Collector Guides

22 histories and buying guides for corporate memorabilia worth collecting.

Energy & Utilities

• Enron Memorabilia Collector Guide
  Enron’s 2001 collapse, the 2002 bankruptcy auctions, the items collectors look for, and how to tell original company pieces from new Enron-branded merch.
• Standard Oil Memorabilia Collector Guide
  A collector guide to Standard Oil memorabilia: the 1911 breakup, the Esso, Mobil, Chevron, Amoco and Sohio lines, and how to spot reproduction porcelain signs.

Consumer Goods & Retail

• Blockbuster Memorabilia Collector Guide
  Blockbuster Video history for collectors, the store items people look for, recorded sales, and how to tell originals from new Bend store merchandise.
• Sears Memorabilia & Catalog Collector Guide
  Sears, Roebuck and Co. history for collectors, the catalogs, Wish Books, signs and advertising people find, and how to tell an original from a reprint.
• Toys "R" Us Memorabilia Collector Guide
  A collector’s guide to Toys "R" Us memorabilia: company history, Geoffrey the Giraffe’s design eras, signs, catalogs and how to spot newer merchandise.
• Vintage Coca-Cola Memorabilia Collector Guide
  How Coca-Cola advertising became collectible, the trays, calendars, bottles and Santa pieces collectors seek, and how to spot reproductions before buying.
• Vintage Pepsi Memorabilia Collector Guide
  A collector’s history of Pepsi-Cola, from Brad’s Drink to Pepsi Stuff, with tips for dating fountain pieces, signs and bottles and spotting new retro items.

Defense & Aerospace

• Boeing Memorabilia Collector Guide
  Boeing memorabilia explained: company history, employee badges, models and airline pieces, plus how to tell vintage items from new licensed merchandise.

Finance & Investment

• Lehman Brothers Memorabilia Collector Guide
  Why Lehman Brothers items became collectible after the 2008 bankruptcy, what collectors find, and what to check before buying a sign, deal toy or giveaway.

Hardware & Electronics

• Commodore 64 & Amiga Collectibles Guide
  Commodore history for collectors, from the PET and VIC-20 to the C64 and Amiga, with checks for vintage hardware and new Commodore-branded items.
• Compaq Memorabilia Collector Guide
  Compaq’s history from a Houston startup to HP, the computers, ads and promotional pieces collectors find, and what to check before buying.
• Digital Equipment Corporation Memorabilia Guide
  A collector guide to Digital Equipment Corporation: DEC history, DECUS swag, employee items, manuals and modules, and what to check before buying.
• Kodak Memorabilia Collector Guide
  Kodak advertising history for collectors: the Brownie, the Kodak Girl, film packaging and signs, and how to tell originals from reprints and licensed goods.
• Palm Organizer & PalmPilot Collector Guide
  A concise history of Palm organizers and a practical guide to PalmPilot models, batteries, screens, styli, cradles and vintage PDA listings.

Software & Internet

• Netscape Memorabilia Collector Guide
  A short history of Netscape and a buyer’s guide to Navigator boxes, manuals, company shirts, Mozilla dinosaur items and other early-web memorabilia.
• Pets.com Sock Puppet Collector Guide
  The history of the Pets.com sock puppet, why it became a dot-com collectible, what buyers should inspect, and where to find current listings.

Industrial Machinery

• John Deere Collectibles & Memorabilia Guide
  How to date John Deere collectibles by the leaping-deer logo, plus farm toys, sales literature, reproductions and what to check before buying.

Transport & Automotive

• DeLorean Memorabilia Collector Guide
  The history of DeLorean Motor Company and the DMC-12, what collectors look for, and how to tell factory-era items from reprints and film merchandise.
• Pan Am Memorabilia Collector Guide
  A collector’s guide to Pan Am memorabilia: airline history, flight bags, wings, menus, china and posters, and how to tell originals from later products.
• Vintage Volkswagen Memorabilia Collector Guide
  How the Beetle, the Bus and Think Small shaped Volkswagen collectibles, from dealer signs and brochures to toys, and what to check before buying.

Healthcare & Life Sciences

• Theranos Memorabilia Collector Guide
  How Theranos rose and collapsed, which Theranos items reach the resale market, and what to check before buying company swag or memorabilia.

Government & Public

• NASA Memorabilia Collector Guide
  NASA memorabilia explained: the meatball and worm logos, crew patches, Silver Snoopy pins, flown items, the 2012 artifact law and what to check.