MARCH/APRIL 2026


GUEST EDITOR'S LETTER

Lisa Minardi

THE OBSCURE CONNOISSEUR

Part IV: In which the author copes with his collection of chipped Meissen figurines.
Ralph Gardner Jr. Illustrated by Colleen Bayley Harrington

AUCTIONS

Recent and upcoming sales of blue-and-white porcelain.

OBJECTS

Chewed Paper: How papier-mâché bridged affordability and elegance, carrying centuries of innovation into nineteenth-century domestic life. 
Benjamin Davidson and Pippa Biddle

PERSPECTIVES

A young antiques dealer on collecting his community and a curator on the impact of immigrant craftspeople on the decorative arts of the South.

MUSEUMS

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston acquires a Joan Mitchell triptych, and Historic Deerfield looks to the future of their influential fellowship program.

HIDDEN GEMS

Revolution-era treasures are uncovered at the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley.
A. Nicholas Powers

EXHIBITIONS

Lithographic prints from Bengal at the MFA, Boston; Horology at Hillwood; Botanical history at the Ashmolean; and the origins of mass media at the Grolier Club.

TRAVEL

A California Curiosity: How one entrepreneur crafted a destination of “timeless beauty” in Riverside’s Mission Inn.
Sharon Kong-Perring

JEWELRY

Shine On: Historian Beth Bernstein presents a new guide to collecting, wearing, and mixing vintage jewelry—from art deco to disco-era icons—revealing how past design shapes modern style.
Sonia Esther Soltani

FLEA BITE

Buzzy Bling: the Winter Show inspires a deep dive into the history of bejeweled bugs.

WORDPLAY

“The Chisel” by Steve Scafidi
A Glimpse into the PA-st by Will Nediger.
Edited by Rick Sharp

January/February 2026 Wordplay solution.

MITCH'S MUSINGS

Fit for Purpose: Living with Victorian excess, shifting tastes, and the quiet usefulness of a marble-top Chinese table.
Mitchell Owens

Image
Tobacco Barn or Yellow Barn by David Ellinger (1913–2003), c. 1945. Oil on canvas, 33 3/4 by 48 1/2 inches. Historic Trappe; photograph by Michael E. Myers.


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Features



The Declaration’s Journey

A sweeping exhibition explores how the Declaration of Independence traveled the world, shaping revolutions, civil rights struggles, and global visions of liberty across 250 years.   
Matthew Skic

A Nation of Artists

A landmark semiquincentennial collaboration unites two Philadelphia museums and a storied private collection to explore American art, identity, tradition,
and change.
Kathleen A. Foster

Living with Antiques: Pennsylvania Folkways

A return to Joan and Victor Johnson’s renowned Pennsylvania folk art collection, highlighting recent additions, lesser-known works, and enduring favorites within their Society Hill home.
Jeff Pressman

Living with Antiques: A Collector’s Eye, A Nation’s Story

An extraordinary collection explores how Shaker furniture, and Pennsylvania German and New England folk art, articulate a distinctly American identity.
Christopher Malone and Sarah Bowen

Refugees in the Parlor

How one household in the Philadelphia countryside reveals the domestic upheaval, resilience, and material culture of war-torn Revolutionary America.
Lisa Minardi

A Living Archive

At Philadelphia’s Calder Gardens, mobiles and
stabiles animate a new underground museum
shaped by light, landscape, and architecture.
Paula Deitz