People, Objects and the Stories Behind Them

The people who inhabit the world of antiques and collectibles have always been at the center of Collector Network's interests. Over the years, we've written about dealers, collectors, auctioneers, artists, craftsmen, show promoters and the sometimes extraordinary personalities who make their living—or pursue their passions—in this business. We've visited their shops, explored their collections, reported on their discoveries and followed their successes, setbacks and occasional misadventures. From a dealer whose life revolves around vintage Hawaiian shirts to an artisan recreating historic California tiles, we've found no shortage of interesting people with interesting stories to tell.

But our curiosity has never stopped at the doors of an antique shop. Collector Network has reported on an astonishing assortment of subjects, from priceless works of art to objects so ordinary that few people would think to collect them. We've written about Tiffany glass, ancient Egyptian artifacts, Hollywood memorabilia, historic architecture, scientific inventions, vintage advertising and the often unexpected circumstances that make these things interesting.

Consider a few examples. We've reported on a $7.99 thrift-store discovery involving Clint Eastwood, a $44.6 million Stegosaurus skeleton, a wristwatch that tells time with mechanical fingers, and a collection of 100 ashtrays from around the world. We've examined an early script for The Godfather, Bob Dylan's reel-to-reel recordings, a lost model of the Starship Enterprise, a medieval chess piece carved from antler, and ancient glass objects recovered from the Black Sea. The common denominator isn't necessarily rarity or monetary value. It's that each subject has something unusual to reveal.