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A remnant called “Ramona’s Chain” presents a fantastic range of possible histories. The card beneath four links states: “Rusted and Corroded Chain from a Pirate Ship Washed up on the …

MS sent me pictures of a table she felt compelled to buy because of its unique feet shaped like paws with toenails. Animalistic feet are the most common body part …

PE recently purchased a tiny “fixer-upper” cabin in the San Bernardino Mountains near Lake Arrowhead and Big Bear Lake. During the remodel he discovered the 1,660-square-foot cabin originally built in …

AF owns a small clear crystal bird figurine on a frosted glass base. The underside shows a label “Made in Taiwan R.O.C.” (Republic of China). The phrase “Made in” helps …

LS wrote to ask if his vintage pipe is ivory. If so, can he sell ivory? First question: it’s not ivory. If made of ivory, LS would need to donate …

DF, a former servicemember, a U.S. Marine, sent this 20th century painting and brought a tear to my eye. This painting shows a tall ship by an amateur, signed in …

EC inherited a Bible from her mom. It belonged to Isabel Robbins Carrillo (1845-1914), a lady from one of Santa Barbara’s most distinguished families. Along with the Bible she found …

PP sent me a large drinking vessel, a replica of the Warwick Vase. Collected in the early 20th century on a 19th century grand tour. Wealthy young men on their …

JW owns a Chinese rattan two-tiered tall rectangular basket circa 1900. She wrote me because of my previous article about a Victorian Bride’s Baskets. Her Chinese basket is ALSO a …

DD sent me this strange portrait of a male face in profile composed of writhing nude bodies. I KNEW I’d seen this technique before: a mélange of nude women arranged …