Vintage Guides

Etching or Lithograph? Vintage print identification guide header, Oddly Darling Vintage
Etching or Lithograph? How to Identify Vintage Art Prints
Etchings, lithographs and modern reproductions can look alike. Learn how to tell them apart with a magnifier, the plate mark, ink texture, pencil signatures and edition numbers. Read more...
Oil, Acrylic or Print? How to identify a vintage painting guide header, Oddly Darling Vintage
Oil, Acrylic or Print? How to Identify a Vintage Painting
Is it an oil painting, an acrylic, or a print? Learn simple ways to tell them apart, spot reproductions, read signatures and clues on the back, and care for vintage... Read more...
Atomic Age Starburst Clocks guide header, Oddly Darling Vintage
Atomic Age Clocks: A Guide to Mid-Century Starburst and Sunburst Clocks
Starburst and sunburst clocks are icons of the atomic age. Learn the styles, makers to look for, how to tell vintage from reproduction, and what to check before buying. Read more...
Mid-Century Modern Lamps guide header, Oddly Darling Vintage
Mid-Century Modern Lamps: Styles, Makers and How to Buy Safely
From atomic TV lamps to ceramic table lamps and sputnik fixtures, here's how to recognize mid-century modern lamps, spot the real thing, and buy and use them safely. Read more...
Vintage Lucite Grapes and Grape Lamps guide header, Oddly Darling Vintage
Vintage Lucite Grapes and Grape Lamps: A Mid-Century Collector's Guide
Lucite grape clusters and grape lamps are back in style. Learn their 1960s and '70s history, how to spot genuine vintage pieces, and how to care for and style them. Read more...
Vintage Lucite taper candles guide header, Oddly Darling Vintage
Vintage Lucite Candles: A Guide to Confetti and Glitter Lucite Decor
Vintage Lucite candles, solid acrylic made to look like candles with metallic flecks inside, are a hot collectible. Learn their history, how to spot real vintage pieces, and how to... Read more...
Warm Vintage Decor in amber, mustard and rust guide header, Oddly Darling Vintage
Warm Vintage Decor: Decorating With Amber, Mustard, Rust and Brown
Warm, muted colors are replacing cool palettes. Here's how to use vintage amber glass, brass, mustard and rust pieces to create a cozy home. Read more...
Primitive Vintage Kitchen Decor guide header, Oddly Darling Vintage
Primitive Vintage Kitchen Decor: Cutting Boards, Enamelware and More
Old cutting boards, enamelware and well-worn kitchen tools are back in style. Here's what to look for and how to decorate a warm, primitive vintage kitchen. Read more...
Vintage Pyrex collector's guide header, Oddly Darling Vintage
Vintage Pyrex Collector's Guide: Patterns, Dating and Care
Vintage Pyrex is hotter than ever. Learn the most collectible patterns, how to date your pieces from their markings, and how to keep the colors bright. Read more...
Vintage Art Deco style green onyx pin tray with arched black cat, from Oddly Darling Vintage
Art Nouveau vs. Art Deco: How to Tell the Two Styles Apart
Art Nouveau (about 1890 to 1910) came first, with flowing lines and flowers. Art Deco (about 1920 to 1940) followed, with bold geometry. Here's how to tell them apart. Read more...
Vintage ginger jar shaped glass dome cloche with blue silk roses, dried flowers and a butterfly on a wood base
Vintage Glass Domes and Cloches: From Victorian Parlor Domes to 1970s Butterfly Displays
Wax flowers, taxidermy birds and hair work under glass, then silk roses and butterflies in the 1970s. Here's the story of the glass dome, what cloche and bell jar mean,... Read more...
Mid-century cloisonné bud vase with bird and floral enamel and a gold-tone rim, from Oddly Darling Vintage
What Is Cloisonné? A Guide to Cloisonné Enamel Vases, Boxes and Bells
Cloisonné is enamel fused into tiny cells made of metal wire, a craft that runs from Ming China to the mid-century vases on grandmother's curio shelf. Here's how it's made,... Read more...
