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This week on The Collectors Show we meet Genevieve Keeney who is the president of the National Museum of Funeral History. To read all the latest news from the world of collecting go to www.collectorsshow.net.

This week on The Collector’s Show we meet Lisa Sweasy, Curator/Director of the Vent Haven Museum. Many museums start based on the collection of a single person and that is the case this week. The Vent (short for ventriloquism) Haven Museum is the only museum of its kind in the world.  It houses more than 800 figures, thousands of photographs, playbills, letters, and an extensive library of vent-related books, some of which date back to the 1700’s.

This week on The Collectors Show we meet Kevin Gilmore of Hallmark. Kevin is a writer and historian of Hallmark collectible ornaments. Ever since his mom taught him to read at age 2, Kevin has loved to figure out how stories work so he could make up his own to tell-usually ones with spaceships, aliens and weird science stuff. In his career, he has told stories with novels, children’s books, screenplays, newspaper articles and more, including Hallmark greeting cards and Keepsake Ornaments. Kevin grew up in central Kansas and graduated from the University of Kansas. He’s very happy to hear about your favorite stories or tell you about his.

Our guest this week on The Collectors Show is Mark Bellomo. Mark is an accomplished author and collector. He has written hundreds of articles about toys from the 1980’s and a whole library full of books on vintage action figures and pop culture. Most recently, he wrote The Ultimate Guide to Vintage Star Wars: 1977-1985, a book that covers every action figure, accessory, creature, mail-away, playset, vehicle, and weapon system from Kenner’s original Star Wars toy line, along with a wealth of flavor text discussing the history of the characters, spaceships, and settings within the Star Wars universe. At 272 full-color pages, since the end of November this reference guide has already sold out of its first printing, and the book has garnered many positive reviews.

This week on The Collectors Show we talk with Melanie Thomas about collecting Victorian Christmas ornaments. Melanie is a frequent contributor to Antique Trader Magazine and has written about this topic. Here is a link to that article: http://www.antiquetrader.com/featured/decking-halls-victorian-ornaments. She and her husband own and operate the Arsenal of the Alleghenies in Gettysburg, PA. Here is a link for their store: http://www.arsenalofthealleghenys.com.

This week on The Collector’s Show we learn about a tool for collectors called ‘Collectify’. With it, collections can be easily catalogued, their value tracked for registry with insurance companies and legal or family disagreements prevented. In the news segment we learn about a collection of bottles discovered while a freeway was being built among others. To learn more about the world of collecting, go to www.collectorsshow.net.

This week on The Collectors Show we introduce the Mystery Science Theater 3000 Thanksgiving Collection, the world’s worst job and the past, present and future of plastic model collecting and building. Read more about collecting at www.collectorsshow.net.

How important is plumbing and why should we take notice or collect it? To find out we meet Linda Weiking of the world’s only Plumbing Museum. The Plumbing Museum was started by a family of plumbers who collected tools and implement of the trade dating back to the middle of the 19th century. To learn more about collecting, visit the web site, www.collectorsshow.net or write to the host, haroldnicoll@gmail.com

This week on The Collectors Show we welcome Jennifer Fischer and talk about collecting Nancy Drew. We also learn about the largest collection of bedpans in the country during the news segment. To keep up with the news, be sure to visit the web site, www.collectorsshow.net.

This week on The Collector’s Show we talk with Sarah Reed who is a collector and inventor of board games. To keep up with this and more news fr’om the world of collecting go to www.collectorsshow.net. To send Harold a note, haroldnicoll@gmail.com. 

This week on The Collectors Show we explore the controversy that erupted when Toys R Us made the decision to ban action figures from the Breaking Bad television series with Daniel Pickett of Action Figure Insider. There was far more to this than ever met the eye and if you are a collector of anything you will want to hear what happened. To see and read all the news from the world of collecting, visit www.collectorsshow.net. And to reach the host, send an email to haroldnicoll@gmail.com. 

