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Collectibles and Curiosities For Sale
Period: 1930s
Period: 1940s
1930s House of Schiaparelli Studio Green Gripoix Parure Haute Couture Early Set
Located in Hyattsville, MD
The Decadence of Early Haute Couture released by the hands of Elsa Schiaparelli. Early 1930’s -1940’s House of Schiaparelli Studio in France. A Parure Set with Matching Necklace, Br...
Category
1930s French Art Deco Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Art Glass
Vintage Dimple Pattern Golf Ball Mould.
Located in Oxfordshire, GB
Vintage Two-Part Dimple Golf Ball Mould.
An interesting un-named dimple pattern golf ball mould. The steel moulds with locating slots to ensure the correct alignment of the pattern, ...
Category
1930s British Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Metal
Vintage Wooden and Felt Hat Form Mold, Vienna, Austria, 1930s
Located in Nuernberg, DE
Stunning beautiful wooden and felt hat form mold, found at an estate sale in Vienna, Austria. Has the form of the typical Art Deco style. So we believe it was made in the 1930s. Nice...
Category
1930s Austrian Art Deco Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Wood
Art Deco Lighted Ashtray Stand with Chrome Airplane
Located in Van Nuys, CA
The Art Deco chrome lighted ashtray stand lamp epitomizes 1920s luxury and functionality. This dual-purpose piece boasts a geometric chrome desig...
Category
1930s Art Deco Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Chrome
Plaster Cast for Coin by Aurelio Mistruzzi, 1940s
Located in Roma, IT
Plaster reproduction of an ancient coin is a work by Aurelio Mistruzzi, created in the 1940s.
Cast of a medal of the Papal States from 1833, Gregory XVI An.III Wishes of Peace.
"Petri inopiam Chiristiani stipe svstentant" - Antiqua pietas revocata.
4,5 x 4,5 cm.
Good conditions, edge slightly damaged.
Aurelio Mistruzzi (Villaorba, 7 February 1880 – Rome, 25 December 1960) was an Italian sculptor and medalist. Born in Villaorba di Basiliano in 1880, he attended the Udine School of Art at the courses of the sculptor De Paoli...
Category
1940s Italian Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Plaster
Plaster Cast for Coin by Aurelio Mistruzzi, 1940s
Located in Roma, IT
Plaster cast for coin is an artwork realized by Aurelio Mistruzzi, 1940s.
Slightly damaged plaster.
Written in Latin not completely visible.
4 x 4 cm.
Aurelio Mistruzzi (Villaorba, 7 February 1880 – Rome, 25 December 1960) was an Italian sculptor and medalist. Born in Villaorba di Basiliano in 1880, he attended the Udine School of Art at the courses of the sculptor De Paoli...
Category
1940s Italian Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Plaster
Rare Set of Two Santa Claus Mercury Glass Christmas Ornament Vintage, 1930s
Located in Nuernberg, DE
A rare Christmas ornament set of two. Each is made from mouth blown glass, this would be a great addition for your Christmas or feather tree. Size always given for the tallest item i...
Category
1930s German Folk Art Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Wire
Circle: International Survey of Constructive Art
By Ben Nicholson, Henry Moore
Located in New York, NY
Foundational text of twentieth century modernism in art, architecture, town planning, housing, interior design, and design; edited by Ben Nicholson, Naum Gabo, and J.L. Martin. Layou...
Category
1930s English Machine Age Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Paper
Zenith Chairside Radio Bar With Glasses Art Deco Rare
By Zenith
Located in Oakland, CA
Zenith Chairside Radio Bar With Glasses Art Deco Rare. This is a 1938 Zenith chairside model 7D241. This is a “Radio Bar” model offered for sale. It is original glassware with gold banded glasses (12 in total) plus two specialty pieces a martini shaker and a decanter. All matching period-appropriate glassware for it. As you can see they look like radio bar glassware. I’ve never seen one of these before and I think they were only made for a short period. Here is a chance for a Zenith collector, bar, or cocktail collector to own a unique restored vintage radio...
Category
1930s American Art Deco Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Fabric, Wood
Pair of Glass Pharmacy Jars, Italy, 1930s
Located in Palermo, IT
Pair of glass pharmacy jars, Italy, 1930s
Found in an old disused pharmacy.
Good condition. One has an imperceptible chip on the edge.
Being handcra...
