Continued from Color Lithography Revolution

Evidently, many people avoid artichokes in grocery stores because of the mystery of how to sit down with one of these vegetables and actually eat it. In this short film, my mother, who was born and bred in California (the state where all American artichokes are grown) explains how to eat an artichoke. And, since I can never resist doing some historical research, viewers will also get some tidbits (tidbites?) about artichokes in days of...

Prang’s chromos could be found in homes everywhere. He created a huge market for color reprints of famous paintings. He even imitated the subtle textural lines of the linen canvas and added a layer of shellac to imitate the sheen of oil paint. Albert Bierstadt painting of sunset in California 1864 I will even venture to say that Louis Prang had the vision of Steve Jobs crossed with Andy Warhol, establishing the first Kinko’s and...

A giveaway for Astor Place Vintage just began at Modern Commonplace Book. Check out Ginny’s write-up of my book on her blog, where’s she’ll be giving away a free copy. My Etsy Gift Card giveaway is running until September 19th on my Facebook page. And… I’m doing my talk on department stores and New York City history this Wednesday at 2:00 at the 92nd Street Y. More info...

Guess what! I’m giving away a $50 gift certificate to Etsy Etsy is one of the places I go to satisfy my vintage clothing cravings. Now you too can waste some of your valuable time obsessing over what to buy. All you have to do is go to my Astor Place Vintage page on Facebook, take my little “Author or Model” challenge and you’ll be automatically entered to win. That’s right. Even if you get every question wrong. I...

That’s not retro, that’s real! No flea market, thrift shop, vintage store, or antique mall to be found in the village of Lake George, so I turned to entertaining myself with the motel and restaurant signs. Evidently a six-story Marriott hotel will be going up on right on the main drag of Canada Street, which means that three buildings will be bulldozed. Lake George is pretty run down and tacky, but part of what makes it worth...

10 Great Authors, 10 Unforgettable Adventures. With every Today’s Adventure post between August 1 and August 13, you can register to win the featured book and the grand prize of all 10 books. We’ll announce winners on August 14. You may enter today’s contest by leaving a comment on Susanna’s blog. Here’s Susanna: Nicola’s not looking for adventure. But when a client brings a family heirloom called “the...

10 Great Authors, 10 Unforgettable Adventures. With every Today’s Adventure post between August 1 and August 13, you can register to win the featured book and the grand prize of all 10 books. We’ll announce winners on August 14. You may enter today’s contest by going to the Astor Place Vintage Facebook page and liking it. Find links to all the authors below–follow any of them to keep up with the latest adventures....

I was so happy when my editor told me I’d get to include some photographs in ASTOR PLACE VINTAGE. I immediately began to go through months and months of images I’d accumulated on my computer hard drive from the Library of Congress and other sources. These photos had been a huge source of inspiration throughout the writing of my novel. They’d also been a huge distraction that undoubtedly slowed down my progress. I was...

10 Great Authors, 10 Unforgettable Adventures. With every Today’s Adventure post between August 1 and August 13, you can register to win the featured book and the grand prize of all 10 books. We’ll announce winners on August 14th. You may enter today’s contest by going to Deanna’s blog.   Here’s Deanna: The very last thing Delilah Drummond expects when she goes to Africa is a proper adventure. Most travelers...

The Last Camellia, by Sarah Jio 10 Great Authors, 10 Unforgettable Adventures With every Today’s Adventure post between August 1 and August 13, you can register to win the featured book and the grand prize of all 10 books. We’ll announce winners on August 14. You may enter today’s contest at Sarah’s Facebook page. Find links to all the authors below–follow any of them to keep up with the latest adventures....

10 Great Authors, 10 Unforgettable Adventures. With every Today’s Adventure post between August 1 and August 13, you can register to win the featured book and the grand prize of all 10 books. We’ll announce winners on August 14. You may enter today’s contest at Katherine’s blog. Find links to all the authors below–follow any of them to keep up with the latest adventures. Here’s Katherine: When I joined the...

10 Great Authors, 10 Unforgettable Adventures With every Today’s Adventure post between August 1 and August 13, you can register to win the featured book and the grand prize of all 10 books. We’ll announce winners on August 14. You may enter today’s contest at Jessica’s Facebook page. Find links to all the authors below–follow any of them to keep up with the latest adventures. Here’s Jessica: Opportunity...

10 Great Authors, 10 Unforgettable Adventures. With every Today’s Adventure post between August 1 and August 13, you can register to win the featured book and the grand prize of all 10 books. We’ll announce winners on August 14. You may enter today’s giveaway at Alison’s blog and/or by liking her Facebook page. Enter at both places to double your winning chances! Here’s Alison: But did you know it is almost the...