by the Ferdinand Strauss Company/Strauss Mfg. Co. of New York ...
Category

1920s American Art Deco Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Metal, Steel

Solid Brass Ship Captains Telescope
Located in Norwell, MA
Ships spyglass telescope appropriate for use on a yacht, ship, or anywhere with a view. This has been meticulously polished and lacquered. We just restored a great collection of thes...
Category

1920s North American Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Brass

Solid Brass Ship Captains Telescope
Located in Norwell, MA
Ships spyglass telescope appropriate for use on a yacht, ship, or anywhere with a view. This has been meticulously polished and lacquered. We just restored a great collection of thes...
Category

1920s European Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Brass

Charming tobacco box tin, Dachshund dog, 1920er Art Deco, Johann Maresch Czech R
Located in Wien, AT
Extraordinary, charming tobacco box, made in the 1920s, an original art deco piece, made by wellknown Johann Maresch, Czech Republic. The tobacco tin is designed like a wooden barr...
Category

1920s Czech Art Deco Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Ceramic

Sailboat Blueprint for Simple Simon
Located in Norwell, MA
Framed blueprint showing a fourteen foot sailing punt named Simple Simon. The plan is from Motor Boating Publishing in the 1930s. Showing all constru...
Category

1930s North American Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Paper

Large Art Deco Traditional Wooden Artist Mannequin Model, Italy 1930s
Located in Nuernberg, DE
A handmade wooden Artist mannequin model - all joints move as they should. Found on a Estate sale in Modena, Italy. Shows some minor wear - but looks beautiful on display! Some scrat...
Category

1930s German Art Deco Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Metal

Ronson 1937 Art Deco Heart Lighter Faux Tortoise Lacquer And Chromed Steel
Located in Miami, FL
Heart shaped lighter designed by Ronson. This an extremely rare heart shaped pocket petrol lighter, created in New Jersey United States by The Ro...
Category

1930s American Art Deco Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Steel, Chrome

Solid Brass Ship Captains Telescope
Located in Norwell, MA
Ships spyglass telescope appropriate for use on a yacht, ship, or anywhere with a view. This has been meticulously polished and lacquered. We just restored a great collection of thes...
Category

1920s European Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Brass

Large 1920's Globe on Wood Base
Located in Haddonfield, NJ
Large Vintage Globe on Wood Base, circa 1920's Decorate an office or a desk with this beautifully preserved antique globe. Crafted in Europe, circa 1920's this piece is mounted on a...
Category

1920s European Biedermeier Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Brass

Solid Brass Ship Captains Telescope
Located in Norwell, MA
Ships spyglass telescope appropriate for use on a yacht, ship, or anywhere with a view. This has been meticulously polished and lacquered. We just restored a great collection of thes...
Category

1930s North American Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Brass

Solid Brass Ship Captains Telescope
Located in Norwell, MA
Ships spyglass telescope appropriate for use on a yacht, ship, or anywhere with a view. This has been meticulously polished and lacquered. We just restored a great collection of thes...
Category

1920s European Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Brass

Solid Brass Ship Captains Telescope
Located in Norwell, MA
Ships spyglass telescope appropriate for use on a yacht, ship, or anywhere with a view. This is a small one. This has been meticulously polished and lacquered. We just restored a gre...
Category

1920s European Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Brass

Doerr & Co American 1925 Lacquered Art Deco Smoking Station In Chromed Steel
Located in Miami, FL
Wall smoking station created by the Doerr Company. This is an amazing piece of American history, created during the art deco period, back in the 1925. Crafted with industrial machin...
Category

1920s American Art Deco Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Steel

"Boy Riding An Alligator" Vintage Wind-Up Toy by J. Chein Co., N.J., Circa 1935
Located in Incline Village, NV
Manufactured circa 1935 by The J. Chein Company in Harrison, New Jersey, this vintage tin toy, when wound up, depicts a young boy in islander garb, trying to ride an alligator who da...
Category

1930s American Folk Art Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Tin

Wyandotte Lasalle Toy Car and Airstream Trailer .pressed steel , Art Deco
By Wyandotte
Located in Buffalo, NY
1930's Wyandotte Lasalle Touring Car and Airstream Trailer .pressed steel , Art Deco vintage toy.. Seldom seen green color,, Car and Trailer in Nice original condition,original paint...
Category

1930s American Art Deco Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Steel

Vintage Toy Wind-Up "Johnny" The Dancing Clown by Lindstrom Toy Co., Circa 1930
Located in Incline Village, NV
This is a hard to find pre war vintage, Made in America wind up tin toy by The Lindstrom Toy Company of Bridgeport, Connecticut, circa 1928-1932. The action is fabulous; when wound ...
Category

1930s American Folk Art Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Tin

Machine Age Copper and Steel Smokeless Ashtray
Located in Van Nuys, CA
Machine Age Copper and Steel Smokeless Ashtray featuring streamline styling with geometric accents. The ashtray features a solid copper construction with a polish steel interior with...
Category

1930s American Machine Age Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Copper, Steel

George Stubbs - Anatomy of the Horse 1938
Located in Pewsey, GB
George Stubbs - The Anatomy of the Horse - Heywood Hill, London 1938 - Brown Boards and Cloth. lettering in Gilt on brown leather on spine. Something for every library and a large b...
Category

1930s British Early Victorian Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Paper

Model 547 by Castiglioni and Caccia Dominioni for Phonola, Italy
Located in Argelato, BO
Model 547 radio receiver by Piergiacomo and Livio Castiglioni and Luigi Caccia Dominioni for Phonola. The Phonola 547 model is a radio receiver designed by ...
Category

