Wanted   Do you have a passion for antiques and collectibles - and writing?   The Wayback Times invites you to submit freelance articles for use in print and on our new web site.   E-mail your text and art submissions to the Wayback Times.   Articles published in the Wayback Times since 1995 have covered a wide range of interests, from Golliwoggs to toy VW collecting, and from collecting insulators to hunting old books.   Most authors of our online selection of articles have included their e-mail addresses and they are always delighted to hear from other collectors.

Ad Rates / Articles / Classified Ads / Editorial / Home / Links / Showtime   Antiques & Collectibles Articles   New freelance articles each issue   Heavy war toll calls for a poppy and remembrance, by Roy Bassett When you consider the number of Canadian men and women who have fought in world conflicts, devoting two minutes of your time to remember them on Remembrance Day isn't too much to ask.Full story Sooner or later, we all shine the insulator light, by John Badowski Sooner or later, every Canadian puts a glass telegraph line insulator on display in their homes, usually in a window, to catch the light. Be it a Dominion-42, a Brookfield or a Hemingray-42 etc. Full story Christmas collectibles revive memories, by Robert Reed There is an old cardboard box sitting in my attic that has been in the family since I was born. The thing that makes it special is that it houses some of my earliest childhood memories of Christmas. Full story Della Walker, a veteran Wayback Times writer, dies at 70 Della Walker, a frequent contributor to the Wayback Times, Auction Fever, Upper Canadian and other antique periodicals until Lou Gehrig's Disease robbed her of her joy for writing, has died. She was 70. Full story Georg Jensen silver still much in demand, by Anne Gilbert Almost 100 years after it was first introduced by Danish silversmith Georg Jensen, his many silver designs continue to attract new generations. Much of the appeal is in the sculptural styling and clean lines. Full story Inside Antiques: The Black Cats of Halloween, by Robert Reed Black cats have always been very much a part of all that is connected with the celebration of Halloween. Historians differ as to the direct link of black cats and the ancient holiday, but . . . Full story Collecting militaria - from photos to full-sized tanks, by Roy Bassett When it comes to militaria, you have to salute the numerous avid collectors around the world who devote lifetimes to the hunt. They collect photographs to full-sized tanks, ships and warplanes. Full story Early merchants were generous, by Barbara Sutton-Smith Thumbing through a pile of late Victorian magazines, I was astonished at the large number of merchants offering free giveaways. And not cheap, shoddy, gimmicky things, but items of quality merchandise. Full story Collecting police badges is an arresting hobby, by Roy Bassett In the spring of 1957, several large sacks filled with thousands of obsolete police badges were tossed into Lake Ontario about a mile off shore. That act created a major obstacle for badge collectors. Full story Inside Antiques: An appetite for picnic memorabilia, by Robert Reed The only two things a picnic ever needs are the great outdoors and a stay of nice weather. Fundamentally, it could require no more than a blanket and an allotment of food and Grandma's picnic basket. Full story Inside Antiques: Cat Collectibles, A Purr-fect World, by Robert Reed In recent years, one of the USA's major auction houses devoted an entire auction to cat collectibles in nearly every form. Some would say the world of cat collectibles indeed was a "purr-fect" one. Full story Antiques in your garden? Yes,with heirloom seeds, by Mary Brittain "Heirloom" seeds regenerate gardens with plants that were grown in gardens of the past - monastery gardens, medieval herbers, Victorian kitchen gardens, pioneer plots - and can still be found today. Full story Logs are cut, time to round up cabin-building tools, by Jim Ross Okay, so you have cut yourself a pile of logs to build a home or barn. What now? If you are not a purist, there are many labour-saving tools for building round-log, square-timber and post-and-beam cabins. Full story The Year of the Three (postcard) Kings, by Mike Smith The classy design of a single 1936 postcard gem piqued the interest of Mike Smith in royalty postcards a few years back and he has been an avid royalty card collector ever since. The Three Kings. Full story Syrup jugs have become a sweet collectible, by Robert Reed Since the 18th century, glass jugs for syrup have been common, colourful items in homes, pubs and other public dining places. Today, they enjoy a fondness among collectors. Full story The long, the short and the tall of logging tools, by Jim Ross In early days, pioneers had only trusty axes to clear their newly acquired acres of bush - as did the professional