Category
1930s Italian Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Glass
Antique Philco 40-180 Console Floor Radio
Located in Chicago, IL
Antique Philco 40-180 Console Floor Radio
The radio does go on.
Circa: 1940
Dimensions:
H: 40"
W: 27.5"
D: 13"
Category
1940s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Wood
Antique English aneroid barometer from the 1930s made of turned wood and brass
Located in Milan, IT
Antique English aneroid barometer 1930s turned wood, brass, and glass.
Bon état. Working order.
Diameter cm 19.7 - inches 7.7, thickness cm 5.5 - inches 2.2.
Last photo gift box....
Category
1930s Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Wood
TOLKIEN. The Hobbit. 1937 - 1st ED 2nd IMPRESSION - THE FIRST WITH COLOR PLATES!
Located in Hillsborough, NJ
AUTHOR: TOLKIEN, J. R. R.
TITLE: The Hobbit or There and Back Again.
PUBLISHER: London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd, 1937.
DESCRIPTION: FIRST EDITION SECOND IMPRESSION AND THE FIRST...
Category
1930s British Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Leather
Butterfly Shaped Brooch, Italy 1930s
Located in Roma, IT
Butterfly-shaped brooch is a handmade object realized in the 1930s.
Craftmanship, 17 x 12 cm.
Some stones are missing and the iron is ruined due to age.
Vintage collectible item...
Category
1930s Italian Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Stone, Metal
Vintage Wooden Hat Form Mold, Vienna, Austria, 1930s
Located in Nuernberg, DE
Stunning beautiful wooden hat form mold, found at an estate sale in Vienna, Austria. Has the form of the typical Art Deco style. So we believe it was made in the 1920s. Nice decorati...
Category
1930s Austrian Art Deco Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Wood
2 Antique English Mark Cross Leather Footballs Futbols Soccer Balls 6"
By Mark Cross
Located in Dayton, OH
Pair of circa 1930s brown leather footballs / soccer balls manufactured by Mark Cross Company. Made in England.
Dimensions:
5.5" x 5.5" x 5.5" (Width x Depth x Height)
Category
1930s Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Leather, Cotton
1941 Trophy Baseball Radio, Working Condition
By Trophy Radio Company
Located in Milano, IT
This fantastic novelty item is reminiscent of a time when radio was king and radio broadcasts were the most popular way for fans to follow Major League Baseball across the country. E...
Category
1940s American Art Deco Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Metal
Rene Umberto Scarponi 1932 Patented Boat Cigarette & Cigar Holder & Ashtray
Located in Hanover, MA
A combined ash receiver, cigar and cigarette holder made of cast patinated copper in the form of a cabin cruiser boat issued US design patent 87,647 in 1932 to R. U. Scarponi of 1929...
Category
1930s American Art Deco Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Copper
Rare Set of Three Santa Claus Mercury Glass Christmas Ornament Vintage, 1930s
Located in Nuernberg, DE
A rare Christmas ornament set of three. Each is made from mouth blown glass, this would be a great addition for your Christmas or feather tree. Size always given for the tallest item...
Category
1930s German Folk Art Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Wire
Charles SOUDANT French Art Deco Bronze Crucifix, 1930s
Located in Saint-Amans-des-Cots, FR
French Art Deco bronze crucifix by Charles SOUDANT, France, 1930s. Very beautiful stylized Christ surrounded by a halo. At his side, Mary and Mary Magdalene. In bas-relief, the archa...
Category
1930s French Art Deco Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Marble, Bronze
1939 Hercule Poirot's Christmas
Located in Bath, GB
The scarce first edition of this festive novel by the Queen of Detective Fiction, Agatha Christie. In the very scarce unclipped dust wrapper.
The first edition, first impression of the work.
In the very scarce unrestored first state unclipped dust wrapper, priced 7s 6d.
With three pages of advertisements to the rear of the work.
From the library of Rolling Stone, Charlie Watts.
A festive murder...
Category
1930s European Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Paper
Goldstone and Silver Cartier Lighter
By Cartier
Located in New York, NY
Goldstone and silver Cartier lighter. A most handsomely chic objet by Cartier from the Forties. Carved goldstone with smooth varied patterning i...
Category
1940s French Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Stone, Silver
Rare Original 1946 Wurlitzer Jukebox 4008 external Speaker, lamp /bubbler
By Wurlitzer
Located in Buffalo, NY
Rare Original 1946 Wurlitzer Jukebox 4008 Speaker, , bubbler. External speaker designed for the famed classic 1015 Wurlitzer Jukebox,, Amazing ori...
