Playwright Jacques Deval once wrote, “God loved the birds and made trees. Man loved the birds and made cages.” I am much more content watching birds soaring and swooping. Still I can’t help but admire this finely designed piece of art. When I first saw this birdcage in the form of a church the word...

For years people have bought souvenirs as reminders of their journeys. They are an echo of the places visited and of the sights seen. Collecting souvenirs was an important part of the overall travel experience for the 19th-century tourist. To be seen as a person of the world was a status symbol, and was important...

Here is an object that any traveler, especially myself, would be happy to pop in their bag. That will not come to pass, but I can still ponder how I would impress fellow adventurers with this beautiful gilt brass, steel and glass wonder. This portable equatorial sundial, of 1748, is a finely crafted instrument by Jacob...

The end of the American Civil War saw the rise of the Gilded Age. A time of opulence for some and hardship for many, this era reached its heyday towards the end of the 1890s. From the salons and opera houses of Paris to the halls of the fine houses that lined Fifth Avenue, women’s...

Christina Malman was born in Southhampton, England in 1912. When she was two year’s old she moved to New York City, where she lived and worked for the rest of her life. Christina began her career as a cover artist for the “New Yorker” magazine in the mid 1930’s. Over the course of twenty years,...