Antiques & Collectibles

A catastrophic depression engulfed Colorado in 1893. The government’s decision to adopt the gold standard and stop buying silver hit the mining industry like a cave-in. Unemployment reached 90 percent in Leadville, a city built on silver. Strikes by union miners in Cripple Creek and Leadville led to destruction and death. Political parties split along battle lines of gold versus silver. By 1898, the country had begun to recover, but silver mining was never the same. Using firsthand commentary and more than one hundred historic photographs, John Steinle skillfully commemorates the story of Coloradans trapped in the unprecedented social, economic and political conflict of America’s first great depression.

Tales of California’s buried treasures, lost mines and hidden loot.

From the Pacific Ocean to the eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains, California is bursting with rumors of lost riches. Sunken cargo from the steamship Brother Jonathon is rumored to still be out there, awaiting discovery, as well as the location of the famous lost Breyfogle Mine. Outlaws like Three Finger Jack and Joaquin Murrieta were said to have stashed their loot while evading law enforcement and Sir Francis Drake’s English pirates buried treasures all along the coast. Deep underground and underwater, a bounty waits for some lucky prospector.

Join author W. Craig Gaines as he unearths stories of legendary and historic lost treasures yet to be found in the Golden State.

At the turn of the last century, miner Joseph Lesher attempted to raise the price of silver by privately minting octagonal Referendum souvenir medal coins with values of $1.25 or $1. They were common in Victor, Cripple Creek, Denver and other places in Colorado in the days after William Jennings Bryan fought unsuccessfully for free silver. Surviving an initial dust-up with the Secret Service, Lesher found a loophole to place them in circulation in 1900 and 1901. Today, coin collectors pay more than $1,000 for one. This is the story of Joseph Lesher and his audacious private mint, along with the merchants in the mining towns and elsewhere who supported him.

On the first of September 1785, with night coming on and the weather deteriorating, the crew of the ship Faithful Steward sailed toward Delaware's notorious False Cape. In the summer of 1785, a group of Irish migrants took to the Atlantic to escape the abuse and persecution of the ruling classes at home. They sought a new life in the United States, a place "where the banner of freedom waved proudly" and "every good was possessed." Their ship was new and sturdy, and its captain had a good reputation. On this voyage, however, it was overloaded with migrant families and a massive cargo of counterfeit coins. By the first of September the ship was lost, somewhere off the mid-Atlantic coast. Michael Timothy Dougherty tells the story of the wreck and the people on board.

Arizona’s flourishing wine industry may surprise those who think of the Grand Canyon State as a desert landscape dotted with cacti.

From the high-country vineyards of the Verde Valley to the rolling plateaus of Sonoita and Willcox, pioneering winemakers are producing nationally acclaimed, award-winning wines. While the 1970s are recognized as launching the modern-day industry, Arizona’s viticulture dates back much further. The Spanish and Jesuit missionaries introduced European winemaking to the Southwest, and the 1800s saw the introduction of Arizona’s first wineries. Join author Christina Barrueta on this fascinating journey and meet the pioneers and visionaries who are forging their own paths to build America’s newest wine region.

Just fifty years ago, Oregon had no wine industry of consequence. Today, the state teems with a wine culture that matches the fecundity of its land and the vital spirit of its people. The pioneers who dared that tradition into being, from astrophysicists to cherry farmers to harpsichord makers, stand poised to pass on their legacy to an eager new generation. The bold experimentation of urban wineries now joins the steady contributions of outstanding producers like Bethel Heights, Cerulean Skies, Eyrie and Honeywood. Kenneth Friedenreich, a noted Oregon wine writer and an equally ardent Oregon wine devotee, seizes this moment of transition to probe the state's fascinating oenological frontiers and evaluate the repercussions of the industry's dramatic success. Based on dozens of interviews and even more glasses of wine, this drinking companion volume traverses the full range of Oregon's viticultural areas, providing useful AVA maps, historical photos and extensive winery listings.