Category
1940s American Art Deco Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Metal
Vintage 1946 Wurlitzer Model 1015 Bubbler Phonograph Original Rare
By Wurlitzer
Located in Oakland, CA
Vintage Original 1946 Wurlitzer Model 1015 Bubbler Collector Multi-Selector Phonograph. This Jukebox is in exceptional condition, fully restored, and with a full set of 78s. The sound is amazing, the amp was rebuilt, and the original 15″ speaker. Special electronics allow you to surpass mechanical coin operations to make as many selections as you like.
Contact us by message and I can send you a video with sound of it playing.
This posting is for the Wurlitzer JukeBox...
Category
1940s American Art Deco Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Chrome, Nickel
1937 Telechron “Casino” Art Deco Electric Clock with Cobalt Blue Mirror
Located in Van Nuys, CA
It features a stunning cobalt blue mirror, complemented by a polished white Plaskon base and hands. The dial boasts a textured blue surface, while the polished brass bezel is adorned...
Category
1930s Art Deco Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Glass
Brass 7-day winding nautical wall clock, signed S. Marti 1931.
Located in Milan, IT
Nautical brass wall clock with 7-day spring winding, signed S. Marti Montbeliard Grand Prix Paris 1931, Samuel Marti was a renowned 19th century Par...
Category
1930s Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Brass
Mahogany Billiard - Snooker Score Board
Located in Oxfordshire, GB
Mahogany Score Board.
A nice billiard scoreboard with brass slides and pointers, one set with spot. The transfer numbers are 0 to 20 and 0 to 100 in multip...
Category
1930s British Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Brass
Nautical 7-day wall clock signed Smith's Circklewood N. W. 2 of 1932
Located in Milan, IT
Antique brass nautical wall clock with 7-day spring winding, signed Smith's Circklewood N. W. 2, Model No. 2 of 1932.
Diameter cm 19 - inches 7.5, depth cm 10 - inches 4.
Overhaul...
Category
1930s Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Brass
Lee's Lieutenants by Douglas Southhall Freeman, Three Vols., First Edition, 1942
Located in Colorado Springs, CO
Freeman, Douglas Southall. Lee’s Lieutenants: A Study in Command. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1942. First edition. Three volume set. Rebound in ¼ black leather and cloth, with raised bands, gilt tooling and titles to the spine, and an archival slipcase.
Presented is a first edition, three volume set of Lee’s Lieutenants by Douglas Southall Freeman...
Category
1940s American Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Leather, Paper
The Lost Weekend
Located in London, GB
Original US lobby card number 6 for the 1944 Film Noir The Lost Weekend.
This film was directed by Billy Wilder and starred Ray Milland, Jane Wyman and Phillip Terry.
This piece woul...
Category
1940s American Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Paper
Crime and Punishment / Raskolnikov
Located in London, GB
Original 1935 Swedish film poster.
This film was directed by Josef von Sternberg, whose illustrious career spanned the transition from the silent to the sound era. He is best known for his work with Marlene Dietrich in the 1930s. Crime and Punishment was adapted from the novel of the same name by Fyodor Dostoevsky. The film stars Peter Lorre...
Category
1930s Swedish Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
A 1930s silver and black enamel fairy brooch
Located in Central England, GB
A very well made 1930s continental silver brooch. At the centre of this highly decorative piece, there is a finely cast figure of a seated fairy holding a bouquet of flowers both her...
Category
1930s European Art Deco Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Silver, Enamel
Large signed brass nautical magnetic compass KELVIN HUGHES DIVISION 1940
Located in Milan, IT
Large brass and glass nautical magnetic compass, signed KELVIN HUGHES DIVISION S. Smith & Son (England) Ltd Manufactured in Great Britain circa 1940, mounted on custom-made wood an...
Category
1940s Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Brass
Vintage Map of Nantucket Town by Ruth Haviland Sutton, 1946
Located in Nantucket, MA
Vintage Map of Nantucket Town by Ruth Haviland Sutton, 1946, a classic vintage tourist map of Nantucket Island showing historic landmarks and geogr...
Category
1940s American Other Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Paper
Zenith Model 6-S-229 Tombstone Radio (1938) With Adapter for Bluetooth
By Zenith
Located in Oakland, CA
Zenith Model 6-S-229 Tombstone Radio (1938) With Adapter for Bluetooth. Zenith 6-S-229 black-dial tombstone is one of
several similar models where the ...
