Welcome to the WCN Collecting Articles and Features Channel dedicated to all things related to collecting, antiques, pottery, vintage toys, dolls, teddy bears, memorabilia, books, comics, figurines and everything else collectable. Our aim is to provide collectors with information on all aspects of antiques and collecting, from identifying and valuing antiques, to tips on starting and growing a collection, and to featured collectible histories.
We feature hundreds of articles and features on all aspects of collecting, written by experts in the field. Whether you’re a seasoned collector or just getting started, we hope you’ll find something of interest here. Thanks for reading! You can also search for articles using the magnifying glass to the top right of the web site.
When considering the talented designers of the Doulton Lambeth factory, there is one woman whose impressive works cannot go unmentioned. Hannah Barlow was not only one of the most innovative and skilled designers of this famed factory but also a pioneer in her own right due to the fact that […]
The City of Dublin is often referred to as the heart and soul of Ireland, and within the heart of the City itself is Ireland’s number one visitor attraction – The Guinness Storehouse. Opened in November 2000, it has to date, attracted over 3 million visitors including myself on a […]
Tea was introduced to this country in the mid-seventeenth century, and within 100 years it was a national beverage enjoyed by all classes, the direct cause of considerable changes in the times of meals and in social customs and, of course, of the introduction of the tea services so highly […]
A collection of ornamental scarf pins provides a very interesting subject for collectors in which examples are not too difficult to obtain. The scarf-pin was fashionable from the days of cravats to the early part of our own century, but perhaps the most interesting period from the collector’s point of […]
Fieldings Crown Devon The history of Fieldings Crown Devon spans more than a hundred years from 1878 until 1982. During that period the company experienced two very distinct peaks in terms of design and output. The first period saw the company achieve great success with high quality ‘Vellum’and hand painted […]
Leslie Charteris was born Leslie Charles Bowyer-Yin in Singapore on May 12th, 1907. The son of a Chinese doctor and an English woman he was determined to become a writer from a very early age. His first published work was a poem which appeared in The Straits Times when he […]
Arctophiles who like Disney animations can have great fun building a collection based entirely around Disney bears, as Kathy Martin reveals When you think of the number of animals Disney have immortalised in their animations over the years, it’s surprising how rarely bears have been featured. Pictured right: Steiff Winnie […]
With the World Cup now under way we thought we would have a look at some of the official and unofficial collectables and memorabilia available to collect and buy. The Official FIFA Store There are quite a few interesting items here. The World Cup mascots are always fun and especially […]
These days there is a definite tendency to over-use adjectives such as ‘extraordinary’ and ‘inspirational’ but when these words are applied to the achievements of Margarete Steiff, founder of the world famous Steiff company, their use is amply justified. In the nineteenth century, to be female was almost as great […]
The Chad Valley Company was one of the most successful and best-loved of all English soft toy manufacturers and although it ceased trading in 1978, the memory of its golden years lives on. Today, Chad Valley teddies and other animals are highly popular with collectors for a variety of reasons. […]