logging crews. There the tools manufacturers "saw" the light and the jobs got easier. Full story Guildwood's "Graveyard of Lost Buildings," by Guylaine Spencer Some people go for antiques in a big way. Big, as in 20 feet high or several tons in weight. They can be found at Guildwood in a fascinating facade collection started by Rosa and Spencer Clark. Full story Veteran Ontario collector gives us the plane facts, by Jim Ross Planes are highly collectible and the subject of much research and wonderment. There is no Planes For Dummies.If you are a plane enthusiast, you are no Dummy, you are a Rhykenologist. Full story Comical shaving mugs had their day, by Pat Stott-Prince In Victorian times, the personal grooming of the gentleman was the responsibility of his barber, unless of course the gentleman was of the upper class and could afford his own man servant. Full story Glass ice buckets: a unique, colourful collectible, by Walt Lemiski For barware items from the Depression Era on through the Eames Era, glass was king Whether they were cocktail shakers, ice buckets, old fashioneds, high balls, pilseners etc Full story WW1 surgeon John McCrae's In Flanders Fields, by Roy Bassett In Flanders Fields, penned by a weary Canadian surgeon in the back of an ambulance after "17 days of Hades" at the front in Belgium, was discarded and almost lost forever on that May day in 1915. Full story The history of keyboards - without a mouse, by Martin Howard The keyboard provides an essential means for one to communicate and is used by more people today than ever before. Keyboards are arguably one of the most important tools in the world. How did they evolve? Full story Antique telephones: for every home, every era, by Don Woodbury Telephones have been around for over 130 years, so there are models available to fit into any decorating theme back to Victorian times. They can provide a finishing touch to a period decorating scheme Full story For trivia, ask a friend what a muffineer is, by Pat Stott-Prince Muffineer is a strange name for a sugar shaker. Wherever did it come from? It is not a word used much today. Muffineers were part of the Victorian tableware. It took a world war for a name change. Full story Anglo-Boer War postcards tell of the brutal conflict, by Mike Smith The Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902) was a brutal conflict that pitted the British Empire against a tenacious Boer "citizen's army." What were the reasons for this war? It all boiled down to greed (what else?) Full story Pressed glass a wonderful obsession, by Rachel Sa, Bruce Kirkland It started as a casual interest. It grew into a passion for collecting. Today, it is a wonderful obsession. We are talking about pressed glass, a specialized niche that is accessible, affordable and useful. Full story Buttons, buttons, buttons, a diverse collectable, by Robert Reed When it comes to antiques and collectibles few fields are as remarkably diverse as the simple functioning button. Today, the world of collectible buttons ranges in material from brass to Bakelite. Full story Postcard collecting gets a stamp of approval, by Mike Smith Most postcard collectors catch the "collecting bug" early in life. It may start with Dinky toys, Batman comics or sports card hoarding, but they reach a point of becoming serious collectors. Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 Tom Thomson's death marks 90th anniversary, by Ted Currie An Algonquin Park legend is that you can still find scrapings and gnarled, time-frozen globs of old paint on the edges of old stumps and jagged rocks, left by Canadian artist Tom Thomson. Part 1 - Part 2 Yearbooks lost in 1990 found in Wayback Times online store Elaine Stewart lost her high school yearbooks in 1990 when a sister loaned them to a friend. A visit to an online Wayback Times store reunited her with her yearbooks and she couldn't be happier. Full story Memories of a Quebec hamlet and antiques, by Della Walker I grew up in a small hamlet in Quebec's Gatineau hills during World War 2. Lumber was the area's main source of "ready cash." The area did not get electricity until the late 1960s. Full story Historians and collectors vying for local relics, by Ted Currie In the 1880s, Ontario announced that settlement of the District of Muskoka was providing important information about the durability of homesteaders in adverse conditions. Full story Maud Lewis House a Halifax gallery treasure, by Yvonne Butorac Maud Lewis was a tiny woman with an enormous artistic talent, as visitors to her reconstructed Lilliputian house inside the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia quickly learn. Full story Books on regional history often scarce - and pricey, by Ted Currie Competition for scarce and important regional history books, penned by early community historians, has driven up prices considerably in this new century. They have become hot items for researchers.Full