Category
1930s American Art Deco Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Berlin Iron
Art Deco Ashtray Stand, Chrome and Bakelite by Demeyere, Belgium, 1930s
By Demeyere
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
Art Deco Traditional Wooden Hand Large Artist Mannequin Scale Model
Located in Nuernberg, DE
A handmade wooden Artist mannequin hand model - all joints move as they should. Found on an Estate sale in Vienna, Austria.
Shows some minor wear - but looks beautiful on display! So...
Category
1930s Austrian Art Deco Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Metal
1930s Art Deco Bakelite + Celluloid Linked Necklace Dark Green Arching Dangles
Located in Hyattsville, MD
USA c.1930s. Unknown Maker, possibly Mazor. A light green Celluloid linked chain and (11) dark green Bakelite dangles. They have an organic feeling of arching reeds or arcing grass...
Category
1930s American Art Deco Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Bakelite
Architecture book by Le Corbusier published in France in 1938
By Le Corbusier
Located in SAINT-YRIEIX-SUR-CHARENTE, FR
"Canons, ammunition? Thank you ! Homes... PLEASE" book by Le Corbusier in 1938.
Editions l'Architecture d'Aujourd'hui, Collection de l'Equipement de la Civilisation Machiniste, 1938,...
Category
1930s French Art Deco Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Paper
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson, Photoplay Edition, 1932
By Robert Louis Stevenson
Located in Colorado Springs, CO
Stevenson, Robert Louis. New York: Grosset & Dunlap, [1932]. First Grosset & Dunlap Edition. 8ov. Presented rebound in ¼ navy leather and red cloth boards, with raised bands, gilt tooling, and gilt titles to the spine and a matching archival red slipcase.
Presented is the first Grosset & Dunlap edition of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, published in 1932. The book is presented rebound in ¼ navy leather and red cloth boards, with raised bands, gilt tooling, and gilt titles to the spine and a matching archival red slipcase.
First published in 1886, Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is a novella by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. Inspired by both a murder trial and a subsequent nightmare, Stevenson wrote this novel as an examination of the duality of human nature and the inner struggle between good and evil. The tale is about a London legal practitioner named Gabriel John Utterson who investigates strange occurrences between his old friend, Dr Henry Jekyll, and the murderous criminal Edward Hyde. Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is considered to be a defining book of the gothic horror genre.
The book was initially sold as a paperback for one shilling in the U.K. These books were called "shilling shockers" or “penny dreadfuls.” The first American edition was published on January 5, 1886, four days before the U.K. edition published by Longmans. Scribner's published 3,000 copies, only 1,250 of them bound in cloth. Initially, stores did not stock it until a favorable review appeared in The Times in January of 1886. Within the next six months, close to 40 thousand copies were sold.
A wildly captivating story, there have been numerous adaptations of the novella, including over 120 stage and film versions alone. In 1931, Paramount Pictures produced an adaptation directed by Rouben Mamoulian, starring Fredric March...
Category
1930s American Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Leather, Paper
Taxidermy Waterbuck, Skull Mount
Located in Oxfordshire, GB
Big Game Taxidermy, Waterbuck.
This prepared big game trophy skull mount is of a Water Buck, it may not be antique but it is very impressive. The taxidermy ...
Category
1940s Ugandan Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Bone
Mid-20th Century Israeli Mezuzah
Located in New York, NY
Early Israeli Mezuzah on velvet mounting with ornate silvered body, and with gilded top and base. Decorated with colored glass and with gilded bell hangin...
Category
1940s Israeli Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Brass
Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell, First Edition, Later Printing, 1937
Located in Colorado Springs, CO
Mitchell, Margaret, Gone with the Wind. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1937. First edition, thirty-third printing. Octavo. Handsomely rebound in full navy Moroccan leather with gi...
Category
1930s American Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Leather, Paper
Art Deco Dunhill of London Engine Turned "Square Boy" Model Petrol Lighter 1937
Located in High Wycombe, GB
Art Deco Dunhill of London Diamond Engine Turned "Square boy" Model Petrol Lighter 1937
Silver plated Dunhill London lighter Made in Switzerland
UK Patent Number 477768
USA Patent...
