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The Green Mountain CollectorAntiques and collecting

An independent magazine on antiques and collecting in Vermont and New England: clocks, lamps, advertising, china and glass, and the small objects that fill a collector's shelf.

Reading, dating and keeping old objects in Vermont and New England

Antiques and collecting in Vermont and New England. Five sections take an object apart in plain language, in the third person, with the trade bodies and reference sources named.

Start with antique clocksBrowse the smalls

A Vermont village antique shop interior in autumn light with old clocks, glass lamps, tins and porcelain on wooden shelves
A village antique shop interior: clocks, lamps, tins and porcelain, the objects this magazine explains.

Start with the sections

Five guides, from the clock on the wall to the pin in a drawer

Each section opens with an index of its guides. Pick clocks and lighting, printed advertising, china and glass, or the small objects and country gear.

  1. A tall case clock and two shelf clocks standing against a cream plaster wall in a Vermont farmhouse parlor.
    01

    Antique Clocks

    Timekeeping in the old house: tall case and shelf clocks, carriage clocks and ships bell movements, how to read them and how to keep them running.

    2 guides inside

  2. A leaded glass table lamp glowing on a pine side table in a dim village parlor.
    02

    Lamps and Lighting

    Oil lamps and the shades that shaped their light: burners, fonts and bases, and the leaded, slag and reverse painted glass to inspect before buying.

    1 guides inside

  3. A shelf of old advertising tins and a lithographed sign above a wooden counter in a country store.
    03

    Advertising and Ephemera

    The paper and tin that carried a brand into every home: tins, signs, trade cards and postcards, how they were made and how to spot a reproduction.

    1 guides inside

  4. A painted porcelain tea set and pressed glass tumblers arranged on a lace cloth on a pine table.
    04

    China, Glass and Porcelain

    The table and its manners: porcelain and its marks, pressed and blown glass, the patterns, the sets and the condition that decides value.

    3 guides inside

  5. A flat wooden tray holding hatpins, an old bottle and a brass fishing reel on a barn workbench.
    05

    Smalls and Sporting

    The small objects and country gear: jewelry and hatpins, medicine bottles, textiles, toys and the split cane tackle of fly fishing.

    4 guides inside

Section 1 of 5

Antique Clocks

Timekeeping in the old house: tall case and shelf clocks, carriage clocks and ships bell movements, how to read them and how to keep them running.

  • Close view of an antique clock dial with Roman numerals and a maker's name, a watchmaker's loupe resting beside it.

    Antique Clocks

    How to Date an Antique Clock

    Read a clock's dial, movement, case and maker marks to place it in time, and learn which features date a clock most reliably.

    Dial, movement, case, marks: the order that places a clock.

  • A clockmaker's bench with a disassembled brass movement, small tools and a magnifier in warm lamplight.

    Antique Clocks

    How an Antique Clock Is Restored

    What a proper clock restoration covers, from cleaning a movement to replacing a suspension spring, and what to leave untouched.

    What a proper restoration keeps, and what it must leave alone.

Open the Antique Clocks index

Section 2 of 5

Lamps and Lighting

Oil lamps and the shades that shaped their light: burners, fonts and bases, and the leaded, slag and reverse painted glass to inspect before buying.

  • Two antique table lamps with patterned glass shades lit on a sideboard, one casting a coloured glow on the wall.

    Lamps and Lighting

    Leaded, Slag and Reverse Painted Lamps

    Tell leaded, slag panel and reverse painted lamps apart, check a shade for cracks and repairs, and understand period wiring.

    Three shade techniques, three sets of faults to find.

Open the Lamps and Lighting index

From the archive

Guides that keep their historical addresses

These guides answer the questions those pages answered, at the same addresses.

Section 3 of 5

Advertising and Ephemera

The paper and tin that carried a brand into every home: tins, signs, trade cards and postcards, how they were made and how to spot a reproduction.

  • A countertop display of lithographed tobacco and coffee tins beside a painted tin sign in a country store.

    Advertising and Ephemera

    Advertising Tins and Trade Signs

    Date advertising tins, signs and displays by lithography, brand and condition, and spot reproductions before you pay for one.

    Construction first, then printing, then the wear that cannot be faked.

Open the Advertising and Ephemera index

The reading room

Other independent sites worth a bookmark

These independent bodies and publications cover corners of the field this magazine does not: clocks and watches, the wider antiques trade, bottles, and the Vermont dealers themselves.

  • Outside this site

    National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors

    The long standing body for clocks and watches, with reference material, chapters and a journal for members.

    Clocks, watches and the people who keep them.

  • Outside this site

    Antique Trader

    A general antiques publication covering market news, collecting fields and how-to guides across the trade.

    Market and collecting coverage across the trade.

  • Outside this site

    Collectors Weekly

    Reference articles and show-and-tell on glass, porcelain, advertising and the smaller fields of collecting.

    Reference articles across many collecting fields.

  • Outside this site

    Maine Antique Digest

    A New England antiques newspaper reporting shows, auctions and prices from across the region and beyond.

    Shows and auctions reported across New England.

  • Outside this site

    Vermont Antiques Dealers Association

    A regional association of Vermont dealers, with a directory and news from the state trade.

    The Vermont trade, dealer by dealer.

  • Outside this site

    Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors

    The reference body for antique bottles, with research, shows and a journal for collectors.

    Bottles, their makers and their history.

Elsewhere

Reading on subjects next to this one

  • For readers who follow the history of glass and looking glasses, the techniques of faceting, engraving and silvering, and the care of an old mirror at home, The Silvered Pane treats Venetian mirrors as a subject of study rather than a product line.