story Ontario's taxi industry marks 170 years in 2007, by John Cosway Thornton Blackburn, an illiterate Kentucky slave who fled to Upper Canada with his wife, Lucie, in 1833, rode into the Ontario history books in 1837 by introducing Toronto's first ride-for-hire service. Full story The Collectors: Medals, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, by Roy Bassett Roy's latest addition to his popular series on medals collecting tells his story of how he got started 35 years ago, with numerous research tools and tips for beginners. Full story Victoria, B.C. a haven for fresh estate antiques, by Yvonne Butorac Where better to find treasures from the past than in the retirement capital of Canada? All those retirees who move to Victoria seeking tulips in February, bring with them prized possessions. Full story Christmas angels have a heavenly history, by Robert Reed For more than a century, the Christmas angel in wax, paper, cloth, wood, or other materials, has decorated the holiday scene. Once considered merely ornaments, their diversity makes many collectible. Full story Celebrating cherished events of Christmas past, by Ted Currie Revered American author Washington Irving adored the old traditions of Christmas. He wrote about the great importance of preserving the historic observances of the season. Full story Castle and Roadshow a perfect match, by Yvonne Butorac The old travel adage that getting there is half the fun applies to a day in the hunt at the Canadian Antiques Roadshow. The anticipation, the suspense, the possibility of standing next to a spectacular find. Full story Those Victorian sewing needs, by Robert Reed In an age where household sewing machines are more and more of a domestic exception, it is difficult to appreciate the Victorian need for them and their many accessories. Full story Drive-in theatres make a comeback, by John Cosway Richard M. Hollingshead Jr.'s neighbors must have thought him bonkers when he parked his car in the backyard, mounted a movie projector on the hood and nailed a white sheet to trees in 1933. But he wasn't. Full story Ice Cream Collectibles, by Robert Reed George Washington may well have been America's first celebrity consumer of ice cream. He was known to have purchased a "cream machine for ice" as early as 1784. Full story Advertising Tins, by Melissa Collver In our family, summer always meant a trip to a pioneer village. This was one of my favourite outings. I rode in the back seat of the family car filled with anticipation. Full story Studying Old Family Photographs, by Janet Bryers Old family photographs can be a valuable source of information. Besides preserving irreplaceable images of family members, some also provide a glimpse of places that have changed. Full story My Toy VW Collection, by Jay Telfer Over the years, I have been asked "what do you collect?" Well, I have been collecting toy Volkswagens since 1978. It is quite the bizarre collection, with 1,300 odd toy VWs. Full story He had 100,000 books in a bungalow, by Ted Currie The executors of his estate were forced to remove all the books from the first floor of his Hamilton bungalow because the meaty texts stacked in the basement were literally holding up the floor joist. Full story Antique furniture is just that: Used, by Della Walker A lot of furniture has travelled many a road, and the going has not always been smooth. As new styles evolved throughout the centuries, "old" furniture lost its esthetic appeal. Full story The Original Insulators: Threadless, by John Badowski Walk along any rail line in Ontario and you will still see the last generation of telegraph line insulators suspended on aging wooden telegraph poles. They all have one thing in common - they are threaded. Full story Whistling Cups - For Eggs N' Milk, by Pat Stott-Prince Giving a child a whistle is second only to giving them a drum. They will drive you crazy with the uncoordinated clatter of noise. Nevertheless, this was the practice at one time. Full story The Golliwogg Revival, by Donna McPherson The 1960's and 70's were years of heightened awareness about racial issues. Poor Golly. One of England's most beloved toys was suddenly on the "most inappropriate" list. Full story Still Crazy for Corn Flower, by Walter Lemiski If you have been at auctions lately, or at one of the four annual Canadian Depression Glass Shows, then you know folks are still just crazy for Corn Flower. Full story     Contributing writers: John Badowski, Roy Bassett, Mary Brittain, Janet Bryers, Yvonne Butorac, Melissa Collver, John Cosway, Anne Gilbert, Martin Howard, Bruce Kirkland, Walter Lemiski, Donna McPherson, Robert Reed, Jim Ross, Rachel Sa, Mike Smith, Guylaine Spencer Pat Stott-Prince, Barbara Sutton-Smith, Jay Telfer, Della Walker, Don Woodbury      Return to top of page   This Is Livin' Publishing © 2008 581 8th Line West, RR1 Hastings, ON, K0L 1Y0 Phone/Fax: 705-696-1833   webmaster