A few days before Christmas, a young lady was taking a number of photos in Vintages' shop in Los Gatos. I was curious about what items fascinated her enough to photograph, and she sent me her images. So here is Vintages, as seen through the lens of Jessica Hsieh (Dec 2014). Thank you Jessica.

A man wearing a bowler hat, jacket and pin-stripe trousers, holding a box camera. c1900 Getty Images Ever wonder what the well-dressed gentleman was wearing 110 years ago? Well here is a glimpse that is afforded by this "dress chart" from the famous McInerny Clothiers of Honolulu in November of 1903. I remember McInerny department store from when as a boy living in Hawaii back in the 1950s. It was one of the top stores for clothes at the time ... right up there with Liberty House and Andrade. If you bought something ... or were given a gift from McInerney, it was a real treasure. Dress Chart for Men 1903 (Click on image for a larger version) Through much of the first half of the 20th century, McInerny and Liberty House were Honolulu's big downtown department stores, the places to shop for that pair of fancy dress shoes or that one durable blue suit for trips to the Mainland. McInerny moved quickly to capture the booming tourist market after World W...

Depression glass is a popular collectible. It is simple, clear or colored glassware that was distributed free, or at low cost, in the United States and Canada around the time of the Great Depression. The Quaker Oats Company, along with a host of other food manufacturers and distributors, would put a piece of glassware in boxes of food or cereal as an incentive to purchase the product. Movie theaters gave these away simply for coming in the door and gas stations would hand out a piece for filling up. Depression glass was a reliable, lovely "luxury" on the middle and lower class table from the 1920s into the 1960s. Early on the glassware was made to mimic cut glass designs popular at the time. As mass production of glass improved, depression glass makers created new and sometimes exciting designs. One of the most popular producers was the Federal Glass Company of Columbus, Ohio. While most of depression glass pieces are practical kitchen or tableware, some excellent ...

Bronze has been a favored medium of sculptors for centuries. Early methods of casting the metal into masterpieces involved the use of a sand-cast mold, which was an one-off approach. The later introduction of the lost wax process not only allowed for finer details and more exotic shapes, but also made multiple copies of these figures and sculptures a reality. In the latter part of the 19th century the world embraced the industrial revolution. The artistic world employed changes in technology as well. By adjusting the ratio of copper to tin in the bronze alloy, and using slightly thicker wax molds, the production of multiple copies of bronze items was extended beyond the relatively few copies made in the past, to multiple copies made in a modern production-like style. These bronzes still displayed the craftsmanship and design of the artists, but now more people could enjoy their works. The craftsmen of Vienna have a long history of producing exquisite bronzes. F...

In past years we have passed on the PNC Christmas Price Index, a tabulation from the folks over at PNC Wealth Management of how much it would cost to purchase all the gifts in the classic Holiday song The Twelve Days of Christmas . Here it is for 2014, which is the 31st time they have done this index that totals the cost of items gifted by a True Love who repeats all of the song's verses. According to the folks at PNC Wealth Management: With energy costs tumbling and inflation remaining calm, the 2014 PNC Christmas Price Index experienced a mild one percent boost in the 31st annual tongue-in-cheek economic analysis by PNC Wealth Management. Based on the gifts in the holiday classic, “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” the price tag for the PNC CPI is $27,673.22 in 2014, just $280.05 more than last year and the smallest increase since 2002 when the index fell 7.6 percent. Originally tabulated in 1984, the 2014 PNC CPI is 118 percent hig...