Category
1930s Swiss Art Deco Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Silver Plate
Brass and aluminum aviation compass complete with azimuth circle 1940 U.S.A
Located in Milan, IT
Brass and aluminum aeronautical compass complete with azimuth circle, supplied to U.s: Army Air Force aircraft during the world War II. Good condition and functioning. Compass diame...
Category
1940s Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Aluminum
1932 Summer Olympics Los Angeles License Plate Fob
Located in Fulton, CA
Original 1932 Los Angeles Summer Olympics license plate fob.
Category
1930s American Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Aluminum
Art Deco Pin Brooch Dove in Sterling Silver
Located in Esbjerg, DK
A stylized pin brooch in the shape of a dove. A classic symbol of love and peace. It is executed in 925/1000 sterling silver. Unknown Scandinavian maker circa 1930. Inscribed 925 to ...
Category
1930s Scandinavian Art Deco Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Sterling Silver
Vintage Cricket Bat, The Nonpareil
Located in Oxfordshire, GB
Juniors Willow Cricket Bat.
A good quality willow cricket bat 'The Nonpareil'. The two shoulders stamped 'W.J. Breeden', blade syamped to the front and rear 'The Nonpareil, Extra Spe...
Category
1940s British Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Willow
Vintage English Pond Yacht "Otter" with Cream Hull
Located in Port Chester, NY
The largest vintage model yacht we have ever had in the store! Christened "Otter" on both sides of the cream hull. Sails made from old sail cloth and original brass accents. Stand ...
Category
1930s English Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Wood
Diamond Stick Pin, 1 Ct Mine Cut Diamonds, 18K White Gold
Located in Toledo, OH
Antique 1 ct diamond stick pin. 18K white gold, tested. 19 mine cut diamonds totaling 1 ct. 2 5/8" long, top is 1/2" diameter. 3.1 grams. Has locking end, not photo'd.
Category
1930s Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Gold
Vintage French Leather Boxing Ball, 1930s
Located in Esbjerg, DK
A decorative strapped ball in patinated tanned leather. These were originally used as a sling, a medical or a boxing ball. This example was handmade in France circa 1930-40 and its i...
Category
1930s French Bauhaus Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Leather
French Art Deco Bronze Crucifix, 1930
Located in Saint-Amans-des-Cots, FR
French Art Deco bronze crucifix by HARTMANN, France, 1930s. Height: 10" (25.3cm), Width : 7.3"(18.5cm), Depth : 1.2"(3cm). Engraved signature "Hartmann" on a side (see photo)
Category
1930s French Art Deco Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Bronze
Old Brass British Military Issue Brass Handbell A Great Piece, Second World War
Located in Chillerton, Isle of Wight
Old Brass British Military Issue Brass Handbell
A Great Piece, Second World War, dated 1942, marked A.S.1942, and with the broad arrow insignia denotin...
Category
1940s British Colonial Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Brass
Large French Art Deco Three-Masted Barque Ship Model, 1930s
By Anthoine Art Bois
Located in Saint-Amans-des-Cots, FR
Large French Art Deco three-masted barque ship by Anthoine Art Bois, France, 1930s. Wood and metal. Painted white metal sails, wood hull and painted black base
Category
1930s French Art Deco Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Metal
Baier German 1947 Army Truck Lighter Cigarette Holder And Ashtray In Aluminum
Located in Miami, FL
Army Truck Lighter, Cigarette case & ashtray by Walter Baier Company.
Beautiful large sized aluminum lighter by Baier in the shape of a jeep with a ...
Category
1940s German Mid-Century Modern Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Aluminum, Enamel
Chrome Art Deco Two-Tier Ashtray Stand with Electric Lighter
Located in Van Nuys, CA
Original chrome Art Deco two-tier ashtray stand featuring a decorative chrome body and swirl glass accent along the base with 3 ashtrays and an electric lighter. The stand has a shel...
Category
1930s American Art Deco Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Chrome
Journey into Fear
Located in London, GB
Original American photographic production still.
For the 1942 Film Noir Journey into Fear. The film starred Joseph Cotten, Dolores Del Rio, Orson Welles ...
Category
1940s American Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Paper
Rosary Catholic Reliquary Box Crucifix Pendant with Relics of Saints, 1930s
Located in Nuernberg, DE
This vintage reliquary contains relics of the catacombs of Rome. It is made of metal. Crucifix itself is approx.
1 3/4" high (with hanger) in size, that making it easily worn. It is...
Category
1930s Italian Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Metal
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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