Vintage Sudan Brand celery seed tin by Wesco Foods Co. of Cincinnati with bold yellow graphics, from Oddly Darling Vintage
Collecting Vintage Advertising Tins: How to Date Spice, Pantry and Product Tins
Old spice tins, pantry boxes and product cans carry clues to their age right on the label. Here's how to date them by addresses, ZIP codes, prices and graphics, how... Read more...
Antique K&G Luneville France flow blue salad plate in the Violette pattern, from Oddly Darling Vintage
Flow Blue, Delft or Blue Onion? A Guide to Telling Vintage Blue and White China Apart
Flow blue, Delft, Blue Onion and transferware can look like cousins on the same hutch. Here's how to tell vintage blue and white china apart by its lines, body, motifs... Read more...
Antique Coalport demitasse cup with raised gold garlands and stars on ivory, from Oddly Darling Vintage
What Are Demitasse Cups? A Guide to Demitasse Cups, Cabinet Cups and Their Marks
Demitasse cups were made for small servings of strong coffee, and cabinet cups were made to be admired behind glass. Here's how to tell them apart, what their marks can... Read more...
Hull USA Rooster #58 ceramic planter in black and dusty pink, from Oddly Darling Vintage
Collecting Mid-Century Figural Planters: Hull, Napcoware, California Pottery and More
Roosters, swans, frogs, little girls in ruffled dresses: mid-century figural planters once arrived holding a florist's bouquet and stayed on the windowsill for decades. Here's how to tell who made... Read more...
Vintage peacock trinket box in blue and green enamel
Vintage Trinket Boxes: A Collector's Guide to the Many Kinds
Porcelain, enamel, lacquer, papier-mâché, brass and more. A guide to the many kinds of vintage trinket boxes, how to identify them, and what to look for before you buy. Read more...
Vintage brown marbled Lucite folding lorgnette glasses with aurora borealis rhinestones
What Is Lucite? A Guide to Identifying Vintage Lucite and Telling It From Bakelite and Celluloid
Lucite was the glamorous plastic of the mid-century. Here's where it came from, what collectors look for, and how to tell it from Bakelite and celluloid. Read more...
Art Deco J.C. Warner jade green celluloid ring box with a raised floral lid, from Oddly Darling Vintage
What Is Celluloid? A Guide to Identifying Vintage Celluloid and Telling It From Bakelite
Celluloid was the first popular plastic, behind Victorian dresser sets, Art Deco ring boxes, kewpie dolls and pin-back buttons. Here's what celluloid is, how to recognize it, how it differs... Read more...
Pair of vintage reverse painted convex glass silhouette pictures
Reverse Painted Silhouette Pictures: How to Identify and Date Bubble Glass Art
Those domed glass pictures with black silhouettes over garden scenes were a 1930s–50s favorite. Here's how they were made, who made them, and how to tell what you've got. Read more...
Vintage silver plate repousse hand mirror with roses
How to Clean and Care for Vintage Finds: Glass, Porcelain, Metal, Jewelry and Linens
Gentle, safe ways to clean and care for vintage glass, porcelain, brass, silver, costume jewelry and linens without damaging them. Read more...
Vintage Japan lusterware wall pocket with moriage phoenix bird
What Is Japanese Lusterware? A Guide to Luster Glazes, Moriage and Made in Japan Porcelain
That shimmery pearl, peach and blue finish on old Japanese porcelain is luster glaze, and the raised decoration that looks like piped icing is moriage. Here's how to recognize both,... Read more...
Vintage Best Western Motels glass advertising ashtray with lasso logo
Collecting Vintage Advertising Ashtrays: Motel, Souvenir and Figural Ashtrays
Long before digital ads, a motel's best advertising sat on the nightstand. Here's why vintage advertising and figural ashtrays are so collectible, what to look for, and how people use... Read more...
What Is a Fairy Lamp? Victorian fairy lamp guide header, Oddly Darling Vintage
What Is a Fairy Lamp? A Guide to Victorian and Vintage Fairy Lamps
Fairy lamps are small glass candle lamps with a domed shade, first made as Victorian night lights and revived in the 1950s. Here's their history, how to tell an antique... Read more...