  • Readers who keep an eye on how old houses are lived in may find a parallel in Florida, where the Oldest City Fire Journal covers home fire safety, seasonal burn rules, and community alerts for St. Augustine and St. Johns County.

  • For readers whose collecting interests extend to rural settings, Serenity Farmhouse covers farm and barn weddings, weekend stays on site, and seasonal decoration, including guidance on planning a farm venue weekend and budgeting for weather and infrastructure.

  • Readers curious about the material culture of Catholic devotion, from missals and prayer books to rosaries, medals, and scapulars, will find identification notes, care advice, and provenance guidance at the Sacred Object Journal.

  • Readers who follow contemporary work from the studio to the auction block will find a guide to reading contemporary art that weighs materials, exhibition pacing and pricing for emerging artists, alongside the antique clocks, porcelain and hatpins covered here.

  • Readers who want measured guidance on interior work will find room layout and renovation order at Jobsons Interieur, a Dutch magazine covering living rooms, kitchens, bathrooms, and home bars.

  • Readers who keep a house as carefully as they keep a collection will find in Kept a practical notebook on seasonal upkeep, filter and gutter schedules, and household paper routines that treat storage, warranties, and pantry rotation as a single yearly habit.

  • Pour organiser chaque pièce, du salon au dressing, Instinct Déco propose des repères concrets sur les revêtements, les matières et la couleur, avec la règle des 60 30 10 appliquée pièce par pièce.

Section 4 of 5

China, Glass and Porcelain

The table and its manners: porcelain and its marks, pressed and blown glass, the patterns, the sets and the condition that decides value.

  • The underside of a hand painted porcelain plate showing a green backstamp, held over a table set with china.

    China, Glass and Porcelain

    Nippon and Noritake Porcelain

    Read Nippon and Noritake backstamps, date a service by its mark, and judge gilding, damage and completeness before buying.

    Backstamps read against body, glaze and pattern.

  • Patterned pressed glass tumblers and a covered dish catching window light on a linen cloth.

    China, Glass and Porcelain

    Victorian and Pressed Glass

    Identify Victorian and pressed glass patterns, tell early pressed from later moulds, and check for chips, cloudiness and repairs.

    Mould marks, pattern names and the chips that never come out.

  • A kitchen table in a Vermont farmhouse in late morning light, a broken blue-and-white plate laid out in five sherds on a white towel beside a tube of two-part epoxy, a fine brush and a roll of masking tape.

    China, Glass and Porcelain

    Repairing Porcelain: Gluing, Filling, Retouching

    How collectors and heirs repair porcelain and ceramic objects: gluing sherds, filling missing areas and retouching a damaged decoration, with workshop methods.

Open the China, Glass and Porcelain index

Section 5 of 5

Smalls and Sporting

The small objects and country gear: jewelry and hatpins, medicine bottles, textiles, toys and the split cane tackle of fly fishing.

  • A split cane fly rod, brass reel and woven creel resting on a weathered wooden bench beside a river.

    Smalls and Sporting

    Antique Fly Fishing Tackle

    Collect bamboo fly rods, reels and creels: what makes a rod collectible, how to check ferrules and guides, and how to store them.

    Cane, ferrules and guides, checked before the first cast.

  • A row of ornate hatpins with glass and metal heads laid across a velvet cloth on a dressing table.

    Smalls and Sporting

    Collecting Victorian Hatpins

    How to collect Victorian and Edwardian hatpins: lengths, materials, heads, marks and the holders that display them.

    Lengths, materials, heads and the holders that display them.

  • A shelf of antique glass medicine bottles in aqua and amber, some with faded paper labels, backlit on a windowsill.

    Smalls and Sporting

    Antique Medicine Bottles

    Read antique medicine and pharmacy bottles by colour, lip and embossing, and learn what old labels and contents can tell you.

    Colour, lip and embossing: the base dates the bottle.

  • A snow-covered metal roof on a timber-frame barn at midday, with a cleared gravel driveway curving toward a covered entry and a woodpile under the eave, photographed from the driveway at eye level.

    Smalls and Sporting

    Mountain Property Checks Before You Sign

    A buyer's checklist for mountain property: winter access, snow load, wells, water rights and the buildings, read from a collector's point of view.

Open the Smalls and Sporting index

The shelf in pictures

Five views from the guides

Five photographs from the guides below, each with the page that explains the scene in full.

  • A quiet Vermont village street in autumn with white clapboard houses and a maple tree in colour

    Field note 1

    A village street in autumn

    The trade of a country town ran on painted signs and paper. The advertising section covers what survived and how to read it.

  • A pair of ornate hatpins with glass heads on a velvet cloth beside a small porcelain holder

    Field note 2

    A row of hatpins on velvet

    Hatpins were jewelry worn in public for a short window of fashion. The hatpin guide reads their lengths, heads and marks.

  • A wooden shelf of old painted advertising tins and a stoneware jug in a barn interior

    Field note 3

    A shelf of old tins

    Tins were built by hand before they were stamped, and the seams date them more honestly than the picture.

  • A split cane fly rod and a brass reel on a weathered wooden bench beside a Vermont stream

    Field note 4

    Cane, brass and a creel

    Fly fishing tackle is collected for use as much as for display. The tackle guide shows what to check on a rod and a reel.

  • A pressed glass compote and a painted porcelain plate on a lace cloth near a window

    Field note 5

    Pressed glass near a window

    Pressed glass brought the look of cut glass to the everyday table, and its mould marks are its signature.