Matchbooks promoting former Brisbane businesses,from the collection of Donat Taharij in the exhibition Precious at the Museum of Brisbane.

Eclectic collectors of Brisbane lend their quirky treasures to museum show

From bottles and matchbooks to tin toys and ceramic feet,the Museum of Brisbane show of 3500 objects tells remarkable stories of the city’s past.

  • Nick Dent

Latest

Those with hindsight could have purchased the book ‘Harry Potter’ by J.K. Rowling in 1997 for the modest amount of $20. Today,the price is $1,000.

Could you be sitting on a rare book worth thousands?

Rare 20th century cookbooks,signed autobiographies,or even old racy magazines can fetch hundreds or thousands of dollars from the right buyer.

  • Stephen Crafti
Christie’s maintains that the car belongs to the Oscar-winning actress.

The mystery over the rare $1m Ferrari that Angelina Jolie was trying to sell

Auction house Christie’s was selling the 1958 Ferrari 250 GT on behalf of the Oscar-winning actress but it has been pulled after questions arose about the ownership of the vehicle.

  • Hannah Elliott
Jessica Vincent discovered a rare Carlo Scarpa vase at an op shop.

‘Gift from the thrifting gods’:$6 op-shop vase sold for $160,000

After two dedicated glass specialists came from interstate to inspect the vase,the suspicions were confirmed:the piece was very real.

  • Timothy Bella
Cassandra Hatton,global head of department,Science&Popular Culture at Sotheby’s,with the Tyrannosaurus rex skull excavated from Harding County,South Dakota.

T. Rex skull sells for $6.1m at auction,well below estimates

The auction raises questions about whether the gold rush moment for dinosaurs is showing signs of ebbing.

  • Julia Jacobs andZachary Small
In Victor Milazzi’s aptly named Vinyl Revival store in Fitroy,Melbourne,a record renaissance is underway.

Vinyl in revival as young listeners splurge on old mediums

While baby boomers long ago sold their extensive record collections for CDs,the twenty-something audience is rediscovering the joys of vinyl records.

  • Stephen Crafti
Advertisement
Column 8 granny dinkus

Time out for exhausted batteries

Sharpen your pencils for those character sketches.

Street scene in Montmartre,a painting by Dutch master Vincent van Gogh,at Sotheby’s auction house in Paris.

Van Gogh’s Street Scene in Montmartre goes under hammer twice at auction

Sotheby’s said there had been a glitch with its online bidding system during the first sale of the painting,which had been out of the public eye for a century.

  • Dominique Vidalon
Martin Hiscock's rare Zoila mariellae cowrie,estimated to be worth $50,000,is one of only a small number of this quality in the world.

Shelling out for gems of the sea can be a great investment

While some Australian cowries can be bought for as little as $40,they can fetch up to $50,000 and are in high demand from collectors around the world.

  • Stephen Crafti
Column 8 Granny dinkus with mask.

Not with the good tin snips!

Dangers of the DIY ninja.