This week on The Collector’s Show we meet Will Reed who is an expert on Lego and contributor to the Brick Blogger, a web site devoted to collecting Legos. Lego has transcended generations and genders to become a global phenomena. To see all the news about the world of collecting go to www.collectorsshow.net. If you have a comment or idea to share you can reach me atharoldnicoll@gmail.com.  

This week on The Collectors Show we meet Mark B. Ledenbach. He is an extremely well respected collector and writer. Mark  is the author of an incredibly informative and beautifully illustrated book called “Vintage Halloween Collectibles” now in its 3rd edition. He has been all over television including a segment on Martha Stewart Living, HGTV and all of the major print publications, and the owner of www.halloweencollector.com.  In the news segment we learn about two significant crimes that were committed against collectors. To see all of the news be sure to visit www.collectorsshow.net. And send comments and suggestions to me at haroldnicoll@gmail.com.

This week on The Collectors Show we talk about collecting artifacts from The Cold War and Area 51 with Karen Green. Karen is the Senior Curator and Director of exhibits at the National Atomic Testing Museum in Las Vegas, Nevada. The National Atomic Testing Museum is a repository for one of the most comprehensive collections of nuclear history. As part of its mission, the National Atomic Testing Museum seeks to collect and preserve a wide variety of materials and artifacts relating to atomic testing, the Nevada Test Site, the Cold War, and nuclear and radiological science and technology. The current collection includes thousands of rare photographs, videos, artifacts, scientific and nuclear reports and data and one-of-a kind scientist collections. We also hear news about what celebrities like Angelina Jolie collect (it’s knives and daggers).

This week on The Collectors Show we meet Steven Silberberg, who collects barf bags. He owns over 2,500 and has them displayed on his web site at http://www.airsicknessbags.com.  We also learn about the dull men’s club of Britain, a photo archive of failed inventions, and NASA trading cards. And as a bonus we track down the origin of Design for Chunks. To read everything there is to know about this week’s program go to www.collectorsshow.net.

I think every kid who grew up in the ‘60’s and 70’s watched cartoons every Saturday morning. I don’t remember too many of the shows I watched but I do remember some of the toys that were advertised, which brings us to our guest. Dana Cain is an avid doll and toy collector. She is also a published author and event promoter. She has written about collecting Japanese Movie Posters, TV Monsters, dinosaurs, and my personal favorite Saturday Morning TV Collectibles. During the news segment we learn about new Star Wars collectibles, your collectible investment and the most expensive Godzilla figure ever made. To read the stories from the program go to www.collectorsshow.net.

This week on The Collectors Show we learn about collecting paper napkins from artist and photographer Jacob Kedzierski. We also learn about the unintended consequences for vacuum cleaner collectors when global warming interferes and a museum for ash trays donated by a dead smoker.

This week on The Collectors Show we once again learn about a new collectible. Documents, but not just any kind. Occult Documents. Brandon Hodge and Mark Demarest started and maintain the International Association for the Preservation of Spiritualist and Occult Periodicals (could you not have picked a shorter name?). You can visit their website at http://www.iapsop.com/about.html. You can visit the Collectors Show website at www.collectorsshow.net.

Major Matt Mason from Mattel has all the hallmarks and pedigree of what should be a very desirable collectible. It was introduced in 1966, prime time for baby boomers, based on space exploration, and expended with all types of gear, bases, vehicles, other characters, etc. As quickly as the line of space toys appeared it was discontinued. In 1970, Mattel ceased to produce the toy. But the toy is barely a cult item. How come? Listen to the Collectors Show this week to find out.

This week on The Collectors Show we learn about the auction of the world’s biggest egg and a special stamp printed for illiterate people. During the interview segment we meet Brandon Hodge. Brandon collects planchettes, which are an integral part of Ouija Boards but also important for spiritualism well before the advent of Ouija. You can see his web site at http://mysteriousplanchette.com/History/history1.html. To keep up with news from the world of collecting go to www.collectorsshow.net.