Last Minute Gifts For The Antique Lovers, Collectors & Genealogists On Your Holiday List

OK, so you waited around, hoping just the right thing was going to pop up at eBay or some other site, and now, as the shipping delivery window narrows, you’re starting to worry that all you can do is go with the obvious eBay gift card or get something lame. Gift certificates, from eBay, your local antique mall or online dealer, aren’t bad ideas. But here are a few other options you might wish to consider…

Gift Idea #1 Newspaper Archives is the largest online newspaper archive, with over 100 million pages, covering more than 400 years, from more than 10 countries — and growing! I know that as a collector and researcher, having an online database of old newspapers to search through is one of the most awesome things ever. Let me repeat that: One of the most awesome things ever.

This isn’t just a great gift idea for collectors, history nuts, or those obsessed with research; it’s a great tool for genealogists too. While genealogy sites offer lots of information, old newspapers help fill in more of the stories… Not just information on people and events, but it’s a great way to find photographs of buildings, family businesses, and other places long gone.

Gift Idea #2 Magazines, such as Antique Trader, The Magazine Antiques, and other collectible publications as well as genealogy magazines can still be subscribed to online at Amazon — and even though it may take 6 to 10 weeks for the first issue to arrive, you can have a gift notice sent to the recipient!

1.) Add the magazine to your cart,
2.) On the next page mark the “this will be a gift” box
3.) Enter your gift recipient’s address during the checkout process.
4.) After placing your order, look for the “Send Magazine Gift Notification” link on the order confirmation page, or go directly to the Magazine Subscription Manager to manage your gift subscriptions.

Gift Idea #3 Maybe you’ve already settled on a gift card, but aren’t sure how to present it? How about a nifty greeting card that’s also a bookmark? In My Book® is a line of 15 cards which are perforated, so tearing along the perforations changes the greeting card into a bookmark!

These novel gifts and cards in one are printed in Pennsylvania, shipped from Brooklyn, New York, and cost just $3.95 (plus shipping) each. (I’ve interviewed the creator, Robin Blum, here, having met her at the first annual Bookmark Collectors Virtual Convention.)

Related: Practical, Yet Thoughtful, Gifts & Stocking Stuffers For Collectors.

Image credits: Christmas tree in Sydney’s 2UW radio station, Christmas Eve, 1937; via.