White Elephant Stores Hats and Collars

PK sent me photos of a fruitwood carved chest with three drawers towards the bottom and top section of two cabinets with wonderful carved surfaces. The two central drawers are …

Leroy Burket a Fascinating Man

How did a baby born in 1920 in Alton, Iowa, to Eunice and LeRoy, a proud Freemason, grow up to become an abstract painter in Paris? So goes the story …

The Bone of Oliver Cromwell

They found the head of Oliver Cromwell and sent it to Cambridge College, but they never found his body – intact – ever. Where are Oliver Cromwell‘s bones? The 17th …

Falling in Love with Murano Glass

You can buy hundreds of Murano glass clowns, all with bright colors and comical expressions, handmade on the island of Murano, Italy. But they will cost you. Here’s some famous …

Fireplace Screen, Noble or Not?

KO sent me a photo of a fireplace screen he lived with for 65 years. He wants to know who owned it originally. Perhaps the family was noble? The screen …

The ART of Travel

Smithsonian Travel Guide Dr Allan Langdale discusses the future of tourism with Lisa Benshea and Sarahkate Greeley of the Tour Department of the Santa Barbara Museum of Art.