Last Minute Holiday Gifts for the Collector

I just know you have all your holiday shopping done, the gifts wrapped, the mistletoe hung or the dreidels ready to spin, right? Hah! If you're at all like me, December showed up before I had recovered from Labor Day! And in my family, collecting is a genetic obsession - every one of us collects something different: cobalt glass, teapots, Victorian sewing tools, Quimper.

Sure, you can go to the mall and stand in line, suffer the cranky clerks, listen to clamoring children, and overpay for a reproduction - right up until midnight of Christmas Eve!

Or you can go shopping right here on the Web, where the "clerks" are always smiling! I've found a few places where you can shop for that collector on your list, and have your purchase delivered to your door in just a few days. You might just find something for yourself...go ahead, you deserve it!

Antique Christmas decorations are wonderful nostalgia - and here are two web sites currently featuring Christmas specialties:

Santa's Sleigh specialises in Christmas collectibles, and has a Collector's Bulletin Board, as well.

You can find a 1920s German Santa candy container for $35 and a rare cardboard 15" Santa for $1300(!) at a shop in Saratoga Springs, NY, called Forty Caroline Street.

If you know exactly what your "giftee" collects, perhaps one of these sites will have just the thing:

The Music Box Shop carries both antique and new music boxes. You can see photos and hear the tunes as well!

STARticles Movie & Music Artifacts is a treasure trove of movie memorabilia, props, wardrobes, and autographs.

Another Tinsel Town web site is Silver Screen, carrying posters, old scripts, autographed photos and books about filmdom.

For the sailor on your list, try these two:

The Olde Nautical Shoppe in Clearwater, FL. Here you'll find ship models, telescopes, lanterns, ship clocks, old weather instruments, and nautical decor.

Studio of Ships Gallery is a gallery in E. Boothbay, ME, which specialises in marine art by Earle G. Barlow.

Antique paperweights make lovely gifts, and L.H.Selman Ltd. is a comprehensive site for collectors.

A Canadian site, Antique Antics, carries a variety of items such as pottery, china, glass and jewelry. All prices are in Canadian dollars.

You can never go wrong with a book, and Antiquarian Book Network is a great resource. Amazon.Com carries the latest specialty reference and price books, including Kovel's and Warman's 1999 price guides. In fact, a subscription to Kovel's newsletter or the Maine Antiques Digest would be a perfect gift in my stocking! (See the Top 5 Links.)

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