1930s Italian Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Bakelite

Art Deco Agate & Copper Match Holder Ashtray
Located in Van Nuys, CA
Vintage Argo Ashtray, a unique and stylish piece that exudes timeless charm. This exquisite ashtray features a beautiful green color, adding a touch of elegance to any space. What se...
Category

1920s American Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Agate

Boatswain's whistle in brass and copper English manufacture of the 1920s
Located in Milan, IT
Boatswain's whistle made of brass and copper English manufacture of the 1920s, on the sides anchor. Length 13.x2.5x1.8 cm - inches 5.3x0.8x0.7. Good condition. This type of whistle i...
Category

1920s Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Brass

Vintage Leather Medicine Ball, 1930s Germany
Located in Biebergemund, Hessen
The medicine ball is part of a big collection from the 1920s-1930s, the time of the first gym enthusiasts in Germany. The ball is handmade and filled with horse hair. All balls are i...
Category

1920s German Bauhaus Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Leather

Nautical magnetic compass made USA 1930s original wooden box
Located in Milan, IT
Nautical magnetic compass, made in the USA in the 1930s. Bon état. Housed in its original box with wooden slot lid and mounted on gimbal. Box measures 12x12x8.5 cm - inches 4.8x4.8x...
Category

1930s Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Brass

Rare Ships Engine Order Telegraph
Located in Norwell, MA
Solid brass ships telegraph by Scottish maker Mechans Limited of Scotstoun Glasgow. With porcelein faceplate displaying ships commands full, half, slow, stop, ahead and astern. Singl...
Category

1920s North American Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Brass

Solid Brass Ships Telephone On Pedesta
Located in Norwell, MA
Highly polished brass ships telephone on pedestal. Meticulously polished andl lacquered head by Hose-McCann Telephone Co, Inc., Brooklyn New York. Type A, model WTP, with phone insid...
Category

1920s North American Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Brass

Solid Brass Ships Telegraph By Cory
Located in Norwell, MA
Charles Cory and Son Ships Telegraph. The glass faceplate displays commands stop, all clear, not clear, astern, and ahead. This is a docking signal telegraph, scarcely found. Single ...
Category

1920s North American Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Brass

Park Sherman 1930 Art Deco Chromed Steel Roller Lid Box With Red Bakelite
Located in Miami, FL
Decorative desk box designed by Park Sherman. Very decorative desk box, created during the art deco period in America by the Park Sherman Company, back in the 1930. This roller-lid ...
Category

1930s American Art Deco Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Steel, Chrome

"Joe Penner" Vintage Clockwork Windup Toy by Louis Marx Co American Circa 1930's
Located in Incline Village, NV
Fabulous American vintage all tin wind-up toy with attached key and clockwork mechanism, whereby upon winding it up, the character (Joe Penner) waddles aimlessly across the floor, hat flying in the air with notorious cigar in motion (see attached video with listing). The toy is in wonderful and complete original condition with all original parts and authentic factory paint. It is often found incomplete (cigar or hat missing more often than not); and usually doesn't work properly. My example works great and is in nice bright original paint and lithography, in multiple colors of a black and white checkered suit...
Category

1930s American Folk Art Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Tin

Antique and Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities for Sale

Antique and vintage collectibles and curiosities can bring whimsy and wonder to any interior. 

Decorating with old scientific instruments, historical memorabilia and vintage musical instruments, as well as other authentic collectibles and curiosities that can be found on 1stDibs, presents an opportunity to create a unique, natural history museum-like atmosphere in your home that can provoke conversation as often as it pays tribute to how far we’ve come in understanding our world. 

And bringing collectibles and curiosities into your space is actually on trend — Wunderkammern, or curiosity cabinets, were all the rage in Europe during the 1500s and continued to have adherents there and in the U.S. in the following centuries. Today, however, they’re experiencing a real surge in popularity and influencing how many interior designers are furnishing and decorating homes — combining contemporary with antique, scientific with tribal, earthly with extraterrestrial, Les Lalanne tables with Flemish tapestries.

The original Wunderkammern were entire rooms filled with objects demonstrating their owners’ worldly knowledge: A proper one included artificiala or preciosa (objets d’art); naturalia (such as skeletons, shells, minerals); exotica (taxidermy or dried plants); and scientifica (scientific instruments), frequently alongside religious relics and ancient artifacts.

Pay tribute to a history of rich and diverse musical traditions that have taken shape all over the world by decorating your home with a collection of antique and vintage musical instruments — with a little help from strong hanging wire or some wall hooks, vintage brass instruments such as a gong, French horn or trumpet can help elevate a home office or complement the efforts you’ve made to ensure a welcoming vibe in your home’s entryway. Bells or antique wind instruments can add provocative metallic contrasts to dark woods as tabletop decorative objects.  

Create an intriguing focal point with Georgian scientific instruments, such as stick barometers with mahogany cases or lacquered brass telescopes. These items stem from an era named for the monarchies of the four King Georges, who ruled England in succession starting in 1714 (plus King William’s reign, which lasted until 1837). Just as there was beautiful jewelry produced during the period that today is coveted by collectors, there is much to be found in the collectibles and curiosities realm too.

Wanderlust, nostalgia and a shared love of good design are contributing factors to certain trends in decorating — just as vintage trunks and luggage have reappeared as furniture or home accents in a bedroom or foyer, decorating with globes, maps or nautical objects is similarly rooted in the allure of travel and a penchant for the stylish finishing touch that collectibles bring to our homes.

Find a wide range of antique and vintage collectibles and curiosities on 1stDibs.

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